Let us Not Forget That There is Much That Binds Muslims and Jews

After the national debate on Antisemitism, the Labour Party has set up a working group to stamp down on Antisemitism, which is to be warmly welcomed. Antisemitism, like other forms of hatred and prejudice, must be tackled and tackled with vigour. Yet,there is also a unique nature to Antisemitism that we should acknowledge. We also

The post Let us Not Forget That There is Much That Binds Muslims and Jews appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Romania to speed up Holocaust-era property restitution

Romania is to fast-track claims from Holocaust survivors under an amended law on property restitution which is expected to be passed by parliament next week, legislators said on Tuesday. Romania was an ally of Nazi Germany during World War Two until it changed sides in August 1944, and much of the property seized during the […]

Bucharest mayoral candidate outed as Holocaust denier

A mayoral candidate in the upcoming Bucharest election had denied Romania’s complicity in the Holocaust in a 1994 news article. Marian Munteanu now of the National Liberal Party (PNL), had founded the ultra-Christian and nationalist Movement for Romania (Mişcarea pentru România) in 1991. The accusations surfaced in their newspaper ‘Mişcarea’ in June 1994. The party foleded in 1996 as Munteanu pursued other interests. He denied that Romania had experienced an anti-Jewish Holocaust and the 400,000 deaths were no more than a ‘deeply flawed assessment’. Much of Romania’s Holocaust denial concerns the actions of Nazi collaborator General Ion Antonescu. His antisemitism is, however, without question. In a 1941 session of the Council of Ministers he said: “I give the mob complete license to massacre [the Jews]. I will withdraw to my fortress, and after the slaughter, I will restore order.” Antonescu ordered pogroms and the closure of all ‘Jewish communist cafes’. The repressive regime had proved one of Hitler’s most consistent allies during the Second World War. General Antonescu had met with Hitler in 1943 to reassure him of Romania’s unconditional support. Romania and other Axis allies were part of the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. Odessa, a city [...]

The post Bucharest mayoral candidate outed as Holocaust denier appeared first on Religious Reader.

Lithuanian neo-Nazi march celebrates Nazi collaborators

Nationalists marched in Kaunas, a city east of Lithuania’s capitol of Vilnius, to celebrate alleged Nazi collaborators. Members of defendinghistory.com – a website dedicated to exposing extremism in Lithuania monitored the 16 February march. The Union of Nationalist Youth of Lithuania organised the march to fall on the anniversary of Lithuania’s declaration of independence in 1918. Under the banner “We Know Our Nation’s Heroes”were pictures of Adolfas Ramanauskas-Vanagas, Jonas Noreika, Povilas Plechavičius, Kazys Škirpa, Antanas Baltūsis-Žvejas, and Juozas Ambrazevičius-Brazaitis. Individuals accused of direct complicity in the Holocaust or fighting alongside Nazi forces. The Soviet Union invaded Lithuania in 1940. And within two months had annexed the country. A year later and Lithuania had absorbed Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi tyranny in Poland. This swelled Lithuania’s Jewish population to 250,000 (10 per cent of the population). Juozas Ambrazevičius-Brazaitis formed a provisional government after Nazi Germany had expelled the Soviets. Nazi Germany had banned the preferred choice of Kazys Skirpa from returning to Lithuania. It lasted for six weeks. Some accuse it of it complicity with the invading Nazi forces. Others would argue that it attempted in vein to restore statehood. The provisional government had welcomed the Nazi vision for a ‘new Europe’. [...]

The post Lithuanian neo-Nazi march celebrates Nazi collaborators appeared first on Religious Reader.

Facebook Founder’s Post Shows Why Jewish Muslim Relations Are Fundamental to Protect

Muslim and Jewish communities have so much in common. From food, to religious practices and to the fact that both communities live so closely in various parts of the globe, the history of Muslim and Jewish communities have always been intertwined. Sometimes these relationships have been strained because of Israel and Palestine, but on the

The post Facebook Founder’s Post Shows Why Jewish Muslim Relations Are Fundamental to Protect appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Scholar’s corner: what does the Qur’an actually say about Jews and Christians?

Dr. Imam Mamadou Bocoum is a holder of two Masters and a PhD from The Muslim College, and Heythrop College, University of London. He is a lecturer in Islamic Studies; a Board member of the Muslim Law Council UK and an interfaith consultant. He is currently a consultant at Faith Matters and Tell Mama. Mamadou has authored a number of written works which have included: The Position of Jews and Christians in the Qur’an; Faith and Citizenship in Islam; The status of Women in Islam; Islamic Fundamentalism and the Qur’an. He can be reached at mbocoum@yahoo.com; Mamadou@tellmamauk.org. As noted earlier, Jews and Christian are People of the Book (Ahl al-Kitab) and defined in the Qur’an as those to whom divine revelation was given prior to the advent of the Prophet Muhammad. The Qur’an by referring to Christians and Jews as Ahl al-Kitab, confirms that they also possess divine scriptures. The term Ahl al-Kitab, made 32 appearances in the Qur’an. Mary, Jesus’ mother is distinguished in the Qur’an as the only woman for whom a chapter is named after, and the only woman’s name mentioned in the Qur’an. Her name made 34 appearances in the Qur’an. Jesus is mentioned in the [...]

The post Scholar’s corner: what does the Qur’an actually say about Jews and Christians? appeared first on Religious Reader.

Scholar’s corner: where does Islamic fundamentalism stem from?

Dr. Imam Mamadou Bocoum is a holder of two Masters and a PhD from The Muslim College, and Heythrop College, University of London. He is a lecturer in Islamic Studies; a Board member of the Muslim Law Council UK and an interfaith consultant. He is currently a consultant at Faith Matters and Tell Mama. Mamadou has authored a number of written works which have included: The Position of Jews and Christians in the Qur’an; Faith and Citizenship in Islam; The status of Women in Islam; Islamic Fundamentalism and the Qur’an. He can be reached at mbocoum@yahoo.com; Mamadou@tellmamauk.org. While delivering a talk on ‘extremism in the religion of Islam’, an audience member shouted: “Bush, Blair and Bin Laden are all f——s”. I pretended that I had not heard but this was to no avail as the same individual shouted again – but this time in a louder tone – “All of them are f——s”.  The heckler’s pronunciation was rather difficult to interpret (like mine!) and I thought that he meant the offensive six-letter designation. It proved a great relief when someone clarified that the ‘f word’ was fundamentalist. I then responded that besides sharing initial ‘B’ in their respective family names, [...]

The post Scholar’s corner: where does Islamic fundamentalism stem from? appeared first on Religious Reader.

The Role of Righteous Muslims, Printed in German by Faith Matters

We have printed the Role of Righteous Muslims, Muslims who saved Jews in the Holocaust, in German. The booklet has now been printed in Arabic, German and English and we have circulated over 8,000 booklets electronically and in hard copy form within the UK. We hope that the Role of Righteous Muslims booklet serves as […]

A Statement on the Ongoing Conflict in Gaza and Israel

We understand, given that we work with diverse Muslim communities in the UK, that there is anger about the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the large number of deaths in Gaza. The reaction within Israel on the back of the murders of three teenagers has certainly hardened public opinion in the country and […]

Role of Righteous Muslims Booklet in Hebrew

Faith Matters developed the Role of Righteous Muslims Booklet in order to document the stories of Muslims, driven by their faith and the code of honour (BESA), to protect the lives of persecuted Jews in the Holocaust. The code of honour or BESA was fundamental to Albania and many Albanian Muslims protected fellow Jewish Albanians […]