Carpentras: Minister of Interior Bernard Cazeneuve’s support of French Muslims
Minister of the Interior Bernard Cazeneuve visited the mosque in Carpentras at the prayer hour while believers celebrated Eid. Cazeneuve was hosted by Mohamed Moussaoui, Vice President of the National Council of the Muslim Faith, and Khalid Belcadi, President of the Regional Council of the Muslim Faith. Representatives from Jewish and Christian communities were also present.
Representatives from the Muslim community wished to bring a message of peace, and said that they could find “no words strong enough” to denounce the barbaric acts committed by the Islamic State. “What is happening, the Muslims of France are in no way responsible and in no case should they excuse themselves,” stated Cazeneuve. “We must take responsibility and give ourselves the means to protect our youth, notably by monitoring speeches and their content…Those who leave France to fight are complicit in these crimes.”
Cazeneuve expressed his support for Muslim community and told victims of aggression to file complaints “each time an attack or an insult is made against a community or a place of worship.” He continued, “You should feel neither guilty nor accountable for acts of terrorism. There is no place for hurtful stigmatizations…there is only room for Frenchmen to gather in the Republic around its values. I will not accept any attack against a religion or that Islamophobia develops in France.”
