More than 200 Catholics, Jews and Muslims walked side by side Monday in Villeurbanne, after The fire of a Koran in a city mosque.
“It is important that faithful of different beliefs get along and walk together. Our fellow citizens feel insecure, we must demonstrate that we can live together in peace, “said Margault Odet, engineer, resident of Villeurbanne, who came to participate in the walk with her husband and three children aged 3 to 7.
This initiative, rather rare since the resumption of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, was launched by local citizens and religious leaders.
“You don’t feel safe. It has been going on for years, and it is not going well, international news does not help ”deplore Laure Charbonnier, 40, of Muslim confession.
A march of “republican start”
In a fraternal atmosphere, walking symbolically connected three places of worship of the popular city of the Lyon suburbs: the Holy Madeleine church, the Keren or synagogue and the Errahma mosque.
A symbolic way of maintaining the dialogue between religious communities, in a popular city historically attached to respect for origins and cultures.
“We want to make visible what is positive, we want to bring the interreligious agreement to life. This was necessary after the painful moments experienced by the Muslim community “pleaded Olivier de Gersigny, parish priest of the Saint Madeleine parish.
This march of “republican burst” aimed to call for citizen fraternity and interreligious dialogue, in reaction to the fire of a copy of the Koran in the mosque of the town, During the night of June 1 to 2.
“Haine’s speeches develop, Muslims are shown to finger and this weighs on the population,” said Azzedine Gacci, Imam in Villeurbanne and Muslim figure in the Lyon region. According to him, the mosques have been operating differently for a few months, by monitoring the entries during the prayers, when they used to open freely even for the latecomers.
“We need to say that that’s enough, stop hatred, stop violence,” explained Daniela Touati, rabbine of the liberal synagogue, on the steps of the town hall, where the mayor Cédric van Styvendael, mayor (PS) of Villeurbanne, welcomed the procession.
Shortly before, a gathering of support to the activists present on a boat for Gaza intercepted by the Israeli authorities had brought together 600 people in Lyon.
