World

Teacher beheaded in Paris; France says ‘Islamist terrorist attack’

PARIS — A high school teacher in a Paris suburb was decapitated Friday afternoon, French authorities said, in an attack that occurred after the teacher had allegedly shown caricatures of the prophet Muhammad to his students.

The attack occurred after 5 p.m. near a school in the Paris suburb of Conflans-Saint-Honorine northwest of Paris, according to French news reports. Police shot the suspect in a nearby town, killing him, said French police sources cited in news reports.

France’s national anti-terror prosecutor immediately opened an investigation for “murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise” and “criminal terrorist association.” French President Emmanuel Macron later visited the crime scene, and Interior Minister Gerard Darmanin returned to Paris from an official visit to Morocco.

“They will not pass,” Macron said, speaking at the scene. “Obscurantism and the violence that goes with it will not win. They won’t divide us.”

The victim was identified as a high school history and geography teacher. Parents in the area had recently complained that a local teacher had shown students caricatures of the prophet Muhammad as part of a lesson on freedom of expression, France’s BFM television reported.

As authorities worked to establish a more complete picture, the potential motive of seeking revenge for the Muhammad cartoons led investigators to quickly consider the case a terrorist attack, Le Monde reported.

“Tonight, it was the Republic that was attacked with the despicable assassination of one of its servants, a professor,” said Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer. “I think tonight of him, of his family. Our unity and steadfastness are the only answers to the monstrosity of Islamist terrorism.”

Friday’s attack comes amid the historic trial of 14 alleged accomplices in the January 2015 attack on Charlie Hebdo, a satirical newspaper that had published cartoons that depicted the likeness of Muhammad, which is strictly prohibited by the Muslim faith. The two attackers in the 2015 shooting were recorded saying that they had avenged the prophet as they fled the scene.

Last month, Charlie Hebdo’s editors commemorated the beginning of the trial by publishing new cartoons of Muhammad.

Weeks later, two people were stabbed outside the former Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo in an assault that authorities later said had been designed to attack the newspaper’s journalists a second time.

Against the backdrop of these attacks, Macron unveiled plans for combating what he called “Islamist separatism” this month. In a long-awaited speech, he called Islam “a religion that is in crisis all over the world,” with problems that stem from a “very strong hardening” of positions among Muslims.

[Source: washingtonpost]

Recent Posts

Top Indian winter wedding destinations places

Discover the best places for a destination wedding in winter in India. Plan your perfect… Read More

4 hours ago

Shiv chalisa lyrics in hindi

Read Chalisa lytrics in Hindi every day to keep your energy high if you are… Read More

5 hours ago

Aaj Ka Panchang for 23-Dec-2024: Shubh Muhurat & Rahu Kaal

Aaj Ka Panchang: आज पौष माह के कृष्ण पक्ष की अष्टमी तिथि तथा दिन सोमवार… Read More

5 hours ago

Shiv Ji Aarti Lyrics in Hindi शिव जी की आरती

Shiv Ji Aarti Lyrics in Hindi: भगवान शिव को कोई रुद्र तो कोई भोलेनाथ के… Read More

5 hours ago

Milan Day Chart Result सट्टा मटका मिलन डे चार्ट रिजल्ट 23.12.2024

Milan Day Matka Open Result Time: मिलन डे मटका ओपन का रिजल्ट  3:10 PM पर… Read More

6 hours ago

Milan Morning Chart Result – मिलन मॉर्निंग चार्ट रिजल्ट: 23.12.2024

Milan Morning Chart Result Result Time: मिलन मॉर्निंग चार्ट का रिजल्ट  10:15 AM पर आता… Read More

7 hours ago