Muslim Response to Antisemitism Much Stronger Than Trump’s

When Jewish cemeteries were desecrated recently, it was Muslims — not President Donald Trump — who first deplored these acts. They also raised tens of thousands of dollars to repair them. And we have more surprises for you.

On February 28, at his joint address to Congress, President Donald Trump announced the creation of a new office as part of the Department of Homeland Security. He named it Victims of Immigrant Crime Engagement, or VOICE.

“We are providing a voice to those who have been ignored by our media, and silenced by special interests,” he said. And he wants the office to issue quarterly reports on “the effects of the victimization by criminal aliens present in the United States.”

Creating Homeland Security offices for specific victims is a great idea. How about such an office for native Americans? They still suffer effects of immigrant victimization, even if the immigrants in question  — Colonial era white Europeans — aren’t exactly the ones Trump had in mind.

And how about an office for immigrant victims of white supremacist, Christian extremist Americans?  Victims who are either immigrants, or foreign-looking, dark-skinned people, or Jews — or Muslims.

The percentage of hate crimes against US Muslims is way up. They may be the most hated people in America because, understandably, so much publicity is given to the acts of extremist Muslims, even though they are a tiny minority of the 1.6 billion in the world, as of 2010.

But what about the majority — the moderates? We think you should know about a few of their acts too:

For instance, when a monsoon blew away a church in Pakistan, Muslim villagers, no matter how poor, donated money to build a new one. When white extremists burned African-American churches, Muslims helped raise money to rebuild them. When Islamic extremists killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California, Muslims raised $170,000 for the victims’ families. In London, Muslims donated 10 tons of food for the homeless, and 90% of the recipients were non-Muslim.

But what may surprise you the most is the Islamic response to anti-semitism in America. A few examples:

Sometime during the weekend before Monday, February 20, in a Jewish cemetery just outside of St. Louis, Missouri, 180 gravestones were vandalized. Within 24 hours of this desecration, Islamic activists went to work raising money online to repair the damage. Soon they raised a great deal of money. About two-thirds came from Muslims, and the remainder came from Jews.

As of February 26, they had raised about $130,000 — far more than needed to repair the damage, and far more than expected. One of the activists involved, Tarek El-Messidi, said they vowed to use the remaining money strictly when needed — to counter anti-Semitism.

Just one weekend after the St. Louis incident, gravestones in a Jewish cemetery in Philadelphia were vandalized. (The police said about 100 gravestones were damaged, but El-Messidi said “several hundred” were affected.) And, again, El-Messidi’s group came to the rescue, paying for damage, and, working alongside Jews, Christians, and others, restoring what they could with their bare hands.

And Muslim veterans have offered to guard Jewish religious sites across America.

We find it very interesting that it was Muslims — not Trump — who rose to the occasion, and without prodding.

It is also very interesting that so many Jews are opposed to Trump’s temporary banning of immigrants from seven Islamic countries. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), a Jew, was especially eloquent and emotional on the subject. At a rally in Lower Manhattan, he stood with a family of Muslim immigrants, trying to keep his voice from breaking and the tears from flowing, as he expressed outrage at Donald Trump’s order:

“… this executive order was mean-spirited and un-American. It was implemented in a way that created chaos and confusion across the country, and it will only serve to embolden and inspire those around the globe who will do us harm.”

But this isn’t about Jews and Muslims. It’s about humanity — as well as survival.

We thought this might be a good time to re-run an article we posted last year about Muslims and Jews — supposedly mortal enemies — and Christians and Muslims, protecting each other in hotspots around the world. It was a feel-good story, and one we could use right now.

They seem as unlikely as flowers growing among the rubble of a barren, burned-out war zone.

Groups of Muslims protecting Jews, Christians protecting Muslims, Jews protecting Muslims, Muslims protecting Christians. People of one religion forming a protective barrier around people of another religion—who happen to be a traditional enemy.

Sometimes they form human chains in symbolic demonstrations. Other times, they provide real protection in highly dangerous areas.

Events involving great numbers of people get the most publicity, but there are many more acts on a smaller scale by people who are no less courageous. Our report—which is by no means comprehensive—is meant to be a reminder that humanity can bloom where you least expect it.

Warm Feelings on a Cold Night in Norway

On February 21, Reuters reported that more than 1,000 Muslims formed a symbolic human shield around a synagogue in Norway, chanting “No to anti-Semitism, no to Islamophobia.” A group of young Muslims had organized the demonstration, which took place in subzero weather, in response to the recent killing of two people at a synagogue in neighboring Denmark. It was an inspiring spectacle.

Who could not be pleased or inspired by such a thing? The American Hard Right, that’s who. From Breitbart.com:

The weekend’s feel-good story about a Muslim ‘ring of peace’ formed to ‘protect’ Jews at an Oslo synagogue turned out to be a complete fabrication by the mainstream media according to an eyewitness report, local officials, and attendees’ photos.

According to a local eyewitness, only about 20 or so Muslims formed the ‘ring of peace’ around the Oslo synagogue. In fact, pictures from multiple angles show that there wasn’t [sic] enough people to form a ring, so the locals instead formed a horizontal line in front of the synagogue.

“The vast majority were Muslim”

Was Breitbart right? Not according to two leaders of the synagogue, who attended the rally. One, Cantor Eli Zylberman, told a third conservative publication, The Blaze: “The vast majority were Muslim there.” Jewish community board member Michael Gritzman called Breitbart’s claim “nonsense.” He also explained why the demonstrators did not encircle the synagogue: the police did not give them a permit to demonstrate behind the building.

But Breitbart wasn’t finished: “In even worse news, it appears as if the organizer of the Muslim ‘peace ring’ is a virulent anti-Semite, 9/11 truther, a gay-basher, and an Israel-hater… Ali Chishti. ”

This would be true except for one thing: the word “is” should have been “was.” Ali Chishti, who was just one of the organizers, was certainly all the above—back in 2008. Now he says he is ashamed of his comments. He not only has long since apologized, but also established the Facebook group “Urett Avsløres,” or “Injustice Revealed,” which organized the solidarity demonstration.

We applaud these demonstrators, whatever their number, whatever their past, whatever their ethnicity. Here are more inspiring examples:

A Noble Attempt in Denmark

Young Muslims in Copenhagen caught the spark of humanity from the Norwegians. They tried to organize a similar event, but the police would not allow it because of “a specific security assessment of the situation.” But the effort was the thing.

London’s Jews Defend Muslims

In London’s Stamford Hill, home to about 20,000 Jews as well as many Muslims, a neighborhood watch group—the “Shomrim” (Hebrew for guards)—have begun protecting Muslims against hate crimes. The 25 Shomrim patrol the streets in stab-proof vests, armed with advice from local police and a vigilance bred by years of suffering hate crimes themselves.

Now, the victims are Muslim instead of Jews. ”Revenge” crimes, mostly fire bombings of mosques, have increased dramatically since the gruesome murder of a British soldier by Islamic extremists on a London street in 2013.  And, because of ISIS’ equally gruesome murders of British citizens in the Middle East, the Shomrim are on high alert.

Dawood Akhoon, a local Muslim Councilor, said the Muslim response to help from the Jewish community was “really good and positive. It’s part and parcel of each of our faiths, we have to take care of our environment and our neighbors.”

I’ll Ride With You

When a jihadi was holding hostages in a Sydney café, fears of reprisals against Muslims grew. One woman noticed a small but distinct sign of that fear. Rachael Jacobs posted a Facebook message saying she’d seen a woman she presumed was Muslim silently removing her hijab. She went on to say:

“I ran after her at the train station. I said ‘put it back on. I’ll walk with u’. She started to cry and hugged me for about a minute – then walked off alone’.

Tessa Kum saw the story and tweeted a message that soon resulted in an enormous explosion of good will:

If you reg take the #373 bus b/w Coogee/MartinPl, wear religious attire, & don’t feel safe alone: I’ll ride with you. @ me for schedule.

— Sir Tessa (@sirtessa) December 15, 2014

Maybe start a hashtag? What’s in #illridewithyou?

— Sir Tessa (@sirtessa) December 15, 2014

The idea was contagious. One after another such offer appeared, giving birth to the I’ll-Ride-With-You movement. Now more than 150,000 tweets have been posted by people announcing their travel plans and offering to accompany anyone who feels uncomfortable traveling alone.

In Egypt, Christians Protect Muslims, Muslims Protect Christians

One Friday in February back in 2011, when Tahrir Square was exploding with protests, counter-protests, gunfire, flames, and confusion, photographers found a few images of sanity: hundreds of Muslims knelt in prayer, surrounded by a ring of Christians protecting them during this vulnerable moment.

On the following Sunday, Muslims returned the favor, protecting Christians as they prayed in a Coptic church.

Pakistanis Say Egyptian Muslims Inspired Them to Protect Christians

On Sept. 22, 2013, two suicide bombers blew themselves up in a church in Peshawar, killing more than 80 people and injuring 130 others. A group known as Jundullah claimed responsibility, saying the attack was a protest against American drone strikes.

One week later, in Karachi, hundreds of mostly Muslim Pakistanis formed a human chain in front of St. Patrick’s Cathedral during mass.

Two weeks later, in Lahore, the same thing happened in front of St. Anthony’s church. Demonstrators carried signs reading “Many faiths, one God” and “One Nation, One Blood.”

These human chains—which consisted of Muslims (Sunni and Shia), Hindus, and even atheists—were organized by Pakistan For All.  Mohammad Jibran Nasir, a Karachi lawyer and a member of the group, explained the genesis of the demonstrations:

“We were inspired to do this after seeing Muslims form human chains to protect Coptic Christians in Egypt, when they were being attacked. We wanted to allow our Christian brothers and sisters here in Pakistan to have a moment of peace in church….And of course, we also wanted to send a message to the Taliban and to the Pakistani government. To the Taliban: We disagree with you; to the government: If you don’t take effective measures to protect houses of God, we’ll have to do it ourselves.

The participants were afraid for their own safety, Nasir said. That’s a normal reaction to violence and hatred.

Yet, out of fear grew something unlikely: hope.

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Related front page panorama photo credit: Adapted by WhoWhatWhy from Coexist (elPadawan / Flickr – CC BY-SA 2.0).

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