Yahoo – AFP, Sophie Deviller with Myriam Chaplain-Riou in Lyon, July 30, 2016
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| People hold a banner reading "We will overcome" as they take part in a silent march on July 30, 2016 in Lyon following the fatal attack on a French priest (AFP Photo/ Jean-Philippe Ksiazek) |
Paris (AFP)
- Muslim and Christian groups came together Saturday to mourn a French priest
murdered by jihadists, as authorities charged a man in connection with the
brutal church attack that rocked the nation.
A
shellshocked France is still coming to terms with the jihadist killing of the
clergyman at the altar in his church, sparking fears of tensions between
religions in the secular nation.
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Priest
Jacques Hamel was killed in a
brutal attack at his church of
Saint-Etienne-
du-Rouvray, northern France (AFP Photo)
|
Hundreds of
people marched in silence, as mourners at the front of the crowd carried
banners that read: "This is not a religious war" and "We are all
brothers and sisters."
"We
think it is crucial to leave no room for resignation, resentment or fear, and
to take a stand for togetherness," Abdelkader Bendidi, who heads the
regional Muslim council, said in a statement.
"Let's
not give the agents of terror a second victory by giving in to hate," said
Azzedine Gaci, a local imam.
'Criminal
conspiracy'
"It
doesn't matter what our religious beliefs are, or if we have none at all. These
attacks won't divide us. Instead, they will unite us around one idea:
reconciliation," said Foucauld Giuliani, of a Catholic group.
In the
southwestern city of Bordeaux, some 400 people attended a vigil for the
85-year-old Jacques Hamel, who had his throat slit by IS-inspired teenaged
attackers.
 |
Graphic
showing the movements of France church attackers Adel Kermiche
and Abdel Malik
Petitjean (AFP Photo/Sophie RAMIS, Simon MALFATTO,
Laurence SAUBADU)
|
Prayers
were also held in the Saint-Etienne church where the killing took place as
Hamel was celebrating mass on Tuesday.
Among the
300 people who attended the evening mass in northern Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray,
some 50 were Muslims.
Police were
still trying to piece together links to the two 19-year-olds who carried out
the attack -- Adel Kermiche and Abdel Malik Petitjean -- both of whom were on
intelligence services' radar and had tried to go to Syria.
On Friday,
authorities filed charges against a 19-year-old man accused of "criminal
conspiracy with terrorists" after police discovered a mobile phone video
of one of the assailants at his home.
Police were
still questioning Petitjean's cousin and a Syrian refugee, after a photocopy of
his passport was found at Kermiche's house.
A
16-year-old was released but could ultimately face a separate investigation for
possessing jihadist propaganda, authorities added.
A source
close to the enquiry said that a 17-year-old, who had tried to travel to Syria
with Kermiche, was arrested in Geneva and sent back to France just a few days
before the attack.
However,
"nothing suggests he was in any way implicated in the attack" at this
stage, the source added.
Both French
Prime Minister Manuel Valls and Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve have come
under fire for perceived security failings.
Valls has
said he would consider a temporary ban on foreign financing of mosques, urging
a "new model" for relations with Islam after a spate of jihadist
attacks.
France has
just over 2,000 mosques, for one of Europe's largest Muslim populations of
around five million.
 |
Muslims
hold a minute of silence on July 29, 2016 in front of the church if
Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, where French priest Jacques Hamel was killed
(AFP
Photo/Charly Triballeau )
|
'Peace,
it's what we want'
Since the
assault, harrowing details have emerged about what happened in the church as
well as a chilling warning from one of the attackers.
On Friday,
L'Express magazine revealed that Kermiche had described the modus operandi of
the attack on the encrypted messaging app Telegram.
"You
take a knife, you go into a church. Bam!" says the message recorded just a
few days before the attack.
Meanwhile,
two elderly nuns who were in the church at the time of the attack told AFP the
assailants "smiled" and spoke about peace.
Sister
Helena said when asked if she was familiar with Islam's holy book, she said she
had read several suras especially those about peace.
According
to the nun, one of the attackers replied: "Peace, it's what we want... as
long as there are bombs on Syria, we will continue our attacks. And they will
happen every day. When you stop, we will stop."
"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it), Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse), Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)
Muslims pray with Catholics around France over priest's 'barbaric' murder https://t.co/ax6q62yunX pic.twitter.com/lSscHhhEgF— AFP news agency (@AFP) July 31, 2016
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Iman Sami
Salem (L) and Imam Mohammed ben Mohammed (R) stand during a
mass in the church
Santa Maria in trastevere in Rome on July 31, 2016 (AFP
Photo/Tiziana Fabi)
|
"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it), Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse), Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)
“. New Tolerance
Look for a softening of finger pointing and an awakening of new tolerance. There will remain many systems for different cultures, as traditions and history are important to sustaining the integrity of culture. So there are many in the Middle East who would follow the prophet and they will continue, but with an increase of awareness. It will be the increase of awareness of what the prophet really wanted all along - unity and tolerance. The angel in the cave instructed him to "unify the tribes and give them the God of Israel." You're going to start seeing a softening of intolerance and the beginning of a new way of being.
Eventually, this will create an acknowledgement that says, "You may not believe the way we believe, but we honor you and your God. We honor our prophet and we will love you according to his teachings. We don't have to agree in order to love." How would you like that? The earth is not going to turn into one belief system. It never will, for Humans don't do that. There must be variety, and there must be the beauty of cultural differences. But the systems will slowly update themselves with increased awareness of the truth of a new kind of balance. So that's the first thing. Watch for these changes, dear ones. ...."
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