SENIOR ISLAMIC LEADER TO VISIT AUSCHWITZ UNDER AGREEMENT WITH AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE
Dr. Mohammad Al-Issa also has accepted an invitation from American Jewish Committee CEO David Harris to address the AJC Global Forum in Berlin in June 2020.
BY MARCY OSTER/JTA
MAY 2, 2019 06:04
1 minute read.
The former concentration camp Auschwitz. (photo credit: KACPER PEMPEL / REUTERS)
(JTA) — A senior Islamic leader will visit Auschwitz as part of a memorandum of understanding signed between the Muslim World League and the American Jewish Committee.
Al-Issa and Harris signed the memorandum of understanding on Tuesday. The document “codifies the commitment of the two global institutions to further Muslim-Jewish understanding and cooperate against racism and extremism in all its forms,” AJC said in a statement.
Al-Issa also has accepted an invitation from Harris to address the AJC Global Forum in Berlin in June 2020. Harris, in turn, will lead an AJC delegation to Saudi Arabia.
“I believe that by paying my respects to the victims of Auschwitz, I will encourage Muslims and non-Muslims to embrace mutual respect, understanding and diversity,” Al-Issa, a widely recognized thought leader on moderate Islam, said in the statement. “The heinous attacks in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in Christchurch, New Zealand, and most recently in Sri Lanka compel us all to unite and stand up against those who want to divide us,” he also said.
In 2017, Al-Issa visited the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and declared Holocaust denial a crime against Islam.
The Muslim World League is based in the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca.
The agreement is an initiative of the Centre for Responsible Leadership and its founder and president, Bawa Jain.
Join Jerusalem Post Premium Plus now for just $5 and upgrade your experience with an ads-free website and exclusive content. Click here>>
Posts
