The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today repeated its call for European leaders to stop promoting anti-Muslim hate after mosques in the United Kingdom and France were targeted with attacks.
Emergency services were called to the Masjid Al Aqsa mosque in Lancashire, England, after the building caught fire in the early hours of Saturday morning. Lancashire Police said a window was smashed and a fire was then deliberately started inside the mosque.
Also on Saturday, vandals smashed the windows of the El Hidaya Mosque in Roussillon, southeastern France, overturned its furniture, and plastered hateful leaflets on the walls.
SEE: Lancashire Police investigating arson attack on Blackburn mosque
In a statement, CAIR Deputy Executive Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said:
“We condemn these despicable attacks on the Muslim communities of the United Kingdom and France, and we stand in solidarity with the European Muslim community. Elected officials across Europe must stop fanning the flames of anti-Muslim bigotry through their public statements and discriminatory policies. Otherwise, these attacks may only increase.”
He noted that earlier this month, CAIR repeated its call for French officials to stop fanning the flames of Islamophobia after a suspect reportedly killed a Tunisian neighbor in southeastern France and badly wounded a Turkish man.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com