The judicial court ordered in April 2024 the judicial liquidation of the Mantes-sud Muslim Association (AMMS) which manages the Mantes-la-Ville mosque (Yvelines). As a result, the building had to be closed for several months. Finally, after various disputes, the Court of Appeal of Versailles (Yvelines) ended up ruling in favor of the association, which will allow the mosque to be saved, reports The Parisian Wednesday December 4, 2024.
A subpoena not received
“The court swept aside doubts about the legal existence of the association and the supposed financial problems,” commented its president Aziz El Jaouhari, after the judgment was rendered at the beginning of the week.
As recalled 78 Actu in September 2024, the judicial liquidation of the AMMS was linked to a complaint from a small masonry company in Soindres. Its liquidator demanded payment of a debt of €19,000 from the association.
At the first hearing, the AMMS did not appear nor was it represented, giving rise to these doubts. In reality, its president had not received the summons that a bailiff allegedly left in a mailbox on March 15, 2024, claiming to have found the door closed on this day of the great prayer in the middle of the month of Ramadan. This situation with unclear circumstances had in any case resulted in the court's decision to place the association in compulsory liquidation on April 23, 2024.
A decision suspended then canceled
This led, in fact, to the closure of the Mantes-la-Ville mosque on May 25, pushing 2,000 faithful to turn to the place of worship in Mantes-la-Jolie or Limay. Aziz El Jaouhari quickly filed a suspended interim order to obtain the reopening of the building. His request was accepted in September by the court of appeal, and the faithful were once again able to be welcomed.
And finally, this final judgment of the Court of Appeal delivered on October 11 confirmed that the Mantes-la-Ville mosque will remain open. The good financial health of the AMMS has already been known since the decision to suspend the liquidation. Following his press release, Aziz El Jaouhari wished to send a message to the faithful, admitting that this closure was “very difficult to live with […] However, it was imperative to respect the law and court decisions.”
