Brest Imam Recovering After Shooting, Expresses Gratitude for Support

30 June 2019 – bySaid@Bladi · 1 min read

Injured three days ago in an attack targeting him, the imam of Brest, Rachid Eljay, is doing much better and wants to reassure the many people who have expressed their sympathy to him.

In a video shot from his hospital bed, the imam reassures about his state of health. He explains having received three bullets: "one in the hand, one in the thigh and a third in the calf".

"This outpouring of support reminds us that deep down in each of us there is a part of mutual love and unfortunately we tend to stifle it and that’s why this mutual love must prevail throughout the year," continued the Brest imam, thanking the emergency services for their speed but also the pharmacist who provided first aid, the neighbors and the young people who were on the spot.

"We will never respond to hatred with hatred, but we will respond to hatred with wisdom and intelligence," he concluded, having a word for his detractors who "dig up the past" to try to harm him.

Last Thursday, June 27, a man who was in a car fired several shots in the direction of the mosque before fleeing. He was found a little later with a bullet in the head, apparently a suicide, according to the investigators.