Anti-Muslim graffiti and dead bird target mosque in Lodève
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on TSA
The mosque in Lodève, Hérault, France, was vandalised and marked with anti-Muslim graffiti, and a dead bird was left there on 27 October. The rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris, Chems-Eddine Hafiz, denounced acts of intimidation and described October 2026 as a turning point in anti-Muslim violence, according to a statement issued on 30 October.
Anti-Muslim graffiti, including “Islam out” and “The suitcase or the coffin”, and the deposit of a dead bird targeted the mosque in Lodève, Hérault, France. Chems-Eddine Hafiz, rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris, denounced the acts of intimidation in a statement issued on Friday 30 October, according to TSA.
Chems-Eddine Hafiz called on public authorities to better protect places of worship and prosecute those responsible for threats and calls for violence. He also urged politicians, media figures and participants in public debate to consider the impact of their words, arguing that conflating issues can portray an entire community as a threat.
The rector placed the incident in the context of rising anti-Muslim violence in France and described October 2026 as a “worrying turning point”. The attack on the mosque in Lodève follows a racist shooting in Trappes, Yvelines, France, which left one person dead and several injured on 23 October.
