Muslims attended Catholic mass in churches around France on Sunday in solidarity and sorrow following the brutal murder of a priest, the latest in a string of attacks.
More than 100 Muslims were among the 2,000 faithful who packed the 11th-century Gothic cathedral of Rouen near the Normandy town where two militant teenagers slit the throat of 85-year-old Father Jacques Hamel.
"I thank you in the name of all Christians," Rouen Archbishop Dominique Lebrun told them. "In this way you are affirming that you reject death and violence in the name of God."
Nice's top imam Otaman Aissaoui led a delegation to a Catholic mass in the southern city where a militant carried out a rampage in a truck on Bastille Day, claiming 84 lives and injuring 435 including many Muslims.
"Being united is a response to the act of horror and barbarism," he said.
The Notre Dame church in southwestern Bordeaux also welcomed a Muslim delegation, led by the city's top imam Tareq Oubrou.
"It's an occasion to show (Muslims) that we do not confuse Islam with Islamism, Muslim with jihadist," said Reverend Jean Rouet.
The Muslims were responding to a call by the French Muslim council CFCM to show their "solidarity and compassion" over the priest's murder on Tuesday.
Said a woman wearing a beige headscarf who sat in a back pew at a church in central Paris: "I'm a practising Muslim and I came to share my sorrow and tell you that we are brothers and sisters."
Giving her name only as Sadia, she added softly: "What happened is beyond comprehension."
The most poignant moment of Sunday's mass in Rouen was the sign of peace, a regular part of the liturgy when the faithful turn to greet each other in the pews, either shaking hands or kissing.
Archbishop Lebrun used the moment to step into the congregation and greet Muslim leaders attending, as well as three nuns who were at the church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray when Hamel was murdered.
Outside the Rouen cathedral a few policemen and soldiers stood guard but did not conduct searches, seeking to reassure a jittery population after the second militant attack in less than a fortnight.
In addition to prompting fears of fanning religious tensions in the officially secular country, Father Hamel's murder sparked renewed recriminations over perceived security lapses.
Both of the 19-year-olds attackers -- Adel Kermiche and Abdel Malik Petitjean -- had been on intelligence services' radar and had tried to go to Syria.
Syrian refugee suspect released
Prime Minister Manuel Valls called Sunday for a new "pact" with the Muslim community in France, Europe's largest with around five million members.
"Islam has found its place in France... contrary to the repeated attacks of populists on the right and far-right," he said, condemning "this intolerable rejection of Islam and Muslims".
Also Sunday, dozens of prominent Muslims published a joint letter warning that "the risk of fracturing among the French is growing every day."
The signatories, who included academics as well as medical professionals, artists and business leaders, pledged: "We, French and Muslim, are ready to assume our responsibilities."
Meanwhile a Syrian refugee who was taken in for questioning after a photocopy of his passport was found at Kermiche's house has been released, a source close to the investigation said.
"Nothing suggests he had any involvement" in the attack, the source said.
However Petitjean's 30-year-old cousin was to appear before an anti-terrorist judge later Sunday.
Prosecutors said they have asked that the suspect, named as Farid K., be charged with "criminal association in connection with terrorism".
The suspect "was fully aware of his cousin's imminent violent action, even if he did not know the precise place or day," the Paris prosecutor said in a statement.
Media reports meanwhile said investigators had established that Petitjean and Kermiche met through the encrypted messaging app Telegram.
Kermiche described the modus operandi of the attack on the priest in an audio posted on Telegram just a few days beforehand.
Agencies
Sun Jul 31 2016
Imam Sami Salem (left) and Imam Mohammed ben Mohammed stand during a mass in the church Santa Maria in trastevere in Rome on July 31, 2016. - AFP Photo
Ekonomi Malaysia kekal berdaya tahan disokong perbelanjaan pengguna, kitaran teknologi dan pelancongan
Optimisme melonjak selepas Malaysia mencatatkan pertumbuhan yang memuaskan pada 4.2 peratus pada suku pertama 2024 (S1 2024).
Ulang tahun ke-50 Malaysia-China: Hubungan diplomatik dua negara kekal utuh
Hubungan Malaysia dan China kukuh kerana kedua-dua negara itu sama-sama diiktiraf sebagai negara berdaulat mengikut undang-undang antarabangsa.
Beberapa sungai utama di Selangor dikesan jadi habitat ikan pemangsa - DOF
Beberapa sungai utama di Selangor dikesan menjadi habitat ikan pemangsa (invasif) dan juga dikenali sebagai "alien spesies" (spesies asing).
SWCorp yakin sasaran kadar kitar semula kebangsaan tahun ini tercapai
Keyakinan itu berdasarkan peratusan yang dicapai pada tahun sebelum ini melebihi sasaran ditetapkan.
Kerajaan perlu jana lebih hasil untuk tampung perbelanjaan kenaikan gaji, faedah - RHB Research
Peningkatan perbelanjaan emolumen daripada kenaikan gaji penjawat awam boleh dibiayai melalui kutipan hasil yang lebih tinggi.
Malaysia, Uzbekistan akan ubah jawatankuasa bersama dalam perdagangan kepada suruhanjaya bersama
Malaysia dan Uzbekistan telah bersetuju untuk mengaktifkan Jawatankuasa Bersama Perdagangan Antara Kerajaan dan mengubah jawatankuasa itu menjadi Suruhanjaya Bersama Antara Kerajaan.
13 negara gesa sekatan terhadap Israel daripada serang Rafah
Antara negara yang menandatangani surat berkenaan ialah Australia, yang mana menteri-menteri luar negara terbabit turut meminta gencatan senjata yang mampan.
Sekolah di bandar Bitung ditutup
Sekolah-sekolah ditutup di Bandar Bitung selepas abu dan hujan dari gunung berapi Ruang mencurah di Sulawesi Utara Indonesia.
Brazil dipilih sebagai tuan rumah Piala Dunia Wanita FIFA 2027
Brazil akan menjadi tuan rumah Piala Dunia Wanita Persekutuan Bola Sepak Antarabangsa (FIFA) 2027 selepas undian di Kongres FIFA ke-74 pada Jumaat.
40 senator Thailand mohon pemecatan Srettha
Ketika rombakan Kabinet bulan lalu, senator itu membantah pelantikan bekas peguam, Pichit Cuenban, sebagai Menteri di pejabat Srettha.