'Hands off my church' petition plays on fears French have of Islam

More than 40,000 French signed a petition denouncing a Muslim leader’s remark that some of France’s many empty or underused churches could be turned into  mosques.

The petition, “Hands off my church,” initially signed by 25 conservative politicians and intellectuals, including former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, was launched in mid-July after the head of the Grand Mosque of Paris said that Muslims needed to double the number of mosques around the country to 4,000 and that using empty churches could help them do that.

Dalil Boubakeur said in a morning radio interview: “Why not? It’s the same God, the rites are like neighbors or brothers. I think that Muslims and Christians can coexist.”