Trump supporters 'blame Muslims' for Paris Notre Dame fire

Trump supporters 'blame Muslims' for Paris Notre Dame fire
Even after the Notre Dame fire was declared accidental, figures on the far-right took to the internet to blame Muslims and claim it's symbolic of Paris becoming an 'Islamic toilet'.
2 min read
17 April, 2019
The Notre Dame was set ablaze on Monday [Getty]

A fire that swept through the roof of the French Notre Dame Cathedral is being used by Trump supporting alt-right figures to spark hate towards Muslims, even saying it’s better the the cathedral burns so it doesn’t turn into a mosque one day.

The fire engulfed the roof of the famed cathedral in central Paris on Monday evening, sending flames and huge clouds of grey smoke billowing into the sky and causing its spire to collapse.

At the time, a spokesman for the cathedral said that the wooden structure supporting the roof was being gutted by the blaze, with fire service adding the blaze could be "potentially linked" to ongoing renovations.

Despite the almost immediate ruling out of the fire being the result of an attack, alt-right figures used the inferno as their way to sprout hate against Muslim -- even days later.

White nationalist commentator Richard Spencer, who rose to fame after he was punched in the face whilst giving a TV interview in 2017, said the fire should inspire the “White man” to fight back..

"If the Nortre [sic] Dame fire serves to spur the White man into action—to sieze [sic] power in his countries, in Europe, in the world—then it will have served a glorious purpose and we will one day bless this catastrophe," he wrote.

Conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec even took to compare to the 9/11 attack of 2001.

“Many Catholics are saying Notre Dame feels like 9/11 did. Of course they don't mean there is a literal comparison, but to many of us, the images of beloved icons engulfed in flames and falling draws the same visceral emotions of loss and anger,” he said.

InfoWars, a far-right online platform which repeatedly finds itself under fire for released a video with its main operator Alex Jones claiming the fire is symbolic of the “Islamic takeover of France”.

He claimed that if he went Paris, which he claims has become “an Islamic toilet”, he would have visited the Notre Dame.

Jones even went to the extent to say it’s better that the 856-year-old cathedral burns before it turns into a mosque.

“That sucker [Notre Dame] is in flames - that’s too bad. But it’ll just turn into a mosque anyway so maybe it’s better it totally burns”, he said.

 

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