Islam Online – September 27, 2011
A new law has gone into effect this month, banning France’s estimated 5 million Muslims from praying on the streets – in line with the country’s separation of religion and state. The move was not welcome by Muslim community in France. French authorities have offered a temporary solution, which is the cavernous quarter of an old fire station in northern Paris. Hundreds of people emerged from the facility one recent sunny afternoon, spilling into a wide boulevard not far from the city’s ring road.
Some locals have said now there is lots of space, and toilets, for worshippers. Muslim clerics say they expect several thousand faithful will use the facility. It already is overflowing.
