"We want to say no to this new racism," a Catholic who attended a Mass along with several imams at the Roman minor basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere told CNA. "We are not afraid … we are here because we are all brothers, as Jesus teaches us."
Fr. Hamel was killed July 26 by two Islamic State terrorists while saying Mass in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, a suburb of Rouen. The assailants took hostages, and were themselves shot dead by police.
Mohammed Karabila, head of Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray's mosque, was among those who attended Mass on Sunday. He said that "for me, it is very important to be here today. It should be shown physically, because until now the Muslim community did a lot of things that were not seen."
"Today we wanted to show physically, by kissing the family of Jacques Hamel, by kissing His Grace Lebrun in front of everybody, so they know that the two communities are united."
The murder of Fr. Hamel, as well as other recent Islamist attacks in France and elsewhere in Europe, have led to calls to boost mainstream Islam and to counter radicalization.
Manuel Valls, the French prime minister, has said the state should avoid "paternalism" toward Islam, but that "there is an urgent need to help Islam in France to rid itself of those who are undermining it from the inside."