Elham Asaad Buaras
A mosque in southeastern France has become the latest target in what rights groups are calling a disturbing surge in anti-Muslim violence.
In the early hours of June 28, masked men broke into the El Hidaya Mosque in Roussillon, smashing entrance windows, overturning furniture and plastering the walls with leaflets containing hate-filled, Islamophobic messages. Similar flyers were found strewn outside the premises. The mosque’s managing religious association has filed a formal complaint, and an investigation has been opened by local authorities to identify those responsible.
The attack is part of an increasingly visible trend of Islamophobic incidents across France. Earlier this month, a man was arrested in Villeurbanne after allegedly desecrating the Errahma Mosque, where a burnt Qur’an was discovered at its entrance. Figures published by French officials show 79 anti-Muslim acts were recorded between January and March 2025—a 72 per cent increase on the same period the previous year. Analysts and civil rights advocates say the rise reflects a worsening political climate marked by inflammatory rhetoric and growing normalisation of hostility towards Muslims.
In a strongly worded statement, the Grand Mosque of Paris condemned the Roussillon incident as an “Islamophobic act,” affirming its solidarity with the mosque’s community.
“The Grand Mosque of Paris firmly condemns the Islamophobic act committed on Saturday, 28 June 2025, against the El Hidaya Mosque in Roussillon, which is affiliated with the Federation of the Grand Mosque of Paris,” the statement read.
It also expressed support for Nouredine Louchene, President of the Association Cultuelle des Musulmans de Roussillon (ACMR), and urged the authorities to take swift and decisive action.
The attack has fuelled renewed concern about the safety of Muslim communities across France and raised urgent questions about the government’s response to religiously motivated hate crimes. For many observers, the pattern of attacks is symptomatic of deeper societal fractures—where national debates on secularism, identity, and immigration are increasingly entangled with xenophobic undertones.
As investigations continue in Roussillon, advocacy groups are calling for greater protection for places of worship and more robust efforts to combat hate-driven violence—before more communities are left feeling unsafe in their own country.
Photo: Smashed windows and scattered Islamophobic leaflets after masked men broke into El Hidaya Mosque in Roussillon on June 28 in a targeted hate attack. (Credit: @mosqueeparis – Instagram/DR)
