Latest news with #OlivierA.
Morocco World
03-06-2025
- General
- Morocco World
France Opens Investigation After Suspect Steals, Burns Quran
Rabat – French police have opened an investigation after receiving a complaint condemning the Islamophobic act of an individual reported to have targeted a new mosque in the Villeurbanne district in Lyon. AFP quoted a police source as confirming that French security services received a complaint against a man who entered a mosque to steal a copy of the Quran and set it on fire over the past weekend. Mayor of Villeurbanne Cedric Van Styvendael condemned the act, describing it as another reprehensible Islamophobic attack in his city he described as peace-loving and tolerant. He also expressed his support for the city's Muslims, especially the community of faithful at the targeted mosque. The online collective 'Musulmans de France' also expressed full solidarity with the Conseil des Mosquées du Rhone and the Errahma mosque in Villeurbanne, which was targeted in the new Islamophobic act. 'The burning of a copy of the Quran, just minutes before the dawn prayer, is part of a troubling wave of attacks against Muslims in France,' the group said, noting a remarkable increase in Islamophobic acts in France over the past few years. 'This is not a random incident — it is a direct attack on freedom of worship and the dignity of millions of citizens. We call for firm measures and exemplary prosecution. It is time to act with responsibility,' Musulmans de France said . In recent months, France has been the theater of national marches against racism and Islamophobia. The marches and rallies came after the heinous Islamophobic attack that Olivier A. carried out against a Muslim man inside a mosque in France. The defendant stabbed Aboubakar Cisse, a Muslim living in France, around 40 to 50 times while he was praying. He also insulted God, Islam, and Muslims as he filmed his horrific murder. Following the Islamophobic attack, many other mosques and Muslims have faced similar attacks over the past months. In May, French police opened an investigation after a man left a voicemail in which he threatened to slit the throats of Muslim targets. 'You are filthy Muslim sh****(…). You want to play the victims, filthy pigs… We're going to slit your throats,' the caller said on the phone's voicemachine, according to Le Parisian. Tags: France islamophobiaIslamophobia in Europe
Morocco World
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Morocco World
National March to Take Place in France Against Islamophobia
Rabat – France will witness a national march on May 11, with anti-racism activists, public figures, and collective leaders rallying against the rise in Islamophobic attacks across the European country. The demonstration will begin at 2 p.m. local time in the Paris neighborhood of Bastille. The march comes following the heinous Islamophobic attack a perpetrator identified as Olivier A. carried out against a Muslim man inside the mosque. Olivier A. repeatedly stabbed 22-year-old Aboubakar Cisse around 40 to 50 times while he was praying, all while hurling insults at God, Islam, and Muslims as he filmed his horrific crime. Converging reports say that the march organizers are determined to continue to rally against racism and Islamophobia. 'The person who kills is responsible, but someone who commits a racist crime always does so in a climate that enables it,' the organizers said in their statement on the upcoming demonstration. According to Beur FM, organizers are also frustrated over the silence of political leaders over the continuous Islamophobic attacks and the increasing exclusion of Muslims from French public life. Many other groups and collectives are supporting the march, including the Collective Against Islamophobia in Europe, the Aama Committee, March for Solidarity, Undocumented Committee 75, and Urgence Palestine. 'Over 100 public figures have pledged their support – among them writer Annie Ernaux, actress Adele Haenel, comedian Waly Dia, academic Francois Verges, and artists Lmohtep and Booder,' the news outlet wrote. The rise in Islamophobic attacks is causing division among the French government, with only a few officials acknowledging that what happened to Cisse was an anti-Muslim hate crime. One of them was French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou, who earlier this month stressed his earlier remarks, describing Cisse's murder as an Islamophobic attack. After he faced criticism over his remarks, Bayrou said in an interview with Le Journal du Dimanche earlier this month: 'Yes, I stand by it. I can see there's a lot of debate. And to be honest, I often don't understand some of these controversies.' He added that he witnessed several instances when people refuse to use a word because 'one doesn't want to face reality.' 'The facts are clear: A 22-year-old man was murdered in a mosque while he was praying. His attacker filed the killing while hurling insults against Allah. So I ask: If this isn't hatred directed at Islam, then what is it?' he said.
Morocco World
28-04-2025
- Morocco World
Suspect Behind Islamophobic Attack in French Mosque Turns Himself In to Italian Police
Rabat – The man who stabbed and killed a Muslim mosque goer in a French mosque in La Grand Colombe, southern France, has turned himself in to the police in Italy just two days after he committed the crime. Reports said today that the suspect turned himself in near Florence on Sunday night. According to Al Jazeera, the French Ministry of Interior confirmed the news, noting that the suspect, aged 21, is named Olivier A. and has no previous criminal record. Abdelkrim Grini, the public prosecutor in Ales city, told French news outlet BFMTV that French police were tracking the suspect after he fled France. 'It was only a matter of time before we got our hands on him,' he said. The defendant killed Aboubakar Cisse, a young Malian Muslim, stabbing him 40 to 50 times in cold blood on Friday morning inside the mosque. The suspect filmed the heinous act himself, and even expressed the desire to become a 'serial killer' in the video, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau told BFMTV on Sunday. On Sunday, Muslims and non-Muslims alike marched in memory of Cisse in the town where he was murdered. Hundreds also rallied on Sunday in Paris to denounce the Islamophobic attack. Tags: Islam in FranceIslamophobia
The Sun
28-04-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Mosque murder suspect arrested in Italy: French prosecutor
NÎMES: A man suspected of stabbing a young Malian to death in a mosque in southern France and filming his victim writhing in agony has surrendered to police in Italy, a prosecutor told AFP on Monday. The suspect, 'Olivier A.', a French national born in Lyon in 2004, 'surrendered himself to a police station in Pistoia' near Florence, on Sunday, Abdelkrim Grini, the prosecutor of the southern city of Ales, who is in charge of the case, told AFP. '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,' Grini said. A European arrest warrant will be issued for his transfer across the border to France, the prosecutor said. More than 70 French police officers had been mobilised since Friday to 'locate and arrest' the perpetrator, considered 'potentially extremely dangerous', the prosecutor said. 'After boasting about his act, after practically claiming responsibility for it, he made comments that would suggest he intended to commit similar acts again,' Grini had said on Sunday. The suspect is from a Bosnian family, unemployed, and with ties to the southern Gard region. He lived in the small town of La Grande Combe which lies north of Ales. 'He was someone who had remained under the radar of the justice system and the police, and who had never been in the news until these tragic events,' Grini had said on Sunday. In La Grand-Combe, more than 1,000 people gathered on Sunday for a silent march in memory of the victim, Aboubakar Cisse, who was in his twenties. They marched from the Khadidja Mosque, where the stabbing occurred, to the town hall. Several hundred people also gathered in Paris later Sunday, including three-time presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon, who accused Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau of cultivating an 'Islamophobic climate'. 'Racism and hatred based on religion will never have a place in France,' President Emmanuel Macron said on X on Sunday, expressing 'the nation's support' to the victim's family and 'to our Muslim compatriots'.
Japan Today
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Japan Today
Mosque murder suspect arrested in Italy: French prosecutor
The Khadidja mosque in La Grand-Combe, southern France, where a man was stabbed to death A man suspected of stabbing a young Malian to death in a mosque in southern France and filming his victim writhing in agony has surrendered to police in Italy, a prosecutor told AFP on Monday. The suspect, "Olivier A.", a French national born in Lyon in 2004, "surrendered himself to a police station in Pistoia" near Florence, on Sunday, Abdelkrim Grini, the prosecutor of the southern city of Ales, who is in charge of the case, told AFP. "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," Grini said. A European arrest warrant will be issued for his transfer across the border to France, the prosecutor said. More than 70 French police officers had been mobilised since Friday to "locate and arrest" the perpetrator, considered "potentially extremely dangerous", the prosecutor said. "After boasting about his act, after practically claiming responsibility for it, he made comments that would suggest he intended to commit similar acts again," Grini had said on Sunday. The suspect is from a Bosnian family, unemployed, and with ties to the southern Gard region. He lived in the small town of La Grande Combe which lies north of Ales. "He was someone who had remained under the radar of the justice system and the police, and who had never been in the news until these tragic events," Grini had said on Sunday. In La Grand-Combe, more than 1,000 people gathered on Sunday for a silent march in memory of the victim, Aboubakar Cisse, who was in his twenties. They marched from the Khadidja Mosque, where the stabbing occurred, to the town hall. Several hundred people also gathered in Paris later Sunday, including three-time presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon, who accused Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau of cultivating an "Islamophobic climate". "Racism and hatred based on religion will never have a place in France," President Emmanuel Macron said on X on Sunday, expressing "the nation's support" to the victim's family and "to our Muslim compatriots". © 2025 AFP
