The imam of one of France's major cities, Bordeaux, has urged Muslims to take to the streets in protest at the deadly attack in Paris by Islamist gunmen, calling it "almost an act of war".
Imam Tareq Oubrou, a supporter of dialogue between Christians and Muslims, said after meeting Pope Francis that the attack on satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, in which 12 people died, was "tantamount to what September 11 meant to America".
"With this drama we are seeing almost an act of war," Oubrou told reporters.
He said that though he had always staunchly opposed demonstrations, he was now urging "Muslims to massively pour into the streets to express their disgust".
What happened "is tantamount, relatively speaking, to September 11 in America, it is a monumental quake. A red line was breached that threatens civil peace. Muslims must demonstrate their anger," he reiterated.
In Paris, France's Muslim leadership also sharply condemned the shooting as a "barbaric" attack and an assault on press freedom and democracy.
"This extremely grave barbaric action is also an attack against democracy and the freedom of the press," the French Muslim Council (CFCM) said in a statement on Wednesday.
The body represents France's Muslim community, which is Europe's biggest and estimated to number between 3.5 million and five million people.
The two or three heavily armed gunmen who stormed the offices of the Charlie Hebdo weekly, the focus of several attacks since publishing cartoons of the prophet Mohammed in the mid-2000s, shouted Islamist slogans as they fired.
CFCM president Dalil Boubakeur, who heads the Paris Mosque, planned to visit the scene of the shooting, his entourage said.
The Muslim council also called for calm and urged Muslims to beware of extremist manipulation.
"In this tense international climate stoked by the madness of terrorist groups unjustly claiming to represent Islam, we call on all those attached to the republic's values and to democracy to avoid provocation", it said.
The Muslim community must practise "the greatest vigilance towards possible manipulation by extremist groups," it added.
A separate statement from an organisation close to the Muslim Brotherhood, the Union of French Islamic Organisations, also condemned "in the firmest manner this criminal attack and these horrible murders".
Share
