INFO LE FIGARO – Attack at the Paris police headquarters: the Gonesse mosque separates from its controversial imam

The Gonesse mosque, which had been frequented for three years by Mickaël Harpon, author of the Paris police headquarters killings, broke away from his controversial imam, Ahmed Hilali, said on Friday (October 11th). Figaro the leaders of the Muslim association of Gonesse, who manages the prayer room.

"We spoke to Ahmed Hilali on Thursday, and we started negotiations for a conventional break in his contract"said Abderrazzak Mahtane, president of the Muslim association of Gonesse, who took office in 2018, a year after the recruitment of this "deputy imam". Employee of this association financed by the donations of the faithful, Ahmed Hilali, in charge of accompanying the five daily prayers from Sunday to Thursday at the mosque of Gonesse, was not the referent imam. As such, he did not preach the friday noon, task that returned to the principal imam of the place of worship, Hassan El Houari.

"There was a lot of confusion in the media these last days, it was said that he was stuck S, he was a radicalized, he must take the time to defend himself, and we want it to be outside the mosque »continued Abderrazzak Mahtane. The president of the religious association and the principal imam of the mosque confide however never to have heard Ahmed Hilali utter radical speeches. They further assert that they were unaware of the administrative and marital difficulties of the Moroccan religious. Divorced, Ahmed Hilali had been obliged to leave French territory (OQTF) for family reasons, since repealed.

In a statement released Friday afternoon, the mayor of Gonesse Jean-Pierre Blazy (PS) said that this decision came after his request, "to take no risk on the nature of the speeches that could be held in the prayer hall and to alleviate the deleterious climate that reigns against the Muslim community of GonesseSaying that Ahmed Hilali will be relieved of his duties on Saturday.

"I recall that neither the leaders of the Muslim association of Gonesse in whom I have any confidence as regards their practice and their promotion of a tolerant Islam and compatible with the values ​​of the Republic, nor the faithful, nor the state services have confirmed that radical sermons have been delivered in Gonesse's prayer roomAdded Jean-Pierre Blazy.

appeasement

Met Thursday by Le Figaro at Gonesse City Hall, the elected official had confirmed that Ahmed Hilali had indeed been filed in 2015, but said he did not know if the registration was still valid. Jean-Pierre Blazy then made sure with the Muslim association of Gonesse that if this information was confirmed by the services of the State it would initiate the steps to put an end to the employment contract which binds them to this imam. The town hall has not yet specified if the breach of contract followed a confirmation of this information.

"Everyone must take responsibility"Imam referent Hassan El Houari said during his Friday afternoon sermon in front of several hundred believers shaken by a week that will have placed their mosque in the spotlight. In the face of the faithful, he condemned for a long time the terrorist act that hit the Paris police headquarters, and indicated that he was associated with the grief of the relatives of the victims. "We have lost our fellow citizens, and it hurts our hearts", he added. "We have been tagged, but we are neither Salafists, nor fundamentalists, nor Muslim Brothers, nor Moroccans or Turks. We are a French Muslim mosque, French citizens."

Asked about Mickael Harpon, Hassan El Houari said that neither he nor the members of the Muslim association of Gonesse had noticed the slightest sign of radicalization. "If that had been the case, we would have immediately reported it to the authorities, but we are certain that he did not become radicalized at home."Said the imam,"unfortunately, the risk existed for all mosques".

See also – Prefecture: for François Pupponi, the situation of the imam of Gonesse is "unimaginable"