Perquisition dans une mosquée de Villiers-sur-Marne | https://t.co/gQx4RabIqC #Villiers pic.twitter.com/H2mlHJhoKx
— France 3 Paris (@France3Paris) August 31, 2016
Saïd Merabet, a spokesperson for the Al-Islah mosque, said: “We rented the school a big room on the first floor, but we were under the impression that everything was in order; three or four teachers took turns to teach class.
“We’re low on funds. Renting out that classroom allowed us to pay the mosque’s electricity bill.”
However one local official described the existence of the mosque as somewhat of an open secret, that just needed verifying by the raid.