This is the kind of heartwarming news that we like to hear: when adherents to diverse and often opposing faiths cooperate to battle bigotry. After the murders in Copenhagen directed at Jews and critics of Islam, a group of Norwegian Muslims have vowed to form a “ring of peace” around an Oslo synagogue this coming sabbath (Saturday). As the Washington Post reports:
On a Facebook page promoting the event, the group explained its motivations. Here’s a translated version of the invite:
Islam is about protecting our brothers and sisters, regardless of which religion they belong to. Islam is about rising above hate and never sinking to the same level as the haters. Islam is about defending each other. Muslims want to show that we deeply deplore all types of hatred of Jews, and that we are there to support them. We will therefore create a human ring around the synagogue on Saturday 21 February. Encourage everyone to come!
According to the Times of Israel, Ervin Kohn, a leader of Oslo’s small Jewish community, had agreed to allowing the event on the condition that more than 30 people show up — a small gathering would make the effort look “counter-productive,” Kohn said. Close to 1,000 people have indicated on Facebook that they will attend.
“We think that after the terrorist attacks in Copenhagen, it is the perfect time for us Muslims to distance ourselves from the harassment of Jews that is happening,” 17-year-old event organizer Hajrad Arshad said in an interview with Norwegian television.
“If someone wants to attack the synagogue, they need to step over us first,”posted another of the event’s organizers on Facebook.
Now I think that both Islam and Judaism are delusions, but if we’re going to have religion around for a while, this is the way they should be acting. I suppose that appeasers will say that this behavior is really what “true Islam” is all about (as do the organizers of this event) and I devoutly wish that were the case, but there is no such thing as “true Islam.” There are just different versions of the faith. Regardless, kudos to those Muslims of Norway who will show up, and I hope a thousand or more will.
Good for Hajrad Arshad and friends for taking this brave stance.
But I have to agree with Prof. CC, those guarding the synagogue have no more or less claim to being true Muslims than those that would attack it in the name of their invisible boggy man.
Good to see moderate Muslims voicing their opposition to extremists within their own religion and taking action!
That says it all!
Trollish, snarky, borderline bigoted but, if I were jewish, in a building surrounded by 1000 muslims, I might be a little nervous…. All jokes aside, my greatest hope is that this gesture goes off without a hitch and receives the media attention it deserves.
Speaking of hitch, I recall an anecdote where when asked if when traveling at night through a dark alley, if he met a group of young men, would he feel better or worse knowing that they had come from a religious meeting. Hitch replied something to the effect of that it all was dependant on which country he was in at the time…. I’m paraphrasing of course.
Yes. He started off with, (paraphrasing) “I don’t have to imagine it, I have been in that situation many times. I’ll just stick with the B’s.” And then he went on to briefly recount such situations that he had experienced in towns / cities starting with the letter B. All not favorable to the questioners obvious intended premise.
Belfast, Beirut, Bombay, Belgrade, Bethlehem, and Baghdad, in fact. See, e.g., http://www.smh.com.au/news/book-reviews/god-is-not-great-how-religion-poisons-everything/2007/05/25/1179601648057.html?page=fullpage
Sorry but I can’t help it:
This is best told in a broad Irish accent:
A guy is walking through Belfast one night when he feels something hard in the small of his back and a voice says “Are ye Catholic or Protestant?”
He knows the wrong answer will be very bad for him so he says, with great presence of mind, “Neither, I’m Jewish”.
“Oh bad luck, ye just met the only Arab in Belfast.”
Suppose any small step is something. Maybe the future of religion will be one group constantly protecting another from yet another. The history of religion has a dim view of tolerance.
“…but if we’re going to have religion around for a while, this is the way they should be acting.”
This is the way we should ALL be acting.
L
This is a beautiful thing. I hope all goes well.
I am fully supportive of this group attempting to make Islam over per their image of it.
Thanks for a bit of brightness for my Friday morning.
Sub
Reminds me of the Muslims protecting the Christians during mass in Egypt, followed by the Christians protecting the Muslims during prayers.
If religion is going to stay, we need more of this. A lot more.
I, too, am heartened by this group of Muslims who want to demonstrate a peaceful version of Islam, but I am very concerned for their safety. Nutcases that have aligned, or are trying to align, with Daesh won’t hesitate to claim the Ring of Peaceful Muslims are apostates and subject to eradication. Has it been stated anywhere if the Ring of Peaceful Muslims will be prepared for such an exigency?
I yearn for the day when religions get their morality from modern enlightened liberal secularism and are otherwise like any other literary fan club. This is a most encouraging step in that direction.
It’s no more true to the religions than any other interpretation, and perhaps less faithful than many…but it’s far more respectable and humane and admirable.
b&
This is wonderful.
To paraphrase Forrest Gump, religion as religion does.
When I see Muslims behaving like Quakers, I will cease worrying.
I do think the ISIS Crisis could cause Muslims to distance themselves from the extremes of behavior. As least I hope.
… … behaving like .some. — but definitely .not. as of the behaviors of .all. Quakers.
After 17 years’ worth of near – ‘faithful’ attendance with actual membership therein — in order to try to save three sons, by building for them from their toddlerhoods through to their majority ages each (— at which I, by the way, was successful in achieving), their “religious history of pacifism,” before any possible draft board which then – President Reagan threatened to reinstate for military service – recruitment of my kiddos, I can state with certainty / with firsthand treatment at the hands thereof .some. such members in particular and through three different USA – states’ worth of Meetings for Worship that: all of these identifying themselves as Quakers — are .not. pacifists nor, in the least, … … peaceful people.
Blue
… … especially .not. peaceful people as re religious ideology and indoctrination — with Scriptural / Biblical backing thereof — in relationship to and its “handling” of The Woman Problem: “need” to keep ’em A W A Y and separated from daMenz. cuz … … well, ya’ know = them temptresses
My sons never became physical warriors / used materialistic weapons in nations’ military services, no. And they are now all age 35 and over so will not. Likely.
But there certainly was, with Quaker “religious education” of children, absolutely NO such stoppage (within its own or others) of any religions’ sexism.
Violence and weaponry there cuz o’ that — with some Quaker identifiers? Solidly in place.
Still.
Blue
Sounds like you encountered the right wing of the Society of Friends, to which Nixon belonged and which is hard to tell from Baptists (except for baptism, of course). I’m not sure how they are distributed in the USA, but I think the other kind, more aligned with the UK Yearly Meeting and more liberal in every way, are fairly well distributed, if thin on the ground.
Wow. That was completely unexpected and informational. Thank you for sharing it.
This is a major step forward, because actions speak louder than words, and here is more than mere rhetoric. I am impressed. I hope it goes safely and well and becomes a humanizing trend around the world. (I claim it to be humanistic, rather than religious, as it should be, so as to include all humans.)
I guess I am the cynic here. I suspect this is more about ostentatious display than protecting Jews. There is for instance no indication of whom the synagogue is being protected from, just the alleged protectiveness of Islam. We’ll see if this is used as a cudgel against “Islamophobia”.
Perhaps we Jews should publicly demonstrate our abhorrence of the behaviour of strict orthodox Jews. To start with: JARS – Jews Against Ritual Slaughter.
I understand there is such a movement, though I don’t know whether it even has a name, within reform and reconstructionist Judaism, based on modern, more humane methods of slaughter. Wouldn’t surprise me one bit if it’s a Temple Grandin legacy, either, since she opened the way for appreciating how best to humanely handle cattle in slaughterhouses.
There’s Jews Against Circumcision and, more positively, Beyond The Bris and https://britshalom.info .
That’s http://britshalom.info
Wise and intelligent thought, two steps ahead. 1+
This is great. It’s not long ago that moderate Muslims would have been too scared to stand up to the fundamentalists.
It’s a shame such an action should even be necessary.
I like to think secularism helps make this easier. I would love to believe atheists helped this along but I don’t have the data for that.
This actually made me a bit misty eyed. I hope we see more of all of us standing of ether against bigotry. I hate bigotry.
This may not be “true Islam,” but it is true humanism.