Mosques Targeted in France Following Teen’s Death at Village Festival

Mosques are facing acts of intimidation and reprisals, after the death of Thomas, the teenager stabbed on the way out of a village ball and whose murder is described by the far right as "anti-white racism". "Justice for Thomas, here we are in France, death to the Arabs". This inscription, as well as death threats and Celtic crosses, tagged during the night of Friday, November 24 to Saturday, November 25, were found on the gate of the mosque in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, and in the surroundings of Octeville, in the Manche. "A vile act" that the mayor of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, Benoît Arrivé, condemns. The mayor has shown "all his support to the Muslim community", as has the (PS) senator of the Manche, Sébastien Fagnen, who denounced "the unbridled hateful expressions of recent times that no longer spare our city". A complaint was filed on behalf of the Islamic Cultural Association (ACI) that manages the mosque.

In Valence, the association managing the mosque received, on Saturday, November 25, a letter also related to the murder of the young Thomas. "A good Muslim is a dead Muslim. Justice for Thomas," can be read in the correspondence. This letter is accompanied by a Charlie Hebdo caricature showing the prophet Mohammad naked. In a statement to France bleu, Mustapha Laqli, spokesperson for the Al Fourqane association that manages the place of worship, said he had filed a complaint that morning. "Obviously the mosque, like all Muslims, condemn the murder of young Thomas with the utmost firmness and we have a thought for his family," he said.

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He says he condemns "all forms of violence. And we regret the amalgamation between Islam and this kind of criminal behavior. We call on the intelligence of our fellow citizens not to enter into this game, we do not want a war of civilizations." The mosques of Cherbourg and Valence can count on the support of the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM). The Muslim organization has called "on all mosques in France to be vigilant in the face of these provocations that should not be underestimated in any way." And to add: "any letter of this nature must be the subject of a complaint to a police station or a gendarmerie brigade".