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Statment on ECHR Ruling Regarding Ritual Slaughter

The MJLC would like to express its disappointment in the strongest terms to the deeply misguided decision of the ECHR to allow for the banning of ritual slaughter without stunning all over Europe. This decision flies in the face of Europe’s fundamental values of tolerance and inclusion and has the potential to deeply impact the ability of Europe’s Muslim and Jewish communities to access Kosher and Halal meat making life in Europe more difficult and less hospitable for our communities.

MJLC Co-Chair and CER President Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt reacted to the ruling by stating:

“This is a black day for Europe. The European Court for Human Rights has decided that animal rights are more important than human rights.

The decision of the Strasbourg Court is disappointing but not unexpected. The CER consistently opposed joining in an action at the ECHR. What should have been left as a self inflicted wound on the Belgian Community should never have been brought to Strasbourg.

The Jewish and Muslim communities of Europe will continue to fight for religious freedoms and equality in Europe. That task is now made all the harder.”

MJLC Board Member and EULEMA Chairman Imam Yahya Pallavicini also condemned the ruling:

“As a European Muslim, I regret the misrecognition of the religious ethics that underlie some practices such as halal ritual slaughter. Its first requirement for validity is the preservation of animal welfare. Unfortunately, preventive stunning, especially for large animals, does not facilitate respect for the physical integrity of the animal. Safeguarding and respecting nature and creation have always been foundational values of the Islamic world for centuries, values that we hope we can still contribute to in a pluralistic society.”

Bans of ritual slaughter have a long and ugly history in Europe and have historically been championed by misinformed animal rights activists and religious bigots with one of Europe’s first bans on ritual slaughter being passed by Germany in 1933 soon after Hitler’s rise to power. The former group is under the incorrect assumption that ritual slaughter causes more pain to the animal than stunned slaughter. In reality ritual slaughter, in both the Muslim and Jewish traditions, prioritises minimising the suffering of the animal. The latter group weaponises concern for animal welfare to target Muslim and Jewish communities by restricting our fundamental right to freedom of religion.

We are distressed to see a revitalisation of the movement to ban ritual slaughter, and while we hope that it comes from a misguided concern for animal welfare rather than religious discrimination the effects on our communities are much the same regardless of intent.

The MJLC will continue to fight for the right of our communities to live in Europe as equal citizens

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MJLC Statement on Poland Parliament Incident

The MJLC condemns in the strongest possible terms the performatively anti-semitic act of Polish MP Grzegorz Braun on 12 Dec. MP Braun used a fire extinguisher to put out a ceremonial Hannukiah in the Polish Parliament building on Tuesday. This clear act of anti-semitic hatred has no place in a pluralistic society and should be punished in full accordance with Polish law.

We would also like to thank the Polish lawmakers, religious leaders, and civil society leaders for immediately condemning this xenophobic act. This solidarity shows that MP Braun is a relic of the past and does not reflect Polish society today.
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MJLC Statement on Berlin Synagogue Attack

The MJLC in the strongest possible terms condemns the recent attack with petrol bombs on a Berlin synagogue in the early hours of Wednesday morning. This act of antisemitic terror is completely unacceptable and only serves to increase tension and incite distrust between our communities harming both Muslims and Jews in the process.

We must treat each other with love and respect, especially in such difficult times. People perpetuating violence against their fellow citizens on the basis of their religion do not represent us, their actions are antithetical to our faiths and they must be held accountable. We, as always, pray for understanding and peace while rejecting senseless violence.

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MJLC Board Statement on Muslim Jewish relations in Europe

With greatest concern we see how the terrible events in the Middle East show a deeply worrying impact in Europe leading to mistrust and prejudice that can lead to violence. It is time for us to be there for each other in difficult times. An attack on one of us, is an attack on all of us. While amongst our membership and beyond we know that such solidarity exists, there is the need to broaden and amplify that message.

The goals of the MJLC Board in addressing any potential tensions in Europe are as follows:

  • The MJLC reaffirms that our work and initiatives are firmly focused on cooperation between Jewish and Muslim communities across Europe. Our focus very much remains on our communities and the solidarity between them and to inspire others to do the same.
  • The MJLC reiterates that the violence occurring in the Middle East which also impacts our communities in Europe is not religious in nature. Both Islam and Judaism abhor violence and terrorism, and do not condone the killing of civilians, kidnapping and other acts of violence and demand that international law prevails. All sacred sites anywhere need to be protected.
  • The MJLC firmly condemns any calls for instigation, hostilities or attacks against Jews, Muslims and their institutions in Europe and beyond. We speak out against any demonstrations that glorify terrorism.
  • Dialogue and peaceful cooperation are never more vital than during times of conflict. As such the MJLC calls upon Muslim and Jewish communities in Europe alike to keep an open mind towards each other and act in a spirit of cooperation in these dark times when it is most needed. We call upon local and national authorities and media representatives to involve and collaborate Jewish and Muslim religious leaders to avoid disorder, hatred and polarisation.
  • We strive to create and foster concrete action between Muslims and Jews as European citizens. The “MJLC Ambassadors Programme” of young Jewish and Muslim community leaders joining hands in their cities is an excellent example of this.
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MJLC Statement on Quran Burnings in Sweden

The MJLC in the strongest possible terms condemns the burning of a copy of the Quran during Eid al-Adha outside of Stockholm’s central Mosque. This hateful incitement to violence being allowed to take place by Swedish authorities is completely unacceptable in a country that is steeped in respect for diversity and inclusion.

While the MJLC fully supports freedom of expression this act goes far beyond reasonably protected speech as the act of burning a copy of the Quran outside of Sweden’s largest Mosque on one of Islam’s holiest days is both a clear failed attempt to provoke a response from peaceful worshippers and an implicit threat of violence against all Muslims. 
 
We appreciate and support the statements of condemnation issued by the Swedish government and European Union which we see as a positive development. However, such statements will unfortunately not be sufficient to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future. As such we call upon the Swedish government and EU institutions to back their statements of solidarity with concrete action to guarantee protections for worshippers and to prevent such provocative and hateful acts from being allowed to occur in the future. 

This disturbing incident evokes the words of the German-Jewish poet Heinrich Heine “Those who burn books will in the end burn people.
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Inter-parliamentary Union Conference

Cover: Mr. El-Yazidi with Andre Azoulay (Jewish Advisor to King of Morrocco)

Rabbi Goldberg and Mr. El-Yazidi at the IPU Conference

 

 

 

 

The Board of the MJLC would like to express its appreciation to our members Rabbi Alexander Goldberg and Mr. Abd al-Samad El-Yazidi who travelled to Marrakech last week to represent the MJLC at the Interparliamentary Union Conference.

While at the conference they did an excellent job representing the MJLC and its mission of interreligious cooperation while meeting with several high-profile individuals and potential future partners including members of parliaments, religious leaders, scholars, and representatives of inter-governmental organisations.

Rabbi Goldberg and Mr. El-Yazidi with the SG of the World Muslim Community Council

We are proud to count people like Mr. El-Yazidi and Rabbi Goldberg among our members and hope to continue to provide opportunities for our general membership to represent the MJLC and its mission as they have.

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KAICIID Meeting

The MJLC would like to extend its sincere gratitude and appreciation for H.E. KAICIID’s Secretary General Dr. Zuhair Alharthi for inviting us to meet with new KAICIID leadership in Lisbon, Portugal, and to KAICIID’s Deputy Secretary General Ambassador Antonio de Almeida Ribeiro for sitting down for a meeting with the MJLC Board at KAICIID’s new offices in Lisbon.

Ambassador de Almeida Ribeiro

The fruitful and amicable exchange between the Board and Ambassador de Almeida Ribeiro was an excellent reaffirmation of the ongoing collaboration between the MJLC and KAICIID during which a variety of topics were discussed including the ongoing MJLC Ambassadors Programme, the challenges faced by Muslim and Jewish communities across Europe, and the importance of social cohesion.

The MJLC is looking forward to more meetings of this kind in the future and is looking forward to the opportunity to sit down with H.E. Secretary General Alharthi to further deepen cooperation with our partners at KAICIID.

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A Rabbi and an Imam: Living in a time of religious illiteracy

Translated from “Rabbiner und Imam: “Leben in einer Zeit des religiösen Analphabetismus”” by Naz Kücüktekin and published in Kurier on 17/12/2022. Read the German version.

Schlomo Hofmeister has been the municipal rabbi of Vienna since 2008. Tarafa Baghajati is the imam and chairman of the “Initiative of Muslim Austrians”. Both serve on the board of the “Muslim Jewish Leadership Council” for interreligious dialogue. The KURIER met the two at the “European Policy Dialogue Forum” organized by KAICIID to discuss the challenges faced by religious communities, spirituality and conflicts.

KURIER: A rabbi and an imam at a table. An image that still seems unusual. Why is that?

Schlomo Hofmeister: Because a lot of jokes start like that… But it’s just unexpected. In principle, these are inter-religious gatherings.

Tarafa Baghajati: Many automatically have conflicts in mind, especially in the Middle East. In addition, we both belong to a minority in Austria. And some think they have to bring us together somehow.

Hofmeister: In our Western society, there is often the assumption that religious people are intolerant and don’t know anything about others and don’t want to know anything.

In other words, outsiders don’t even notice that communication is taking place anyway?

Hofmeister : Not everything that the public talks about actually takes place and not everything that takes place is discussed in public. These are always just the tip of the iceberg. Social media has done even more to make things seem out of proportion.

In what way? 

Hofmeister: Everyone can write whatever they want on social media. If he has the right range, that will also be multiplied. That can be blown totally out of proportion. And so the proportions are missing.

Baghajati: In addition, we live in a time of religious illiteracy. People know far too little about their own religion, let alone about the others.

Sometimes one has the feeling that the opposite is the case. For example, when it comes to anti-Semitism in Muslim communities.

Hofmeister: Anti-Semitism is a big problem, also in the Muslim community. Tackling it does not simply mean condemning it, but also proactively raising awareness. This is something that Jewish communities throughout Europe have now come to understand.

Baghajati: And some forces are indeed trying to pit Muslims against Jews. Among other things, in order to distance themselves from anti-Semitism. Then they say: We don’t have a problem with anti-Semitism, that’s your problem, that’s a migrant problem, a Muslim problem. To imply that you have to be afraid of refugees, because they bring anti-Semitism with them. As if there has never been anti-Semitism in Europe. And in that sense, yes, that is its own challenge, to recognize any discrimination and to fight against it.

Mr. Baghajati, you mentioned the Middle East conflict earlier. What role does this play in the communities here?

Baghajati: The most important thing is that we separate between our common life as citizens in Austria and between a conflict that is taking place in another geographical part of the world. Our appeal is that a conflict taking place elsewhere should not cloud our contact in Austria. Moreover, talking to each other on different topics does not mean having to have the same opinion.

What framework conditions must politics provide for a successful interreligious dialogue?

Hofmeister: Historically, religions as representatives of civil society have been given a very high level of recognition in Austria. The exchange among religious societies and the willingness of politicians to accept them are very exemplary. In this respect, we in Austria are certainly above average in Europe.

Baghajati: I can confirm that. But especially in the times of the Austrian People’s Party – Freedom Party of Austria (centre right and right wing) government, with the tightening of the Islam law, we already had the impression that Austria was moving away from its role as a role model.

Hofmeister: I understand the frustration about the Islam law. Some things should have been done differently. But the basic principle of the Islamic law, just like that of the Jewish law, is actually a model.

Baghajati: That’s what we ourselves demanded.

Hofmeister: Many people demand that. Many Muslim communities in Germany don’t get that. Most European countries don’t have anything like that.

The trend in recent years is that the proportion of people who describe themselves as religious is continuing to fall. Is religion losing relevance in Austria?

Hofmeister: Institutionalized religion is certainly something that became less and less important in Europe in the 19th century. In our generation, I see a further drifting away from religion, but also a search for spirituality. And when people don’t find that in their own religion, they look for another religion or other way to live out that spirituality. To summarize: Religion is not disappearing. It is rather a turning away from the institutions, from the establishment.

Baghajati: I also believe that we face great challenges as religious communities. We are in a time when not everyone can afford everything they could afford a few years ago. The religions must radiate ideas of solidarity and social cohesion. It must add some warmth to the social coldness, without necessarily wanting to proselytize.

How do religious communities also have to deal with issues of the day, such as the climate crisis or

identity issues?

Hofmeister: The entire rabbinic literature of the last 2000 years deals with the principles of the Torah, Jewish law and how they are to be applied to changing times. But perhaps religions are sometimes a bit slow and wait to see if an issue will resolve itself. And there are some topics that boil up and then disappear again. It takes time for that to become established in practice, in the rabbinic debate.

Baghajati: Issues such as genetic engineering, environmental protection, dealing with armament and nuclear. Abortion or euthanasia. On all these things, there is a great deal of Islamic literature that also disagrees with each other. This is where scholars are called to provide answers and to be anti-discriminatory. It takes courage from the religious communities to stand up, to be there, in order to have a positive effect on society as a whole.

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Religious Slaughter, Minority Rights, and Animal Welfare

Last week the European Commission hosted a conference on freedom of religion with regards to ritual slaughter which many members of the MJLC attended. As ritual slaughter is a hotly debated topic and a matter of the utmost importance to practicing Muslims and Jews, I spoke with MJLC board members Rabbi Michael Schudrich, the Chief Rabbi of Poland, and Imam Yahya Pallavicini, Vice President of CO.RE.IS (The Islamic Religious Community of Italy) about the nature of laws restricting Kosher and Halal slaughter, the importance of dietary law to both faiths, animal welfare, and future steps to protect freedom of religion in Europe.

History of bans on ritual slaughter and political motivations behind them

In the past decade there has been a rapid proliferation of laws in European countries which ban or severely restrict the practice of ritual slaughter. One such law, passed in Belgium in 2017, was recently upheld by the EU Court of Justice setting a precedent that will allow similar laws all over Europe.

While these restrictions may appear to be a modern phenomenon driven by a concern for animal welfare, bans on ritual slaughter are by no means a recent trend and were also typically justified by concern for the wellbeing of animals.

Switzerland was the first country in Europe to pass a ban on ritual slaughter in 1893 shortly after the invent of stunning as a method of slaughter with proponents of the law arguing that Kosher slaughter (shechita) was inhumane. Stunned slaughter at the time was performed by striking the animal in the head with a hammer prior to its slaughter. The next law on animal rights in Switzerland was passed nearly one hundred years later in 1978 and battery farming was permitted until 1992.

Other countries in Europe followed suit with Norway banning ritual slaughter in 1929, Germany banning it in 1933 as one of the first laws passed after Hitler came to power, and similar bans were being debated by the Polish Sejm just months before the German invasion.

While some of the proponents of these laws may have been genuinely concerned for animal welfare antisemitism was a strong driving force behind their passage. The purpose of these laws for their antisemitic proponents was to make life as difficult as possible for their Jewish countrymen as methods of stunning both then and now damage the body of the animal prior to its slaughter which is forbidden by both Muslim and Jewish dietary law.

Rabbi Michael Schudrich

From a perspective of marginalizing Jews these laws were quite effective, when asked about the practical effects of banning Kosher slaughter Rabbi Schudrich responded, “If there were no Kosher meat available then many Jews would start leaving the country, and you would see the country’s Jewish population shrink.”

Much like laws passed almost a century ago modern legislation seeking to ban or restrict ritual slaughter is supported by a bizarre coalition of well-meaning animal rights activists and ill-intentioned religious bigots, the key difference being that these modern religious bigots are targeting Muslims as well.

When asked about the motivations behind laws banning religious slaughter Rabbi Schudrich responded, “Movements to ban ritual slaughter both historically and today have nothing to do with animal welfare but overwhelmingly have to do with limiting the Muslim and Jewish population. In other words, if we don’t allow shechita and Halal slaughter then we’ll have fewer Jews and fewer Muslims. Today there are animal welfare people that are misinformed and believe that religious slaughter is unnecessarily cruel and causes pain to the animal while the goal of shechita is to minimize the pain inflicted upon the animal.”

Imam Pallavicini agreed with this sentiment stating, “Let us be very careful about the hidden agenda of some individuals and politicians who propose banning a long-standing religious right and practice in Europe just to empower anti-religious, antisemitic, and anti-Muslim sentiments.”

Animal welfare and religious freedom

Imam Yahya Pallavicini

Imam Pallavicini also emphasised that the argument should not be between animal welfare and religious freedom “When religious slaughter is practiced according to the correct principles and methodology taught by the Rabbis and Imams who have regularly received training and authorization it implements a very strict and natural concern for animal welfare. The reference in the holy Qur’an to animals such as the bee, the ant, the elephant, the cow, and the spider is an example of respect for animals according to Islamic religious teachings. Of course, this has nothing to do with the bad behaviour of a few Muslims who pretend to be experts in slaughtering and have no education but only arrogance to perform a “ritual slaughter” that contradicts religious sensitivity and respect for the laws and rules of European societies.”

Rabbi Schudrich agrees that religious slaughter is humane and argues that it is even more humane than stunned slaughter “There have been studies done by academic institutions about stunned slaughter that found that 15-20% of the time the stunning fails and the animal experiences horrible pain, while shechita, when done correctly, never fails and if done incorrectly, which is a rare occurrence, would not be kosher. Another thing that most do not realize is that when one is doing the shechita they believe that they are fulfilling a commandment from G-d and take the entire process very seriously whereas a worker performing stunning is doing what his boss told him to do which is usually done well but the personal investment in the success of the procedure is on a completely different level.” Rabbi Schudrich also emphasised that when taking the suffering of the animal into account it is insufficient to only focus on the slaughter of the animal “Another issue I see is that people are focused on the last 30-60 seconds of the life of the animal and not the conditions the animal experiences during its life. We should be concerned about modern practices such as force-feeding and crowding animals into cramped spaces for most of their lives.”

Dialogue and steps for the future

Both Imam Pallavicini and Rabbi Schudrich are committed to humane ritual slaughter and are grateful to the European Commission for engaging in dialogue on this matter and carefully listening to arguments made by a variety of Muslim and Jewish religious leaders.

Rabbi Schudrich stated “I am very grateful to the EU Commission. They took the step; this is something we need to talk about let’s sit down and talk about it without heavy rhetoric but rather concretely about what can be done to make the situation better.” When asked about the next steps he said “I believe that if we keep working together and improving education on this topic things will improve. Some people approach it and say, “let’s find a compromise” I say let’s do 100% for animal welfare and let’s do 100% for Jewish law, we don’t have to compromise we can find a solution that is 100% acceptable for both sides.”

Imam Pallavicini was very much in agreement stating “The correct approach on this topic of religious slaughtering in Europe should not be to ban religious rights and freedom but rather to develop a serious consultation with reliable Rabbis and Imams and experts on this topic, in order to establish an inter-institutional, multi-disciplinary, inter-religious coordination and shared responsibility for the training and management of this religious requirement for Jews and Muslims in Europe. We need dialogue and cooperation between local authorities, veterinarians, slaughterhouses, and Jewish and Muslim experts regularly authorized by their religious organizations. This coordination will avoid any misleading practices and develop a positive synergy between secular Institutions and religious pluralism. It will also avoid any discrimination for religious minorities through the artificial pretext of an exclusive standardization of rules and the ideological abuse of animal welfare.”

While it is impossible to say with certainty whether laws banning or restricting religious slaughter will be repealed or continue to proliferate it is of vital importance to see these laws for what they are, a targeted attack on religious minorities which hides behind the guise of concern for animal welfare. If the public can be made aware of the compatibility between ritual slaughter and animal welfare, then this excuse will be rendered powerless and expose these laws for what they truly are.

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Muslim-Jewish Leadership Council Statement on the Commemoration of the Srebrenica Massacre

COVER: (Left to Right) Imam Pallavicini, President of the Italian Muslim Religious Community, Prof. Grabus, Mufti of Sarajevo, and Chief Rabbi Rosen, Director of International Interreligious Affairs at the American Jewish Committee, offer prayers representing the MJLC at the Srebrenica Genocide Memorial in Potočari. Photo by Amel Emric/KAICIID

The Muslim-Jewish Leadership Council (MJLC) is a group of religious leaders from two faiths and across Europe who have chosen to join forces to protect Muslim and Jewish rights and dignity in Europe and to build greater understanding and support between their communities. As religious leaders, we frequently face questions that require thought and sensitivity to assess or select a course of action we consider right and in line with our faiths. However, in certain instances there can be no doubt whatsoever. When contemplating a genocide – the murder of more than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys and displacement of thousands of unarmed Muslim civilians in July 1995 – regardless of the opaque and painful context of warfare in which it takes place, we believe that not only religious leaders but people of every faith must know it is utterly wrong and reprehensible and join both the call and the commitment to prevent it ever happening again.

As the MJLC also stood in Auschwitz-Birkenau in January this year, as a gesture of solidarity and respect for our Jewish brothers and sisters, so we stand in Srebrenica today. We are grateful for the welcome and support of the Rais al-Ulemma, Husein Kavazović and Igor Kožemjakin, hazzan of the Jewish Community of Sarajevo as well as the hospitality of Prof. Nedžad Grabus, Mufti of Sarajevo and Dr. Mustafa Ceric. We recognize and mourn the terrible wrongs committed against Bosnian Muslims on the basis of their religious and ethnic identity. Whether the targets of such atrocities are Jews, Muslims or followers of any other religion, we utterly condemn objectification and discrimination against people of a particular faith, ethnicity or culture. If indulged by society, these are the first steps which can lead to hate crimes on a huge scale. At a time when Europe once again faces war upon its territories and military strength determines the fates of whole populations and what is reported about them, we see that observing the most stringent standards of international law is vital to preventing the killing of innocents, torture of prisoners and destruction of culture, faith and history once again. We call for all European citizens, and particularly those in positions of responsibility in their countries, to be vigilant against genocidal tendencies in Ukraine. We call upon them to seek for ways to stop violence and suffering, to shelter and protect victims of war and forced migration, to protect holy sites and places of cultural significance, and to take a stand to uphold common values. These include the democratic principles of justice, equality, a free press, freedom of belief and its practice and protection of minorities. They also include the human responsibilities all our faiths prompt us to hold dear: the duty to make peace, to support and defend those in need, to seek and tell the truth and to strive to understand and demonstrate compassion and respect for one another. Let us resolve to follow and uphold these principles, even and especially when it is hard to do so.

Mwemorial center Potocari near Srebrenica , Bosnia. 11.july.2022. Photo Amel Emric
A mourner at the Srebrenica Genocide Memorial, Potočari” Photo by Amel Emric/KAICIID

Today we honour the memory of those who lost their lives in and around Srebrenica and the families who suffer and miss them. We pray for the stabilization and healing of Bosnian society, and for a lasting peace throughout the region. We trust that we, together with the other religious representatives gathered here, may be messengers and enablers of that peace. We call for politicians and community leaders to commit and continue to work towards a safe, neighbourly and flourishing society and we entrust ourselves and those for whom we mourn into G-d’s everlasting care.