[Video]: The faithful of the Bagnols mosque and relatives defend Mahjoub Mahjoubi

Lawyer Samir Hamroun with his client Mahjoub Mahjoubi Tuesday February 20 in Bagnols-sur-Cèze. FREE NOON – T.M.

Since Monday, February 19, the imam of the At-tawba mosque has been at the heart of media torment for having described the tricolor flag as “satanic”. The imam of the At-tawba mosque multiplies the acts of contrition and pleads the slip of the tongue and the verbal clumsiness that he regrets today.

"Everyone makes slips of the tongue actually. Even the best speakers do"pleads Rachid Alloul. This Tuesday, February 20, 2024, it was the At-tawba mosque that was the focus of the news in Bagnols-sur-Cèze. It must be said that this day of preaching was not like any other for the faithful who were visibly surprised to have to pray under the lens of press photographers and the eye of television cameras.

A place that exudes tranquility

Journalists and other users of the place were asked to take off their shoes. In the mosque premises, the floor is draped with huge pieces of carpet. Near the entrance on a stool we discover a cardboard box filled with dates. The place exuded tranquility. Here we speak in a low voice, far from the external agitation caused by the imam's speech on the subject of the tricolor flag.

The national outcry

The remarks relayed by social networks caused a national outcry. Above all, it had earned the imam Mahjoub Mahjoubi a notoriety which he would have happily done without. The man is at the heart of a media torment. nbsp;since he described the tricolor as "satanic". The imam of the At-tawba mosque multiplies the acts of contrition and pleads the slip of the tongue and the verbal clumsiness that he says he regrets today.

A crazy day

"It's weird to see your boss portrayed on television as an evil person"  declares Benoît Hatton, an employee for two and a half years in the construction company managed by Mahjoub Mahjoubi. The employee looks back on this morning of February 19: "I called him to ask him if what they were saying on TV was true. He told me it was fake. The employee recounts the crazy day he experienced. "Everyone called me. Customers, craftsmen and suppliers. They wanted to know what was going on."

His employee testifies

"I saw the video, he says. I couldn't find everything that was said on the TVs. The boss and I see each other every day." The employee describes his employer as " an exemplary boss who never sought to indoctrinate him."The faithful encountered at the mosque are full of praise for their religious guide. Here the head of the mosque has no shortage of support. This Algerian describes "a good man who helps people".

"Petitions launched"

To  leaving prayer, a young Algerian-Tunisian is worried about the presence of the press in this place of worship. His interlocutor answers him. The pressure eventually drops. "There are petitions that have been launched"announces this other faithful crusader at the mosque. This is the action that the support of the imam of the place of worship of Mont-Cotton  nbsp;wish to carry out in the coming days. Rachid Alloul is part of the office of the association of Muslims of Gard Rhone and manager of the place of worship of Mont-Cotton.

"He was trampled at the start"

He denounces  "a  media machine that ran amok and a steamroller that carried away the responsible  ;the mosque" . Rachid Alloul hammers him:  " We trampled him at the start  without seeking to know. He always advocated fraternity. When there were riots, he was the one sent to the front. When he  there was the assassination of Samuel Paty, he was there. He encouraged people to register on the electoral lists to vote,  he indicates. The imam's friends say they want the truth to be established. "The French flag has nothing to do with the speech given by  Mahjoub Mahjoubi. It was just one word that caused a mess!" 

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