Latest news with #Aboubakar
Ya Biladi
28-04-2025
- Ya Biladi
French Muslim Council condemns Islamophobic murder in La Grand-Combe mosque
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.
The Hindu
28-04-2025
- The Hindu
Man suspected of killing worshipper at French mosque has surrendered to police in Italy
A man suspected of killing a Muslim worshipper, Aboubakar, in a French mosque has turned himself in to police in Italy, authorities said on Monday (April 28, 2025). French police began searching for the suspect after the attack on Friday (April 25) in the former mining town of La Grande Combe in southern France. The assailant recorded the attack on his phone, and security camera footage showed him shouting insults at God, local media said. The French Interior Minister's office said on Monday (April 25) that the suspect had surrendered to police in Italy, without elaborating. Local prosecutor Abdelkrim Grini said on Sunday (April 27) that investigators are taking into account 'the possibility that this was an Islamophobic act'. 'It's the one we're working on first, but it's not the only one,' he said. The suspect is a man born in France in 2004, who lived in the area and did not have a criminal record, the prosecutor said. 'Racism and hatred based on religion will never have a place in France,' French President Emmanuel Macron said. 'Religious freedom is inviolable.' The Grand Mosque of Paris condemned the attack in a statement and said the victim, a young man identified only as Aboubakar in French media, had just finished cleaning the mosque when he was killed. A march was held on Sunday (April 27) at La Grand Combe in support of the victim and a gathering against anti-Islam crimes was held in Paris.
Spectator
28-04-2025
- Spectator
Macron has let an epidemic of violence grip France
These have been terrible days in France. On Thursday, a 15-year-old girl was stabbed to death and several of her classmates wounded at a private school in Nantes. It was an attack of singular ferocity. The victim, who was stabbed 57 times, was killed by a fellow pupil, a boy her own age. According to police, he had no 'clear motive' for his crime. On Friday a 20-year-old, named by police as Olivier H, walked into a mosque in southern France and told Aboubakar, a 24-year-old of Malian origin, that he would like to pray. Aboubakar, who performed odd jobs in the mosque, led Olivier into the prayer room and together they knelt. Olivier then produced a knife and stabbed Aboubakar to death. As he filmed the death throes of his victim, the killer insulted Allah and stated his intention to kill again. A huge manhunt was launched, but late on Sunday night Olivier handed himself in to police in Florence, Italy. The third death to shake France was that of an off-duty police officer.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Yahoo
Suspect in fatal French mosque attack arrested in Italy
A French gendarmerie (military police) car patrols outside the mosque Khadija in La Grand-Combe, southern France, on April 27, 2025, following the murder of Aboubakar, a worshipper killed by several dozens of stab wounds inside the mosque on April 25. The man suspected of killing a Muslim worshipper in a mosque in southern France on Friday has turned up in a police station in Italy, announced a French prosecutor on Monday. The man suspected of stabbing a Muslim to death in a mosque in southern France on Friday has given himself up at a police station in Italy, a French prosecutor announced Monday. "This is very satisfying for me as a prosecutor. Faced with the effectiveness of the measures put in place, the suspect had no option but to hand himself in – and that is the best thing he could have done," said Abdelkrim Grini, the prosecutor of the southern city of Alès, who is in charge of the case. (FRANCE 24 with AFP) Read more on FRANCE 24 English Read also: Row erupts in France over plans to use state funds to build Strasbourg mosque France is 'no place' for racism and hate, says Macron after murder of Muslim in mosque
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First Post
28-04-2025
- Politics
- First Post
‘Horrifying' stabbing in French mosque sparks investigation into Islamophobic attack
The assailant recorded the attack on his phone, and security camera footage showed him shouting insults at 'Allah,' which means God in Arabic read more A protestor holds a sign reading "Justice for Aboubakar, Islamophobia kills" during a gathering in tribute to Aboubakar, the worshipper killed in a mosque at La Grand-Combe, and against Islamophobia, at the Place de la Republique in Paris. AFP A man suspected of killing a Muslim worshipper in a mosque in the south of France was still on the run Sunday, authorities said, in an attack described by Prime Minister Francois Bayrou as Islamophobic. Both men were alone in the mosque in the former mining town of La Grand Combe on Friday when the victim was fatally stabbed. The assailant recorded the attack on his phone, and security camera footage showed him shouting insults at 'Allah,' which means God in Arabic, local media said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Local prosecutor Abdelkrim Grini said Sunday that investigators are taking into account 'the possibility that this was an Islamophobic act. It's the one we're working on first, but it's not the only one,' he said. 'Racism and hatred based on religion will never have a place in France,' French President Emmanuel Macron said. 'Religious freedom is inviolable.' Grini said images of the stabbing he watched as part of the investigation were 'horrifying' and that police forces were working non-stop to try and arrest the suspect, with 70 investigators deployed. 'We're being particularly vigilant to make sure he doesn't claim any more victims,' Grini said. He added that the suspect is a man born in France in 2004, who lived in the area and did not have a criminal record. The Grand Mosque of Paris condemned the attack in a statement and said the victim, a young man identified only as Aboubakar in French media, had just finished cleaning the mosque when he was killed. It called on authorities to quickly shed light on the reasons behind the attack, asking judicial authorities to say whether it is being treated as a 'terrorist' act and to note its 'scale and seriousness … for the safety of all.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin called the stabbing a 'despicable murder' that 'wounds the hearts of all believers, of all Muslims in France.' Bayrou also denounced an act of 'Islamophobic ignominy displayed on video.' 'We stand shoulder to shoulder with the victim's family and the shocked worshippers,' he said. 'The resources of the state are being mobilised to ensure that the murderer is caught and punished.' The SOS Racisme campaign group joined the calls for more clarity in the investigation and took part in a march organized later Sunday at La Grand Combe in support of the victim. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau traveled to the nearby town of Ales to meet with local Muslim faith officials and pledged to stop the suspect. 'Of course, the possibility of an anti-Muslim act is not at all neglected, quite the contrary,' he said. 'It is out of the question to tolerate this kind of act in this hyper-violent society.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In Paris, a rally against Islamophobia and in tribute to the victim was held at the Place de la République.
