Last Monday, our colleagues from RTL radio unveiled an intervention in Nîmes in an after-school reception center for Muslim children following a report to the Cell for the fight against Islamism and community withdrawal (CLIR) set up by government two years ago. The association in question expresses itself on Objectif Gard.
Emmanuel Macron and the Ministry of the Interior have made the fight against Islamism a priority issue for several years. The bill reinforcing the republican principles debated in the National Assembly in recent days is also aimed at this fight against any form of separatist Islamist education.
For two years, the Cellule de Lutte contre l’islamisme et le withdrawal communautaire (CLIR), which brings together representatives of the State and investigators, has aimed to control structures suspected of promoting political Islam. A few days ago in Nîmes, it’s the association The Gates of Jillaq which therefore saw the disembarkation of a dozen people from the State services, the Nîmes prosecutor’s office, the National Education services, the tax and Urssaf services and even firefighters. Without encountering any particular difficulties, as indicated by the prefecture, the investigators observed inside the premises of the avenue du Maréchal Juin, 47 young people spread over 300m². As well as a facilitator in charge of these children.
Immediate closure of this association
Apparently without official documents, without prior declaration to the prefecture, without proof of educational skills or diplomas, the state services relate this “to an irregular practice of extracurricular on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.” The prefect of Gard immediately decides to issue a prefectural decree dated February 12 to demand the immediate closure of this association.
“There are many reasons”, recalls Iulia Suc, the chief of staff of the prefect who represented the State during the visit. “There is a serious breach in terms of risks to the health and physical or moral safety of minors. Furthermore, it is at this stage impossible to carry out a check on the integrity of the workers in contact with the minors received, nor to verify their qualifications and more generally to ensure that the conditions under which this reception is organized comply with regulatory requirements. “
Ilham Chentir, representing this Nîmes association, has agreed to speak in our columns. She recalls that her association “intervenes in educational support through academic support and cultural and leisure activities.” Regarding the absence of a declaration prior to the constitution of an association: “This is the reason mentioned by the prefecture of Gard. However, when an association organizes activities for its members, it does not have to make a prior declaration. This is in any case what is indicated in the file of Gard departmental instructions of 2017 for the collective reception of minors. “
Suspicions about the reality of learning
For the association, “a call to order”, “The benefit of the doubt” or “why not an injunction would have been perhaps more adequate than a prefectural decree putting an end to any pursuit of activities.” This sudden stop could be linked to the suspicions that relate to the reality of learning. Officially, the association ensures that it offers academic support. But according to testimonies and reports collected by the CLIR, it organizes in particular Arabic lessons and regular readings of the Koran. “There is undeniably an opaque functioning of this association”, confirms the sub-prefect.
“Me, I want to understand what we did wrong. The State services made this decision in connection with legal aspects, but I have the feeling that we want to be assimilated to sectarian drift or to community withdrawal. Where is the evidence? “, asks Ilham Chentir, who pleads good faith: “Me, I have confidence in my country. Confidence because we are in a country of rights. Freedom, that does mean something. And in no way, I wish to victimize myself, I just wish to understand.”
“We are on permanent watch”, term Iulia Suc. “We are vigilant and attentive because other structures according to our information could be in the same configuration in the department.” According to our information, apparently unknown to the prefecture, this association would however have filed in 2019 a building permit in the city of Nîmes to fit out its premises. She would have obtained a refusal from the services of the municipality, because of the risk of flooding in this space.
Abdel Samari
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