A mosque in northwestern France was vandalized with pig head graffiti, a Turkish-Muslim group on Monday said, reporting the second such attack on the region’s Muslim community in the past week.
A pig head graffiti was found on Sunday on the door of a mosque in Cherbourg, operated by the Turkish-Islamic Union of Religious Affairs (DITIB), the group said in a statement.
Condemning the “unacceptable action” targeting the mosque, the group expressed its firm commitment to defend the values of respect and humanity.
Last week, a plaster grenade typically used in military drills was left in front of a mosque run by DITIB in the northern French city of Saint-Omer.
A similar incident took place last year during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan when several people left a pig’s head outside the same mosque.
The mayor of Saint-Omer, François Decoster, too, denounced the “heinous” and “criminal” act targeting the place of worship.
“On behalf of the people of Saint-Omer, I wanted to assure the Franco-Turkish community of Saint-Omer of our town’s support,” he added.
An investigation was opened to determine the circumstances of the incident. The city’s mayor has promised to strengthen security around places of worship, particularly through video surveillance.
Mosques in Western Europe, especially in Germany and France, have seen an increase in vandalism, harassment and threats in recent years, fueled by the propaganda of far-right political parties and movements.
A country of more than 68 million, France has the largest Muslim population in Western Europe, followed by Germany. It is estimated to house around 3 to 5.7 million Muslims.
Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip are also leading to a rise in Islamophobia across Europe, according to a new report released in December.
The “European Islamophobia Report 2023,” which examined anti-Muslim sentiment in 28 European countries, revealed that Israel’s attacks on Gaza have led to a notable increase in Islamophobia in Western Europe.
The report noted that in France, President Emmanuel Macron’s pro-Israel statements following the attacks in Gaza by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas have exacerbated institutional racism against Muslims.
Kawtar Najib, who authored the France section of the report, pointed out that the government’s ban on headscarves in schools has led to significant concern for Muslim students and their families.
The move has been viewed as a sign of the institutionalization of anti-Muslim sentiment in France.
As Islamophobia becomes more entrenched, the report urged more effective measures to combat discrimination and protect Muslim communities across the continent.