Anger as pig heads dumped outside French mosque

The pig heads were hung on a gate at the entrance to the mosque shortly before
morning prayers and a large amount of pig blood was spilled on the ground.

“It is contemptible,” the mosque’s president, Hajii Mohamed, told
AFP. “To attack a religion like this, I don’t know what is happening.
People lose their heads, especially during Ramadan.”

Abdallah Zekri, the chairman of France’s Islamophobia Observatory, said
Wednesday’s outrage occurred against a background of an increase in
anti-Muslim actions in the first half of this year.

“For this to occur during the holy month of Ramadan, it’s unspeakable,”
he said. “It is racist provocation.”

The Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France said it was “outraged
by the hateful desecration of the mosque”.

The mayor of Montauban denounced what she described as intimidation of Muslims
after the heads were discovered in the early morning attached to two pillars
at the entrance of the Salam Mosque, a huge pool of blood on the ground.
Pigs are considered unclean by Muslims, who are forbidden from eating pork.

Brigitte Bareges condemned “this odious and blasphemous act toward the
Muslim community.”

Wednesday’s incident came hot on the heels of a controversy over the treatment
of four young Muslims who were sacked for observing the Ramadan daytime fast
while looking after children on a summer camp.

The town council which had dismissed the four instructors reacted to an outcry
by announcing that it would no longer enforce a requirement for summer camp
workers to eat and drink in the middle of the day.

France is home to at least four million Muslims, the largest Islamic community
in Europe.

French authorities have been at odds with the community over legislation
banning women from wearing full veils while this year’s elections were also
marked by debate over the use of halal methods of animal slaughter.

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