That is a beautiful image. Over the weekend, more than 1,000 Muslims gathered to form a ring of peace around a synagogue in Oslo, Norway. They both offered a human shield -- in the best sense of the term -- protecting one of the most visibly Jewish locations in their city and condemned the murder last week of Dan Uzan, a Danish Jew, at a Copenhagen synagogue. That murder was committed by Omar El-Hussein, a Danish-born son of Palestinian immigrants, as part of an attack that also included shooting up a forum discussing free speech that featured Lars Vilks, who has been the target of death threats and even assassination plots for having published cartoon depictions of the Prophet Muhammad. Although Vilks escaped unharmed, one person attending the forum died. El-Hussein was pursued, shot, and killed by Danish police.
These Oslo Muslims brought a message of peace and tolerance, one that rejects hate. They chanted, "No to anti-Semitism! No to Islamophobia!" Zeeshan Abdullah, who helped organize the event, told the Muslims and Jews gathered together outside the synagogue:
Humanity is one and we are here to demonstrate that. There are many more peace mongers than warmongers. There's still hope for humanity, for peace and love, across religious differences and backgrounds.
Seeing these images, I can't help but agree. Beyond are more photos from the event.