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Rabat – French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou continues to stress that the heinous attack against a Muslim at a mosque last month was an act of Islamophobia.
The remarks came amid mounting political backlash and public debate, amid criticism from political figures, activists, and commentators, who are lashing out at the prime minister for describing the act as Islamophobic-related murder.
“Yes, I stand by it. I can see there’s a lot of debate. And to be honest, I often don’t understand some of these controversies,” Bayrou said in an interview with Le Journal du Dimanche last week.
He said that he has witnessed several instances when people refuse the use of a word during his political career “because one doesn’t want to face reality.”
“The facts are clear: A 22-year-old man was murdered in a mosque while he was praying. His attacker filed the killing while hurling insults against Allah. So I ask: If this isn’t hatred directed at Islam, then what is it?” he said.
He stressed his refusal to fight “something we refuse to name,” adding that “we must have the courage to call things what they are.”
France was marred in controversy after a Malian Muslim, Aboubakr Cisse, was stabbed 40 to 50 times in southern France inside a mosque.
The perpetrator was a young man identified as Olivier A, who escaped the scene and fled to Florence, Italy, after the murder, where he turned himself in to the police.
Reports stressed that the murderer has filmed himself insulting God and sharing the intention to repeat the same crime.
The Islamophobic attack stirred backlash and frustration among the Muslim community, which rallied several times and in different cities to condemn the increase in Islamophobic attacks.
Despite Muslims’ frustration, French officials continued to share controversial remarks amid Emmanuel Macron’s claims that his country guarantees religious freedom.
Last week, French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau confirmed reports of the alarming normalization of anti-Islam acts and sentiments.
In a new interview, he acknowledged his desire to see a ban on the weakening of the hijab at universities.
“I want that, because I clearly see that there is a form of Islamism that has nothing to do with the traditional Muslim faith. There is an Islamism that is trying to plant its flag, its own values, which in my view include the subjugation of women to men, and we must be wary of it,” he said.
However, Bayrou’s remarks indicate he does not share the sentiments of his fellow officials. The French prime minister recently pointed out that Islamophobia as a term is legally absent and does not exist in law.
“I’m not in the justice system. I posted a tweet. It was a human, political, and moral reaction,” he said, noting that what matters to him is not the term but what’s actually happening.
“I see a growing danger of viewing our fellow citizens only through the lens of their origin, skin, color, or religion. I see hatred of Muslims and Islam, hatred of Jews and Judaism. And hatred of Christians,” he said.
It remains to be seen whether the French minister, who appears to be standing strong to his words, will be affected by the media campaign and backlash he is receiving for naming the heinous crime at La Grande Combe mosque as an Islamophobic act.
