COPENHAGEN, Denmark – Kurds holding large Kurdish flags were part of a human ring outside a synagogue in Copenhagen, a gesture symbolizing friendly relations between Muslims and Jews on the spot where a Jewish security guard was killed by an Islamic extremist last month.
More than 1,000 Muslims, including Kurds, Jews and Christians encircled the synagogue in the Danish capital on Saturday.
Yildiz Akdogan, a Kurdish MP in Denmark, told Rudaw she hoped to overcome prejudices about Muslims after the deadly attacks in Copenhagen that killed a film director at a café and a Jewish security guard outside the synagogue.
The Copenhagen atrocity followed attacks in Paris in January that began with an assault on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
"Today we send a clear signal that not all Muslims are potential terrorists," Akdogan said. "We also say to Denmark that we are as sad, after the attack on the Jewish community, as everyone else."
The Kurdish presence at the event was noticeable, with large Kurdish flags seen in the human chain. Denmark has one of the largest Kurdish immigrant communities in Europe.
Pakistani Imam Naveed Baig stood hand-in-hand with former chief Rabbi Bent Melchior, symbolizing the friendship between the two communities.
Organizer Natasha al-Hariri, a Dane of Palestinian descent, said the idea behind the event was to send a message of solidarity.
"We want to show the Jewish community our unconditional support and denounce the atrocities to which they were exposed," she told Rudaw.
Jewish community leader Dan Rosenberg praised the initiative and stressed that the community has a good relationship with Muslim organizations.
"Muslims were among the first to send messages of condolence after we were attacked and they took part in commemorations," Rosenberg recalled.
"This must not lead to increased hatred, but instead we must use it to increase the peaceful coexistence between Jews and Muslims," Rosenberg said.
The peace ring took place where the Jewish volunteer guard, Dan Uzan, was killed last month by a 22-year-old gunman, identified as Omar el-Hussein, a Dane of Palestinian descent. Hours later, he was killed in a shootout by police.
Among those who attended Saturday’s ceremony was Sergeot Uzan, father of the 37-year-old guard. He walked around the chain shaking hands and thanking the participants.
”The spark in my life has died with my son. But they (the organizers) have awakened it again by giving me hope of a better life for other people, for humanity and for democracy,” the mourning father said.
The Copenhagen attack came about a month after radical Islamists attacked and killed 12 people at the Charlie Hebdo magazine, which was attacked after publishing caricatures of Prophet Mohammed in several of its issues.
Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who has received death threats for drawings of Prophet Mohammad, and French ambassador Francois Zimeray, who likened the Copenhagen attacks to the Paris assault, were at Saturday’s tragic event. Both were present at last month’s deadly attack on the Copenhagen café, but escaped unhurt.
