The religious voices included Christian figures such as Pope Francis and prominent Muslims including the Grand Mufti of Egypt, Shawqi Allam.

A truck drove through crowds celebrating Bastille Day (July 14) in Nice.

Pope Francis expressed revulsion over the attack.

"We condemn in the strongest way every demonstration of senseless violence, of hatred, terrorism and any attack against peace," said a statement issued from the Vatican.

"On behalf of Pope Francis, we join in solidarity with the suffering of the victims and of the entire French people this day that should have been a great holiday."

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Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah, told a delegation from Kuwait last week that it was "necessary to destroy all the churches of the region".

The sheikh is head of the Supreme Council of Ulema [Islamic scholars] and of the Standing Committee for Scientific Research and Issuing of Fatwas.

He is seen as the highest official of religious law in the Sunni Muslim kingdom.

The Arabian Gulf is home to around 2 million Christian migrant workers, and new churches have been built to accommodate them.

But church building is forbidden in Saudi Arabia.

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Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney and the Grand Mufti of Australia, Ibrahim Abu Mohammed, issued a joint statement on February 8.

The religious leaders said they respected Indonesia's laws, but believe Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran are reformed men who deserve another chance.

The leaders' statement has been sent to the men's families and the Australian and Indonesian governments.

But Indonesia's ambassador to Australia all but dashed any hopes of a last minute reprieve for the Bali Nine ringleaders, saying their legal options to escape the death penalty are exhausted.

Chan and Sukumaran face execution this month over their role in a failed attempt to export 8.2 kilograms of heroin to Australia in 2005.

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The Grand Mufti of Syria, Ahmad Hassoun Badreddin — the spiritual leader of Sunni Islam, said the bishops are now being held in Turkey, according to a Russian news agency.

He said that the abduction of the two prelates — Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Yohanna Ibrahim and Greek Orthodox Archbishop Paul Yazigi, both of Aleppo — was staged by Chechen militants and their Turkish confederates.

Previous reports of the kidnapping said the bishops were taken by Syrian rebels.

According to the Grand Mufti, the kidnapping may be linked to Ankara's request to transfer the seat of the Greek Orthodox patriarchate of Antioch from Syria to Turkey.

A similar report came from a Middle East news agency, which claimed that Turkish intelligence services had seen the bishops alive where they are being held, near the town of Azaz, close to the Turkish border.

A Lebanese televison station reported the head of Lebanon's secret services, General Abbas Ibrahim, as saying negotiations are under way for the release of the bishops.

A Vatican Insider report said this statement was probably in response to widespread discontent among Lebanese Christians, who had hoped to see the two prelates included in an agreement which led to the release of nine Shiite pilgrims who disappeared in Syria in May 2012.

General Ibrahim negotiated an exchange of prisoners with Qatar's foreign affairs minister. The agreement ensured the release of two Turkish pilots who were abducted by Shiite militia in Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Pope Francis has met the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, Youhanna X Yazigi, who is the brother of the missing Bishop Yazigi.

Youhanna X Yazigi is leader of all Greek Orthodox communities in the Middle East.

Sources:

AsiaNews

Vatican Insider

Vatican Insider

Image: Sat 7 Christian Satellite Television