Sud Ouest reports that on Sunday night a the premises of the Muslim association in Le Barp in Val de l’Eyre in south-west France suffered a Molotov cocktail attack, just a year since a similar arson attempt.
The building has also experienced repeated racist graffiti attacks, in August and September 2012 and in April this year.
(Picture: Demonstration in support of Le Barp’s Muslim community following graffiti attack in August 2012)
Hate-fuelled crimes in which victims have been attacked because of their religion have spiralled by an alarming 57.6 per cent in the West Midlands over the past two years.
As the region prepares to celebrate Christmas – with its message of peace and goodwill – Home Office figures show that assaults incited by faith discrimination rose to 82 this year. Last year just 52 such cases were recorded by the police and the Crime Survey for England and Wales.
Community campaigners warn that it could be just the tip of the iceberg because of a general perception that the authorities are either powerless, or unwilling, to act on complaints.
And the shocking figures do not include the murder of grandfather Mohammed Saleem, who was murdered as he made his way home from Friday prayers at a Birmingham mosque in April. Nor do they include this year’s nail bomb attacks on mosques in the Black Country because they occurred after the latest figures available from Government statisticians.
Mr Saleem, 82, from Small Heath was murdered by neo Nazi Pavlo Lapshyn, who had travelled from the Ukraine with the mission of starting a race war on Britain’s streets. The 25-year-old extremist was jailed for life for killing the peaceful pensioner.
Police are also currently investigating an alleged hate crime at St Andrew’s in which two Middlesbrough fans have been accused of taunting Blues supporters by ripping up a copy of the Koran.
Yesterday saw the jailing of three men for the firebombing of Grimsby Mosque following the murder of Lee Rigby last May. As we pointed out, the arson attack on the mosque was preceded by calls on the Facebook page of the English Defence League’s Grimsby division for the building to be burned down.
Earlier yesterday, in the immediate aftermath of the conviction and sentencing of Lee Rigby’s murderers, the Daily Telegraph saw fit to publish an inflammatory report, based on no evidence at all, that Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale “had links with the Lewisham Islamic Centre in south-east London, less than six miles from the Woolwich street where they murdered the soldier”.
The prison sentences handed down to Stuart Harness, Gavin Humphries and Daniel Cressey, who launched a firebomb attack on Grimsby Mosque and Islamic Cultural Centre last May, are very welcome.
As the judge pointed out in sentencing them, the substantial prison terms handed out to the three arsonists – six years each for Harness and Humphries, three for Cressey – were intended to serve not just as an appropriate punishment for the perpetrators themselves but also as a deterrent to other violent racists who might be inclined to follow them.
Although there is no evidence of direct links between the three men and the English Defence League, it should be noted that their firebombing of Grimsby Mosque was preceded by an online campaign by local EDL supporters calling for an arson attack on the building.
Two former soldiers who firebombed a mosque following the murder of soldier Lee Rigby have each been jailed for six years.
Stuart Harness, 34, and Gavin Humphries, 37, made petrol bombs and threw them at the Grimsby Islamic Cultural Centre while being filmed on CCTV cameras they thought were turned off. They were jailed today by Judge Mark Bury at Hull Crown Court after admitting arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered at an earlier hearing.
Judge Bury told the pair: “This was a crime of violence where a particular religious group was deliberately targeted in an act of retribution.” He said: “This kind of attack cannot be tolerated. A severe sentence is required to punish but, more importantly, to deter.”
He jailed a third defendant, Daniel Cressey – who denied aiding and abetting the other two but was found guilty by a jury – also for three years.
A fire broke out at a mosque which has repeatedly been attacked, causing serious damage to the roof on Thursday in coastal Bulgarian city Varna. The fire which erupted in the morning was extinguished by fire fighting crews.
Noting the mosque had been attacked several times in the past, the Office of Bulgarian Islamic Affairs head Ahmed Ahmedov referred to how the attackers broke windows, drew swastikas, and wrote racist slogans escaped justice as investigations remain inconclusive.
“While police investigate, we as the Office of Islamic Affairs will do our own investigation,” said the Muslim cleric.
The office noted that nationalist and racist blocks have stepped up their aggressive acts against local and foreign Muslims amid the recent influx of Arab and African refugees in the country.
Beitar Jerusalem fans hold up a banner with the slogan “Beitar Pure Forever” during a match in January 2012
Al-Aqsa Mosque Director Sheikh Najeh Bakirat has denounced the burning of the holy Quran and insults to Islam’s Prophet Muhammad by Israeli football fans in the northern Israeli city of Sakhnin on Wednesday.
“Israeli violations against Muslim religious symbols have gone beyond all red lines,” Bakirat told Anadolu Agency.
During a Wednesday football match, fans of Israeli soccer team Beitar Jerusalem burned a copy of the Quran, the Muslim holy book, and insulted Prophet Muhammad.
Israeli police spokeswoman Luba al-Samri said that three fans in their twenties had been briefly detained over the incident.
Police would like to speak to the man in this picture about a criminal damage to the main door of Chelmsford mosque, in Moulsham Street.
The incident happened at about 5am on November 24. Members of the mosque attending morning prayers at about 7am found they could not open the main door. They entered through another door and found the lock had been damaged.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Pc Peter Carter, or his colleagues at Chelmsford, on 101. Alternatively, call independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
A father-of-three has been spared jail after assaulting a man and his teenage son with a paving slab as they walked to their mosque. Shaun Wilkinson, 25, pleaded guilty to racially aggravated assault after unleashing a barrage of vile racist abuse at the men as they walked down Thompson Street, Preston.
Preston Crown Court heard Wilkinson, of Slaidburn Road, Ribbleton, saw the father and his 14-year-old son approaching and said “watch this” to his girlfriend. As they walked past, Wilkinson punched the father in his face. The son stepped in to try and help his father, grappling Wilkinson to the ground. However, Wilkinson got up and threw a piece of paving stone, hitting the youngster in the forehead.
Rachel Faux, prosecuting, told the court: “(The father) asked what the problem was and received a barrage of verbal abuse. As the father waited for the police to be called there was further abuse from females on the street.” The police arrived and arrested Wilkinson. He continued making racist comments.
A mosque leader is likely to be permanently blind in one eye after an unprovoked attack in front of his family. Imam Hafiz Salik, leader of the Hull Mosque and Islamic Centre, has now undergone two operations on his right eye.
However, surgeons have been unable to repair the damage and have warned Mr Salik, who is well-known for his inter faith work, to expect the worst.