Germany: Jewish leader warns of Muslim antisemitism
In a related story, Imam Sabahattin Türkyilmaz of the Shiite Hazrat Fatima Zehra mosque in Frankfurt resigned all his positions in the mosque this week, saying he did so in order to protect the community, the blessed mosque, to protect all the families involved, the Muslims of the city and to protect - although now damaged - dialog. The Christian Democrats in the city said they thought it was the logical step, since the Islamic community was not in a position to refute the allegations against their imam.
The resignation followed a TV report about the imam's participation in an anti-Israel demonstration in Berlin on al-Quds Day several years ago, where he marched with demonstrators who cried "Death, death to Israel". In a speech he gave at a different demonstration he called in Arabic that "we belong tot he community of Hezbollah", and he expressed anti-Israel sentiments in a Friday sermon, quoting the Ayatollah Khomeini's speech against Israel.
The imam had accused the news program of conducting a smear campaign against him. (DE, DE)
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The vice chairman of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Dieter Graumann, warns of increasing antisemitism among Muslim immigrants. Especially among youth of Arab origins it's 'frightfully high', says Graumann in the latest edition of the German magazine 'Focus'. There's no point in denying it or in sidestepping the issue.
It's particularly the Muslim communities who would be served by curbing the anti-Jewish sentiments among Muslims, according to Graumann. Although their representatives make official statements against antisemitism, they don't do enough among their own people.
"If they'll make more of an effort, the Muslim communities would win much more credibility," according to the vice chairman of the Central Council of Jews in Germany.
Source: Katholiek Nieuwsblad (Dutch), h/t NRP
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