Paris : The Muslim community in France is getting ready to combat a rise in Islamophobic incidents after a series of deadly attacks in Paris, news agencies reported.
Attacks in France by militants -the Kouachi brothers and Amedy Coulibaly – have sent a shockwave of fear and anger through the country, a total of 20 people including the three gunmen were killed over three days.
The attackers claimed to have killed in the name of Islam and since these incidents, a dozen of Islamophobic acts have taken place in France.
In Vendôme, a city south west of Paris, a mosque came under fire on Thursday night. In the northern region of the Pas-de-Calais, two mosques under construction had pigs’ heads thrown on the floors and a swastika sprayed on the wall.
The Muslim community, in general, is scared of possible further attacks. “What is happening is very hard,” said Nisrine Zaïbi a Muslim woman and deputy-president of the Regional council of Bourgogne.
She admitted that the number of racist acts against Muslims in her area has increased since Wednesday’s attack on the Paris offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
“The paramedics have just informed me of an Islamophobic attack against a 33-year old man who now suffers from a skull trauma,” she says, adding “My friend had her hijab removed by force on Thursday evening when she arrived at the maternity ward.”
Muslim community leaders have been gathering since Thursday to define a strategy and attempt to prevent the collapse of coexistence in France.