Dar Al Ifta affiliated Observatory of islamophobia denounced a request made by former director of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, Phillipe Val, to expunge verses pertaining to people of the Jewish faith and Christians in the Holy Quran, reports Egypt Independent on Wednesday.

The request - which was deemed as “hateful racism” by the observatory - calls on the abolition of verses within the holy book that are viewed as a call to fight the Jews and Christians.

In a report released on Tuesday, the Observatory relayed that Val had already collected 300 signatures in a petition supporting the abolition plea. The signatures included prominent men within France, such as President Nicolas Sarkozy, former prime minister Manuel Carlos Valls and singer Charles Aznavour.

Warning against calls of an islamophobic nature, the observatory emphasized that paying heed to these requests not only feeds into racism but also aggravates Muslim minorities in France causing them to feel of marginalized which in turn will lead to a growth in extremism.

Such requests only serve to support views claiming that “France is not a land that welcomes islam” added the Observatory in its statement.

Prior to 2015, Marion Marshall Lyon had made a similar statement that was refuted by the republican parties and politicians who deemed it racist adds the Observatory.

Main image taken from Shorouk News.