A new episode is set to fuel the controversy between the right-wing opposition and the right-wing municipal majority. A few days before the next municipal council meeting, it is reignited through a statement signed by Marie-Christine Arnautu.
At the origin, the refusal by the city council, justified by legal reasons, to publish in the Journal des Quartiers—which on this occasion was dedicated to Les Moulins—a column denouncing the statements by the imam of one of the neighborhood’s mosques, Abdelkader Sadouni, as well as the relationship Christian Estrosi maintains with him.
“Invited to revise our submission, we therefore sent a new column denouncing this censorship and referring to the original column published online,” concluded the municipal council member from the far right.
In an interview published on July 19 by an Italian daily newspaper, Abdelkader Sadouni—imam of one of the mosques in Les Moulins and director of an Islamic bookstore—announced that he “understands” the young people leaving to join jihad. Just before, he explained: “If secularism continues to be applied as it is today, then the desire to join Muslims fighting in Syria will remain strong among many young people.”
Following the actions by FN (National Front) elected officials to denounce his statements and demand intervention from the authorities, Imam Sadouni denied making such remarks, claiming even to be the victim of a “plot.” Yet, back in 2014, he wrote on Facebook: “When the mosques are so few, (…) when Muslims are discriminated against and stigmatized, then one can expect such condemnable but real reactions.”
Despite his statements or even questioning the authenticity of the filmed beheadings by Daesh (which he described as “simulated”), he received support from Christian Estrosi, who notably stated on RTL in November 2015: “It’s a completely moderate association (…) and I support him wholeheartedly because he is a social beacon.”
Does Christian Estrosi still consider that someone who “understands” jihadists is at the head of a “moderate association”? That someone who explains jihad in terms of secularism is “a social beacon”? Will Christian Estrosi visit his mosque again, as he has done before?
