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The mayors of Montreal and one of its boroughs say public safety is behind their decision to block a proposed Islamic community centre for followers of a controversial imam.
La Presse says Imam Hamza Chaoui received a renovation permit for the rental space on Tuesday. Yesterday, the newspaper broke the story about Chaoui’s views about democracy being incompatible with Islam and his approval of such practices as the stoning of adulterers.
What Chaoui is waiting on now is an occupation permit but that might not be forthcoming because the borough, Montreal mayor Denis Coderre and Quebec’s Immigration Minister have all expressed concerns about what the preacher would be teaching.
What exactly the space would be used for is another issue. The building is not zoned for a house of worship and references to prayer sessions and Friday services have suddenly vanished from the imam’s Facebook page.
Agencies/Canadajournal
