French mosque reopens after protest disruptions

DRANCY - A French mosque, whose imam says he has received death threats over his promotion of dialogue with Jews, reopened for Friday prayers after it was forced to close down this week due to disruptive protests.

The mosque in Drancy, a suburb to the north of Paris, has been the focus of tension for weeks with a small group of protesters keeping up a noisy barrage of criticism against the imam Hassen Chalghoumi.

"We've been facing really enormous pressure for five or six weeks now," Chalghoumi told reporters before Friday prayers. "We want peace, we want calm. These people aren't welcome here."

The mosque was closed for security reasons on Tuesday after the association which runs it said that protesters had interrupted services (...)