A Grand Mosque for Cergy

From Yves Daoudal:

It did not take the new Interior Minister Manuel Valls very long to show his veneration for the State religion. Yesterday (July 6) he inaugurated the grand mosque of Cergy, accompanied by the Socialist mayor and deputy, Dominique Lefebvre, and François Hollande's chief of staff, Sylvie Hubac, for it is "in the name of the president of the Republic" that Manuel Valls officiates.

The mosque is a "brand new building, 2000 square meters, right in the center of the new city, very visible and endowed with a minaret," says Libération, in an article worth citing, since it speaks so frankly about the State religion:

"Dominique Levebvre, as host, leads the tour. (…) Under the auspices of the municipality the plan to build the grand mosque of Cergy was launched in 2003. (…) As in many cities, the authorities wanted a mosque centrally located rather than several smaller prayer rooms. In order to do this, it was first necessary to federate the ten local associations, each one representing the country of origin. 'I did not give them a choice,' explained Dominique Lefebvre. In exchange, the municipality supported the project, consented to a long-term mortgage on the land, and guaranteed a loan of two million euros, half the budget necessary for the construction of the mosque."

We should reflect on the minister's main comment:

"Islam, in its universal dimension, is an integral part of what France is today."

And to conclude, a little fun with the mayor:

"People often ask me if the minaret is higher than the church steeple," Dominque Lefebvre joked with the reporters.

Indeed, very funny…

Note: The source of Daoudal's article is Libération, that provides a few additional facts of interest:

According to Abdoulaye Sangaré, general secretary of the Muslim Federation of Cergy, 20% of the population of Cergy is Muslim.

"There has been no foreign financing, just donations from the faithful," declared Abdoulaye Sangaré.

Manuel Valls expressed his desire to turn the page on the arguments over Islam that enlivened the electoral campaign, and is keeping his distance with those who encouraged them, throwing a few stones at his predecessor Claude Guéant, all the while calling for a firm defense of "laïcité" and a fight against obscurantism. (…) "I don't want the issues of immigration, integration and religious matters to be confused," continued the minister. (…) "Each one must take his place in the Islam of France," he declared, implicitly sending an appeal to the younger generations of Muslims with whom he has at times been in disagreement. (…)

Note: Manuel Valls is as unrealistic as anybody. He is for "laïcité" (i.e., separation of Church and State) and against obscurantism, and he has just inaugurated a huge mosque on behalf of the president of the Republic! He wants to separate immigration from religious matters, and yet the vast majority of immigrants belong to Islam, which has resulted in countless violations of the 1905 law that created "laïcité"! And he sends an appeal to young Muslims to behave themselves! 

Note too that he fully accepts Nicolas Sarkozy's unworkable anti-French idea of an "Islam of France." This was Sarkozy's pet project: a version of Islam adapted to French laws, as if such a thing could exist.

Below, Manuel Valls. Above, the new mosque of Cergy, hardly very inspiring, but then Islam is not just a religion.