Residents of Hernani, a town and municipality located in the province of Gipuzkoa, Basque Country, Spain rallied on Sunday, 4th of March, to denounce the act of vandalizing a mosque, said Europa Press. Racist and xenophobic messages were found Saturday on the city's mosque, according to the Islamic Federation of the Basque Country, reported El Diario newspaper. In fact, someone wrote «Get out Arabs» on the mosque's gate next to a tag in the form of a target. The act was immediately denounced by the Federation. The association, which brings together the main Islamic organizations in the Basque Country, believes that these attacks «cross a red line that does not have to be touched». The residents gave their support to the Muslim community at a rally organized Sunday at 4 pm in the town hall square, with signs saying «No to racism, yes to respect». «We do not accept such racist attitudes,» said Hernani Mayor Luis Intxauspe. We want a municipality where everyone can live in freedom». The General Council of Guipuzcoa, one of the three provinces of the autonomous community in the Basque Country, also announced, in a statement, his «deep rejection» of such messages. «These signs of racism cannot be tolerated in the Basque society, which has suffered from hatred for many years and in which we try to favor coexistence,» said Ricardo Crespo, socialist spokesman for the municipality.
