Tags on a mosque in Rennes: Darmanin denounces “insults to Muslims and to France” – Rennes

Gérald Darmanin: “Anti-Muslim acts are acts against the Republic”

“No to Islamization”, “Mahomet prophet pedophile” or even “Allah false god” … Very many Islamophobic inscriptions have been tagged on all the walls of the Avicenna cultural center in the Villejean district. An act which shocked beyond the Muslim community and which gave rise to many condemnations.

Gérald Darmanin, the Minister of the Interior, was notably present in Rennes, late Sunday afternoon, to bring “government solidarity” and support to the Muslim community a few days before the start of Ramadan.

Anti-Muslim acts are acts against the Republic

“I have come to express our disgust with these inscriptions. These are insults to French Muslims and insults to France, since any place of worship, of religious inspiration, is welcome in our country and is one of our most fundamental freedoms, that of believing or not believing, and we owe protection to our fellow Muslims, Christians and Jews. Anti-Muslim acts are acts against the Republic ”, declared the minister in particular before specifying:“ There is a minority of extremists and this minority of extremists does not represent the vast majority of French people who love them. believers and who respect the fact of believing or not believing ”.

“Message of peace and call for calm”

Sunday morning, the faithful present, who came for prayer, were in shock. Miloud El Haou was the first on site around 5:45 am to open the doors as usual: “When I arrived I saw the tags. I walked around, there were everywhere. There were about 20 of us this morning and everyone was shocked to see that ”. Yasser Mahmud Attoumani, the Imam of the local mosque, condemns “messages of hatred and violence” and specifies “No sane person can adhere to these words”. All those in charge of the other mosques in Rennes were present this morning in support of the Avicenna center and to “proclaim our message of peace and call for calm”, underlines the Imam.

We attack a place of openness where there is sharing, but above all a place that develops a project of living together

“Place of living together”

For Ahmed Aitchikh, president of the Avicenna center, the shock is great: “It is a misunderstanding of the cultural center project. We attack a place of openness where there is sharing, a place of worship also but above all a place that develops a project of living together. This is why the shock is all the greater. I find it a pity. It will be difficult to start a month of Ramadan with serenity ”. The elected representative of the neighborhood Christophe Fouillére was also present to bring his support to the Muslim community: “We see that there is a desire to attack a religion, to have an anti-religious and political message with expressions that fall under xenophobia and typically the discourse of the extreme right ”.

Open investigation

On site, in the morning, the police made the first observations around the building. In a press release, the public prosecutor specifies: “A flagrant investigation was entrusted by the Rennes public prosecutor’s office to the Rennes departmental security system under the qualification of degradation on account of belonging to a religion which incurs a penalty of 4 years’ imprisonment and a € 30,000 fine. These facts, which carry a serious symbolic attack, disturb the peaceful exercise of worship and cultural activities of this center ”.