A group of Muslims in France have asked to gather in the unused Catholic churches for their Friday Prayer.
Spokesman for “Banlieuses Respect” Hassan Ben M’Barek suggests it would mean, “Muslims don’t need to perform their prayers on public roads, which makes them “hostages of politics”.
On Friday’s in France it is not uncommon for Muslims to block the streets surrounding Mosques for an hour or two, spreading mats on the roads to pray.
Father Samir Khalil Samir, a Jesuit expert on Islam, disagrees with the suggestion, saying Christian churches are consecrated: sacred places, dedicated to worship.
“To make them appropriate for Muslim worship would mean removing Christian elements and bringing in Islamic ones.”
“If they are now empty, it is not by design; they are intended to be filled by a Christian community. Muslims would undoubtedly object if, later, the churches were returned to Christian worship.”
Sources
Asia News
Image: Winds of Jihad
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