Montpellier Authorities Shut Down Two Unauthorized Quranic Schools After Surprise Inspection

After the closure of a Quranic school in Béziers in October, two others have suffered the same fate in Hérault. In a press release, the prefecture of Hérault explained that the members of the departmental security sub-commission, during "an unannounced administrative inspection" in two religious establishments located in the Tournezy district of Montpellier, discovered "the illegal existence of two Quranic-type schools mainly providing religious learning courses." These are the Tawakkoul Institute and the Occitanie Multicultural Center.

Classrooms accommodating more than 90 minors aged 6 to 15 were discovered in the first establishment. In the second establishment, "about sixty children, some as young as 3 or 4 years old, were gathered in an unauthorized collective childcare facility," the prefecture specifies. They also discovered an "unauthorized public prayer room."

Hugues Moutouh, prefect of Hérault, "will issue a closure order for the illegal reception of minors and has asked the mayor of Montpellier, in accordance with his police powers, to immediately close the two establishments," the same source continues.