Miguel Angel Moratinos, the High Representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilization (UNAOC) has strongly condemned Islamophobic acts that Muslims experienced in the French cities of Rennes and Nantes recently.
The UN representative described the acts as “despicable,” violating international human rights.
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The UN official also called on all governments and stakeholders to support the UN recommendations, emphasizing the universality of religious sites as “symbols of our shared humanity, history, and traditions.”
“The mutual respect, interfaith harmony, and peaceful co-existence are attainable when there is broad space for everyone to freely and safely practice the rituals of their religions or beliefs,” he said.
The statement from the US official is in response to an Islamophobic incident that took place on Sunday, 11 April in Rennes.
Muslims were stunned to find Islamophobic graffiti on the walls of the Muslim Cultural Center in Rennes.
The graffiti included offensive slogans including, “no Islamization,” “Catholicism is the state religion,” as well as insulting comments against the prophet Muhammed.
The president of the regional council of the cultural center condemned the attack on Islam, calling for the end of “violence and barbarism.”
The attack on the Muslim Cultural Center comes at a time when France is receiving heavy criticism for its decision to impose a controversial bill that was recently adopted.
The French government introduced the bill as a mechanism to counter what it calls “Islamist separatism.”
Muslims in France, however, responded to the bill, condemning the surge of Islamophobia. Muslims also identify the bill as a means to target Islam.
