Francois Bayrou calls attack an Islamophobic atrocity
French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou on Friday condemned the deadly stabbing of a Muslim worshipper at a mosque in southern France, calling it an "Islamophobic atrocity."
Aboubakar, 24, was stabbed to death on April 25 at Hatice Mosque in the town of La Grand-Combe, according to local media.
The attacker repeatedly stabbed the worshipper, filmed the assault on a phone, and shouted insults against Islam during the attack.
"A worshipper was murdered yesterday near Ales, at the mosque of La Grande-Combe. The Islamophobic atrocity was displayed in a video," Bayrou said in a post on X.
"We stand with the victim's loved ones, with the believers who are so shocked. State resources are mobilized to ensure the killer is apprehended and punished," he added.
Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of the left-wing France Unbowed party, said in a post on X: "Islamophobia kills. All those who contribute to it are guilty."
France Unbowed Member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan also shared newspaper articles about the attack in a post on X, criticizing the French media's failure to highlight the "Islamophobic" nature of the crime.
- Solidarity march against Islamophobia
France Unbowed Member of Parliament Antoine Leaument announced in a post on X that a solidarity march would be held Sunday.
He called on people to gather at 6 pm local time (1600 GMT) at Republic Square in Paris, stressing that no one should be threatened or killed because of their religion.
The French Council of the Muslim Faith said in a statement that it was horrified by the attack and condemned the murder of Aboubakar, who had reportedly helped the attacker learn how to pray. It urged authorities to confront the dangers of normalizing and promoting anti-Muslim hatred in the media.
