French Muslim Council condemns Islamophobic murder in La Grand-Combe mosque

Ya Biladi

28-04-2025

The French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) has expressed its horror at the attack carried out in the prayer room of the mosque in La Grand-Combe (Gard), where a young Muslim man was brutally murdered. In a statement released this Sunday, the representative body of the Muslim faith in France condemned «in the strongest terms» this «barbaric and despicable act» and called on Muslims to exercise «extreme vigilance».
The victim, Aboubakar, 22, was stabbed between 40 and 50 times by an individual. The attacker filmed the scene—later shared on Snapchat—while uttering Islamophobic insults. The CFCM extended its «deepest condolences» to the victim's family and to all Muslims in France, who are «shaken, traumatized, and horrified» by what it described as a terrorist act motivated by Islamophobia.
According to initial findings from the investigation, the attacker had approached Aboubakar asking for help learning how to pray. In a gesture of kindness, the young man—described as exemplary and devoted—agreed to assist him. It was during the moment of prostration that he was cowardly stabbed.
The CFCM, which has been warning authorities for months about the dangerous trivialization and media exposure of anti-Muslim hatred, said the attack in La Grand-Combe tragically highlights the seriousness of the phenomenon.
The organization also lamented the media coverage of the attack, expressing concern that early reports wrongly suggested a personal dispute between two worshippers, thereby downplaying the profoundly Islamophobic nature of the crime.
In light of this alarming situation, the CFCM reiterated its call for vigilance, noting that the public prosecutor has indicated the alleged perpetrator—still at large—could commit further crimes.
The CFCM advised worshippers not to remain alone in mosques and urged public authorities to promptly activate a national plan to strengthen the protection of Muslim places of worship.