Who is Rashid Abu Houdeyfa, Salafi imam of Brest

New searches took place that night, one of which, for the first time in a mosque considered radical in Brest. This is Rashid Abu Houdeyfa exercised, Salafist imam whose sulphurous sermons are broadcast on social networks.




A radical mosque was raided for the first time on the night of 19 to 20 November. Located in Brest, the Sunnah mosque for imam Rashid Abu Houdeyfa, a Salafist whose sermons were widely disseminated in recent hours on social networks. The man had already made ​​about him in September through a video in which he explains to the children that music is "haram", "sin" in Arabic. "Music is born evil, there are risks that Allah turns [the listener] into pig or monkey," he preaches. The imam is recently defended, saying it is a metaphor out of context.
Native of Brest, Rashid Abu Houdeyfa is actually called Rachid El Jay, according to the informationpoint. Born in 1980, he grew up in the district of Pontanézen where the mosque is located, one of five mosques in Brest. It is followed by more than 184,000 fans on his page Facebook and over 10,500 people on his account Twitter. Rashid Abu Houdeyfa "is as scrupulously committed to respect the sunna (Islamic law)," according to Le Point. Sunnah is also the name given to the mosque he heads since 2004, when the previous imam was expelled from France for calling for jihad.


"This is not radical at all"

The search was conducted between 3:00 and 6:00 in the morning. One hundred police officers participated in the operation. The whole neighborhood was cordoned off by riot police. The police removed their shoes to enter the prayer room, nothing was found. The home of Rashid Abu Houdeyfa was also searched by police in his presence. No documentary evidence would have been recovered. Later in the day, the neighborhood has regained his composure. The hundred and fifty practitioners that account Sunnah mosque moved, as usual, for the weekly Friday prayers,scheduled at 13:10, the imam was exceptionally open to the press.

"This is not a radical imam, it is against what happened in Paris, he denounced it," said one of the faithful. "This is not radical at all", says another. Some would argue that even a barrier to young people who wanted to join Daesh. Rashid Abu Houdeyfa even mentioned in his sermon, itspossible to resignation which according to him, would suit many people. He, in the process, announced that he would not resign.