Praying with police protection in Paris

As the search for the two alleged attackers continued in the north of Paris and media reported several hostage situations, thousands of Muslims gathered in the French capital's mosques for Friday prayers.

But this time, 48 hours after the deadly attacks on the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, numerous mosques were under police protection.

Fearing attacks on the faithful who had come to pray, the Interior Minister ordered scores of police to stand guard in front of the Grand Mosque in the center of the city.

Nuur Skef wasn't really surprised at the security measures. The Muslim student, who came to the mosque as always on a Friday, told DW that hostilities against her and friends wearing headscarves had been on the rise even before the alleged Islamist attacks on Charlie Hebdo.

"I hope the country will recognize that we Muslims are by no means close to these terrorists. Today all imams, not just in this mosque, said that we're all very shocked."

She, too, feels the pain the all French people feel, Nuur Skef said.

French Muslim organizations sharply condemned the attack on the caricaturists and journalists. Muslim leaders voiced concern that rightwing populist, Islamophobe parties like the Front National (FN) might become even more popular.

Front National to join in march

President Francois Hollande's Socialists have called for a show of national unity on Sunday in view of the crisis. Hollande, who held talks on Friday with opposition leaders and with FN leader Marine Le Pen at the Elysee Palace, urged all of France to participate in the "Republican march", no matter religion or political convictions.

That appeal expressly includes FN supporters. Earlier, the Socialists' left wing had refused a show of solidarity with the anti-immigrant FN and its leader Le Pen.

The Front National is currently one of the strongest parties in France and Marine Le Pen plans to run for the presidency in 2017. Le Pen, a member of the European parliament, is calling for the reintroduction of the death penalty for terrorists. She has held back, however, with comments on Islam.

"I'm no longer afraid"

Meanwhile, the tide of people laying bouquets of flowers, letters and lighting candles continues to flow past the site of the attack in Rue Nicolas Appert.

Silently, a somber Maxime Grandjean held his ground all day long, holding a Charlie Hebdo title page in his hands. The caricature shows a Muslim wearing a turban, kissing the magazine's editor-in-chief, entitled "This love overcomes hatred."

When he bought the magazine, he was afraid to show it in public, or to Muslim friends, Maxime told DW. "That has changed," says the young French man with the mournful eyes."Now, after the attack, I am no longer afraid, I feel I somehow owe it to the victims."

Everywhere, in shop windows and bus stops, new and old Charlie Hebdo caricatures ridiculing Muhammad, religion and intolerance, are popping up. French papers publish caricatures they may not have printed a few days ago. The motto is, you can't kill the freedom of the press.

In front of the Grand Mosque, Nuur Skef is more cautious, and advises restraint. "Violence is never a solution, even if it's printed," the young student warns. "Spreading the caricatures from Charlie Hebdo will problaby only raise tensions." All newspapers should respect religion, she says, adding that further provocation just isn't the answer.

Just a few blocks away, a new caricature in the style of Charlie Hebdo sprawls across a wall: A huge pencil sticks out of the kneeling prophet's rear. In the wake of the spontaneous commemorations, pencils and pens have emerged as symbols of solidarity with the murdered journalists. By the hundreds, they are placed next to flowers at various sites across the city by grieving Parisians.

Young Salafists "don't have a clue"

Nuur Skef hopes for moderation - and says her own religious community and the imams must do more to keep young men from radicalizing.

"We have nothing to do with what's happening in Syria and Iraq, that's far away," she says. "The young men that become Salafists usually don't have a clue." They must be taught, she concludes, that the Prophet Muhammad wanted to propagate love, not hatred.

The next edition of Charlie Hebdo hits the news stands on Wednesday: French media groups insist the magazine must not die even if its top editors were killed - and offered support to keep the magazine running.

This time, one million copies will be printed - instead of what might have been at the most 60,000.