Bayonne mosque. The Muslim Times has the best collection to refute Islamophobia
Hatred towards Muslims is deeply embedded in French culture
By Nabila Ramdani; @NabilaRamdani
Imagine the depth of sadistic hatred needed to shoot two defenceless pensioners at their place of worship. The sheer barbarism of last week’s assault on a mosque in Bayonne, southwest France, had all the hallmarks of a targeted terrorist attack. Armed with a gun, gas canisters and jerrycans full of petrol, a far-right fanatic appeared intent on setting fire to the whole building along with all those inside, including children.
After being surprised by the two men in their seventies, the gunman is reported to have opened fire on both, hitting one in the chest and the other in the neck at point-blank-range. He is reported to have poured fuel over one of the men’s car, while he was still sitting in the driver’s seat, before setting it alight. It was only thanks to the swift intervention of other Muslim worshippers that the victims were rushed to hospital and survived. Witnesses said car was reduced to a blackened wreck.
Claude Sinke, the 84 year-old accused, has already been charged with two attempted murders, arson and gun crimes for which he could face life imprisonment. Perhaps even less surprisingly, it has also emerged that Sinke stood as an election candidate for the Front National (now renamed National Rally) as recently as 2015.
Suggested reading
Muslim Canadians Who Won in the 2019 Federal Election
Muslim Canadians Who Won in the 2019 Federal Election
Europeans are less likely than Americans to say they would be willing to accept Muslims as family members
Categories: Europe, Europe and Australia, European Union, France, Islam, Islamophobia
What do you expect from the so called civilised French? They must learn to respect and tolerate those who are different. The number of Muslims is on the increase because of never ending immigration, high birth rate and conFrance’s top Muslim official has suggested turning empty or abandoned Catholic churches into mosques, saying as many as 5,000 are needed for the country’s Muslim population – the largest in Europe.
“It’s a delicate issue, but why not?” Dalil Boubakeur, rector of the Grand Mosque in Paris and the president of the French Council of Muslim Faith, told Europe 1 radio on Monday.
There are currently about 2,500 mosques in France with another 300 under construction, but the number falls short of what is needed, he said. With roughly 5 million Muslims in France, at least 5,000 mosques are needed, Boubakeur said.
During the interview with French radio he gave an example of the transition of a church into a mosque in Clermont-Ferrand, which was welcomed by the local religious community. The church had been abandoned for more than 30 years and the building was given to the Muslim community in 2012.
“It’s the same God, these are neighbouring rites, fraternal, and I think that Muslims and Christians can coexist and live together,” he said.
It’s not the first time the lack of places of worship for millions of Muslims has been brought up in France. In April, Boubakeur called for doubling the number of mosques.
His remarks were welcomed by the Christian community as a “legitimate” demand.
“Muslims should, like Christians and Jews, be able to practice their religion,” Monseigneur Ribadeau-Dumas, spokesperson for the Bishops’ Conference of France, told French radio station Europe 1.
However, this suggestion has been criticized by the far-right National Front party. In April, Florian Philippot, its vice-president, argued France doesn’t need more, because “100 percent of places of radicalization are mosques.”
The party’s leader Marine Le Pen called to stop the construction of new mosques in March.
“We must today freeze the construction of new mosques while we verify the origin of their financing,” she said in an interview to France 24.
The question of building closer ties with the Muslim community was discussed at the talks between the French government and about 150 Muslim leaders in Paris on Monday.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls stressed there was no link between extremism and Islam.
“We must say all of this is not Islam,” he said. “The hate speech, anti-Semitism that hides behind anti-Zionism and hate for Israel… the self-proclaimed imams in our neighbourhoods and our prisons who are promoting violence and terrorism…
“Islam still provokes misunderstandings, prejudices, and is rejected by some citizens,” he added. “Yet Islam is here to stay in France. It’s the second largest religious group in our country.”
The first conference between the government and Muslim community leaders comes five months after the Charlie Hebdo and kosher store jihadist attacks in Paris that killed 17 people.
The terrorists responsible for the attacks “belong to a different world than we do,” said Boubakeur, speaking at the conference.
There has been a huge increase in anti-Muslim incidents in France following the Islamist attacks in Paris. A report issued in January by the National Observatory Against Islamophobia said that over the month there has been an 110-percent increase in attacks.
version. Hundreds of churches have been converted to Masajid while hundreds of them are closed and soon be converted to Masajid. French Muslim community needs Masajid, state funded Muslim schools with Muslim teachers, halal meat, sharia laws, time off for Friday afternoon prayers, two official religious holidays per year and Muslim cemeteries.
France’s top Muslim official has suggested turning empty or abandoned Catholic churches into mosques, saying as many as 5,000 are needed for the country’s Muslim population – the largest in Europe.
“It’s a delicate issue, but why not?” Dalil Boubakeur, rector of the Grand Mosque in Paris and the president of the French Council of Muslim Faith, told Europe 1 radio on Monday.
There are currently about 2,500 mosques in France with another 300 under construction, but the number falls short of what is needed, he said. With roughly 5 million Muslims in France, at least 5,000 mosques are needed, Boubakeur said.
During the interview with French radio he gave an example of the transition of a church into a mosque in Clermont-Ferrand, which was welcomed by the local religious community. The church had been abandoned for more than 30 years and the building was given to the Muslim community in 2012.
“It’s the same God, these are neighbouring rites, fraternal, and I think that Muslims and Christians can coexist and live together,” he said.
It’s not the first time the lack of places of worship for millions of Muslims has been brought up in France. In April, Boubakeur called for doubling the number of mosques.
His remarks were welcomed by the Christian community as a “legitimate” demand.
“Muslims should, like Christians and Jews, be able to practice their religion,” Monseigneur Ribadeau-Dumas, spokesperson for the Bishops’ Conference of France, told French radio station Europe 1.
However, this suggestion has been criticized by the far-right National Front party. In April, Florian Philippot, its vice-president, argued France doesn’t need more, because “100 percent of places of radicalization are mosques.”
The party’s leader Marine Le Pen called to stop the construction of new mosques in March.
“We must today freeze the construction of new mosques while we verify the origin of their financing,” she said in an interview to France 24.
The question of building closer ties with the Muslim community was discussed at the talks between the French government and about 150 Muslim leaders in Paris on Monday.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls stressed there was no link between extremism and Islam.
“We must say all of this is not Islam,” he said. “The hate speech, anti-Semitism that hides behind anti-Zionism and hate for Israel… the self-proclaimed imams in our neighbourhoods and our prisons who are promoting violence and terrorism…
“Islam still provokes misunderstandings, prejudices, and is rejected by some citizens,” he added. “Yet Islam is here to stay in France. It’s the second largest religious group in our country.”
The first conference between the government and Muslim community leaders comes five months after the Charlie Hebdo and kosher store jihadist attacks in Paris that killed 17 people.
The terrorists responsible for the attacks “belong to a different world than we do,” said Boubakeur, speaking at the conference.
There has been a huge increase in anti-Muslim incidents in France following the Islamist attacks in Paris. A report issued in January by the National Observatory Against Islamophobia said that over the month there has been an 110-percent increase in attacks.
IA
http://www.londonschoolofislamics.org.uk