By Matt for the TIB Network:
You might be asking yourself, why would Muslims boycott the rememberance of the Holocaust? Well, quite simply because the rememberance of the Holocaust doesn't include Muslims who died (read blew themselves up) in the Palestinian conflict. Now, I'm no historian, but I think the Holocaust and the Palestinian conflict are two very different things. And no, the Holocaust rememberance doesn't include the Israelis who dies in the Palestinian conflict either...Get the whole story from the Times of UK. Here's a tease...
BRITISH Muslims are to boycott this week’s commemoration of the liberation of Auschwitz because they claim it is not racially inclusive and does not commemorate the victims of the Palestinian conflict.Hey, Muslims, it ain't about you. Get over yourselves.
Iqbal Sacranie, secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain, has written to Charles Clarke, the home secretary, saying the body will not attend the event unless it includes the “holocaust” of the Palestinian intifada.
He said similar events held in other European countries was an “inclusive day” that commemorated deaths in Palestine, Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, as well as the former Nazi death camps.
Mark's Remarks
OK, let's see....the Nazi genocide of the Holocaust has WHAT to do with the Palestinian issue? Oh, by the way, who were the ones who said they wanted to run the Jews into the Mediterranean? Oh yeah, the PLO, Syria, Egypt, et. al.
If Muslims want the Palestinian issue to be honestly dealt with, accepting the struggles of the Jews as being the struggle of oppressed peoples is a key factor. By taking part, they could draw parallels (ones I consider a stretch, but would play politicall) between the Jewish oppression and their own (though, according to Israel's constitution, arabs/palestinians can hold office and be in Parliament, far more rights than Jews had in the 1930s and 1940s).
Engaging in ridiculous garbage like boycotting the remembrance of a terrible tragedy is not going to endear them to anyone, rather, it will strengthen divisions between peoples. Engaging in a mutual remembrance could have been a compromisal start.
And besides, what the heck does the Holocaust have to do with Palestinians?
