Elizabeth Miri | The Monarch Ranger
In the wake of 2020’s deadly Islamic extremist attacks in France, one of which was at a Catholic church in Nice, Elyazid Benferhat decided to do something about it. Despite being a Muslim himself, and not a Christian, Benferhat sympathized with the victims and decided that he must take action.
Benferhat told the Associated Press that “we need to do something beyond paying homage to the victims.”
With the Christian holiday of All Saints’ Day approaching, Benferhat gathered some of his friends to stand outside Saint-Fulcran cathedral located in Lodeve, France, to show solidarity with the parishioners. They stood outside during the eve of All Saints Day and during the Sunday Mass – symbolically protecting their town’s Catholic cathedral.
This act of kindness touched the hearts of the members of the church, including the priest at the Cathedral, Father Luis Iniguez. Father Luis told AP that “It’s very good to see young people who are against violence.”
This is a shining example of how two people can have completely different views, yet respect and protect each other. Some might assume that, because they have such different beliefs, that Christians and Muslims cannot help but be enemies. But this is not the case.
Elysian Benferhat and his friends showed the world that loving others is not exclusive to just those who have things in common with you. As Fred Rogers of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood once said, “What is really exciting to me is to see people with differing views come together and finally respect each other.”
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
News Sources: Angela Charlton @acharlton of The Associated Press @AP and John Burger of Aleteia @AleteiaEN
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