By Rahmi Gunduz
PARIS (AA & The Muslim News): Muslim community in eastern French town of Dijon were targeted by an Islamophobic attack; six pigs heads thrown at the gates of a mosque.
Six sawn-halves of pigs heads were discovered on the gates of the mosque building in Genlis, a small town near Dijon, France on Friday morning. Further to the pig heads, further “cold cuts” of pork were discovered thrown into the yard.
Dijon prosecutor’s office launched an investigation under charges of ethnic hate and fueling discrimination, the report said.
Genlis City Mayor Vincent Dancourts confirmed the hate attack in a written statement and said that the authorities were in full solidarity with the Muslim community in the area.
“The police have taken samples and I hope the person or people of this act will be held accountable.
“Hatred linked to religion has no place in our commune where everyone must live in full harmony and respect for each other,” he said.
The French Socialist party’s Kheira Bouziane joined the mayor in speaking out against the incident “with the upmost firmness”.
SOS Racism, an anti-racist movement in France, strongly condemned the attack and called on the authorities to take those responsible for the attack to justice.
The mosque building was handed over to a Muslim association in Genlis in recent months and was reconstructed to make it suitable for prayer.
The Genlis case follows a significant number of other cases across Europe where Islamic centres of worship were defaced with pig parts
Islamophobic attacks against Muslims in France have soared across the country in the past couple of years, according to the Center against Islamophobia.
The country hosts nearly five million Muslims, mostly from northern Africa.
[Photo of Mayor Vincent Dancourt of Genlis, France. Photograph from his tweet site]