Muslim butcher shop hit by gun fire in Corsica, France

The front window of a Muslim butcher shop was sprayed with bullets during the night on the French island of Corsica, where communal tensions have flared in recent months, local prosecutor Eric Bouillard said yesterday.

The butchery, in the center of the resort town of Propriano, was "hit with a torrent of heavy-weapons fire," said Bouillard. No one was injured. Corsica, known as the "Isle of Beauty" for its turquoise waters and picturesque mountains, was rocked by anti-Arab riots over Christmas.

Protests erupted after firefighters and a police officer called to a low-income neighborhood, mostly home to North African immigrants, were ambushed and attacked. Demonstrators shouting slogans such as "This is our home!" and "Arabs get out," vandalized a Muslim prayer hall and set fire to books including copies of the Quran. Six people have been charged in connection with that unrest.

Islamophobia and xenophobia have long been on the rise in European countries. Last month, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said hate crimes against Muslims in France tripled last year while anti-Semitic assaults remained at an already "high level" and attacks on Christian sites rose by a fifth.

The massacre by Daesh of 130 people in coordinated Paris attacks in November has also stoked fears of attacks on Muslims and Islamic sites. After extremist attacks, hundreds of Muslims have used social media to show support for Parisians and that the terrorists and attacks are not a part of Islam with the hashtags #NotInMyName and #IAmAMuslim. French Muslims are not the only group who face threats, harassment and discrimination. Syrian refugees, who have been seeking a safe shelter mostly in Europe, but also in North America, face backlash over the attacks because of their religion. France is home to the largest Muslim population in Europe, estimated at between 4-5 million. The French Muslim community represents approximately 6 percent of the total population of the 58.5 million that live in France.