Like a stream that appears and disappears depending on the nature of the surroundings, the issue of the so-called mosque on Pontremoli Street resurfaces on the agenda intermittently.
The story is well-known to the point of becoming a saga. In short, a standoff is likely to occur between Prefect Adolphe Colrat, who is favorable under certain conditions, and Mayor Christian Estrosi who absolutely doesn’t want it and wishes to install a nursery there.
The former plays the card of inclusion for the Muslim community, which rightly feels discriminated against in their practice of worship. The latter, beyond appearances, has sided with the city’s largely majority camp of Islamophobic citizens.
Each has their reasons: One, the reason to find a balance and satisfy everyone, the other, to appear inflexible to voters who demand it of him.
Additionally, out of a matter of pride, Christian Estrosi considers Nice as his domain and does not like anything to be done without his full consent.
Reading the statements (reported in full) clearly confirms that the call for the general interest is just a pretext.
There is no possible compromise between the reasons of law and those of politics and pride.
Projects in the Nice La Plaine neighborhood: En Nour Institute and Center for Early Childhood
The Prefect of Alpes-Maritimes met on Friday, April 1, 2016, with the leaders of the Nice-based En Nour Institute, after having met, on the same subject, with representatives of the City of Nice on Friday, March 18, and the three principal representatives of the Muslim community in the department on Tuesday, March 29.
In the Nice-la-Plaine neighborhood (1, Pontremoli Avenue), two projects are currently in consideration:
– On one side, a Muslim cultural and religious institute is ready to open as soon as the public establishment opening permit is obtained, with no other prior authorization required to open a place of worship.
– On the other side, a public inquiry was conducted at the request of the City of Nice for the creation of a children’s center (the first municipal council vote on this was on October 11, 2013, renewed on September 18, 2015). In his report (available on the Prefecture’s website since February 25, 2016), the investigating commissioner gave a favorable opinion on the public utility of this project based on demand expressed by families and by nearby workers and employers.
It should be noted that the investigating commissioner only had to judge the project under public inquiry. He was not tasked with deciding between the two projects.
The Prefect, on the other hand, is institutionally and legally in a different position. He is not bound by the investigating commissioner’s conclusions, and is not in a position of tied competence to declare the project of public utility (he has a one-year period from the end of the public inquiry, until January 12, 2017).
The State representative must therefore necessarily examine both projects, each legitimate, based solely on the criterion of the general interest.
– Logically, the priority for examination by the State representative goes to the project that is about to come to fruition: En Nour Institute undeniably benefits from chronological precedence. Its creation was conducted legally and the work (initiated in July 2012) has presented no regulatory irregularity notified to the administrative or judicial authority.
Moreover, the opening of such an establishment, awaited for years, would obviously be a sign of recognition, appreciation, and pride for the Muslim community in Nice, in a context noted for its lack of suitable, modern, and dignified places of worship in the west of the city.
The State representative is particularly attentive to ensuring that our Muslim compatriots benefit from equal rights in their practice of worship. No principled opposition to the opening of a religious establishment would, therefore, be acceptable.
However, the Prefect does not currently have guarantees that establish the cultural and religious center project truly serves the general interest, even though initial responses have been provided by the project sponsor.
In view of the unquestionable quality of the new facility, which could become one of the reference places for Muslim worship in Alpes-Maritimes, it is expected to be an exemplary expression of a French Islam fully respectful of the laws and values of the Republic, capable of dialogue and trust with public authorities.
In this regard, two preliminary conditions are required:
- that this facility does not depend in any way on foreign influence, whether in terms of property ownership, financing, or religious doctrine;
- that its governance clearly aligns with the 1905 law, incorporating the representative collegiate of the Muslim community in Nice and the department, thus making the institute a fully representative facility of a unitary departmental Islam.
Finally, on a practical level, considering the lack of parking spaces immediately near the site, the future manager of the facility, if it opens, will be asked to accept, if necessary, temporarily limiting the facility’s capacity pending adequate public transportation service (tram line 3).
To allow these preliminary conditions to be met, a reasonable deadline is given to the project promoter, until August 1, 2016. The Prefecture will assist the project sponsor in fulfilling these conditions.
If these conditions cannot be met, or in case of a premature opening, the State representative would be obliged to conclude that priority should be given, regarding the general interest, to the children’s center, and would therefore sign the declaration of public utility.
Christian ESTROSI, President of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Region, Mayor of Nice, reacts to the article in the Nice-Matin newspaper published today entitled “En-Nour: the Prefect says ‘yes, but’”:
“Upon reading this article, I object to the attitude of the Alpes-Maritimes Prefecture, which does not respect the terms of the public inquiry and the conclusions of the investigating commissioner, does not respect the will of the people of Nice, and does not respect the will of the representative institutions of the Muslim faith.
We know that those who contributed to the public inquiry in prioritizing the place of worship over the nursery are not from Nice but reside west of the department and were brought by buses chartered by the project sponsors.
I firmly reiterate that this project, not discussed with the municipality, is in stark contradiction with the objectives of the National Interest Operation dedicated to the economy and green growth, and will pose considerable parking problems. I reaffirm the urgent need for nursery places in this neighborhood and that the declaration of public utility was filed before the start of work. I emphasize that I have been asking the government for two years to halt this project and to provide transparency on the funds used for its construction. The government is absent and has even repeatedly declared that it shares our concerns.
Although we have been in a state of emergency for several months and the government is trying to convince the French that everything is being done to protect them, the position taken by the Prefect of Alpes-Maritimes and his hesitations run counter to these declarations.
The government knows that the premises in which this place of worship is located are owned by a Saudi Arabian minister, more precisely, the minister of religion and the spread of faith. It must be known that this person advocates for Sharia in a Wahhabi religious state close to Salafism. He even declared in 2013 that “the churches in the Arabian region should be destroyed to preserve Muslim holy places.”
This authority has been financing this place for years, if only by covering the rent, which amounts to 5,000 euros per month and is not paid by the En Nour religious association.
In light of these details, I want the people of Nice to know that I will deploy all means available to prevent the opening of this place associated with the most radical branch, which is not representative of the Nice Muslim community. I will not hesitate to use legal remedies and now openly call upon the Minister of the Interior, with whom I will discuss this matter today.
I would also like to clarify to the community members that I will gather its leaders next week so that we may, as has always been necessary, decide on measures to implement in response to this situation.”
