This month, a gang of young French Muslims who cried out the jihadist slogan “Allah Akbar (God is bigger)” threatened a Catholic priest and vowed to burn his church building before he could escape.
Some young people reportedly wore hoods after threatening at 7:50pm on May 10 at 7:50pm inside Our Lady of Del Eglis, a parish of Monfabet on the outskirts of Avignon at May 10.
Milan then filed a complaint with local police, and Actuarez reported on May 11 that the suspect was “running.” Police provided security from 10:30am to 12:00pm that day.
The young man first contacted the priest and insisted that they wanted to become Christians and asked if he could meet him at the church location. The 15-year-old reportedly pulled the priest aside after a late service at the church and asked him to “convert” before his accomplice joined him.
“Behind him were ten teenagers and young people, who asked if they could enter the church,” the Rev. Milan told La Provence. “Some people claim to be Muslims and they said they wanted to visit.”
However, upon entering the building, the young man reportedly threw a foul word at the priest, screaming in the Arabic “Allah Akbar,” and vowed to descend the church building before he could escape. At ages 15-17, they wore balaclavas and prevented CCTV footage from helping them identify, police sources said.
He also confirmed with Lavasence that a gang surrounded the priest and cursed him, one of them running around the church building.
“They did not personally sham me, and it was a provocative and shaming word, “Jesus, we have (exp) you against Catholic religion,” Milan recalls the gang by screaming “Allah Akbar” several times, and swears, “We will come back to burn your church.”
Previously, young people reported that they had confused meetings at the parish home, screaming out windows from outside their property and bumping into them, La Provence reported.
“We had a computer stolen from the church and candles,” Milan told the local newspaper. “Some people will voluntarily throw the ball into the wall of the church in the middle of the mass.”
Milan had only begun serving as a parish priest of the church since September 28th, before the incident.
The well-known Jewish human rights organization, Simon Wiesenthal Centre has previously expressed concern that the city of Avignon could become the focus of radical Islam.
Last year’s report showed nearly 1,000 hate crimes against followers of Christ in France in 2023, according to officials from the French Ministry of Interior. On March 20, 2024, the French Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Statistics abroad showed a 32% increase in racist, xenophobia, or anti-religious crimes and crimes in 2023.
Ministry spokesman Camille Chaise confirmed almost 1,000 known anti-Christian hate crimes in an interview with French Christian radio station FCR.FR. She responded to questions from radio hosts about incidents affecting Christians, saying 90% of her targeted property, such as church buildings and cemeteries. According to Chaize, the remaining 10% involved attacks on 84 Christians, but it was not clear whether the attack was verbally or physical.
The Ministry of Home Affairs, which issued the original report cited by Chaize, said for the past few years, “the majority of these crimes and crimes, as well as the majority of these fines recorded by security services, are insults, provocations or defamation (61% of crimes, and almost all fines).”
In total, the National Police and Gender Mary Services recorded 15,000 crimes in 2023 of the anti-religious, racist or xenophobic nature. As a result, authorities mobilized 10,000 security forces for Holy Week at Easter, according to their tolerance and hatred towards European Christians (Oidas).
