France closes mosque after ‘unacceptable’ preaching

France has ordered the closure of a mosque in the north of the country because of the radical nature of its imam's preaching, regional authorities told AFP yesterday. The mosque in Beauvais, a town of 50,000 people some 100 kilometres north of Paris, will remain shut for six months, according to the prefecture of the Oise region where Beauvais is located. It said the sermons there incite hatred, violence and "defend jihad". The move comes two weeks after Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said he had triggered the procedure to close the site because the imam there "is targeting Christians, homosexuals and Jews" in his sermons. This, the minister said, was "unacceptable". The French government announced earlier this year that it would step up checks of places of worship and associations suspected of spreading radical Islamic propaganda.