Islamists attacked a Marian Procession in Nanterre in France on Wednesday (December 8). The Muslims, who were shouting “This is the land of Allah, On the Quran I will slit your throat”, shutdown the event.
The Catholic Arena reported the attack was summarised in a Twitter thread of Nicolas Phillippe, which has since been deleted. The attack was confirmed by the Nanterre diocese.
The procession, organised to celebrate “immaculate conception” was attacked when it had moved barely 100 metres.
Phillippe wrote “Then sneers followed increasingly violent insults "children of whores", "gang of whores", then increasingly Christiannophobic words "here is not a cathedral", "you are khouffars of disbelievers", "break you are not at home"”.
The Doicese said in a statement “During the first stop the procession was taken to task by several people who uttered insults and coarse and violent threats. The torch of a devotee was snatched and thrown on the participants. The procession started again and continued to be joined by the police until Saint Marie des Fontenelles… The Diocese has contacted the public authorities so…that the security of legitimately iniquitous faithful is fully assured now and in the future.”
Phillippe said that it was dangerous to be a Christian in certain areas in France. He wrote “Honestly, the climate is very heavy, and it is more and more complicated, even dangerous, to be a Christian in certain territories. I am not trying to take pity only to explain the verbal and physical violence that Christians in France face”.
In October last year, a 21-year-old Tunisian Brahim Aioussaoi had killed three French people in Nice in a knife attack. French President Emmanuel Macron had called it an “Islamist terrorist attack”. Four thousand troops were deployed to protect churches and schools.
In July 2016, two Islamists had cut open the throat of Father Jacques Hamyl and had taken two nuns and two churchgoers hostage.
As reported by the Organiser in February this year, France passed a bill in its National Assembly to check the religious fundamentalism in the country.
The bill, called “Reinforcing Republican Principles”, doesn’t name any particular group or religion.
The demand for such a law was growing in the country in the wake of murder of Samuel Paty, a teacher who was beheaded in October last year by his student for displaying a picture of Prophet Muhammad. Paty was discussing the principle of free speech and expression when he displayed the picture.
French President Emmanuel Macron, in a speech a week after Paty’s murder, emphasised the need to check the growing Islamic fundamentalism in the country. He also talked about the crisis in global Islam and the need to check the foreign influence in France.
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