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Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Morocco's king takes risky stand on Holocaust

(07-26) 04:00 PDT Rabat, Morocco -- From the western edge of the Muslim world, the King of Morocco has dared to tackle one of the most inflammatory issues in the Middle East conflict - the Holocaust.

At a time when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's dismissal of the Holocaust has made the biggest headlines, King Mohammed VI has called the Nazi destruction of the Jews "one of the most tragic chapters of modern history," and has endorsed a Paris-based program aimed at spreading the word among fellow Muslims.

Many in the Islamic world still ignore or know little about the Nazi attempt to annihilate the Jews during World War II. Some disbelieve it outright. Others argue that it was a European crime and imagine it to be the reason Israel exists and that the Palestinians are stateless.

The sentiment was starkly illustrated in March after a Palestinian youth orchestra performed for Israeli Holocaust survivors, only to be shut down by angry leaders of the West Bank refugee camp where they live.

"The Holocaust happened, but we are facing a similar massacre by the Jews themselves," a community leader named Adnan Hindi said at the time. "We lost our land and we were forced to flee."

Like other moderate Arab leaders, King Mohammed VI must tread carefully. Islamic fervor is rising in his kingdom, highlighted in 2003 by al Qaeda-inspired attacks in Casablanca on targets that included Jewish sites. Forty-five people died.

The king's acknowledgment of the Holocaust, in a speech read out in his name at a ceremony in Paris in March, appears to further illustrate the radically different paths that countries like Morocco and Iran are taking.

Morocco has long been a quiet pioneer in Arab-Israeli peace efforts, most notably when it served as a secret meeting place for the Israeli and Egyptian officials who set up President Anwar Sadat's groundbreaking journey to Jerusalem in 1977.

Though Moroccan officials say the timing is coincidental, the Holocaust speech came at around the same time that Morocco severed diplomatic relations with Iran, claiming it was infiltrating Shiite Muslim troublemakers into this Sunni nation.

The speech was read out at a ceremony launching the "Aladdin Project," an initiative of the Paris-based Foundation for the Memory of the Shoah (Holocaust), which aims to spread awareness of the genocide among Muslims.

It organizes conferences and has translated key Holocaust writings such as Anne Frank's diary into Arabic and Farsi. The name refers to Aladdin, the young man with the genie in his lamp, whose legend, originally Muslim, became a universally loved tale.

The Holocaust, the king's speech said, is "the universal heritage of mankind."

It was "a very important political act," said Anne-Marie Revcolevschi, director of the Shoah foundation. "This is the first time an Arab head of state takes such a clear stand on the Shoah," she said in a telephone interview.

While the Israeli-Palestinian conflict often aggravates Arab sentiment toward Israel, Morocco has a long history of coexistence between Muslims and Jews.

Jews have lived in Morocco for 2,000 years. Their numbers swelled after they were expelled from Spain in 1492, and reached 300,000 before World War II, when yet more fled the German occupation and found refuge in Morocco, then a French colony.Today they number just 3,000, most having emigrated to France, North America or Israel, but they are free to come back to explore their roots, pray at their ancestors’ graves and even settle here.Simon Levy heads the Jewish Museum in Casablanca, a treasure trove of old Torah scrolls, garments and jewelry illustrating the rich culture of Moroccan Jewry.

“That I still run the only Jewish museum in the Arab world is telling,” he said.
Andre Azoulay, a top adviser to the current king, is Jewish and one of six members of the king’s council in a monarchy that oversees all major decisions. Considered one of Morocco’s most powerful men, he views his country as “a unique case” for the intensity of its Jewish-Muslim relations. “We don’t mix up Judaism and the tragedy of the Middle East,” he told The Associated Press in an interview.

A founding member of the Aladdin project, Azoulay says part of the program’s goal is to show the West that Muslims aren’t hostile to Jews, and that Morocco was among countries that resisted Nazi plans to exterminate their Jewish populations. He points to king Mohammed V, the current ruler’s grandfather, who is credited with resisting French colonial anti-Semitic policies.
Such actions were rare, but not unique in North Africa during World War II. In Tunisia, the late Khaled Abdelwahhab hid Jews from the Nazis on his farm, and was the first Arab to be nominated as “Righteous Among the Nations,” a title bestowed by Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial, on those who risked their lives to save Jews in the Holocaust. His case is still under study.

The Aladdin project is only just beginning. Its work has yet to reach schools or bookstores in Morocco, although the Shoah foundation’s Revcolevschi said Anne Frank’s diary is among Holocaust memoirs available in Arabic and Farsi on the Internet, and is being sold under the counter in Iran.“People speak of a clash of civilizations, but it’s more a clash of ignorance,” she said. “We’re countering this.”Hakim El Ghissassi, an aide to the senior Islamic Affairs official who delivered Mohammed’s speech, said the king is uniquely positioned to promote Islam’s dialogue with Judaism, because his titles include “Commander of the believers” — meaning he is the paramount authority for Moroccan Muslims.

“What the king has said on the Holocaust reflects our broader efforts,” said El Ghissassi, listing such reforms as courses to reinforce Morocco’s tradition of tolerant Islam by familiarizing local imams with Jewish and Christian holy books.

“We want to make sure everybody can differentiate between unfair Israeli policies and respect for Judaism,” he said.

This article appeared on page A - 11 of the San Francisco Chronicle

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/26/MNGK18V5G7.DTL#ixzz0MbKK5H9d


Dallas Muslims have been commemorating the Holocaust since 2006

6 Million Jews were massacred because of their faith. The whole world stood by and did nothing until after the genocide of a 3rd of the Jewish People….I would paraphrase Einstein’s wisdom: All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing’ It is the silence of good people that is responsible for the evil more so than the people who do bad things. I hope each one of you at the end of the program, would walk out with a feeling that “I” must stand for justice and the least I would do is to speak.

Never again, I would remain silent when I see an atrocity”
http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/Images_HolocaustDay/HMD2006_ProgramReport.asp

Mike Ghouse, Chair
www.HolocaustandGenocides.com

Muslim condemn Ahmedinejad's statement

The utterances of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Mohammed Mahdi Akef, the head of the Muslim Brotherhood, the largest opposition party in Egypt, perhaps do not reflect even their own constituents, let alone Muslims. Muslims do not subscribe to such nonsense, for it is the duty of a Muslim to stand up for a just world.

I grew up in a Muslim family and read about the Holocaust. My devout Muslim mother took away the book, telling me to read when I can understand the suffering.

Thanks to her, I am one of the volunteers in organizing Holocaust Memorial Day on Jan. 26. To save a life is saving the whole of humanity. Holy Torah and Holy Quran say it, and Hinduism talks about the whole world as one family. All faiths teach the same goodness. I recently visited the Holocaust Museum and would urge every disbeliever to visit and understand it.

My mom would be pleased to know I am doing what it takes to be a "good Muslim," to respect every life God created.

Mike Ghouse, Carrollton in 2006
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Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Confronting Genocide

Confronting Genocide: Judaism, Christianity, Islam.

There is a new book published by Rowman and Littlefield "Confronting Genocide: Judaism, Christianity, Islam." The book is edited by genocide scholar Dr. Steven Leonard Jacobs with contributions by other genocide scholars.

http://www.rowmanlittlefield.com/Catalog/SingleBook.shtml?command=Search&db=%5EDB/CATALOG.db&eqSKUdata=0739135880&thepassedurl=%5Bthepassedurl%5D

"Confronting Genocide is an essential exploration of this complex dimension of the conceptual foundations of genocide. Steven Jacobs has done superb work in bringing together a broad and rich range of scholarly perspectives. A necessary contribution to genocide studies."—Peter Balakian, author of The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America's Response

"It is the first collection of essays by recognized scholars primarily in the field of religious studies to address this timely topic. In addition to theoretical thinking about both religion and genocide and the relationship between the two, these authors look at the tragedies of the Holocaust, the Armenian Genocide, Rwanda, Bosnia, and the Sudan from their own unique vantage point. In so doing, they supply a much needed additional contribution to the ongoing conversations proffered by historians, political scientists, sociologists, psychologists, and legal scholars regarding prevention, intervention, and punishment."

List of Contributors

Paul R. Bartrop; Donald J. Dietrich; Mohammad Omar Farooq; Zev Garber; Leonard B. Glick; Stephen R. Haynes; Henry F. Knight; Leo Kuper; Paul Mojzes; James Frazier Moore; Chris Mato Nunpa; David Patterson; John T. Pawlikowski; Gary A. Phillips; Carol Rittner; John K. Roth; Richard L. Rubenstein

About the Editor

Steven Leonard Jacobs is associate professor of religious studies and holds the Aaron Aronov Endowed Chair of Judaic Studies in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Alabama.

Reviews:

"Confronting Genocide is an essential exploration of this complex dimension of the conceptual foundations of genocide. Steven Jacobs has done superb work in bringing together a broad and rich range of scholarly perspectives. A necessary contribution to genocide studies."—Peter Balakian, author of The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America's Response

"Religion has too often been a cause of genocide. The essays in this collection examine why, and then propose how religious texts and traditions could be re-interpreted so that religions could become forces against genocide."—Gregory Stanton, President, The International Association of Genocide Scholars

"My God! This book about what our Gods really instruct us—is it 'Do Not Kill,' or is it 'Yes, Kill in My Name' (or alternately both notwithstanding the contradiction)—deserves our deep thoughtfulness along with considerable appreciation to the editor for addressing soundly a largely neglected and censored topic. Steven Jacobs leads us to important encounters with 'exclusivity, superiority, privileged access to God'; 'chosen people'-ness and 'promised land-ness'; 'nationalist-racist ideology undergirded by religious thought'; and how religion often 'divides humanity into believers and infidels, into the saved and the damned.' Highly recommended."—Israel W. Charny, author of Fascism and Democracy in the Human Mind and and editor-in-chief of the Encyclopedia of Genocide

Contributed by: Dr. Mohammad Omar Farooq

By the way, I also maintain a website on Genocide 1971, which you are welcome to visit at http://www.globalwebpost.com/genocide1971. I contributed a chapter to this book "Islam and Genocide: The Case of Bangladesh in 1971", pp. 139-150.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Holocaust observance in Israel.

Holocaust observance in Israel.

http://maoz.convio.net/site/PageServer?pagename=maoz_holocaust_video

It is one of the most beautiful and moving videos, showing how people honor the holocaust, Insha Allah, I will observe that from next year and would remind every one to do the same.

Indeed, in Madinah, a funeral procession was passing by, the prophet asked his companions who it was, and they identified the person from a certain Jewish tribe. The prophet stood up in silence and respect until the procession passed and said we have to honor every person who leaves this world. From God we come and to God we go.

As peace makers we have to mitigate the conflicts and nurture goodwill, we need to focus on evoking the kindness and bringing people together on such a somber occasion. I wish the maker of the video deleted Ahmedinejad from the video, during that feeling of kindness and love, his picture negated that feeling. I have argued with Muslims and others about the purpose of such inclusions on other occasions and now, I would recommend that it be removed. Let people feel the sorrow and not hate.

Many Muslims in Dallas including me have condemned Ahmedinejad's statement, it is not reflective of the people of Iran or Muslims either, the subscribers to Ahmedinejad idiocy are as few as the subscribers to hate mongering in Israel, yet it feeds the base emotion by highlighting such events, as though the whole population is behind it, it is not, and we need to remind ourselves to be truthful in our understandings, as truth relieves the pain.

May God bless every soul that lost his and her life during the Holocaust and Genocides; May God bring justice to such a huge injustice and restore the balance in the world. Amen

Mike Ghouse
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