Far-right Rise Unites EU Muslims, Jews

[Behind the Aegis]

ANKARA – Raising concerns of followers of both faiths, the sweeping victory of far-right parties in the European parliament elections has led to an unlikely unity between European Muslims and Jews against anti-immigration, xenophobic parties.

“We must learn to work together effectively on the both grass roots and leadership levels," Imam Ahmed Miktar, president of the Association of the Imams of France and a member of the Gathering of European Muslim and Jewish Leaders, told Reuters on Tuesday, May 27.

"Muslims and Jews Our communities can no longer afford the luxury of standing apart."

--snip--

After the vote, the Gathering of European Muslim and Jewish Leaders, an interfaith group affiliated with the American Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, vowed to “work closely together to fight Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and xenophobia and prevent the far right parties from realizing their goal of passing a common legislative agenda in the European Parliament severely restricting the rights of religious minorities," FFEU founder Rabbi Marc Schneier explained.

“Just as European Muslim and Jewish leaders joined forces in recent months in successfully combating an effort by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to outlaw circumcision and to protest Denmark’s new law banning kosher and halal slaughtering, we will now stand together and speak with one voice against efforts by the extremist parties to implement their hateful agenda."

more: http://www.onislam.net/english/news/europe/472977-far-right-rise-unites-eu-muslims-jews.html

[bemildred]

1. Interesting.

Perhaps someday we will learn to get along without external threats.

[The Stranger]

2. How were Muslim-Jewish relations prior to the 20th century?

Before Zionism arrived in the Middle East?

[bemildred]

3. Jews have lived all over the world for thousands of years.

Including all over the middle east. Sometimes they have done well, they have been protected. Sometimes they have been used and abused by hateful people and politicians who find them a convenient whipping boy. The more orthodox are easy to spot which makes them good targets for bigotry. But the present situation is far from as bad as it's been, so I'm not willing to blame it all on Zionism, although it is obvious that Jewish nationalism has aroused a good deal of resistance, as most nationalisms do, and Bibi has certainly been no help at all.