Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News – 2013-08-15  

A 16-year old Muslim girl was attacked in a Paris suburb and had her niqaab (Islamic veil) torn from her face.

The teenager was leaving a friend’s house in Trappes when she was attacked by two “European looking” men, one of whom was also described as having a shaven head.   

Her attackers shouted anti-Muslim and racist abuse at her while brandishing a box cutter, before ripping off her veil, pushing her to the ground and savagely hitting her.  

A third man intervened, rescued the girl sending the attackers fleeing by car. The victim was driven to a hospital in Trappes, the same blighted suburb of  Paris that saw violent clashes between police and mainly Muslim youths last month.
 
As anti-Islamic attacks in France soar, a French Muslim leader condemned the ‘climate of Islamophobia’ and urged the government to act.

A source told le Parisien newspaper that she was treated for “light scratch marks” on her face and throat.

The French Interior Minister Manuel Valls condemned the attack.  “I severely condemn this newest demonstration of anti-Muslim hatred and intolerance. Police services have been fully mobilized so that the authors of this unacceptable attack are identified, found, arrested and handed over to the courts,” he said.  

This latest attack is one of many anti-Muslim incidents in France, which have risen by 60% in recent months.