TSR, Fre - The abrupt, forced departure of the management of the largest mosque in the Lake Geneva region has caused consternation in the Muslim community. The announcement Sunday that those fired include Hafid Ouardiri, the mosque's high-profile spokesperson, and Mahmoud Fadl, the director of the mosque's school, were promptly followed by statements from the two men's lawyers that they will contest the action. According to the lawyers, the men were given no warning and the redundancies were "politically motived."
The official reason given by the Islamic Cultural Foundation, which oversees the mosque, was "economic" but Fadl's lawyer Razi Abderrahim mentioned to TSR the recent arrival of a Saudi Arabian as the head of the foundation and linked this to the change. Political commentator Hasni Abidi, who notes that the mosque property is owned by Saudi Arabia, argues that "it is not normal" for the majority of the board to be non-Genevans who live elsewhere and who are not in touch with the reality of life in Geneva.