Imam Hassen Chalghoumi, a guest on i24NEWS, shared his experience of a visit to Israel with a delegation of European imams organized by ELNET on Monday evening. Warmly welcomed by President Isaac Herzog and in the Knesset, he hailed “the people of the miracle”: “This is the holy land, a matrix of fraternity.” At the Western Wall and Al-Aqsa Mosque, the delegation prayed for the hostages in Gaza, the Gazans, and the end of the war, marked by “two and a half years of suffering.” “We carry a message of peace and solidarity after October 7,” he said, denouncing the Islamism of Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran, which “takes Islam hostage.”
Chalghoumi, who lives under police protection in France, said he was paradoxically safer in Israel, where “every religion has its place.” He warns: “Islamism, enemy of Muslims, did the Bataclan, Charlie, on October 7. Europe risks even worse if it does not react. Optimistic about the Middle East, he cites the Abraham Accords and the growing exchanges between Tel Aviv, Dubai and Morocco. “The new generations are ready for a future with Israel,” he said, pleading for civil and religious initiatives in the face of the Iranian regime’s “absolute evil,” which hinders peace between Jews and Muslims. This vibrant call for coexistence, carried by a courageous imam, resonates as a hope for the region.
