Haguenau mosque targeted by arsonist: suspect placed under judicial supervision

Betrayed by the video surveillance images, the young arsonist of the Ulu Camii mosque, located in Haguenau, near Strasbourg, who had tried to set fire to the place of worship last Thursday, was quickly arrested.

This dangerous arsonist, aged around twenty, whose criminal act fortunately took place in an empty mosque, was brought before the courts on Sunday 15 September and released under judicial supervision.

Even though the fire was quickly contained by the firefighters, who arrived on the scene with great speed, and even though tragedy was narrowly avoided, the local Muslim community, and in particular the leaders of theThe Franco-Turkish Cultural Association (ACFT), which manages the mosque, was seriously shaken by this.

Nearly four days after that terrifying Thursday, September 12, everyone is struggling to recover from the terror they felt when they learned that their place of worship was engulfed in flames. A criminal investigation has been opened following the complaint filed by the ACFT leaders.

DITIB France (Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs in France) immediately expressed its deep dismay, mixed with anger: ” We condemn this heinous act against our mosque, which is a place of peace and tranquility. All our support to our faithful. We will remain particularly vigilant and we call for vigilance in the face of such provocations. »

Shock and indignation now prevail in Haguenau, with the city’s chief magistrate, Claude Sturmi, having assured his Muslim constituents of his full support in these dark hours: “ We stand together against any form of hatred or violence. Our city will not be divided by these cowardly acts.”

The president of the French Observatory for the Fight against Islamophobia, Abdallah Zekri, denounced for his part ” the multiplication of these vile and odious acts”, while condemning ” haswith the latest attempts to set fire to mosques »He recalled the attempted arson attacks on the Cherbourg mosque last May, the one in Saint Malo in April, and the one in Poitiers in March. ” The policy of double standards is unbearable “, he strongly deplores.

Also in shock, the CFCM has “ Strongly condemns the attempted arson attack on the Ulu Camii mosque “, making a harsh and bitter observation: “This serious act, which could have caused victims, was not the subject of political demonstrations of solidarity, nor of adequate media coverage. ».