British imams meet French Muslims, Jews in solidarity trip

After terror attack, group of Islamic leaders calls for sides to share experiences to work through difficult times

By AP 2 February 2015, 11:46 pm

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Thomas Andrieu, a top aide to the French interior minister (left), greets Qari Mohammed Asim MBE, senior imam at the Makkah Masjid of Leeds (right), during a meeting at the Grand Central Mosque in Paris, France, February 2, 2015. (photo credit: AP/Francois Mori)

PARIS — British imams paid a visit to their counterparts in France Monday to bolster solidarity after the January terror attacks in Paris by Muslim extremists.

The group also met with Jewish representatives of CRIF, the Jewish umbrella group.

Four people at a Jewish grocery were among the attackers’ 17 victims, while 12 others died in the newsroom massacre at Charlie Hebdo.

Leeds imam Qari Mohammed Asim said sharing experiences is critical in difficult times. Speaking during the visit Monday to the Great Mosque of Paris, he noted that extremists who killed over 50 people in the 2005 London bombings were from Leeds.

Asim told mosque rector Dalil Boubakeur that “we’ve seen how difficult it is in those challenging times to keep communities together.” Boubakeur denounced extremists as Muslims’ “common enemy.”