French mosques open doors to public to promote unity

Hundreds of mosques around France have opened their doors to the general public, in an attempt to demonstrate solidarity with the victims of recent Islamist terror attacks in the country.

Organisers of the “brotherly cop of tea” event hope to use the occasion to discuss misconceptions about Islam with non-Muslims, and visitors are also being offered hot drinks, pastries, and calligraphy demonstration.

“Islam is often badly perceived, but in fact Islam is peace, Islam is love,” Omar Shabani, chairman of the Grand Mosque of Arras said.

“We want to demonstrate that Islam is about the preaching of tolerance, peace and brotherhood,” Said Baoulahtit, chairman of the Grand Mosque of Strasbourg said.

The initiative is also backed by the country’s leading Muslim body, the French Council of the Muslim Faith.

"The objective is to create a space where people can be together and meet normal Muslim worshippers and all of our fellow citizens," CFCM President Anouar Kbibech told AFP.

He said the CFCM wanted to use the anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo attacks to "highlight the real values of Islam, to set straight the cliches about links to violence and terrorism".

The initiative comes a year after the Charlie Hebdo killings in Paris, when Islamist gunmen killed 17 people at different sites around the capital, including the offices of the satirical Charlie Hebdo magazine and a kosher supermarket.

Marking the anniversary of the killings, French President Francois Hollande unveiled a plaque on Saturday in tribute to one of those who died, policewoman Clarissa Jean-Philippe.

France also remembered the four Jewish hostages killed at the supermarket.

The country is still under a state of emergency after the Paris attacks on November 13, carried out by gunmen linked to the Islamic State militant group, which killed 130 people.