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An important introduction to Islamic and Jewish communities living side by side in Europe

By Imam Sheikh Mohammad Ismail DL
The Muslim Chaplain
The University of Sheffield, UK

The Muslim community and the Jewish community lived side by side in Europe for a very long time. The greatest example of the prosperity and active role of the Jewish community was under the Muslim rule in Spain. The signs of such wonderful coexistence are still preserved to this day. This cohabitation was for the betterment of all mankind as the Jewish community heavily contributed to the education and development and they were highly respected as a community of knowledge and noble scholarship. Later, Jews who left Spain a large number of them moved to the West African Muslim majority countries such as Morocco, Tunisia and many other neighbouring countries. They lived and cohabited for centuries and some still do to this day with peace and prosperity. In the recent history, in 1940 when Nazi Germany Racist leadership, started targeting Jews and discriminating against them, stolen their wealth, committed ethnic cleansing and finally 6 million human beings were brutally killed just because they were Jews. At that difficult time, Balkan Muslims supported the Jewish community. Albania a majority Muslim country provided refuge and secure home for thousands of Jews.

Since the rise of the numbers of Muslim community in Europe, we have seen tremendous increase in Racism, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism. In fact, we have recently seen that right wing and left wing both targeting Jewish and Muslim communities. Demanding the removal and banning of their basic human rights. One such recent example is a Belgium court judgment on banning the slaughter of Kosher and Halal. See the detail in the articles:

There are many more examples of discriminations, attacks on places of worship and businesses, racist graffities on greaves and walls. Attacks on Muslim women and elderly is a daily routine in some areas. Some regions demanding a ban on boys’ circumcision.
As a result of this very worrying situation developing, in 2016 KAICIID came forward and supported both communities to establish good working relationship so both communities can work and support each other in the current situation. I am very proud to be part of this excellent community project. An organisation of European Muslim and Jewish Leaders Council was set up MJLC. Since that time, the organisation slowly and gradually working to address the most needed issues in different ways as well as standing united against racism, Islamophobia and Anti-Semitism as well as extremism.

As a result for the first time COREIS and Bosnian Muslims Association in Italy organise an international event to mark the International Holocaust Remembrance Day on 24th January 2021. I am grateful that I was invited to speak on behalf of EULEMA about my role in MJLC.

We remember this day to remind ourselves and the world the terrible crimes against humanity were committed when 6 million innocent people were killed because of their religion.

On 27th January 1945 Auschwitz was liberated. The UN and whole world declared that no genocide will take place anywhere, no ethnic cleansing will take place and all religious practices will be freely allowed and respected.

Sadly, we saw the genocide of the Bosnian Muslims on the European Soil and it continues elsewhere. We need to stand in solidarity with each other to stop such crimes against humanity.

Jewish and Muslim communities in today’s Europe are faced with racism, Antisemitism and Islamophobia as well as discriminatory laws.

We ask all political parties in Europe to think carefully and please do not repeat 1940s mistakes again. It is incredibly sad to see that there are some elements in European politics who are silent about Racism, Islamophobia, Antisemitism and all forms of discriminations. We demand that the European institutions ignore the right wing and left-wing lobbies and show respect to religious and cultural rights of Muslim and Jewish communities as well as other minorities. I am proud of The United Kingdom Government which has allowed all religious rights to be respected and accommodated within the legal framework.

I ask every free mind person to stand united against all forms of discrimination to support our communities.

(Imam Sheikh) Mohammad Ismail DL
The Muslim Chaplain
The University of Sheffield, The Octagon Centre
Sheffield S10 2TQ. 01142229752
University of Sheffield The Chaplaincy Centre
The Muslim Chaplain
Our University

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International Remembrance Day 2021 – Webinar

COREIS (Islamic Religious Community) in Italy and CIBI (Islamic Community of Bosniaks in Italy) held a webinar in honour of the victims of the Jewish families, to commemorate the liberation of the Jewish community in Europe from hatred, discrimination, persecution, violence and to renew the sacred values of brotherhood that are implemented when respect for religious symbols and traditions are shared in peace and justice.

Sunday January 24th 2021
from 4 pm CET to 6 pm
facebook.com/coreis.giovani
COREIS Italian Muslim Youth

Watch the video

Programme

Vice President Roberta Metsola, European Parliament

Excellency Faisal Bin Muammar, KAICIID Secretary General

Dermana Seta, OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights

Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, President CER European Rabbinical Council, MJLC co-President

Mufti Nedzad Grabus, Mufti of Slovenia, MJLC co-President

Rabbi David Rosen, KAICIID Board of Directors

President Nermin Fazlagic, CIBI

President Noemi Di Segni, UCEI

Shaykh Muhammad Ismail, EULEMA United Kingdom

Rabbi Lody Van de Kamp, The Netherlands

President Senaid Kobilica, Norway

Hazan Igor Kozenjakin, Bosnia

Imam Ahmet Tabakovic, Italy

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Restriction of fundamental rights is unacceptable

The ruling of the European Court of Justice on 17 December last on the prohibition of non-pre-stunned slaughter in Flanders and Wallonia. (Halal/Kosher).

The date is 9 November 2020. The European Jewish community commemorates tonight the “Kristallnacht”, the indescribable events which took place on this date in 1938 in Nazi-Germany. That night, hundreds of synagogues were set on fire and thousands of Jewish owned shops and businesses were looted and destroyed. Many Jews were arrested and sent to concentration camps. The exact number of fatal victims caused by that brutal violence has never been confirmed.

During the commemoration service the first Vice-President of the European Union Frans Timmermans addresses the Dutch Jewish community. “Without a Jewish community, Europe is no longer Europe.” These are words similar to the ones of the French President Hollande a few years ago after another anti-Semitic incident at a Jewish cemetery in his country: “I know the feeling of fear that prevails among the Jewish people. But our Republic is stronger than hatred. Anyone guilty of anti-Semitism or racism will be relentlessly tracked down, arrested and convicted”.

Barely a month after the speech of European Commissioner Timmermans, his European Court of Justice rules on December 17. “The ban on kosher and halal slaughter in Flanders and Wallonia, parts of the European Union, is not in conflict with religious freedom within Europe. This ruling gives rise to the possibility for all Member States throughout the European Union to ban ritual slaughter”.

During the same Kristallnacht commemoration in which Frans Timmermans speaks, the Protestant Church of the Netherlands “confesses publicly guilt about its role during the Second World War towards the Jewish community. “We fell short in speaking and being silent, in acting, in attitude and in thought.”

Just four weeks after Timmerman’s words and the church’s confession of

guilt, the European court is stretching out a helping hand to its member states to seriously obstruct the Jewish community in performing its religious duties, this time by banning the act of kosher slaughter.

A duty that should be fulfilled by virtue of the Jewish religious legislation. In the same way, this obstruction also applies to the Islamic community in Europe.

Apparently this infringement of religious freedom for the Islamic and Jewish faiths does not seem to concern other religious communities in Europe very much. The commotion about the church’s confession had not subsided yet, and once again the church “falls short in speaking and keeps silent in acting, attitude and thought”.

The church does not react on the religious restrictions that befall Muslims and Jews, this time in a united Europe.

Frans Timmermans calls out that “A Europe without a Jewish community is not Europe”. About such a Europe Mr. Timmermans does not have to worry. There will be no Europe without Jews. Jews are Europeans. We Jews have been for almost two thousand years European residents and will continue to be so. Our communities will not relocate for just a steak or meat ball.

What will be the result of this kind of interpretation by the European Court of Justice of the fundamental rights such as the right to religious ideology, is a Europe where “freedom of religion” has no meaning.

And this will not only be applicable to Judaism and Islam, but for Christianity and any other religion or conviction as well.

This ban is not about animal welfare, this is not about equating animal rights with human rights. It is about the exclusion, discrimination, and doing injustice towards entire communities within our European society. Once again, Jews and Muslims are portrayed as citizens whose “barbaric customs” and religious beliefs are still lingering on somewhere in the dark Middle Ages while the rest of Europe boosts proudly about its 21st century civilization.

In the Netherlands, the Party for the Animals has already prepared its new parliamentary bill to ban kosher and halal slaughter. The Dutch Islamic and Jewish communities have not forgotten how, just a few years ago, they were abandoned by a large majority in Parliament during an earlier attempt to ban the religious acts of slaughter. A repetition of this is certainly not ruled out with this judgment of the European Court.

For our communities, this means that we would have to obtain our meat in a different way. For the rest of Europe, it means an irreparable damage to its dignity when freedom of religion is being applied in this way. It presents an irreversible step towards a polarizing and discriminatory Europe which is in strong contradiction to the reason why European countries committed themselves to a United Europe after the tragedies of the Second World War.

While I am writing these words, an email comes in from the European Coordinator on combatting Anti-Semitism. This message briefly informs the Jewish community that the Handbook for Using the New Definitions of Anti-Semitism has been published. This handbook was commissioned by the European Commission together with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) with the support of the German Presidency of the European Union.

This letter is accompanied by a statement from Margaritas Schinas, a colleague of Frans Timmermans, also Vice President of the European Union. Mr. Schinas tells us Jews that “We must fight anti-Semitism wherever we come across it. Jewish life is part of our society and we are committed to protecting it ”.

In other words: The European Court of Justice creates the possibility for the anti-Jewish measure of banning ritual slaughter in all the member states of the European Union.

At the same time, the two vice-presidents of the Union are speaking out against any form of anti-Semitism within European society. “Jewish life is part of our society”.

I assume that these two leaders in the European Union, if they are really committed to what they are saying, would now be heading for Luxembourg. There they will demand from their own Court of Justice that this ruling on ritual slaughter must immediately be dismissed.

Mr. Frans Timmermans and Mr. Margaritas Schinas are committed to do so in order to save their own credibility. And at the same time, they must demonstrate that our European civilization will not accept this gross violation of fundamental rights of freedom of religion.

 

This is the English translation of an article published by Rabbi Lody B. van de Kamp (Amsterdam) which was published on the 12th January 2021 in the Dutch Magazine Nieuw Wij.

https://www.nieuwwij.nl/opinie/beperking-fundamentele-rechten-is-onacceptabel/

“Nieuw Wij, New We” is a online platform that aims to connect cultures, religions, philosophies and individual citizens.

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MJLC dismayed at the decision of the European Court of Justice to support the ban on ritual slaughtering for the Jewish and Muslim citizens in the Flanders and Wallonian regions of Belgium

4th January 2021

The decision of the European Court of Justice in Luxemburg on the 17th December last in support of the ban on ritual slaughtering for the Jewish and Muslim citizens in the Flanders and Wallonian regions of Belgium will bear great consequences for our entire communities in all member states of the European Union.

The court’s ruling gives room for each of the member states to discontinue allowing slaughtering without pre-stunning on the grounds that such a ban is not an infringement on freedom of religion. The European Muslim and Jewish Leadership Council (MJLC) will oppose this ban jointly with all other organizations across Europe who stand for protection of religious rights.

Entirely through the history of Europe a ban on Shechita and now on Halal, slaughtering of cattle and fowls for Jews and Muslims, has always related to negative sentiments towards our religions and its members. Even recent attempts to ban Shechita and Halal in 2012 in Holland have shown such views. European leaders have stated repeatedly over the years that Jews and Muslims form an indispensable part of the European society. They should feel safe and wanted.

The MJLC calls upon the European leadership to reconsider sincerely, without any reservation, the present definition of freedom of religion in such a way that religious life can blossom within our communities without these types of discriminatory restrictions which are now hovering above the Jewish and Muslim society of Europe.

Vienna, 4 th December 2020/ 20 Jumada I-Ula 1442/ 20 Tevet 5781

The European Muslim Jewish Leadership Council (MJLC)

  • Mufti Nedzad Grabus, co-chairman, Ljubljana
  • Chief-Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, co-chairman, Moscow
  • Rabbi Lody B. van de Kamp, coördinator, Amsterdam
  • Imam Yahya Pallavicini, coordinator, Rome

The MJLC Shechita/Halal committee

  • Rabbi Schlomo Hofmeister, co-chairman, Vienna
  • Imam Sheikh Mohammad Ismael, co-chairman, Sheffield

Information Tel +43 664 303 2926 lbvdk@rabbiscer.org

The European Muslim and Jewish Leadership Council was founded in the Austrian capital Vienna on the 12th December 2016 by fourteen European religious leaders – 7 Jewish and 7 Muslims- to serve the need, more urgent than ever in today’s Europe, to free religious people, and religions from prejudice, false claims, attacks, and violence. The mission of MJLC is to renew in Europe a culture of respect and appreciation of religious identities, specifically Judaism and Islam, beginning with the awareness of the essential patrimony which religious Traditions represent for every society and civilization.

The MJLC Shechita/Halal committee was established in Matera European Capital 2019, with special experience on the respect of healthcare for animals.

The MJLC is facilitated by KAICIID

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Counteracting Violent Extremism and Promoting Social Solidarity in Europe

We publish here an article from KAICIID:

On 29 October, three people were stabbed and killed at Notre Dame de Nice, France. While Europe was still reeling from the attack, around 8:00 pm local time on 2 November, a gunman undertook a series of shootings in Vienna, killing four and wounding 23 others.

Across the world, religious leaders and policymakers are wrestling with their responsibility to provide protection but also build bridges between communities following such violent attacks, when relations can become severely strained.

In Europe in particular, there is increasing recognition that the effectiveness of responses and collaboration between religious leaders and policymakers can be crucial to maintaining social solidarity and preventing more crimes.

In light of this, and along with the European Council of Religious Leaders (ECRL)/Religions for Peace Europe, KAICIID hosted yesterday the webinar “Prevention and Response: The Contribution of Religious Leaders to Counteracting Violent Extremism and Promoting Social Solidarity in Europe.”

The webinar featured religious leaders and policymakers from national and international organizations based in Europe, who addressed how to respond in the immediate aftermath of an attack and the steps needed to prevent preventing acts of violent extremism long-term.

KAICIID Secretary General Faisal bin Muaammar said, “The misuse of religion on the one hand, and the targeting of religious minorities on the other, have become a regrettable feature of our societies.”

The webinar, he explained, offered “a space for reflection, trust and sharing as we try to process these experiences, and our response to them.”

Participants considered a series of questions, including: what do religious communities need from each other to effectively respond to and prevent such violent attacks? What are the roles and responsibilities of religious leaders and policymakers to their own communities and societies in such scenarios? And how can they address the suffering and pain caused by such incidents and channel them towards love, not hate?

Responses from Austria

Since the attack in Vienna, KAICIID has provided multiple opportunities for such reflections, including “A conversation with youth: Vienna terror attack and the way forward” on 23 November.

During that event, participants emphasised the need to demonstrate unity and not let violent acts divide society any further. Adis Serifovic, Federal Chairman of Muslim Youth Austria, said, “hopelessness is exactly what these terrorists and extremists want. They want to divide us; they want to scare us and we must stand up to that.”

Serifovic’s sentiment was echoed by Prof. Dr. Markus Ladstätter of the Graz University of Education. “Terrorists want to split society,” he said, “the first sign should be that there is no way to split us.”

Unfortunately, bin Muaammar said, “research shows that there is an escalation in hate speech and hate crime in the aftermath of any terrorist attack. Each terrorist incident begins a hundred new cycles of hate, and can produce a hundred new fractures in our societies, which are difficult to repair.

“For KAICIID, and for all of us here today, who have dedicated themselves to promoting peace and understanding of the Other, the impact of each attack, and its aftermath, is twofold: a signal to redouble our efforts, and a painful reminder of how far we still have to go to achieve our goal,” he said.

Prof. Dr. Regina Polak, head of the Department for Practical Theology at the University of Vienna said the “burden of mistrust” in the wake of attacks requires religious leaders go beyond “symbolic unity” to take practical steps such as comforting the victims of violence, explicitly condemning such acts, and establishing appropriate networks and communication structures before another crisis occurs.

Rabbi Schlomo Hofmeister, Community Rabbi of Vienna since 2008, recently led his own city through the pain of such devastating attacks and commended the solidarity shown across religious boundaries in the days that followed. The challenge for society at large, he said, will be preserving that sentiment in the months and years to come.

For such unity to persist, Polak said, “there is no other option other than dialogue and encounter. If we withdraw from interfaith relationships, we let the violent extremists win.”

The role of religious communities in preventing and healing

Letting extremists gain the upper hand within religious communities, added Rev. Dr. Thomas Wipf, President of ECRL/RfP Europe, was unacceptable. He said, “as religious communities we have a duty to do everything we can to avoid being abused and misused to justify any form of violence.”

This requires an honest reflection on the part of religious leaders, he added, who need to “deal with our own mistakes and errors” and find ways to “support one another” to address common challenges.

At the same time, participants also recognised that religious leaders and their communities are often the victims and targets of attacks and need support themselves.

Rabbi Schlomo Hofmeister said, “violence in the name of religion is always something very painful for everyone involved. This includes religions and religious leaders who are being blamed for it. We have to speak out that religion must not be used to justify violence.”

The process of healing, he said, involved solidarity between religious leaders, politicians, and society at large to condemn rhetoric that, “creates a climate of polarisation.”

Saying that Austria was “shaken up” in the wake of the Vienna attacks and starting to confront such polarisation, Hofmeister said, “we cannot wait for attacks to happen to react to this, it’s too late”.

“We have to show courage and distance ourselves from polarising language and condemn it as a means of prevention,” he said.

The dual role of policymakers and religious leaders in this process was highlighted by Rehman Chishti, British Member of Parliament and former Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief and Imam Yahya Pallavicini, president of COREIS, the Islamic Religious Community of Italy.

Chishti said, “Every word has a meaning and politicians have to be very careful about what they say and what effect it can have.”

While he recognized the role of policymakers in guarding religious freedom, he cautioned, “The law cannot make people get along. It takes meaningful engagement between people of different communities. That’s where religious leaders are absolutely vital.”

To that end, Imam Pallavicini said religious leaders need to develop new dialogue skills and language to “bridge between believers, citizens, institutions, and politicians.”

“We cannot do theological discourse alone,” he said, “we need to develop a theological answer that is adaptable to the context and the challenges of the society, of the language of the media, and concrete policy recommendations for institutions.”

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Lord Jonathan Sacks, former chief rabbi, dies aged 72

The former chief rabbi of the British Commonwealth, Lord Jonathan Sacks, has died aged 72 about a month after being diagnosed with cancer, a spokesman for his office has confirmed.

He died in the early hours of Saturday morning, the spokesman said.

Lord Sacks was a prolific writer and regularly contributed to radio and TV programmes such as BBC Radio 4’s Thought for the Day. His fame reached well beyond the Jewish community in Britain and in 2016 Lord Sacks was awarded the “Templeton Prize for Progress Toward Research or Discoveries about Spiritual Realities”.

He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Elaine Taylor, their three children and several grandchildren.

A statement from Lord Sacks’ office on 15 October announced he had been “recently diagnosed with cancer” and was undergoing treatment.

Lord Sacks, an Orthodox Jew, was born in London on 8 March 1948.

In 1991 he became Britain’s chief rabbi – the spiritual head of the largest grouping of Orthodox Jewish communities in the UK. He was a profound supporter of building bridges between the Muslim and Jewish communities across Europe.

 

The message of the MJLC Co-chairman Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, president of the Conference of European Rabbis:

“We are truly saddened to hear of the passing of our Associate Vice President, Rabbi Lord Sacks, as we come out of the Sabbath. Rabbi Sacks was a giant of World Jewry and will be truly missed. His scholarship and oratory skill were without parallel and he has been an inspiration to an entire generation, no matter their faith. We hope his memory will be a blessing to his family and all those who were influenced by him.”

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In the name of Allah the most merciful and the most gracious.

“To God we belong and to Him we shall return”

Download the original statement.

EULEMA express it’s sadness on the demise of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks who was a good friend of the Muslim community in Europe and who actively promoted interfaith work to bring different communities together.

Lord Sacks died at the aged 72. He served as the chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, the figurehead of British Jews, for 22 years, stepping down in September 2013.

HRH Prince Charles The Prince of Wales has paid his tribute to former chief rabbi Lord Sacks, describing him as a leader whose “wisdom, scholarship and humanity were without equal”.

EULEMA pays tributes to Rabbi Lord Sacks for his excellent service to the communities with hope and expectation that his fellow Chief Rabbis will follow his great legacy. EULEMA feel proud to be partner with the Jewish community leaders in Europe forming MJLC to achieve our common goals for the betterment of our both communities. EULEMA is committed to
stand shoulder to shoulder with the Jewish community against Antisemitism, Islamophobia and all other forms of discrimination and racism. Rabbi Lord Sacks was an active support of the Muslim community in their struggle against Islamophobia.

EULEMA covey its sincere condolences to Rabbi Lord Sacks family, Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis of United Kingdom and the European Jewish community.

We hope that Rabbi Sacks legacy will continue to strengthen the relationship between our both communities.

 

Imam Yahya Pallavicini
EULEMA Coordinator

Shaykh Muhammad Ismail DL
EULEMA United Kingdom

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Wir wollen Synagogen und Moscheen betreten, ohne getötet zu werden

Treffen sich ein Rabbi und ein Imam, die ihre Religionen in Europa als gefährdet erachten, zum Doppelinterview mit dem KURIER.

von Michael Hammerl

Read the original article here.

 

Das Muslim Jewish Leadershipt Council ist 2016 in Wien gegründet worden. Es agiert in Kooperation mit dem König-Abdullah-Zentrum (KAICIID) und will den Dialog zwischen Juden und Muslimen stärken. Der KURIER hat zwei der sechs führenden Mitglieder zum Interview getroffen: Den Schweizer Rabbiner Pinchas Goldschmidt, Präsident der Europäischen Rabbiner Konferenz (CER) und den Mailänder Imam Yahya Sergie Yahe Pallavicini, Berater des italienischen Innenministers.

KURIER: Was genau wollen Sie mit dem Muslim Jewish Leadership Council (MJLC) erreichen oder verändern?

Pallavicini: Wir wollen, dass die europäische Gesellschaft besser über diese zwei, spezifischen Religionen Bescheid weiß. Sie sind oft das Opfer von Ignoranz, aber auch von Manipulation, Diskriminierung, Gewalt und Hass. Nicht nur in der Gesellschaft, sondern auch in der Politik und Justiz.

Was meinen Sie konkret, wenn Sie von “Ignoranz” sprechen?

P: Ich befürchte, dass die Wahrnehmung und Lehre eines religiösen Blickes auf das Leben in der Gesellschaft vernachlässigt werden. Es gibt keine Kenntnis mehr, was eine religiöse Identität, was religiöses Verhalten ist. Und es gibt einen Prozess der Assimilation. Für alle Religionen sollen dieselben Standards gelten – was einfach völlig falsch ist.

Goldschmidt: Ich will es etwas einfacher formulieren. Die Situation ist für die jüdische Gemeinschaft sehr kompliziert. Wir wurden in den vergangenen 15 bis 20 Jahren attackiert, waren oft Zielscheibe des radikalislamischen Terrors. Die Beziehung zwischen Muslimen und Juden in Europa wurde zunehmend schlechter, es gab nur sehr wenig Kooperation und Dialog. Ein Resultat des Terrors im Nahen Osten war die Einwanderung von Muslimen nach Europa. Wie hat das post-christlich-jüdische Zentraleuropa, des säkular geworden ist, geantwortet? Es hat nicht die Radikalen verfolgt, sondern den Islam als Religion von Millionen von Menschen, die in Europa leben. Als Restriktionen gegen islamische Praxen aufkamen – wie Halāl und die Beschneidung – waren wir Juden der Kollateralschaden. Die Gesetze betrafen auch uns. Deshalb haben wir vor vier Jahren begonnen, zu kooperieren: Wir sitzen im selben Boot.

Also sind Sie jetzt in dieser kleinen Gruppe in „Dialog“ getreten. Bringt so etwas Ergebnisse?

G: Lassen Sie mich kurz eine persönliche Geschichte erzählen. Sie soll zeigen, wie sich dieser Dialog auswirken kann. Vor ein paar Wochen war ich in Berlin. Ich traf mich mit dem Generalsekretär der Islamischen Weltliga, Scheich Muhammad bin Abdul Karim Al Issa, der zuletzt Auschwitz, Halle und andere Orte besuchte. Wir unterhielten uns einen ganzen Abend lang im Berliner Adlon Hotel. Am nächsten Tag ging ich durch die Stadt, mit der Kippa am Kopf. Es war dunkel. Drei junge Arabar stoppten mich auf der Straße. Sie fragten: „Sind Sie Jude?“ Ich sagte: „Ja“, und fragte: „Sind Sie Muslime?“ „Ja.“ Ich verstand sofort, dass sie auf mich losgehen wollten, auf einen älteren Juden, alleine auf der Straße. Ich sagte ihnen, dass ich ihnen was zeigen möchte. Ich nahm mein Smartphone heraus und zeigte ihnen ein Foto mit Scheich Al Issa, mit dem ich am Vorabend noch über die Beziehung zwischen Muslimen und Juden gesprochen hatte. Wir begannen zu diskutieren. Sie fragten mich, ob ich glaube, dass eines Tage Friede zwischen Palästinensern und Israelis herrschen werde. Ich sagte: „Ja. Vielleicht nicht mehr in meinem Leben, doch in eurem sicherlich.“ Dann machte ich ein Selfie mit ihnen. In diesem Fall hat also ein Treffen auf höchster Ebene den Dialog an der Basis beeinflusst. Ich denke, dass ist der Versuch des MJLC.

P: Und das alles begann vor vier Jahren. Wir arbeiten im europäischen Kontext. Das MJLC könnte ein Beispiel für die ganze Welt sein: Wir zeigen, dass zwei religiöse Minderheiten in Europa, die so oft bewusst missinterpretiert werden, tatsächlich gemeinsam als Brüder ihre Rechte verteidigen.

Sie sprechen jetzt von interreligiösem Dialog. Aber wie wollen Sie realpolitisch etwas bewirken?

P: Ich war Berater des früheren Präsidenten Frankreichs, Nicolas Sarkozy. Er wollte religiöse Symbole im öffentlichen Raum verbieten lassen, 2010 unterzeichnete er als Präsident das Verschleierungsverbot. Ich war dagegen. Ich denke, wir sollten alle pseudo-politischen Narrative verhindern, die versuchen, die Würde und Freiheit eines religiösen Bürgers einzuschränken. Wir sollten fokussierte, intelligente Wege finden, um die Manipulation von Symbolen zu verhindern. Für Verwirrung sorgt, dass die Freiheit der Religion von ultra-säkularen, antireligiösen Personen ausverhandelt wird. Die kulturellen, juristischen und politischen Wurzeln Europas sollten aber mit dem Wert der Religionsfreiheit übereinstimmen. Und natürlich: In diesem religiösen Pluralismus ist kein Platz für irgendeine Form von ultraradikalen und aggressiven Interpretationen.

Es gibt diese Argumentation, dass Zentraleuropa auf jüdisch-christlichen Fundamenten aufgebaut ist und der Islam nicht Teil der europäischen Kultur ist. Was sagen Sie dazu?

G: Europas Wurzeln sind jüdisch-christlich. Aber es gibt fast keine Juden mehr in Europa, weil die Europäer sechs Millionen Juden getötet haben. Wenn die Europäer sagen, dass sie keinen Islam und keine Muslime um sich haben wollen, hätten sich nicht 40 Millionen Muslime nach Europa lassen sollen. Ja, vor 500 Jahren hättet ihr sie noch gewaltsam zu Christen konvertiert. Aber heute ist das anders. Die Grundwerte haben sich nach 1945 geändert, nachdem ein Sturm des Rassismus fast die gesamte zivilisierte Welt zerstörte. Die Europäer haben beschlossen, eine pluralistische Gesellschaft der Nationen, der unterschiedlichen Religionen, der Menschenrechte und Redefreiheit zu gestalten. Also: Warum wird die Religionsfreiheit jetzt zurückgedrängt? Sie gehört zu den fundamentalen Freiheiten.

Was ist Ihre Erklärung?

G: Wir sehen diese sehr populistische und simple Antwort auf Europas Angst vor Immigranten. Der Populismus, den wir erleben, geht stark in die Richtung einer Wiederbelebung des Rassismus und des Terrorismus. In Halle wollte am höchsten jüdischen Feiertag, Jom Kippur, ein Neonazi eine Synagoge stürmen und 78 Menschen töten. Er schaffte es nicht, die Tür aufzuschießen. Was machte er stattdessen? Er tötete ein paar Muslime. Passiert das, weil wir vergessen haben, was vor 75 Jahren in Europa passiert ist? Vergessen wir, was Rassismus in Europa angerichtet hat?

Antisemitismus ist allerdings auch in der islamischen Welt ein großes Problem – möglicherweise ein noch größeres als in Zentraleuropa.

G: Ich meine, dass das generelle Problem im Nahen Osten der Konflikt zwischen Israelis und Palästinensern ist. Viele andere Probleme sind ein Resultat dessen. Aber in den vergangenen Jahren hat sich das gegenseitige Verständnis verbessert. Der Besuch von Al Issa in Auschwitz hat das gezeigt. Wir verstehen: Es gibt einen territorialen Konflikt in Israel. Wir wissen, dass Rassismus, dass der Holocaust Dinge sind, die universal sind und nicht nur als Teil des jüdischen Narratives wahrgenommen werden sollen.

Das MJLC legt den Fokus also auf Europa. Warum?

G: Der Grund, warum wir uns in diesem Projekt auf Europa konzentrieren ist, dass auf diesem Kontinent Millionen Muslime und Juden leben. Wir wollen, dass unsere Kinder durch die Straßen gehen können, ohne mit Steinen beworfen oder attackiert zu werden. Wir wollen, dass unsere Gläubigen Synagogen und Moscheen betreten können, ohne getötet zu werden. Damit das Realität wird, müssen wir alle zusammenarbeiten.

Herr Pallavicini, Können Sie das eigentlich bestätigen? Ist das Verständnis zwischen Juden und Muslimen besser geworden ist? Vor allem, wenn man sich in Erinnerung ruft, wie fragmentiert die muslimische Welt ist, dass sie bei weitem nicht mit einer Stimme spricht.

P: Wie Rabbi Goldschmidt gesagt hat: Wir folgen nur den Ideen der europäischen Gründungsväter. Wie Konrad Adenauer, Robert Schuhmann oder Alcide de Gasperi. Wir wollen keine Ghettoisierung, sondern Diversität. Wir wollen eine Einheit von Bürgern, vereint in Frieden. Das ist auch Teil einer religiösen Dimension. Das ist wichtig, denn es ist ein sehr rücksichtsloser und aggressiver Versuch, die konfessionelle Basis eines Staates – wie die jüdisch-christliche Österreichs – zu missbrauchen, wenn Österreich sich eigentlich im Kontext des säkularen Europas bewegt. Das geht nicht. Es sei denn, man will ins Mittelalter zurückzukehren. Was ich glaube: Die muslimische Welt braucht eine ernsthaftere Vision. Das ist möglich. Sehen wir uns Staaten wie die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate und Aserbaidschan an: Sie pflegen Beziehungen mit Juden auf der ganzen Welt. Das ist die Vision, der wir folgen müssen.

Sie treten hier beide als Diplomaten auf. Jetzt möchte ich einmal Ihre ganz persönliche Meinung hören, unabhängig von Ihren Funktionen beim MJLC: Haben Sie eine Vision, wie der Konflikt zwischen Israelis und Palästinensern gelöst werden könnte?

G: Es gibt ein paar Punkte im Friedensplan der Trump-Administration, die seriös sind. Tatsache ist, dass auf beiden Seiten ernsthaft gearbeitet werden muss. Rechte von Israelis und Palästinensern müssen respektiert werden. Bei den Verhandlungen sollte kein Störenfried am Tisch sitzen. Störenfriede arbeiten nicht für den Frieden. Entweder arbeiten wir zusammen, als Bürger und Gläubige. Oder es wird weiterhin nur apologetische Versuche geben. Dann werden wir immer feilschen, uns gegenseitig kritisieren, unsere Opferrollen rechtfertigen. Eine neue Kultur muss entwickelt werden. Wir haben viele Möglichkeiten verpasst, aber ich hoffe, dass die neuen Generationen von Arabern es besser macht. Etwa die in München oder Berlin.

Die Sie laut Ihrer Geschichte attackiert hätte, wenn Sie keine Handyfotos parat gehabt hätten.

G: Ja, anfangs waren sie nicht sehr freundlich. (lacht)

P: Der Plan der Trump-Administration unterscheidet sich darin von vorherigen Plänen, dass er weniger auf die Geschichte schaut, sondern die Verhältnisse vor Ort analysiert. Da gibt es eine jüdische und eine palästinensische Gemeinschaft. Das ist Fakt, rundherum entwickeln wir eine Zwei-Staaten-Lösung. Das Problem ist, dass der Nahe Osten nicht mehr so relevant ist für die globale Sicherheit. Der Hauptgrund ist, dass Öl nicht mehr so wichtig ist für die Entwicklung und Stabilität der USA – und die gesamte Welt. Heute gibt es alternative Energien und Fracking. Die USA sind nicht mehr Importeur von Öl, sondern Exporteur. Bis zu einem gewissen Punkt hat der Nahe Osten seine strategische Wichtigkeit verloren. Somit hat auch der Konflikt an Wichtigkeit für die westliche Welt eingebüßt. Das macht das Problem nicht kleiner. Die USA ziehen sich aus der Weltpolitik zurück, haben viel weniger Einfluss auf Europa, viel weniger Einfluss auf die Golfstaaten. Es sieht so aus, als wäre die Weltpolizei verschwunden. Was sollen wir also machen, um nach fast hundert Jahren Konflikt für Frieden zu sorgen? Du brauchst einen Streitschlichter, eine Supermacht, die beiden Seiten garantiert, dass Vorhaben umgesetzt werden. Können die USA das noch? Ich bin sehr skeptisch, dass dieser Friedensprozess erfolgreich sein wird. Aber ich hoffe, dass es eines Tages Frieden gibt.

Abschließend: Das österreichische Parlament stimmte vergangenen Juni dafür, das König-Abdullah-Zentrum (KAICIID) zu schließen, mit dem das MJLC eng kooperiert. Wie denken Sie darüber?

G: Es wäre eine viel bessere Idee, OPEC (Organisation erdölexportierender Länder, Anm.) zu schließen.

Ernst gemeint?

G: Ich meine das ernst. (lacht)

Was denken Sie, Herr Pallavicini?

P: Ich meine, diese Schließung wäre wirklich Unsinn. Hier missinterpretiert die Politik ihre Rolle. So etwas führt nirgendwo hin, außer zu Ignoranz. Das KAICIID ist eine Chance für Österreich, für die österreichische Gesellschaft, für Europa und für Gläubige, sich kennenzulernen und interkulturell zu arbeiten. Also: Warum wollen irgendwelche kurzsichtigen Politiker diese Institution, die von Österreich nicht finanziert werden muss, schließen? Warum? Vielleicht ist das nur eine Alibi-Aktion und man hat in Wahrheit Vorurteile gegen das Königreich von Saudi-Arabien. Ich denke, so wird jede Art der internationalen Zusammenarbeit zerstört. Für mich ist das Unsinn.

 

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Using Jewish history to combat anti-Muslim discrimination in the Netherlands: Rabbi Lody van de Kamp

This article was originally published by the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Washington.

By Nicolaas P. Barr

This past summer, together with UW Athletics, my colleague Dr. Amy Peloff and I led a group of students to Amsterdam as part of the Comparative History of Ideas “Tolerance, Identity, and Difference” study abroad program. We examined how “tolerance,” while seemingly a positive value, actually serves to uphold unequal relations of power that privilege the white majority population in the Netherlands.

Our program focuses primarily on how tolerance facilitates discrimination against Dutch Muslims and Black people in contemporary society, though this dynamic is also visible in Dutch-Jewish history: tolerance does not guarantee inclusion, and it can always be suspended or revoked by the majority. Confronting anti-Semitism effectively requires understanding its mechanisms in the larger context and structures of white supremacy, not advocating for mere tolerance.

One of our program’s guest speakers was Lody van de Kamp, an Orthodox rabbi, interfaith leader, and writer who works to strengthen Jewish connections to other minority communities in the Netherlands. Born in 1948, he is part of the generation that emerged from the decimation of Dutch Jewry in the Holocaust. His father was imprisoned for two years in Auschwitz, while his mother survived in the Netherlands in hiding.

After serving as a rabbi in various Dutch cities for two decades, van de Kamp entered Amsterdam municipal politics in 1995 as a member of the centrist Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party, with which he felt the closest affinity, due to its religious foundations.

Van de Kamp is hardly a political radical. Yet the lessons he draws from Judaism and Dutch Jewish history have led him to take stances that increasingly put him at odds with mainstream Dutch politics.

For one, he has criticized the tradition of Zwarte Piet or “Black Pete,” the Sinterklaas holiday character who is depicted using the racist practice of blackface, which the majority of white Dutch people continue to defend as “innocent.” For van de Kamp, the involvement of Dutch Jews in the transatlantic slave trade entails an obligation to recognize that history and its contemporary afterlives in Dutch society.

Book cover shows the colorful title "Over Muren Heen: Een hoopvolle briefwisseling," with a photo of van de Kamp and al Abdellaoui smiling and looking at each other from either side

Cover for the book “Crossing Walls: A hopeful correspondence” by Rabbi Lody van de Kamp and Muslim, Moroccan-Dutch student Oumaima Al Abdellaoui

This sense of social mission also motivates van de Kamp’s vocal support for Dutch Muslim communities in the face of xenophobic discrimination and political demonization. He ultimately left the CDA in 2017 after its leader, Sybrand Buma, invoked “Judeo-Christian society” in a speech, which van de Kamp interprets as deliberately exclusionary toward Muslims. He is particularly sensitive to politicians’ claims to be defending Dutch Jews by attacking Dutch Muslims.

In a recent column for the website “NieuwWij” [“The new we”], van de Kamp writes about a demonstration in The Hague that reflected this dynamic. Following a similar event held in Berlin in June, non-Jews were invited by a Dutch-Jewish organization to “wear the kippah for a day” in response to reports of rising anti-Semitism.

This effort was seen as trivializing a serious issue by some German-Jewish critics — and by van de Kamp. More importantly, in van de Kamp’s view, the demonstration provided a public platform for anti-Muslim politicians to lay the blame for anti-Semitism solely at the feet of Dutch Muslims: “They misused the opportunity, in their characteristic and discriminatory way, to point their accusatory, ultra-right-wing finger at refugees and Muslim communities [in the Netherlands]” (my translation).

Rabbi van de Kamp’s view is an important counterpoint to the narrative that Muslims pose an inherent threat to the safety of Jews in Europe. This is not to deny that harassment and violence of Jews by Muslims does occur, including lethal attacks in France and elsewhere. Yet statistics show that, as in the U.S., most anti-Semitic crimes in Europe are perpetrated by right-wing extremists.

Top of a poster reading "Saïd en Lody," alongside a green and red "JC" and a green bar reading "Wat wij doen, kan jij ook"

Saïd and Lody: “What we do, you can do.” Lody van de Kamp works as a facilitator with the Moroccan-Dutch youth advocate Saïd Bensellam.

And even in the face of explicit anti-Semitic behavior, van de Kamp sees the opportunity to educate the public about the dangers of anti-Semitism, especially youth. At the systemic level, effectively fighting anti-Semitism means addressing the larger socio-political contexts of marginalization, especially the well-documented discrimination faced by Dutch Muslims and people of color. Politicians who “punch down” by stoking fears about other minority communities actually make Dutch Jews less safe, not safer.

Admittedly, van de Kamp’s views may not be representative, and his outspoken opinions have not always endeared him to fellow Dutch Jews. As he told our students, however: “God gave me two eyes to see with, two ears to hear with, and two shoulders to shrug with.” This is not a statement of indifference, but rather of an ethical commitment to going beyond one’s own community, in spite of such criticism, and working in solidarity with others against the divide-and-conquer tactics of white supremacy. In a 2018 interview with DutchNews.nl, van de Kamp said: “It starts with exclusion, and it ends with destruction. So I think th[at] Jewish people should be respectful enough to say that they will not let themselves be used for this purpose.”

This concern reflects direct and troubling ties between the Dutch and U.S. political contexts. One of the key anti-Muslim political figures in the Netherlands is Geert Wilders of the Party for Freedom (PVV), who has a close relationship with Rep. Steve King of Iowa. In 2017, King created a minor controversy — preceding more explicit comments in early 2019 praising “white nationalism” — when he championed Wilders on Twitter: “Wilders understands that culture and demographics are our destiny. We can’t restore our civilization with somebody else’s babies.”

Screenshot shows a tweet from Rep. Kevin McCarthy reading "We cannot allow Soros, Steyer, and Bloomberg to BUY this election! Get out and vote Republican November 6. #MAGA

California Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-CA, 23rd District) claims in a later-deleted tweet that three Jewish donors to Democrats could “buy” the election. Excerpted from an analysis of modern anti-Semitic media by journalist Jeet Heer on Twitter.

Such thinking is central to the “great replacement theory” that has recently inspired racist terrorist attacks in the U.S. and abroad: the conspiracy theory that powerful, wealthy Jews, such as the financier George Soros, are funding migrants in order to undermine white-majority populations in the U.S. and Europe from within.

This anti-Semitic right-wing conspiracy theory, which continues to circulate actively among pundits and politicians in Europe and the U.S., is what motivated the shooter at the Pittsburgh Tree of Life synagogue on October 27, 2018. As several Stroum Center for Jewish Studies faculty astutely remarked shortly thereafter, despite taking place in a synagogue, the murders were based upon the same biological theory of racial struggle that animated the Nazis, rather than religious anti-Judaism, although the latter certainly undergirds those ideologies.

In this environment, it simply will not do to “lean in” against violent anti-Semitism as an inscrutable force emanating from all sides, rather than recognizing its specific entanglement with racism and white supremacy. As historian (and UW alumna) Dr. Kathleen Belew has shown, anti-Semitism is an integral component of the white power movement, both historically and today, linking the perpetrators of the massacres in Charleston, Pittsburgh, Christchurch, and El Paso.

There is, equally importantly, a more positive lesson to be learned from recognizing these interconnections. The literary scholar Dr. Michael Rothberg coined the term “multidirectional memory” to describe how the historical memory of the Holocaust has been used to understand other traumatic histories, such as European colonization and anti-Black racism in the U.S., in ways that generate new forms of solidarity against oppression, without reducing one specific history to another. (This is the organizing concept of my “Modern Thought in Dark Times” course).

Such political visions are being revitalized among U.S. Jews today, in relation to both immigrant and minority rights and to intra-Jewish white supremacy, including the marginalization of Black Jews.

As van de Kamp puts it, regarding the discrimination faced by Dutch Jews, “The same goes for other [Dutch] minority groups, such as Surinamese, gay [people], or Muslims. To me, there is no difference.” These groups’ histories and experiences are distinct (although individual identities sometimes overlap), but the kind of collaborative work being done by van de Kamp and colleagues from other communities is essential for fighting both anti-Semitism and other forms of racism.

Studio portrait of Nick Barr wearing a sweater, looking serious

Nicolaas P. Barr is a part-time lecturer and director of study abroad in the Department of Comparative History of Ideas and an affiliate faculty member in the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies. He received his Ph.D. in history from UC Berkeley. His translation of Tofik Dibi’s “Djinn” is in preparation for SUNY Press’s Queer Politics and Cultures series.

Note: The opinions expressed by faculty and students in our publications reflect the views of the individual writer only and not those of the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies.