Rabat – French police have opened an investigation after receiving a complaint condemning the Islamophobic act of an individual reported to have targeted a new mosque in the Villeurbanne district in Lyon.
AFP quoted a police source as confirming that French security services received a complaint against a man who entered a mosque to steal a copy of the Quran and set it on fire over the past weekend.
Mayor of Villeurbanne Cedric Van Styvendael condemned the act, describing it as another reprehensible Islamophobic attack in his city he described as peace-loving and tolerant.
He also expressed his support for the city’s Muslims, especially the community of faithful at the targeted mosque.
The online collective “Musulmans de France” also expressed full solidarity with the Conseil des Mosquées du Rhone and the Errahma mosque in Villeurbanne, which was targeted in the new Islamophobic act.
“The burning of a copy of the Quran, just minutes before the dawn prayer, is part of a troubling wave of attacks against Muslims in France,” the group said, noting a remarkable increase in Islamophobic acts in France over the past few years.
“This is not a random incident — it is a direct attack on freedom of worship and the dignity of millions of citizens. We call for firm measures and exemplary prosecution. It is time to act with responsibility,” Musulmans de France said.
In recent months, France has been the theater of national marches against racism and Islamophobia.
The marches and rallies came after the heinous Islamophobic attack that Olivier A. carried out against a Muslim man inside a mosque in France.
The defendant stabbed Aboubakar Cisse, a Muslim living in France, around 40 to 50 times while he was praying.
He also insulted God, Islam, and Muslims as he filmed his horrific murder.
Following the Islamophobic attack, many other mosques and Muslims have faced similar attacks over the past months.
In May, French police opened an investigation after a man left a voicemail in which he threatened to slit the throats of Muslim targets.
“You are filthy Muslim sh****(…). You want to play the victims, filthy pigs… We’re going to slit your throats,” the caller said on the phone’s voicemachine, according to Le Parisian.
