Jewish-Muslim unity

February 17, 2014 10:19 AM

10 images of Jewish-Muslim unity that go beyond the headlines.
posted by Wordwoman (11 comments total)

Related: Before the Algerian War for Independence (1954-62), Jews and Muslims lived in a more mixed society, as reflected both in musical bands and the chaabi style itself. One such group, El Gusto was reunited a few years ago, playing music and touring again.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:27 AM on February 17, 2014 [1 favorite]

“Anybody who doesn’t like Jews probably doesn’t like black people, doesn’t like Sikhs, doesn’t like anybody. It’s unfounded hatred. Anyone who says they don’t like Muslims, there’s something wrong. It’s a bigoted view.”
posted by benito.strauss at 10:31 AM on February 17, 2014 [6 favorites]

Just as people's capacity to hate is heartbreaking - the capacity to love, respect, and help is amazingly, achingly beautiful. I litterally wiped a tear from my eye looking at the image of the imams preying and bearing witness at Auschwitz.
posted by helmutdog at 11:52 AM on February 17, 2014 [2 favorites]

During the war my Jewish grandmother made her way from Poland to somewhere in Kazakhstan and lived with a Muslim family. They were so generous. Of course that experience stuck with her to the end of her life last year.
posted by cman at 11:53 AM on February 17, 2014 [2 favorites]

Oh wow. Growing up in Malaysia such a thing was unthinkable. I really want to send this link to all the Islamic authorities and teachers back home.
posted by divabat at 11:55 AM on February 17, 2014 [1 favorite]

This is beautiful. It's particularly touching for me, a second generation child of a (secular) Jewish woman and a Muslim man. My great- great-grandfather was a Rabbi; my grandfather's funeral was conducted in a Mosque. Underneath we're all just people, it's good to be reminded of that.
posted by fight or flight at 12:26 PM on February 17, 2014 [5 favorites]

This is a fantastic link. Thanks for posting.
posted by wittgenstein at 3:30 PM on February 17, 2014

When I was just a 16-year-old boy in 1994, I was fortunate enough to visit Israel on a teen tour. During one part of the tour, we visited an Arab village. We ate a meal in their homes and attended a community wedding. They were way nicer to us spoiled American teenagers than we deserved.

So yeah. This post makes me happy.
posted by gnutron at 4:42 PM on February 17, 2014 [1 favorite]

"2. The Albanian Muslims Who Turned Their Nation Into A Refuge During The Holocaust"

Documentary seeks to explain why Albanians saved Jews in Holocaust
posted by homunculus at 8:47 PM on February 17, 2014

Dude, that is so fucked up.

Tell me about it, especially when Malaysia is the place for the oldest Jewish cemetary in Southeast Asia. We had Baghdadi Jews living in Penang and calling it home - but most of them left to emigrate to Australia or Israel post WW2. The anti-semitism back home is certainly very new, fostered by the I/P conflict but really used as a plank in local politics more than anything else.

Mein Kampf and The Protocols of the Elders of Zion are right now being sold openly without irony, even translated! (this is literally amazing, because this is not a country with a dynamic translation industry)
posted by cendawanita at 10:44 PM on February 17, 2014 [1 favorite]

Documentary seeks to explain why Albanians saved Jews in Holocaust

Spoiler: Albanians were duty bound to protect Jewish people during the war because of 'besa', a code of conduct with a huge emphasis on honour and hospitality. It's all laid out in the Kanun, a set of laws which were orally passed down for millennia before being written down in the 15th Century. It might even share a common origin with the Manusmṛti, a Hindu religious text, which is just mind-boggling.

(On the downside, the Kanun is also the reason behind/excuse for terrifying blood feuds between families in present day Albania.)
posted by jack_mo at 6:04 AM on February 18, 2014