On 21 February 2015, around 1,000 people formed a human "ring of peace" outside the synagogue on Shabbat, to show that they deplore antisemitic violence. The event, which was initiated by a group of young Norwegian Muslims, occurred shortly after a string of terrorist attacks across Europe, including in the Île-de-France attacks in Paris and the Copenhagen shootings. According to organizer Hajrah Arshad, the intent of the ring was to show "that Islam is about love and unity." Zeeshan Abdullah, a co-organizer, stated that "We want to demonstrate that Jews and Muslims do not hate each other...We do not want individuals to define what Islam is for the rest of us...There are many more peace-mongers than warmongers." The crowd of Muslims, Jews, and others held hands in unity as Norway's Chief Rabbi Michael Melchior sang "Eliyahu Hanavi", the traditional song after Havdalah. The demonstration received international media attention. Some media reports stated that possibly only a minority of those present were Muslims. Ervin Kohn, the president of the Norwegian Jewish community, told enquiring reporters that the exact number of Muslims among those present at the demonstration was impossible to quantify.