This file, which has been dragging on for years, should never have seen the light of day! The right of the En Nour association to transform the former inter-company canteen on Pontremoli Street into a place of worship could not be contested, and all the administrative and legal attempts by the City to thwart the initiative were obviously destined to fail, despite the tenacity of the Mayor of Nice, who absolutely did not want to validate this initiative.
Unfortunately, Christian Estrosi, whom we have known to be more insightful and subtle in other cases, made it a personal authority issue, getting caught up in a story of influences among the various associations managing the local Muslim community.
The decision by the Prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes (the decree signed on December 20th, which has just been made public) to refuse the Mayor of Nice’s request to declare the creation of a childcare facility as being in the public interest has been rejected for the second time.
The name of the En Nour association in Arabic means “light,” and light has been shed!
The decree is thus motivated by the following justification: the recognition in the public interest “unduly impacts the project […] of the En Nour association, which offers Muslims the opportunity to practice their worship, which constitutes a freedom.” Furthermore, the Prefect took into account “the unfavorable opinion of the inquiry commissioner.”
The En Nour association, which claims exemplary operation of its activities, recalls that this is the sixth decision made by the authorities (including the Council of State) in its favor.
In turn, the City of Nice “strongly regrets this decision,” which it describes as “worrisome” and alludes to the fact that the Minister of Religious Affairs of Saudi Arabia owns the building entrusted to the association.
According to them, this raises a question: “How can we understand that in our country, we accept that the Minister of Sharia in Saudi Arabia finances a Muslim place of worship?”
The answer is simple: A governmental entity, the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, ensures the application of Islamic and Sharia precepts in all areas of society. Its president has the status of a minister.
The Sharia, Charî’a, or Sharî’a (Arabic: الشَّرِيعَة) represents in Islam various doctrinal, social, worship, and relational norms and rules dictated by revelation.
One simply needs to be informed to avoid creating unnecessary confusion, which serves no purpose and benefits no one.
Anyway, the religious associations that the Mayor of Nice supports have been granted a vast piece of land to build — they too — a place of worship for their followers.
Thus, everyone will be able to exercise their religious beliefs while respecting the laws of the Republic.
In fact, there was no need to create unnecessary and unfounded conflicts.
