French PM François Bayrou calls for recognizing Islamophobia after mosque attack
Following the April 25 attack at the Grand-Combe mosque, French Prime Minister François Bayrou questioned the widespread reluctance to use «the right words» and the discomfort surrounding the term Islamophobia. «We cannot fight what we refuse to name», he said. In an interview published Saturday evening on the Journal du Dimanche (JDD) website, Bayrou endorsed a label that had previously been dismissed by his Interior Minister, Bruno Retailleau. He argued it was essential to «have the courage to call things what they are».
Speaking in the pages of the weekly publication owned by Vincent Bolloré, Bayrou did not mince his words. «Refusing a term because one doesn't want to confront reality is something I've seen before in politics. In this case, the facts are clear: a 22-year-old man was murdered while praying in a mosque. His killer filmed the attack while shouting insults at Allah. So I ask: if that isn't hatred toward Islam, then what is?»
Bayrou went on to denounce «hatred of Muslims and Islam, hatred of Jews and Judaism, and hatred of Christians»—noting that «crimes have been committed in all three cases». After the murder of Aboubakar Cissé, who suffered 57 stab wounds, the Prime Minister had already described the act as an «Islamophobic atrocity». On the political right, however, the term Islamophobia is not only avoided, but often disputed or outright rejected.
In a follow-up interview, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau responded to Bayrou on Sunday in La Tribune, arguing that the term Islamophobia carries «a strong ideological connotation associated with the Muslim Brotherhood». Meanwhile, leaders of France's Muslim community continue to express concern over «a sense of unequal treatment and a troubling double standard».
Last week, President Emmanuel Macron met with Chems-eddine Hafiz, rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris, and Najat Benali, president of the Coordination of Muslim Associations of Paris and rector of the Javel mosque. Both figures emphasized that «the failure to label Aboubakar Cissé's murder as a terrorist attack» is contributing to a growing sense of injustice.
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