Several international conferences have been held addressing the issue of combating antisemitism both in Western countries and Israel. Religiously motivated antisemitism has origins in religious beliefs and antisemitic sentiments in some Islamic communities have increased during the recent war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
While there have been instances where religious texts have unfortunately been used to incite hate against the Jewish community globally, it is important that religions are thoroughly analysed and discussed in these conferences.
Religious-based diplomacy is an essential yet often neglected aspect of addressing antisemitism. Many organisations invest millions if not billions of dollars into peace initiatives, yet they fail to end hate, eradicate hateful ideologies, or combat the growing wave of antisemitism against the Jewish people in the West. The failure is not just due to political factors but also to the neglect of the religious roots of these issues.
Different narratives, including religious ones, are being used in ways that affect perceptions of certain community. Various narratives among the Muslim community have been circulated about Jewish people for several decades in both political and religious contexts. Political narratives are often challenged, while religious narratives remain largely unchanged. Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR) report suggests that religious Muslims are more likely than the general Muslim population to hold antisemitic views, with 10% of religious Muslims saying the Holocaust is a myth and 18% that the Holocaust has been exaggerated.
EUFRA reports that when asked to identify the background of the perpetrators of the most serious antisemitic acts in a five-year period, respondents answered 30% of the time that it was “someone with Muslim extremist views”, as opposed to 21% of the time identifying left-wing perpetrators and 13% of the time right-wing perpetrators. Those of an Islamic background were therefore found to be seen by European Jews as the biggest perpetrators of serious antisemitic hatred.
Ordinary Muslims grow up with the belief that they cannot be friends with Jews. This is rooted in Islamist interpretations of Quran taught from childhood in mosques and madrasas. Clerics repeatedly instil in them the idea that Jews are their eternal enemies. A child raised with this ideology will inevitably grow up hating Jews and will ensure that future generations inherit the same hatred.
Following the 7/7 London attacks and other Islamist terrorist incidents in the UK, attention has increasingly turned towards British mosques as potential breeding grounds for extremist ideology. While many have viewed radical clerics and mosques as sources of British Islamism, it is also the case that some imams have been seen as potential front-line soldiers in the fight against that very same extremism.
Islamists and certain Muslim factions are the primary drivers behind antisemitism. The prime goal should be to educate and raise awareness about this issue. The problem, however, is that many Jewish people remain unaware of the depth of the challenge they face. Since October 7, numerous organisations combating antisemitism, Jewish, Israeli, and American have held conferences on the subject. Yet not a single knowledgeable Muslim scholar, someone truly capable of countering these narratives, has been invited to speak. This is deeply concerning.
How can one effectively combat antisemitism if the very people who propagate its core ideology are not engaged in discussions? These conferences predominantly invite Jewish and Christian voices while excluding Muslim perspectives. If Muslim communities are the primary source of hateful ideology, yet they are absent from these discussions, then what is the true purpose of these international conferences on antisemitism?
Jewish and Western organisations continue to hold conferences, write books, and produce videos exposing antisemitism and its perpetrators. They condemn antisemitism, criticise Islam, Hadith, and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. However, they do not offer a viable solution because they fail to address the root cause: religious indoctrination. They are not tackling the issue at the grassroots level, where religious diplomacy is crucial.
If Muslims are not invited to these conferences, what is their purpose? For decades, these events have identified problems, criticised extremist clerics, and condemned antisemitic teachings, yet they have not countered the narratives effectively. This is the missing link.
I have attempted to engage with Jewish organisations in the UK and Israel, urging them to focus on countering these narratives. After October 7, nearly all Muslims who previously supported Israel retracted their support. I am, unfortunately, one of the last remaining voices working against antisemitism, political Islam, and Islamist terrorism. Many of my colleagues in the similar field have abandoned the cause, leaving me to continue this fight alone.
Jewish organisations must prioritise countering Islamist narratives. Consider the widespread belief among some Muslims that the Day of Judgment will not come until Jews are killed, as described in certain Hadiths. If these narratives are not countered with the right tools, then these conferences and initiatives are merely public relations exercises, designed to generate audience rather than provide real solutions.
If Muslim voices are not included in these discussions, then the Jewish community will continue to suffer globally because the root ideology behind antisemitism will remain unchallenged. The hatred against Israel is growing daily, and although the Jewish community woke up after October 7, they are still lagging in bringing forth real solutions.
The rightful tools to counter this ideology exist within Islam itself. The Quran, Prophet Muhammad, Hadith, and Islamic history belong to Muslims, and only moderate Muslim scholars can effectively dismantle these narratives. External voices cannot do this alone. The solution lies in bringing knowledgeable, pro-Jewish Muslims into these discussions and giving them a platform to challenge and dismantle extremist ideology.
Addressing hateful sentiments can be effectively accomplished by interconnecting the theological framework with religious texts and Islamic history. Such an atmosphere of hostility was intentionally created by proponents of Political Islam in the early 1990s to further their political agenda, thereby undermining a specific community. The practice of political Islamist groups to target the Jewish community is the part of the Islamic warfare doctrine. It is crucial to address this doctrine with a comprehensive understanding of Islamic texts and historical context.
International Islamic conference
It is essential to convene an international Islamic conference aimed at combating antisemitism. This conference should invite all Muslim activists who support the Jewish community to discuss and present solutions for countering religious hateful ideology invented in the name of Islam.
If Jewish and Western organisations continue to exclude Muslim voices, they will fail to make meaningful progress. As for me and a few others, we will continue our work on an individual basis, driven by our sense of divine duty to counter Islamism, which has hijacked the true essence of Islam. Despite our efforts, the Jewish side remains unengaged. Therefore, it is essential to engage with moderate Muslim scholars to address these grievances and counteract the hateful ideology nurturing within the Muslim community.