Why are the authorities refusing to fund Frances oldest Muslim school, now facing bankruptcy?
“Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar!” As the imam’s wail rises, the rows of worshippers kneel. “Allahu Akbar!” The rows touch their foreheads to the floor. Between the prayer mats the white lines of a sports court are just visible. On the wall, a poster showing children how to kneel for prayers is pinned between a mural of a mole sitting on a toadstool and a squirrel picnicking on nuts. This is Réussite, France’s oldest Muslim school. And it is on the brink of closing. “We are collapsing under the weight of our debts,” says Yvonne Fazilleau, the school’s headteacher. “Last week our accountant said to me: ‘We are penniless’.” They have enough money to pay wages for the next two months. After that, the future is uncertain. When I telephoned to arrange a visit, Fazilleau was unable to phone me back: “We don’t have enough money for foreign calls.” Walk around the school and its poverty is clear. Housed in a converted warehouse in a suburb of Paris, it is a spartan environment. Its roof is made of
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