(IPT) Anti-Semitism has become “a pandemic raging for many years” among many Muslims, said interfaith activist Soraya Deen. “Unfortunately though, we have no vaccine that can cure it.”
Deen joined a group of reformist Muslims Wednesday — the eve of Yom HaShoah — to announce their best effort to develop that cure.
In a webinar launching the Council of Muslims Against Anti-Semitism (CMAA), author Raheel Raza announced that the organization will be guided by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism. The definition already appears on the CMAA website and the group’s members seem to see it as a key in curtailing anti-Jewish hate among Muslims. Embraced by nearly 30 countries, it includes “Making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective,” blaming Jews for actions by the Israeli government, and “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination” among the examples of anti-Semitism. It specifically notes, however, that criticizing the Israeli government as one would criticize any government is not anti-Semitic.
