News Agencies – August 2, 2011
According to the president of the French Council of the Muslim Faith, Mohammed Moussaoui, 100-150 mosques are currently being built in France. Moussaoui said that most are financed by the worshipers and very few from abroad. French Interior Minister, Claude Guéant, has said that in the past decade the number of mosques increased from 1000 to 2000 in the French territory.
According to Moussaoui, 17-23% of French Muslims go to Friday prayers, which he says distinguishes between the practicing and non-practicing Muslims. He repeated that prayers in the streets were outrageous, but stemmed from lack of places in mosques. Guéant wants to stop Friday prayers in the streets. According to a senior official, there are 17 mosques in Paris, all filled up, and they can’t accommodate more than 13,000 people, which is insufficient.
