Tensions set to continue around UK Holocaust Memorial Day
-16/01/06
ëOne person can ma
Tensions set to continue around UK Holocaust Memorial Day
-16/01/06
ëOne person can make a differenceí is the theme set for Holocaust Memorial Day 2006, celebrating the courage of the rescuers who helped those persecuted by the Nazis survive and gave them hope.
ìMany rescuers are still alive and living in the UK and they should be honoured before it is too lateî, says the HMD Trust. ìTheir courage enabled many victims of the Nazis to survive the Holocaust.î
But this yearís event on 26 January is likely to be surrounded by controversy, following the outrage caused by a Holocaust denial from the Iranian president, and the decision of the Muslim Council of Britain to maintain a boycott of the UK event because it is ìnot inclusive enoughî.
In a move which will cause further anger, Iran has just announced that it will sponsor an international conference to ìexamine the evidence supporting the Holocaustî, something that is recognised as a historical reality by all but a few discredited scholars.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had already called the Nazis’ slaughter of European Jews during the Second World War a ìmythî, and has said that the state of Israel should be ìwiped off the mapî or moved to Germany or the United States.
The MCB’s policy is not to take part in the UK’s commemorations of the mass murder of Jews because they say it does not mention non-Jewish victims of genocide.
But organisers maintain that the day ñ supported by churches, civic groups, the government and the Queen ñ is firmly set in the European historical context and is both inclusive and relevant to all communities.
This year they are highlighting a film due in March about the horrific Rwandan genocide. Bosnians will also take part in the memorial.
Others point out that gypsies, homosexuals and people with physical and mental disabilities were also targets of Nazi death camps ñ and that Sinti and Roma communities are involved in HMD.
Memorial Day Trust chairperson Stephen Smith says that the event is an opportunity for all faiths “to learn from a salutary past and expose all forms of racism – including Islamophobia and anti-Semitism – xenophobia, discrimination and bigotry”.
The MCB says that it does denounce anti-Semitism, and the Holocaust as what it calls “monstrous cruelty”.
But it rejects the charge that bracketing it with other atrocities diminishes Jewish suffering and apparently refuses to recognise the Holocaust as a unique historical attempt to annihilate an entire people.
The UK’s Holocaust Memorial Day is traditionally 27 January, but it will be marked a day earlier this year as “this date falls on a Friday which has implications for a number of faiths”, organisers say.
The MCB’s decision to maintain its refusal to participate in HMD has been described as ìa dreadful mistakeî by others in the Muslim community.
It coincides with further controversy sparked by the MCB secretary general, Sir Iqbal Sacranie, who said in a radio interview recently that homosexuality was “not acceptable” and denounced same-sex civil partnerships as “harmful”.
A complainant has reported these comments to the police under the Public Order Act, which outlaws remarks that may result in violence or intimidation against individuals or groups. Charges are unlikely, commentators say.
Mr Sacranieís comments were defended this weekend in a newspaper letter from Muslim leaders and scholars, who point out that Jewish and Christian leaders have made similar remarks.
The MCB chief also stressed that he is in favour of civil tolerance and free speech.
[Also on Ekklesia: UK Muslim body to reconsider Holocaust event; Churches remember holocaust victims; Giles Fraser on the holocaust and Gillian Rose; Parables for Our Time: Rereading New Testament Scholarship After the Holocaust; Celebrating Holy Week in a Post-Holocaust World; Bound to Sin: Abuse, the Holocaust and the Christian Doctrine of Sin]
Tensions set to continue around UK Holocaust Memorial Day
-16/01/06
ëOne person can make a difference’ is the theme set for Holocaust Memorial Day 2006, celebrating the courage of the rescuers who helped those persecuted by the Nazis survive and gave them hope.
‘Many rescuers are still alive and living in the UK and they should be honoured before it is too late’, says the HMD Trust. ‘Their courage enabled many victims of the Nazis to survive the Holocaust.’
But this year’s event on 26 January is likely to be surrounded by controversy, following the outrage caused by a Holocaust denial from the Iranian president, and the decision of the Muslim Council of Britain to maintain a boycott of the UK event because it is ‘not inclusive enough’.
In a move which will cause further anger, Iran has just announced that it will sponsor an international conference to ‘examine the evidence supporting the Holocaust’, something that is recognised as a historical reality by all but a few discredited scholars.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had already called the Nazis’ slaughter of European Jews during the Second World War a ‘myth’, and has said that the state of Israel should be ‘wiped off the map’ or moved to Germany or the United States.
The MCB’s policy is not to take part in the UK’s commemorations of the mass murder of Jews because they say it does not mention non-Jewish victims of genocide.
But organisers maintain that the day – supported by churches, civic groups, the government and the Queen – is firmly set in the European historical context and is both inclusive and relevant to all communities.
This year they are highlighting a film due in March about the horrific Rwandan genocide. Bosnians will also take part in the memorial.
Others point out that gypsies, homosexuals and people with physical and mental disabilities were also targets of Nazi death camps – and that Sinti and Roma communities are involved in HMD.
Memorial Day Trust chairperson Stephen Smith says that the event is an opportunity for all faiths “to learn from a salutary past and expose all forms of racism – including Islamophobia and anti-Semitism – xenophobia, discrimination and bigotry”.
The MCB says that it does denounce anti-Semitism, and the Holocaust as what it calls “monstrous cruelty”.
But it rejects the charge that bracketing it with other atrocities diminishes Jewish suffering and apparently refuses to recognise the Holocaust as a unique historical attempt to annihilate an entire people.
The UK’s Holocaust Memorial Day is traditionally 27 January, but it will be marked a day earlier this year as “this date falls on a Friday which has implications for a number of faiths”, organisers say.
The MCB’s decision to maintain its refusal to participate in HMD has been described as ‘a dreadful mistake’ by others in the Muslim community.
It coincides with further controversy sparked by the MCB secretary general, Sir Iqbal Sacranie, who said in a radio interview recently that homosexuality was “not acceptable” and denounced same-sex civil partnerships as “harmful”.
A complainant has reported these comments to the police under the Public Order Act, which outlaws remarks that may result in violence or intimidation against individuals or groups. Charges are unlikely, commentators say.
Mr Sacranie’s comments were defended this weekend in a newspaper letter from Muslim leaders and scholars, who point out that Jewish and Christian leaders have made similar remarks.
The MCB chief also stressed that he is in favour of civil tolerance and free speech.
[Also on Ekklesia: UK Muslim body to reconsider Holocaust event; Churches remember holocaust victims; Giles Fraser on the holocaust and Gillian Rose; Parables for Our Time: Rereading New Testament Scholarship After the Holocaust; Celebrating Holy Week in a Post-Holocaust World; Bound to Sin: Abuse, the Holocaust and the Christian Doctrine of Sin]