Muslims Counter Holocaust Denial (Earth, attend, America, eternal, faith)

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Muslims Counter Holocaust Denial

By Adelle M. Banks
Religion News Service
Courtesy of Beliefnet

WASHINGTON - In the wake of an Iranian conference held by Holocaust deniers, Washington-area Muslim leaders paid a visit Wednesday (Dec. 20) to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum to state their opposition to hatred.

Imam Mohamed Magid, vice president of the Islamic Society of North America, joined other leaders in the museum's Hall of Remembrance, saying he was moved by stories of Holocaust survivors.

"Many people have lost their lives because of hate, bigotry," said Magid. "We have to stand together, committed to compassion, love and mercy."

The visit was prompted by a recent conference in Iran attended by many who deny the Holocaust occurred. It was initiated by Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and held in Tehran Dec. 11-12.

"What is going on there is not about history," said Sara Bloomfield, the Holocaust museum director, flanked by about two dozen Muslims and Holocaust survivors. "It is about hate."

As the group spoke, they stood before an eternal flame flickering over a monument containing earth from death camps and concentration camps. They lit candles of remembrance after their brief remarks.

Akbar Ahmed, the chairman of Islamic studies at American University, said people of all faiths need to keep hatred in check.

"Hate is not only about hating Jews, which is anti-Semitism, but it extends to ... Islamophobia," he said. "It's like a poison and it spreads."

Ahmed and Magid were joined by leaders of organizations that included the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the Muslim Public Affairs Council and the Arab-American Institute.

Bloomfield said Muslim groups have visited the museum in the past but the visit Wednesday was an unprecedented "act of solidarity" from Muslims on the issue of Holocaust denial.