Muslim and Jewish groups on Thursday strongly condemned an attack on a young Muslim girl in the Belgian city of Charleroi.
In a statement, the Coordinating Committee of Belgian Jewish Organizations (CCOJB) said that it condemns in the strongest terms "the horrible attack suffered by a young Muslim woman".
The group described the attack as a "despicable act" in which the girl's headscarf was pulled off and she was insulted.
Meanwhile, the Belgium Federation of Islam also condemned the attack and called for taking necessary steps to prosecute attackers.
In a statement, the federation condemned the "separatist rhetoric" used by Belgian politicians.
"As long as headscarves and Muslim women are shown as threats, […] violence will be inevitable," the statement added.
The federation said such incidents instill fear in Muslim women, urging the government to ensure the protection of headscarfed women.
On Monday night, two assailants attacked a 19-year-old Muslim teen in Anderlues municipality, reportedly tearing off her clothes, leaving her with deep marks inflicted by a sharp object across her bare chest, legs, and stomach.
On Wednesday, the Inter-federal Centre for Equal Opportunities (UNIA) spokesman Bram Sebrechts told Anadolu Agency the attack was motivated by Islamophobia in his opinion.
However, the Charleroi Prosecutor's Office will make a ruling on the nature of the attack, Sebrechts said.
Turkish-origin Belgian parliamentarian Mahinur Ozdemir said the young woman was out at night searching for her cat when she came under attack.
Ozdemir said the victim could have been murdered.
"If measures are not taken it will be unfortunately impossible to prevent such attacks," he said.
The EU has lately witnessed growing Islamophobia and hatred of migrants in recent years triggered by propaganda from far-right and populist parties, which have exploited fears over the refugee crisis and terrorism.
