France: Mosque Vandalized Amid Soaring Anti-Muslim Attacks

 A disturbing act of vandalism struck the El Hidaya Mosque in Roussillon, southeastern France, on Saturday, June 28, 2025, intensifying fears within the nation's Muslim community already reeling from a sharp increase in anti-Muslim violence. Masked individuals, operating under the cover of early morning darkness around 5 a.m., shattered the mosque's entrance windows, ransacked furniture inside, and defaced its walls with hateful leaflets. Similar inflammatory flyers were found strewn across the ground outside the building.

The religious association overseeing the El Hidaya Mosque has promptly filed a formal complaint with authorities. Local law enforcement has launched an investigation to identify and apprehend those responsible for this latest incident.

This attack is not an isolated event but rather the latest in a troubling wave of anti-Muslim incidents sweeping across France. Just weeks prior, a man was arrested after desecrating the Errahma Mosque in Villeurbanne, where a burned Quran was discovered at the building’s entrance – a stark symbol of religious hatred.

According to alarming figures recently released by French authorities, 79 anti-Muslim acts were recorded between January and March 2025 alone. This represents a dramatic 72% increase compared to the same period in 2024, highlighting a rapidly deteriorating climate for Muslim communities. This surge is widely seen as a reflection of growing hostility, fueled in part by increasingly aggressive rhetoric targeting Muslims, even within prominent French political circles.

The Grand Mosque of Paris swiftly issued a powerful condemnation of the Roussillon attack, unequivocally labeling it an "Islamophobic act." In a public statement, the esteemed institution declared, "The Grand Mosque of Paris firmly condemns the Islamophobic act committed this Saturday, June 28, 2025, against the El Hidaya Mosque in Roussillon, which is affiliated with the federation of the Grand Mosque of Paris." The statement further expressed full solidarity with Nouredine Louchene, president of the ACMR (Association Cultuelle des Musulmans de Roussillon), as well as with the local Muslim faithful and all residents of Roussillon. The Grand Mosque of Paris also urged authorities to act with swiftness and determination in their investigation and response.

As the investigation into the Roussillon attack progresses, it significantly adds to mounting concerns over the safety and security of Muslim communities across France. This escalating pattern of hate crimes raises pressing and uncomfortable questions about the broader societal and state response in the face of what appears to be a rising tide of Islamophobia and intolerance.