500 Muslim Soldiers' Tombs Desecrated In France

PARIS — Vandals desecrated at least 500 tombs of Muslim soldiers in northern France on Monday _ an act President Nicolas Sarkozy denounced as "repugnant racism."

The desecration near the town of Arras appeared timed with the start of Eid al-Adha, the most important holiday in the Muslim calendar.

The administration for the Pas-de-Calais region said the damaged tombs were in the Muslim section of the Notre-Dame-de-Lorette cemetery, a well-groomed burial ground for World War I soldiers. Some had swastikas scrawled on the tombstone, others had lettering whose meaning was unclear.

There are 576 graves in the Muslim section of the cemetery, where more than 30,000 soldiers are buried.

Sarkozy, in a statement, said the "abject and revolting act" equates with "repugnant racism against France's Muslim community" and insults the memory of all World War I combatants.

It was the third time the Muslim section of the cemetery has been targeted. Last April, 148 tombs were desecrated, and a year before that 52 headstones and an ossuary were vandalized.

The French Council for the Muslim Faith, a group representing France's numerous Muslim groups, decried "these odious, revolting and scandalous acts" and said it expected authorities to find out who carried out the attack.

Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said police were investigating the incident.

Comments

[leeman79]

Punish those responsible. We don't need to go into all the French trashing. First of all, they got it right on Iraq from day one. Second, do not question the valor of the French soldier again. Have any of you "freedom frie" americans ever heard of the battle of Verdun or the siege at Dien Bien Phu?

The french lost millions of soldiers in WWI. There were entire towns after the war that literally had no men because they were all killed in the war. This tends to make you not want to have another war, that's why they built the maginot line.

Make sure you know what your talking about before you question someone elses courage and bravery from now on.

[canucklivinginUSA]

Did anyone on here questioned the valor of French soldiers? I think you need to calm down a bit and read the comments once more. We are actually outraged by the desecration of THESE soldiers who are FRENCH too.

[Furby]

Well put Canuck. It's bad no matter what you point of view might be.

[leeman79]

I am outraged by the desecration. That's why I stated, punish those responsible. Read thru the comments, and you'll find quite a few "cowardly french" references. I'm half french. Therefore, I'm going to defend my heritage as well.

[sybergirl]

I agree completely. Only those responsible should be punished, not the French people as a whole. I'm glad Pres. Sarkozy (sp?) spoke out so harshly against this heinous act. Sometimes I question his priorities as president, but this time he really showed some heart by condemning these actions.

[rushthelibs]

Do you remember the siege at Khe Sahn, or how about the Battle of Fallujah? Let’s hope people will speak of these battles and veterans with the respect and reverence that they deserve. I am sure you do.

[leeman79]

I remember it well, and I'm reading you Lima Charlie.

[Riemann]

I wouldn't bring up the maginot line if I were you. That's just embarrassing.

[mervr1]

Why is it that these ignorant people want to assume that all Muslims are terrorists or bad people. Racism continues to run rampant, just as genocide while governments and people want to look the other way instead of saying enough is enough and taking actions against these idiots.

These soldiers of Muslim faith served and died for their country just as the rest of the soldiers buried there. I'm pretty sure that the ignorant people who committed these acts were never soldiers and probably have done nothing worthwhile­...kinda like most racist. Most are cowards who always have to hide themselves and their acts, because they don't have any guts or character.

[SENATORCALLENBOWE]

WE WONT FORGET....

[newdates]

Wars started mostly from the religious exteremism, The history has proved it. Endless wars are coming as long as the religios extremism exists.

[adampap]

extremists will exist as long as religion does.

[OkieIntellectual]

"Endless wars are coming as long as Religion exists."

There, fixed it for ya :)

[ricitizen]

Wow, who ever did this has a truly dark heart. It has the potential for serious igniting of religious and ethnic warfare., which I suspect is what the vandals are looking for. Now is the time for religious leaders to call for an awakening to the core values of faith which is love and brotherhood. Otherwise, I am not optimistic.

[AContrario]

France, by extension Europe,can be a truly dark place if you are member of a non-white minority. Don't
get fooled by the constant whining of french diplomats and politicians about their motto:
"freedom,e­quality,br­otherhood" that was true back in the days when all french were white and catholic
or protestant.

Now the biggest european muslim community lives in France and there are generations of french citizens who are not white and catholic. Until November 2008, America was the favourite french
argument point to denounce instituanolized racism but now America has grown up over the last 8
years and France,like the rest of europe, still have to face its own racial and social dilemna.
I am afraid it is going to take longer because Europe is so rooted and trapped in its supposedly
superior culture that they won't change that easily. Sometime is good to be a young country...

[Riemann]

I am an American living in Paris.

I have never seen such racism in my life until I moved to Paris. It's everywhere here. It's a shock when you walk along the street and stop at a candy stand and say oooh what are those chocolates and they tell you those are "tetes de negre". english translation: "n*gger heads"

I've never been to mississippi but something tells me even in mississippi they don't sell chocolates on the city streets called "n*gger heads". except maybe at the kkk ranch.

[rektruax]

"Wow, who ever did this has a truly dark heart."

And a very busy night. I'll assume it was more than one person.

[darthdarcy]

Really a terrible stupid repugnant act...this will only cause outrage and division and even possible retaliation world wide...

I hope the French get to the bottom of this, and capture who did such a terrible thing..

[rushthelibs]

If they can identify these people, what should the punishment be?

[chaos4700]

I'm pretty sure there are already adequate laws in France to cover acts of vandalism like this. What sort of discussion are you trying to provoke?

[biwee]

Khazars strike again???????

[BushSunkOurShip]

Christians call Muslims violence and full of hate..
They must have been reading verses from some bible other then about the teaching of Jesus Christ...
The more you read , the more evidence you see just where the violence and hate is coming from...

[rushthelibs]

??? are you saying that Christians are the cause of violence used by Islamists????

[chaos4700]

Of course he isn't. Put your straw man away.

[SekhmetHathor]

So will France have the audacity to be surprised if the Muslims strike back? You know, you can't go around being disrespectful to people and expect kindness in return. This sort of hateful attitude towards Muslims will only cause more problems. It seems the bigots of the world cause a disproportionate amount of problems compared to the rest of us.

[RHCNYC]

I'm always amazed how we act as if Muslims in France have taken every effort to embrace French culture, that of the country they CHOSE to reside in, instead of remaining isolated.
The racism / bigotry goes both ways there.

[MiddleRed]

And yet, it continues unabated. Racism on both sides still prevails. NICE.

[chaos4700]

How much effort have you taken to embrace Native American culture?

[realt123]

They were in France because of a decision made by their ancestors. Not them. And they should be treated respectfully. Embracing French culture is not an obligation. Embracing law is, something that these naive racists failed to "embrace." I'm sure if they had a choice they would be in some other country besides France because France has a reputation of being the most racist European country for Muslims according to number of hate crimes there.

[ZimboChick]

The French are openly biased against Mus lims and non whites. That is a known fact. Good for Sarkozy for denouncing that. That is what happens when you encourage the 'hard working people' to do stupid things and then when you cannot contain them anymore, turn around and denounce them. Has it occurred to you that most Muslim people DID NOT CHOOSE to reside there. They were either born there or forced to be there through displacement. Open your mind. Yes of course some chose to be there but do not be ridiculous already

[MagisterLudi]

Obviously desecration of graves is not a good thing. A few hooligans most likely did it.
But "strike back"? Do tell us....don'­t shy.

[skahimself]

Awesome.

Just friggin' awesome : (

These next few years - until the U.S. and world economies get back on track, are going to be ugly. Really ugly.

Everyone is going to blame everyone else rather than pointing the finger at those responsible.

Here's hoping a few people kep their wits about them.

[MajorKong]

This isn't helping...­..

[rockyb26]

awful

[Forester]

This is so very wrong.

France needs to make a very public repudiation of this hate crime, and use it as an opportunity to address the growing xenophobia in Europe.

[bujeeboo]

This is truly disgusting and perpetrated by horrible people.

[TheWanderer]

This is not a matter of racism; Islam is not a country. Let's call this what it is - religious violence, specifically Christian violence, against another religion.

[allonfla]

Islam is not a race, you mean.

[Mike169]

I think the racism comes from the anti-Arab sentiment of the vandals. I'm pretty sure, nonetheless, that there is nothing in the Christian religions which forbid them from being violent. Or stupid.

[UrbanRube]

Mike, the central idea in the Christian religion absolutely prohibits this. Jesus is clearly non-violent and the New Testament is full of directions to beat your swords into plowshares and turn the other cheek and seek justice (for all, especially the downtrodden) and love mercy. Unfortunately organized religion and those who call ourselves its followers often wander far from its roots and betray its essential meanings.

This is truly, truly sickening behavior, and since we don't know if the perpetrators even were Christians (although, since they're largely Catholic, the French are often considered a "Christian" nation), let's back off from blaming them without any proof.

I understand that it does smack of a French equivalent to our own Klan, though.

Sickening.

[chaos4700]

True, strictly speaking, that's a bit more accurate. I'm hesitant to put the blame squarely on the shoulders of Christians -- there are Jews with at least as much of a motive to do this sort of thing, and there are a number of vocal atheists who target Islam with extreme prejudice (e.g. Christopher Hitchins.)

We won't know if there was anything until (unless...­) the suspects are apprehended as to the specifics of their motives, but does it ultimately matter? In any case, it's a disgraceful example of bigotry and xenophobia.