Hege Storhaug, HRS
Marseille trenger ikke flere moskeer, men bedre moskeer, het det i en lekket rapport i fjor fra sikkerhetstjenesten. Sikkerhetstjenesten fikk det ikke som den ville. I en ankesak er det nå slått fast at den mangeårige ideen om en stormoské i Marseille ikke kan stoppes. Rettsstriden har handlet om praktiske forhold, som nok parkeringsplasser eller ei, og om arkitekturen kunne passe inn i nærmiljøet. På det nasjonale planet har imidlertid planene om en stormoské i Marseille handlet om ideologi: moskeen skal bygges i et sosialt belastet og fattig område av byen, der radikale krefter har grepet om den muslimske befolkningen. Pengene til gigantprosjektet kan således vanskelig komme fra lokalbefolkningen som moskeen er myntet på. Hvilke økonomiske/ideologiske krefter som står bak prosjektet er uklart. Planene om en gigantmoské ses uansett på som et symbol på islams økende makt i Frankrike.
A French appeals court granted permission Tuesday for the building of a mega-mosque in the southern city of Marseille that has been touted as a symbol of Islam’s growing place in France.
The court overturned an October ruling by Marseille’s administrative tribunal that cancelled the project’s construction permit for supposed failures to meet urban-planning requirements.
A community association led by a local butcher had filed a complaint against the building permit, saying the mosque project did not fit with the surrounding urban environment.
The project was granted a permit in September 2009 but construction was suspended following complaints from local residents and businesses.
The 22-million-euro ($28-million) project would see the Grand Mosque, boasting a minaret soaring 25-metres (82-feet) high and room for up to 7,000 worshippers, built in the city’s northern Saint-Louis area.
Muslim leaders in the Mediterranean city had hailed the approval of the project as a key step in recognizing the importance of Marseille’s large Muslim community.
France’s second city is home to an estimated 250,000 Muslims, many of whom flock to makeshift prayer houses in basements, rented rooms and dingy garages to worship.
Home to Europe’s biggest Muslim minority, estimated at between five and six million, France has for years been debating how far it is willing to go to accommodate Islam, now the country’s second religion.
The appeals court in December also rejected complaints against the mosque project filed by France’s National Front (FN) party and another far-right group.