The mosque of the Moroccan cultural association in Sounna de Blois, a town situated between Orléans and Tours, was desecrated during the night of 11-12 February (see reports by La Nouvelle République and Atlasinfo).

On Wednesday morning worshipers arrived at the mosque to find a pig’s head and several pieces of pork at the site, along with the slogan “MLE France” sprayed on the door of the mosque. The meaning of these initials is unknown, although it may be that ML stands for “mouvement de libération”. Boujama Hannou, the president of the association, has appealed for calm.

The mayor of Blois and the prefect’s chief of staff visited the site to express their support for the Muslim community, and interior minister Mauel Valls issued a statement condemning the desecration: “These vile and heinous acts, deliberately targeting a Muslim place of worship, have only one objective, to attack the foundations of our Republic.”

Al-Kanz observes that among far-right Islamophobes a belief has taken hold that the pig will have “very specific effects on Muslims, mosques and everything related directly or indirectly to Islam. According to this belief, pork is to Muslims what Kryptonite is to Superman.”

(More photos from Al-Kanz.)

Via LoonWatch