He protests: “It’s a load of lies.” Since the beginning of the week, Smaïn Bendjilali (Imam Ismaïl) has been contesting the administrative closure procedure of the Bleuets mosque in Marseille, where he preaches. On Tuesday, August 20, the Bouches-du-Rhône police prefecture announced that it had notified the place of worship of its intention to close it. “At the request of Mr. Gerald DarmaninMinister of the Interior, the police prefect of Bouches-du-Rhône today launched a procedure to close the Bleuets mosque,” she said. The Ministry of the Interior believes that “remarks legitimizing violence” have been made there for several years.
Two factors led to this decision by the prefecture. First, what the authorities describe as “speech inciting discrimination and hatred against women, in particular through sermons expressing positions legitimizing marital rape and polygamy, and theorizing the inequality of rights between women and men in marriage.” Then, through his remarks at the mosque and on social networks, the imam is accused of advocating “the superiority of Islam over the laws of the Republic and stirring up hatred of non-Muslims and Westerners,” the press release continues. This would not be an isolated initiative. “Since 2017 and until August 2024, all the remarks made in this mosque, and in particular by Imam Bendjilali, lead me to consider that continuing to operate presents risks,” explained the prefect Pierre-Edouard Colliex to AFP.
A quick procedure
To launch this procedure, the police prefecture is relying on a relatively recent text. It dates from 2017 when, at the end of the state of emergency, Parliament adopted the law strengthening internal security and the fight against terrorism, which gives the public authorities the possibility of carrying out administrative closures of places of worship. Its aim is to “prevent the commission of acts of terrorism” by closing buildings that encourage jihadist radicalization, violence and hateful speech. In detail, this measure must be proportionate to the circumstances that led to it, and not exceed six months of closure. “The procedure must allow an adversarial process to be expressed beforehand. The persons concerned must be able to have access to the documents in the case and must have the right to present their defense within a reasonable time,” adds Eric Landot, a lawyer specializing in public authority law, to L’Express. In this case, the prefecture notified that the mosque had ten days to respond to the ministry’s arguments in order to avoid its closure.
If the case is brought to a conclusion, Me Rafik Chekkat announced that he is preparing a summary application for freedom on behalf of the mosque. Its examination could take place at the beginning of next week before the administrative court of Marseille. In the case of a summary application for freedom, justice is relatively quick: its examination must take place within forty-eight hours. “The judge will look at the arguments raised by the prefect and ensure that the elements gathered are sufficient to justify a closure, Olivier Renaudie, professor of public law at the Sorbonne Law School, told L’Express. Here, he will be able to take several arguments into account: those relating to gender equality, and those relating to community withdrawal.”
Close to other fundamentalist imams, the 43-year-old cleric has been under surveillance by the intelligence services since 2017. He is accused by the prefecture of having crossed the Rubicon several times. In October 2023, “Imam Bendjilali relayed messages calling on the faithful to fight with weapons, the police prefect noted with Provence. Then, last November, he made particularly shocking comparisons, comparing Hamas to Algerian separatists and Nelson Mandela, or considering Daesh as choirboys compared to the Israeli armed forces. During the Olympic Games, on August 2, he also shared photos of emaciated Palestinian children on social media, accompanied by a comment regretting that “genocidaires participate with impunity in the Olympic Games.” A publication which, according to the prefect, put “thus in danger these Israeli athletes as well as the French police officers responsible for their protection.”
The previous Pessac
In addition to these elements, “the magistrate will also take into account the fact that the imam’s speech is not addressed only to his followers,” adds Olivier Renaudie. Because Smaïn Benjilali’s audience extends well beyond the sermons he delivers every Friday to the 300 to 350 followers of the Bleuets mosque. He has nearly 10,000 subscribers on X, 123,000 on Facebook and 24,000 on Instagram. It was on this last platform that, on Monday evening, denouncing an “attempt at intimidation”, the imam announced that he had just been searched. The decision can then take two paths: either the administrative court suspends the measure, or it deems it justified in law. The loser can then appeal. “The case will then be examined, again within forty-eight hours by the Council of State, which will make a final decision this time,” continues Olivier Renaudie. In total, “the jurisprudence of this type of case lasts about a month,” says Charles Vautrot-Schwarz, professor of public law and dean of the Jean-Monnet faculty at the University of Paris-Saclay. In 2020, for example, the Council of State validated on November 25 the decision to keep the Great Mosque of Pantin closed. The procedure was ordered on October 19 by the Ministry of the Interior.
In some cases, a decision by Beauvau has already been overturned by administrative judges. For example, in 2022, the Council of State invalidated a decision to close the Pessac mosque (Gironde) due to an “attack on freedom of worship”. The imam officiating there, Abdourahmane Ridouane, a Nigerian threatened with expulsion, is accused by the Ministry of the Interior of spreading an “ideology hostile to the values of the French Republic”. In this case, the association responsible for the Pessac mosque did publish texts “inciting identity withdrawal and which contest the principle of secularism”, but “these publications do not, given their content in the circumstances of the case, present a character of provocation to violence, hatred or discrimination”, the Council of State considered at the time. In Marseille, the police prefect considers that “all the examples given […] really seem to justify the closure”. “Especially since, beyond the public statements, Imam Bendjalil was subject to surveillance by the intelligence services. Blank notes, which will be partially accessible at the hearing, are also included in the file”, points out Eric Landot.
In their criticism of the prefectural procedure, the imam of the Bleuets mosque and his lawyer highlight another point, which makes this decision different from other closures of places of worship. It was taken at the request of a “resigned Minister of the Interior”. Could this fact constitute a point of weakness for the administrative judge? “This is an element that will inevitably be discussed. One of two things: either the court judges that the minister is competent to take the decision because it falls within current affairs, which he can manage even if he has resigned”, notes Charles Vautrot-Schwarz. In this case, the examination of the file would be done normally. “Either the minister is incompetent, because the court considers that the decision does not fall within current affairs. In this case, the decision is annulled for incompetence, but without examination of the substance”, he continues. This second possibility exists, but seems weak according to the various experts interviewed. “That would surprise me,” continues Charles Vautrot Schwarz. “Even if it is indicated that it is a request from the minister, the closure of a mosque is a competence specific to the prefect.” “And the judge always tends to recognize more competences when an interim lasts a long time,” adds Eric Landot.
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