Amsterdam: the chanting of the Koran resonates in a church, during a ceremony in memory of the victims of Gaza

United in prayer, many of them, this Sunday, October 6, traveled to the Dominicus Church in Amsterdam to pray there with fervor, forming only one body of believers, united in sorrow and pain. .

All brothers and sisters in God, feeling the same infinite compassion towards the martyred population of Gaza, mixed with the same fear, Christians, Muslims and Jews have become one in this Gothic haven of peace, made of wrought iron, which has stood discreetly in the narrow streets of the “Venice of the North” since 1893.

Gathered in perfect communion of thought, overwhelmed by the same emotion at the evocation of the more than 45,000 victims and 96,000 wounded of the appalling mass massacre committed by Israel, and the thousands of survivors of the horror who survive in makeshift camps, they took their places side by side on the pews of the church to attend the interfaith ceremony it hosted.

A year after the start of the bloody Israeli reprisals in Gaza, which culminated in genocidal barbarity, hearts vibrated in unison in Amsterdam, inside the church steeped in history of the Dominicans, especially when the chanting of the Quran resonated magnificently there. All hearts without exception, including those of the two distinguished guests: the mayor of the city, Femke Halsema, and the Palestinian ambassador stationed in the Netherlands, Ammar Hijazi.

“ We found it necessary to provide a place where people can express their emotions and grieve together. This genocide in Gaza upsets believers of all faiths », underlined Pastor Janneke Stegmen, one of the main architects of this beautiful and poignant commemorative ceremony, unifying beyond his expectations.