{"id":647,"date":"2009-07-26T23:36:12","date_gmt":"2009-07-26T18:06:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mohamediqbalp.wordpress.com\/2009\/07\/26\/morocco-challenges-mideast-holocaust-mind-set\/"},"modified":"2009-07-26T23:36:12","modified_gmt":"2009-07-26T18:06:12","slug":"morocco-challenges-mideast-holocaust-mind-set","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/venusimportexport.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2009\/07\/26\/morocco-challenges-mideast-holocaust-mind-set\/","title":{"rendered":"Morocco challenges Mideast Holocaust mind-set"},"content":{"rendered":"

By ALFRED de MONTESQUIOU
\n(AP)
\n\u2013
\n22 hours ago<\/span><\/p>\n

RABAT, Morocco \u2014 From the western edge of the Muslim world, the King
\nof Morocco has dared to tackle one of the most inflammatory issues in
\nthe Middle East conflict \u2014 the Holocaust.<\/p>\n

At a time when Iranian
\nPresident Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s dismissal of the Holocaust has made the
\nbiggest headlines, King Mohammed VI has called the Nazi destruction of
\nthe Jews “one of the most tragic chapters of modern history,” and has
\nendorsed a Paris-based program aimed at spreading the word among fellow
\nMuslims.<\/p>\n

Many in the Islamic world still ignore or know little
\nabout the Nazi attempt to annihilate the Jews during World War II. Some
\ndisbelieve it outright. Others argue that it was a European crime and
\nimagine it to be the reason Israel exists and the Palestinians are
\nstateless.<\/p>\n

The sentiment was starkly illustrated in March after a
\nPalestinian youth orchestra performed for Israeli Holocaust survivors,
\nonly to be shut down by angry leaders of the West Bank refugee camp
\nwhere they live.<\/p>\n

“The Holocaust happened, but we are facing a
\nsimilar massacre by the Jews themselves,” a community leader named
\nAdnan Hindi said at the time. “We lost our land and we were forced to
\nflee.”<\/p>\n

Like other moderate Arab leaders, King Mohammed VI must
\ntread carefully. Islamic fervor is rising in his kingdom, highlighted
\nin 2003 by al-Qaida-inspired attacks in Casablanca on targets that
\nincluded Jewish sites. Forty-five people died.<\/p>\n

The king’s
\nacknowledgment of the Holocaust, in a speech read out in his name at a
\nceremony in Paris in March, appears to further illustrate the radically
\ndifferent paths that countries like Morocco and Iran are taking.<\/p>\n

Morocco
\nhas long been a quiet pioneer in Arab-Israeli peace efforts, most
\nnotably when it served as a secret meeting place for the Israeli and
\nEgyptian officials who set up President Anwar Sadat’s groundbreaking
\njourney to Jerusalem in 1977.<\/p>\n

Though Moroccan officials say the
\ntiming is coincidental, the Holocaust speech came at around the same
\ntime that Morocco severed diplomatic relations with Iran, claiming it
\nwas infiltrating Shiite Muslim troublemakers into this Sunni nation.<\/p>\n

The
\nspeech was read out at a ceremony launching the “Aladdin Project,” an
\ninitiative of the Paris-based Foundation for the Memory of the Shoah
\n(Holocaust) which aims to spread awareness of the genocide among
\nMuslims.<\/p>\n

It organizes conferences and has translated key
\nHolocaust writing such as Anne Frank’s diary into Arabic and Farsi. The
\nname refers to Aladdin, the young man with the genie in his lamp, whose
\nlegend, originally Muslim, became a universally loved tale.<\/p>\n

The Holocaust, the king’s speech said, is “the universal heritage of mankind.”<\/p>\n

It
\nwas “a very important political act,” said Anne-Marie Revcolevschi,
\ndirector of the Shoah foundation. “This is the first time an Arab head
\nof state takes such a clear stand on the Shoah,” she said in a
\ntelephone interview.<\/p>\n

While the Israeli-Palestinian conflict often
\naggravates Arab sentiment toward Israel, Morocco has a long history of
\ncoexistence between Muslims and Jews.<\/p>\n

The recent Israeli military
\noffensive in the Gaza Strip has further inflamed resentment at Israel’s
\ntreatment of the Palestinians. But Ahmed Hasseni, a Casablanca cab
\ndriver, echoes a widely held view that it shouldn’t affect relations
\nwith Morocco’s Jews.<\/p>\n

“We’re not dumb,” he said. “We don’t confuse the Israeli army with the Jewish people,” he said.<\/p>\n

Jews
\nhave lived in Morocco for 2,000 years. Their numbers swelled after they
\nwere expelled from Spain in 1492, and reached 300,000 before World War
\nII, when yet more fled the German occupation and found refuge in
\nMorocco, then a French colony.<\/p>\n

Today they number just 3,000, most
\nhaving emigrated to France, North America or Israel, but they are free
\nto come back to explore their roots, pray at their ancestors’ graves
\nand even settle here.<\/p>\n

Simon Levy heads the Jewish Museum in
\nCasablanca, a treasure trove of old Torah scrolls, garments and jewelry
\nillustrating the rich culture of Moroccan Jewry.<\/p>\n

“That I still run the only Jewish museum in the Arab world is telling,” he said.<\/p>\n

Andre
\nAzoulay, a top adviser to the current king, is Jewish and one of six
\nmembers of the king’s council in a monarchy that oversees all major
\ndecisions. Considered one of Morocco’s most powerful men, he views his
\ncountry as “a unique case” for the intensity of its Jewish-Muslim
\nrelations. “We don’t mix up Judaism and the tragedy of the Middle
\nEast,” he told The Associated Press in an interview.<\/p>\n

A founding
\nmember of the Aladdin project, Azoulay says part of the program’s goal
\nis to show the West that Muslims aren’t hostile to Jews, and that
\nMorocco was among countries that resisted Nazi plans to exterminate
\ntheir Jewish populations. He points to king Mohammed V, the current
\nruler’s grandfather, who is credited with resisting French colonial
\nanti-Semitic policies.<\/p>\n

Such actions were rare, but not unique in
\nNorth Africa during World War II. In Tunisia, the late Khaled
\nAbdelwahhab hid Jews from the Nazis on his farm, and was the first Arab
\nto be nominated as “Righteous Among the Nations,” a title bestowed by
\nYad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial, on those who risked their
\nlives to save Jews in the Holocaust. His case is still under study.<\/p>\n

The
\nAladdin project is only just beginning. Its work has yet to reach
\nschools or bookstores in Morocco, although the Shoah foundation’s
\nRevcolevschi said Anne Frank’s diary is among Holocaust memoirs
\navailable in Arabic and Farsi on the Internet, and is being sold under
\nthe counter in Iran.<\/p>\n

“People speak of a clash of civilizations, but it’s more a clash of ignorance,” she said. “We’re countering this.”<\/p>\n

Hakim
\nEl Ghissassi, an aide to the senior Islamic Affairs official who
\ndelivered Mohammed’s speech, said the king is uniquely positioned to
\npromote Islam’s dialogue with Judaism, because his titles include
\n“Commander of the believers” \u2014 meaning he is the paramount authority
\nfor Moroccan Muslims.<\/p>\n

“What the king has said on the Holocaust
\nreflects our broader efforts,” said El Ghissassi, listing such reforms
\nas courses to reinforce Morocco’s tradition of tolerant Islam by
\nfamiliarizing local imams with Jewish and Christian holy books.<\/p>\n

“We want to make sure everybody can differentiate between unfair Israeli policies and respect for Judaism,” he said.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n