Muslim Institute in Paris Suburb Closed Over Safety Concerns

No more Arabic language, theology and imam training courses at the IESH in Saint-Denis. The reason is a decree issued last Tuesday by the prefecture. This decision follows a visit by the sub-commission against fire and panic risks, reports Le Parisien.

In this regard, the prefecture stated that an unfavorable opinion on public reception has been given. "As the IESH has not, for the moment, provided a technical response to lift this unfavorable opinion, the prefect has been led to have to take a closure order, motivated by reasons of safety of persons," the prefecture specifies.

For its part, this Muslim university, considered a "sensitive establishment", has launched a fundraising campaign on its website to finance the work. The institute indeed lives on the registration fees of its students and donations.

This decision by the Seine-Saint-Denis prefecture is not to the liking of one of the IESH sympathizers. "Usually we are asked to do work and given a deadline. In our case, it is an immediate closure after the first visit [...] We have started some work and despite this, we were surprised to receive the closure order," he laments.