MARSEILLE: French police started a hunt for a man suspected of killing a Muslim worshipper inside a mosque in the south of the country on Friday and then filming the dying victim on a mobile phone and shouting insults at Islam.

The worshipper was stabbed dozens of times in the village of La Grand-Combe, in the Gard region of southern France. His killer was still at large on Saturday, regional prosecutor Abdelkrim Grini said.

Investigators are now treating the killing as a possible Islamophobic crime.

The alleged perpetrator sent the video he had filmed with his phone, showing the victim writhing in agony, to another person, who then shared it on a social media platform before deleting it.

The killing itself was not shown on the images posted on social media, but was filmed by security cameras inside the mosque. In his own footage the killer notices these cameras and is heard saying: “I am going to be arrested that’s for sure”.

According to another source, the suspected perpetrator, while not apprehended, has been identified as a French citizen of Bosnian origin who is not a Muslim.

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2025