Closure of the Pantin mosque: its manager considers himself “thrown into the pasture”

Finally, the authorities accuse M’hammed Henniche of anti-public school remarks. Notably at the time of the rumor, in 2018, that teachers had to teach students to masturbate.

“Looks like they wanted to load the mule with some fake stuff …”

But M’hammed Henniche is categorical: he never wrote such things on his Facebook page or that of the mosque. “I’m not anti-public school, that’s totally wrong. Looks like they wanted to load the mule with the wrong things… ”

What about these words? According to several observers of the case, the authorities may have confused him with Hassen Farsadou, the other co-president of UAM93, one of his relatives. This had triggered an uproar in August 2018 after sharing a Facebook post in which he assured that the “books to teach masturbation are ready”, urging parents to “withdraw their children from public school”.

He also castigated “the secularists” who would have “removed the hijab from school”, “launched a vendetta against bandanas, long skirts …” Before concluding: “But you wait for school outings in the Gay pride to get hold of yourself. ? “

Except that M’hammed Henniche is not Hassen Farsadou. “I am not his father and he is an adult,” quips the boss of the Pantin mosque. Moreover, Hassen Farsadou is not from the town but from Aulnay-sous-Bois where he chairs another association, the Muslim Hope of French Youth. In 2015, it had also been threatened with dissolution after attempting to welcome radical preachers.

He denounces the “spectacle policy”

M’hammed Henniche should, if he does not exercise an appeal against the closure, at least request a reduction of the six-month period. Every Friday, outside the sanitary restriction period, the place of worship welcomes 1,500 to 2,000 worshipers.

“Everyone knows that I am a so-called moderate Muslim, whom I call for tolerance, open-mindedness. I have a feeling they had to feed someone to the dogs and CNews. It’s me, ”Henniche tackles again. Who is also sorry for the current “spectacle policy” in this affair. “I learned of the closing of the mosque from the 8 pm newscast, the banners of news channels say that the ministry is under pressure… It’s a show! “

When contacted, the PS mayor of Pantin, Bertrand Kern, did not respond to our requests. His opponent, Geoffrey Carvalhinho (LR), is surprised at his “silence” about the place of worship. “The mayor must take his responsibilities and demand a change in the management team of this mosque, which clearly left the republican field by publishing the anti-Samuel Paty video,” said the municipal councilor. Who however assures to have “never had a problem” in its relations with the members or the faithful of the mosque.

Formal “discrimination”

On the side of Jean-Christophe Lagarde, UDI deputy and former mayor of the neighboring town of Drancy, the “frequentation” of the Pantin mosque was “not always advisable”. It is therefore not surprising that an imam is in the sights of the public authorities. “Not long ago, I was approached by a resident of Pantin living just in front of the mosque. A Muslim who does not wear the veil, and who had had trouble with some of the faithful of the place of worship. She was insulted regularly and had come to see me for help, ”reports the boss of the UDI.

But for Yacine Laoudi, president of the religious association of Muslims in Aulnay-sous-Bois, a respected figure throughout the department, this closure is “discrimination” in due form. The man, a member of a large collective of one hundred mosques which bluntly condemned the murder of Samuel Paty, indicates “not knowing the Pantin mosque in particular”. But adds that “if an imam or the president of the place is worrying, it is they who must be arrested, summoned to the police station”.

“However, by closing this mosque, it is the faithful who are sanctioned. They didn’t do anything, ”annoys the one who is head of department at Ballanger hospital. The collateral damage is to see several hundred Muslims without a place of prayer. “Already with sanitary measures, we are losing ¾ of our prayer areas in mosques… If the faithful see their place of worship closed, they will end up praying… in the street! What the government does not want. And neither do we. “

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