Islamophobic Graffiti Targets Mosque in Saint-Étienne Amid COVID-19 Crisis

An Islamophobic tag was discovered on the entrance door of the Montreynaud mosque, managed by the Turkish Cultural Association of Saint-Étienne (ACTS).

"Die Arabe C-19". This is the message found by the officials of this place of worship during this confinement period. In a press release, the Turkish Cultural Association of Saint-Étienne (ACTS) condemned this act. According to the ACTS, "this fact, heavy with meaning, testifies to the violence of racism which must in no way tend towards a trivialization of Islamophobia. A complaint has moreover been filed against X".

Furthermore, the ACTS "works for living together and its values are firmly opposed to all forms of religious, ethnic, cultural and social discrimination". "One of the goals of our association is to bring the positive experience of cultural diversity to our citizens so that it becomes an antibody against hatred," it emphasizes.