In a spectacle worthy of a bad political film, Algiers, regime of dirty tricks and crude manipulations, probably and certainly got its hands on the Grand Mosque of Paris (GMP). Welcome to absurd theater where a sacred place becomes a disguised propaganda and business tool.
This historic jewel, inaugurated in 1926 to honor the Muslim soldiers who fought for France, is today reduced to a simple lever of influence serving the geopolitical fantasies of the senile power of Algiers. The GMP is above all a Moroccan work, from the minbar to its sumptuous garden.
However, the French authorities, in an unfortunate twist of fate, entrusted this institution to the Algerian military junta, a senile, odious regime marked by criminal practices. This place of worship, which should be a symbol of peace and spirituality, has today been transformed into a nest of spies and agents provocateurs, sowing division and hatred under the cover of religion.
Algeria’s control over the GMP took place in the shadow of a controversial French law. Indeed, this legislation stipulates that a foreign country which finances an association under French law for 15 years can claim ownership. And, there you have it, the mosque therefore becomes a “property” of the Algerian state via its embassy in Paris. An embassy, it should be noted, without an ambassador, but apparently rich in spies ready to infiltrate even the prayer rugs.
Today, the GMP looks more like a branch office of the Algerian secret services than a sanctuary of peace and spirituality. Religious sermons rub shoulders with political messages, all orchestrated by Chems-Eddine Mohamed Hafiz, self-proclaimed rector and passionate advocate of the Polisario separatists. Prayer is done there under close surveillance, and the faithful no longer know if they are invoking God or if they are hearing a disguised briefing from the Algerian authorities.
Forced Halal and Spiritual Marketing
But make no mistake, the GMP is not just a propaganda tool. It has also become a thriving business, turning faith into a commodity. The halal certification issued by the mosque is today a lucrative commercial operation, where the GMP label serves the financial interests of Algiers rather than Muslim consumers seeking transparency.
Add to that the presence of a shisha café, a beauty salon and other “unspiritual activities” like stolen kisses and you get a place where you can pray, get a manicure, and more. if affinity and discuss geopolitics around a hookah. All that is missing is a counter for visa applications to Algiers to complete the picture.
Algeria’s takeover of the GMP is not just a question of religion or economics. It is also a diplomatic weapon. The mosque serves as a platform to attack Moroccan positions, particularly on the question of the Sahara. By establishing itself as manager of this sacred place, Algiers is infusing it with a politicized discourse, seeking to influence the Muslim communities of France and beyond.
Rector Hafiz, a loyal Algerian “bad dog” who “made himself very small”, who now “crawls and pretends when Algiers rings him and who eats from the handcuffs” of the regime of the poorly named president , does not hide his hatred of Morocco. Under his mandate, the GMP transformed into a platform to promote the theses of the Polisario separatists, going so far as to disseminate propaganda hostile to the Kingdom in its “cultural” activities. What was once a symbol of Muslim unity is becoming a tool of division, used for political ambitions.
A spiritual gem hijacked by political mediocrity
What is most shocking in this saga is the complete diversion from the original vocation of the GMP. From a place of worship and spirituality, it has become a branch of a regime losing legitimacy, transforming faith into a tool of manipulation. It is no longer the mosque of all Muslims in France, but a bastion of Algerian ambitions.
Algeria, true to itself, has succeeded in converting a religious heritage into a playground for its agents. All this in the service of the two seniles of the Algerian Muppet regime who rule the country from their balcony, dreaming of geopolitical grandeur, even while their own people are crumbling under difficulties.
The scandal of the Grand Mosque of Paris is a blatant example of the way in which institutions can be diverted from their vocation. Letting a country like Algeria, with its authoritarian practices and bellicose diplomacy, control such an emblematic place is to betray the heritage of this monument.
For the Muslim community in France, this situation is a tragedy. The GMP should be a space of peace, faith and gathering, and not a tool of influence for a foreign regime. It is time to ask the essential question: who really protects this sacred place and its original message?
With actors like Hafiz in charge and an Algerian regime hungry for control, it is becoming urgent to rethink the management of this monument. Faith deserves better than political agendas and financial interests. And, the public, Muslim or not, deserves a mosque that is a symbol of spirituality, and not a cog in the propaganda machine of a decadent regime.
