2023-11-12 04:15:21
The image of Muslim passengers praying en masse at the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris has led to controversy. The government said on Monday that strict action will be taken in the incident. The airport authorities expressed regret over the incident. A picture of a group of people praying together in the airport’s departure area before a flight to Jordan took off went viral on social media on Sunday.
About 30 passengers attended the prayer at Terminal 2B of France’s largest airport. The prayer continued for about 10 minutes, airport officials told news agency AFP.
France is a country with a large Muslim and Jewish population. The situation has sparked controversy amid growing concerns in France about the conflict between the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel. Transport Minister Clement Buono said on social media that the airport authorities are fully committed to enforcing the rules and strict action will be taken in the incident. Special facilities are provided at the airport for passengers to perform religious matters privately.
France is a completely secular country. Apart from this, religious activities are restricted in schools and public institutions including airports. But the airport’s CEO, Augustine de Romanet, said it was “regrettable”. Special facilities have been prepared for prayer. The police have been instructed to ban such things.’ He also posted on X that he has asked the authorities to increase vigilance.
At the same time, Noire Lenoir, the former Minister of European Affairs, mocked the incident. ‘What was the CEO of Aéroports de Paris doing when his airport was turned into a church? ‘ they asked. Astrid Panosian-Bouvet, a ruling party MP, said there was a special space at the airport for prayers. They also demanded that the authorities should implement the existing laws in France in places including airports.
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