French teen harassed over anti-Islam videos visits mosque

PARIS (AFP) - A French teenager whose criticism of Islam saw her targeted with a barrage of online abuse met with the imam of the main Paris mosque on Thursday (July 8), a visit she said she hoped would "calm things down for everyone."

It came a day after a court convicted 11 people of harassing the 18-year-old girl, known as Mila, who was forced to change schools and accept police protection after her video rants went viral.

"It's a sign of peace that is very important for me," Mila told journalists, after receiving a pink-covered Quran from the imam, Chems-eddine Hafiz.

He gave her a guided tour of the ornate mosque and its minaret during the two-hour visit, carried out under high security.

"The Paris mosque is open to everyone. We want to show her what Islam truly means," Hafiz said.

"Islam is obviously a religion that is worthy of respect," he said, adding that he believed Mila's "sharp words" had been made in the "particular context" of online bullying.

Since her expletive-laden videos against Islam in 2020, the previously unknown schoolgirl has become a divisive public figure in France, seen by supporters as a courageous fighter for free speech, and by critics as deliberately provocative and Islamophobic.

France's strict hate speech laws criminalise inciting hatred against a group based on their religion or race, but they do not prevent people from criticising or insulting religious beliefs.

Mila, who is from the southeastern Isere region, recently published a book on her experience, titled "I am the Price of Your Freedom."