On the Corsican island of Ajaccio, a group of hooded thugs attacked a group of French firefighters in an ambush on Christmas Day, December 25.  As AP reported, “The violence began Thursday night, when firefighters responding to an emergency call were ambushed in Ajaccio, according to the local France 3 television. ”

After the attack on firefighters, Ajaccio community members turned out to protest in support of the injured emergency officers who had been ambushed.  However, the extremists among the protest turned the protest into mob of violence, and some in the crowd then went on to attack a local mosque including vandalizing an Islamic prayer room.  France 3 reported police reinforcements at other prayer rooms for their protection.  France’s interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, condemned those responsible for hurting police and firefighters in Ajaccio. He said investigators would also look into the vandalism of the prayer room, which he said included attempts to burn Qurans and prayer books.

The Daily Telegraph reported that “They shouted slogans in Corsican meaning ‘Arabs get out!’ or ‘This is our home!’, an AFP correspondent reported. Nearby was the Muslim prayer room and a small group smashed the glass door and entered the place of worship, ransacking the room and partially burning books including copies of the Koran, said regional official Francois Lalanne.
‘Fifty prayer books were thrown out on the street,’ said Mr Lalanne, adding that some of the pages were burnt.  The French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) and its monitor of Islamophobia denounced the violence and pointed to the timing of the attack on Friday ‘on a day of prayer for both Muslims and Christians.’ ”

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Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) stands in support of our universal human rights for all, and we stand in defiance against those, including terrorist and hate groups, which seek to attack such universal human rights, dignity, and security for all.

We cannot support human rights, if we also do not reject those who seek to rob our brothers and sisters in humanity of their lives and security, which are also our universal human rights.