Rabat – A heinous murder of a Muslim man in a mosque last week on Friday has caused more frustration and panic among the Muslim community in France amid an already fragile situation triggered by increased Islamophobia and government restrictions on religious freedom in the European country.
A rally took place on Sunday evening, with many protesters accusing government officials – including Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau – of fueling anti-Muslim hatred.
“This is Retailleau’s fault,” one protester said as quoted by Le Figaro.
“Yes, everything is because of him,” another protester said, according to the French news outlet, which stressed that the interior minister’s name was on everyone’s lips.
The rally came after a man killed a Muslim mosque goer, stabbing him for over 40 times in cold blood inside a mosque in Grande Combe on Friday morning.
Mosque goers found the victim’s body in the mosque around 11:30 a.m.
At first, reports claimed the attack came from a fellow mosque goer. On Saturday, however, the French government acknowledged it was an Islamophobic attack, and that the perpetrator had just pretended to be a mosque goer.
“The vile act of Islamophobia was displayed in a video,” French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said on X on Saturday, expressing condolences to the victim’s family.
“State resources have been mobilized to ensure the killer is captured and published,” the Prime Minister said.
Several reports said that the suspect, who is still on the run, filmed the heinous murder and insulted God and Islam during his attack.
He also reportedly expressed intent to kill again.
The victim’s family is calling for justice.“What makes a nation is justice. Nothing is worse than when a part of the people feels abandoned by justice,” the victim’s brother said.
Many are speaking out about the act, saying that the victim is a martyr of Islamophobia and racism.
“Aboubakar is not just the victim of a terrorist,” activist Anasse Kazib said, insisting it is part of a large systemic problem. He criticized France and the increase of racist and racist remarks towards Muslims from different officials, including Emmanuel Macron.
“We are criminalized. Thousands of us are suffocating from the situation. How many nephews and nieces leave France because they find it unbearable? There’s no future. This is what the authorities want. To drive Muslims out,” he said.