Paris Grand Mosque Welcomes Macron’s Election

Dalil Boubakeur, rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris,

Paris, 11 Sha’ban 1438/8 May 2017 (MINA) – The Grand Mosque of Paris welcomed on Sunday the victory of centrist Emmanuel Macron in the presidential election and his win over far-right leader Marine Le Pen.

The polls placed Macron first with 63.10 percent ahead of Le Pen who got 36.90 percent of the votes in the run-off round. The initial percentages can change slightly as the rest of the votes are counted.

The election of Macron is a “sign of a France reconciled with all its spiritual and religious components in order to respond in unity to the threats of division which weigh upon the nation,” Anadolu Agency reported, citing a statement of the Grand Mosque of Paris.

“It is a clear sign of hope for French Muslims that they can live in harmony and within respect of the humanist, patriotic, democratic and secular republican values,” it added.

Following the April 23 first round, Dalil Boubakeur, the rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris, urged the country’s nearly five million Muslims to “vote massively” to elect Macron, to “choose among the candidates the one who defends fraternity among citizens, not discord or hatred.”

Macron, 39, becomes the youngest president of France’s Fifth Republic.

The official results would be announced on May 10th by the President of the Constitutional Council, Laurent Fabius.

Macron will formally take office by mid-May and has to prepare for a two-round legislative elections in June. (T/RS5/RS1)

Islamic News Agency (MINA)