The brother of the Muslim policeman killed in a terrorist attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo called for tolerance Saturday among people of all faiths — and condemned the men who murdered his brother as "false Muslims."
"I address myself now to all the racists, Islamophobes and anti-Semites that one must not confuse extremists with Muslims," the brother of slain officer Ahmed Merabet said during a news conference. "Mad people have neither color nor religion."
Merabet was one of 12 people killed in Wednesday's massacre in Paris in which the suspects yelled "Allahu Akbar!" (or "God is greatest!") amid the chaos. Two of the suspects in the attack were killed in a gun battle with police at a printing factory outside of Paris on Friday after an extensive days-long manhunt. One suspect in a related fatal attack on a police officer died in a standoff outside of a market Friday, but his female accomplice was still being sought by police.
Merabet's brother asked that people not associate Islam with violence. "It's not two terrorists, two madmen who are going to represent all Muslims. We have nothing to do with that," he said. "My brother was Muslim — he was killed by false Muslims." Merabet's brother also denounced threats and attacks on mosques throughout France in the wake of the attacks, saying such violence "won’t bring back regrets and won't appease the families."
IN-DEPTH
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- Attacks Reported At French Mosques in Wake of Charlie Hebdo Massacre
— Elisha Fieldstadt and Emmanuelle Saliba