Charles Martel turns in his Grave as a new Mosque rises

Poitiers, the city that bears the name of one of the most historically significant military victories over Islam, is being blighted by the construction of a new mosque with capacity for 1,000 worshippers.

In 732 Charles Martel and his Frankish knights finally stemmed the advance of the Islamic invaders who had conquered vast swathes of territory since crossing into Spain in 711. Had he not done so, Edward Gibbon speculated that minarets would have sprouted in Oxford not long thereafter. Mercifully, thanks to Martel and his men this was not to be the case (although alas, minarets have now punctured Oxford’s skyline). If Martel and his men had known that a large mosque would one day be constructed on the site of their famous victory and, moreover, funded by the French state, I think that they would have roundly cursed their descendents.

Although I had previously heard about plans to build a large mosque in Poitiers, I did not know that it was being lavishly funded by the French state. The site itself was purchased for the nominal sum of €1 whereas a further €300,000 has been provided by the Government towards the mosque’s construction on the understanding that it will be staffed by ‘moderate’ imams. Thus another European city begins its submission to Islam. What, I wonder, would ordinary French taxpayers think of this? Hat tip to Galliawatch for posting the following video: