The day after the commemoration of the tragic anniversary of the hostage-taking at the Saint-Mandé hypermarket, the massacre of these innocents and the disastrous repercussions left on the Jewish community still leaves a sense of hope.
This hope is embodied by Lassana Bathily. Laurent Lanquar regrets that he was not awarded the Legion of Honor on January 1st. Lassana Bathily has become a symbol of our republic: a black and Muslim man working in a kosher supermarket, he simply followed his protective instincts beyond any religious or ethnic considerations.
Laurent Lanquar emphasizes that “His actions show that we need to develop more intercultural cooperation, rather than encouraging communalism through clientelist rhetoric. We must reject all forms of religious extremism, and instead encourage moderate, tolerant, and open currents for exchange.”
To this end, Laurent Lanquar proposes that in each religious council or association, the main other religions should be represented. This “cross-participation” would condition any public funding.
Laurent Lanquar also asks Christian Estrosi to set up an intercultural friendship bus that would travel through all neighborhoods in the PACA Region, similar to the “Judeo-Muslim Friendship Tour” by Rabbi Michel Serfaty and Imam Azizi. “Secularism means allowing everyone to practice their religion while respecting others. It is absolutely necessary to carry out intercultural cultural actions.”
The environmentalists are also calling for the establishment of a mosque in all major cities of the Region to prevent places of worship from being unofficial and uncontrolled.
Laurent Lanquar dreams of building an “ecumenical temple that all religions would share. Considering the short duration of different religious services, a single space could accommodate the five daily Muslim prayers, the three Jewish prayers, Christian masses, Buddhist meditation sessions, or atheist contemplations.”
