Sarkozy signs ‘don’t touch our churches’ petition

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has added his name to a petition in a magazine opposing proposals to convert disused Christian churches into mosques for France’s burgeoning Muslim population.

Sarkozy, who held France’s top governmental role for five years until 2012, and is likely to seek re-election in 2017, signed a petition entitled “don’t touch our churches” in the magazine Valeurs Actuelles. The petition has gathered more than 22,000 signatures so far.

Dalil Boubakeur, the rector of Paris’ Grand Mosque and the president of the Muslim Council of France, recently suggested that empty churches could be converted into mosques and used by Muslims for worship.

Read More (in French)