Rhône Imams Mandate Civil Marriage Before Religious Ceremonies

"The CTIR reminds all the imams of the Rhône that they must under no circumstances celebrate a religious marriage if it is not preceded by a civil marriage at the town hall or before any other official institution," the CTIR writes in its final statement.

For Azzedine Gaci, rector of the Villeurbanne mosque, interviewed by La Croix, "It is sometimes the parents who put pressure on the imam when their children start dating" blaming certain parents who "want a religious marriage to avoid gossip, and assure that the civil marriage will be celebrated later and that their children are still young".

While some imams refuse to celebrate this union for fear of a fine, other "imams" or "visiting preachers" accept "all the more easily as they are paid for it," he acknowledges.

To please the families, the CTIR advises the future spouses to schedule the civil and religious weddings on the same day and to contact an "imam officiating in a mosque recognized as such in the Rhône department".

During this assembly, it was also decided to publish a single prayer calendar for the month of Ramadan 2019 common to all the mosques in the Rhône.