The Islamic Cultural Center in Rome, also called the Rome Grand Mosque, faces desertion and abandonment although it is the biggest mosque in Italy. Despite the fact that the mosque’s large prayer hall can accommodate some 5,000 people, it remains empty except for Friday prayers and Eid celebrations. The keeper of the mosque, Ya ‘quob…
The Rally of French Muslims (RMF) swept the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) polls, with 43.4 percent of the votes (or 20 of 41 seats) cast on June 8. The Moroccan-backed RMF group ended years of domination by Algerian-backed groups. 4,862 delegates representing 1,039 mosques voted to elect members of the CFCM’s general…
Dalil Boubakeur, rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris and leader of the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) since 2003, announced the Paris Grand Mosque will boycott the June 8, 2008 vote. Boubakeur has said, This is no way to organize Islam in France because larger, older mosques will be privileged in the…
French Muslims want new blood injected into the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM), the country’s main representative body, to redress deficiencies and start a new chapter. “Five years after the council came into being, it is time for a second reading to its policies,” Larbi Kechat, the rector of the Ad Dawa mosque…
The Catholic Institute of Paris, in conjunction with the Grand Mosque of Paris, will offer a government-sponsored two-semester course beginning in January for thirty student imams to complete their religious training. The course, entitled Religions, Secularism, Interculturality will offer 400 hours of accredited instruction in four subject areas – general culture, legislative matters, openness and…
