Europe was heading into a period of fluidity and turbulence, “which raises the question to what extent can you ensure the continuity of the Jewish community in Europe,” he said. A new mood of hostility to minority religions was being fueled by fears over immigration and terrorism. “In general what we see is a reaction to immigration from the Middle East which has brought millions of Muslims to Europe. Europe is now engaging in anti-immigration measures and [dealing with] the fear of Islamic terrorism. But instead of engaging with the problems, there is a strong attack against minority religions in general. “We [Jews and Muslims] definitely have a common cause in fighting for religious freedoms.”

Goldschmidt cited calls to close mosques, ban methods of ritual slaughter in the production of halal and kosher meat, outlaw circumcision – practiced by Jews and Muslims – and last month’s European court of justice ruling that employers could ban workers from wearing religious symbols or clothing. Concerns over religious freedom in Europe led to the formation of the Muslim-Jewish Leadership Council in September 2015. Its leaders said it was the “first common platform for European Muslims and Jews”.

With the victory of Trump, we have ultra-nationalist parties feeling invigorated and strengthened. Jews had been victims of Islamist terrorism in Europe, Goldschmidt pointed out. “We are the last ones to say it is not a problem. But what we are saying is that you don’t counter and fight Islamic terrorism by fighting Islam. It’s extremely important to mark a red line between normative Islam and radicalism and terrorism using the name of Islam. That red line must be seen and recognized by everyone. But populist parties in France, Holland, Austria and Germany are trying not to see this red line. It’s imperative for us and millions of Muslims living in Europe to show everyone this red line exists.”

The rabbi also warned against “covert antisemitism” under the banner of the movement to boycott Israel in protest at its 50-year occupation of Palestinian territories. “It’s not politically correct to be an all-out antisemite, but in many instances the state of Israel has replaced the Jew. To some extent, organizations … which are trying to delegitimize the state of Israel is a covert expression of antisemitism.” There was a “great distance” between legitimate criticism of the Israeli government and the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, he said. The festival of Passover, during which Jews commemorate the Israelites’ liberation from slavery in ancient Egypt, told in the biblical story of the Exodus, begins at sunset on Monday and lasts for eight days.

Source: The Guardian

“Making forest hill and the world beautiful again, thank you to these wonderful girls this morning #ForestHill #roses,” one wrote on Twitter as he shared the image of the young Muslim women.

The event followed a stabbing on Monday at a train station in Forest Hill, south-east London where the attacker reportedly shouted “I want to kill Muslims”.

The victim was taken to the hospital where he remains in serious, but not life-threatening, condition.

The initiative to hand out roses to the public comes amid rising anti-Muslim sentiments across Europe and US.

Even before the Brexit vote, anti-Muslim incidents rose by 326% in the space of a year, according to a report from the group Tell Mama.

Britain is home to a sizable Muslim minority of nearly 2.7 million, mainly from Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani origin, according to 2011 statistics.

Source: AboutIslam.net

Blaming the press, ECRI Chair Christian Ahlund, said: “It is no coincidence that racist violence is on the rise in the UK at the same time as we see worrying examples of intolerance and hate speech in the newspapers, online and even among politicians.”

The report makes a whopping 23 recommendations to Theresa May’s Government for changes to criminal law, the freedom of the press, crime reporting and equality law. And despite the report not analyzing coverage of the historic Brexit vote, Mr Ahlund saw fit to comment on the UK’s decision to leave the EU. The report lays into the British press and urges the government to “give more rigorous training” to reporters.

In the 83-page report, the Commission said: “ECRI considers that, in light of the fact that Muslims are increasingly under the spotlight as a result of recent ISIS-related terrorist acts around the world, fueling prejudice against Muslims shows a reckless disregard, not only for the dignity of the great majority of Muslims in the United Kingdom, but also for their safety.

“In this context, it draws attention to a recent study by Teesside University suggesting that where the media stress the Muslim background of perpetrators of terrorist acts, and devote significant coverage to it, the violent backlash against Muslims is likely to be greater than in cases where the perpetrators’ motivation is downplayed or rejected in favour of alternative explanations.”

Despite the creation of the Independent Press Standards Organization (IPSO) in 2014 as an independent regulator for newspapers and magazines, the “ECRI strongly recommends that the authorities find a way to establish an independent press regulator according to the recommendations set out in the Leveson Report. It recommends more rigorous training for journalists to ensure better compliance with ethical standards.” But as Britain prepares to leave the crumbling bloc, the Government waded in to defend freedom of expression…

Continue reading at: The Muslim Issue