The young man’s name was Hicham: “Almost like Hichem, the Tunisian who was murdered last weekend… It really makes you think.” Hicham, age 36, worked in construction and wore a qamis, the traditional Arab attire that many Muslims don for the holiday. He did not want to give his last name (as was the case for others referred to by their first name), which is also “a sign,” he said. “In the current climate, it’s not a good idea to expose yourself,” he added, standing a few steps from the Al-Hashimi mosque in Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine, north of Paris, where he had come to pray for Eid al-Adha on Friday, June 6.
The city’s mayor, the Socialist Karim Bouamrane, attended the third morning prayer. “He spoke about Hichem [Miraoui, a Tunisian killed on May 31 in Puget-sur-Argens by a neighbor, Christophe Belgembe, who has been indicted for terrorist murder],” Hicham recounted. “He condemned this hatred. It’s a way of showing a bit of consideration and it feels good, we feel less alone. Because otherwise, we don’t really know which side the government is on.”
On the day of Eid, which fell on a Friday this year, the day of the large weekly prayer, it was difficult to ignore the “climate” Hicham described. The racist and anti-Muslim attack in Puget-sur-Argens followed the murder of Aboubakar Cissé, who was stabbed on April 25 inside the mosque of La Grand-Combe, in southern France. “I think about it when I come to pray,” confirmed Fanta Bamba, 41, accompanied by four of her five children. “The women’s prayer area upstairs is partitioned off, so if we hear an unusual noise, we get scared.”
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