Toulouse: why is the Mirail mosque still not open?
The fully funded place of worship Spoken Faith was originally due to open in 2017, after work began two years prior. But the community is still waiting.
A brand new building, with resolutely modern architecture… Seen from the outside, the great mosque of Mirail, on the place Edouard Bouillières, has all the appearances of a functional place of worship. But now, if the work has been completed for several months, the faithful of the Toulouse Muslim community still cannot go there. Which causes some impatience. “We do not understand that those responsible for the mosque are announcing that it is finished, but that an administrative problem is still delaying the passage of the Departmental Security Commission which must authorize the opening”, underlines a donor who participated in the financing of the building.
Funded by the faithful
In fact of authorization, the town hall of Toulouse recalls the context. “During an accompanying visit to the site, it was found that the work carried out did not comply with the building permit issued, we are assured at the Capitol. The architect in charge of the site agreed and filed an amendment building permit file which is currently being examined. The visit of the security commission, constituted, for places of worship, of the prefecture, firefighters, national police and town hall, will therefore be scheduled as soon as the permit is issued. »
Except that the delays should lengthen and that the time ends up being long. “This mosque is an aspiration that dates back to the 1970s and it is the fruit of the pharaonic efforts of so many generations, confides a faithful. It was supposed to open in 2017 but its unavailability is still prolonged and the other Toulouse mosques are crumbling under the pressure due to the scarcity of places of worship in the agglomeration and the large and constantly growing number of faithful… Wouldn’t the Muslims of France be not citizens like the others”? Some even ask themselves the question of an “excess of administrative zeal, exaggerated caution or exceptional severity, even organizational shortcomings on the part of the administration”.
Seven years of work
To understand this exasperation, it must be said that the construction site of the mosque began in January 2015 with a completely closed budget of 4 million euros totally financed by the faithful of the Muslim faith. “No foreign funding, only for 30 years, the efforts of a handful of men and women are totally provided and sacrificing even their personal jewellery”, likes to recall Imam Mamadou Daffé, the president of the religious and Islamic cultural association in France (ACCIF) which supported the project and succeeded in raising the necessary 4 million euros. For the community there is urgency and the authorities must not delay any longer in giving the green light. “Especially since it is a 100% Made In France Mosque, and Toulouse can be proud of it! »