Nota Bene : Even though I regularly warn my readers not to blindly trust any source, just this once the non-French speakers will have to make do with my translation. 
Today, Monday February the 4th 2013, French Imams visited Drancy near Paris. What is there to draw a crowd in Drancy, you may ask? The National Memorial to the Shoah.
Nearly 140 religious leaders of Islam in France converged on the Seine Saint-Denis locality in order to commemorate the more than 70 000 French Jews deported from there between 1941 and 1944.
Hassen Chalghoumi, Drancy’s Imam led the group and declared : “We want to show that Islam has nothing to do with hatred. Violence should be condemned, that of the Nazis yesterday, that of terrorists today.”
As President of the French Council of Imams, Imam Chalghoumi is multiplying initiatives to lessen the divide between French Muslims and Jews. On the 11th of november 2012 already, he had gathered 16 other Imams and gone to Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territories where he stated that : “Our aim is to say out loud that the Israel-Palestine conflict is political in nature, not religious. With our action here, we want to cut short tensions that fragilize the “vivre ensemble” ( Living together ) here in France and thus refuse any attempt to transpose conflict in our country.” During that very visit, the Imams went to pray on the graves of the French victims of Mohamed Merah [ see this post on the subject in Definitive Lapse of Reason ]. He also visited the Yad Vashem Shoah Memorial in a previous visit to to Israel, then commenting that : “It ( the Shoah ) is not only the Jewish people’s history but that of all humans! By protecting the memory of that story, we protect all minorities.”
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Of course, there is a price to pay for such openness and tolerance in today’s World. As boubou and djellaba clad French Imams gathered in Drancy for that visit, French writer Marek Halter noticed their courage, saying that : ” It is not an easy move for them, it’s quite a commitment. They will be insulted and threatened on Internet for it.”
French Interior Minister Manuel Valls saluted “… powerful images that speak louder than words and speeches. Our World needs peace and concord, people that talk and listen to each other.”
Internet super-blogger Taygibay declared in addition : “There are only two kind of people in this place, those who wish the best to others and those who want the best ( and the rest ) for themselves! Every time it even only looks like the latter are being eclipsed by the former, I sleep better.” And added, “France is shining these days it seems but here contrary to Mali, no life was lost, congratulations!”
But the last word goes again to Imam Chalghoumi :
“On montre l’importance de la vie humaine pour l’islam, qui refuse l’intégrisme, les racismes et la barbarie.”
“We are showing the importance of human life for Islam, which refuses integrism, racism and barbary.”
Yes, you are and from the bottom of my heart and that of all who still believe in a peaceful world : “Merci Monsieur Chalghoumi! Thank you!”
Good sleep all, Tay.
http://www.france24.com/fr/20130204-imams-memorial-shoah-drancy-juifs-israel-hassen-chalghoumi
http://www.crif.org/fr/actualites/cent-quarante-imams-se-rendent-ce-lundi-à-drancy/34895
Hello TK and thanks for the thumbs up to peace! GN my friend, Tay.
Thanks for the Following, JJ. As I said before, I only hope to earn your trust in the long run. I checked your blog and am quite impressed. Good luck with the future for you and yours, Tay.
Hello Sexy si clasic Adeline and thank you.