Breaking Down Prejudices and Ignorance

An international holocaust conference was recently held in the world's most highly populated Muslim country, Indonesia. The unusual gathering brought together Muslim dignitaries, holocaust survivors and even Israeli rabbis. Tobias Grote-Beverborg has the details

A Holocaust survivor arrives for the annual ceremony at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial marking Holocaust remembrance day in Jerusalem, 16 April 2007. Israelis on Monday remembered the six million Jews killed by Nazi Germany during the Second World War (photo: AP) — The objective was to inform people of the persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany. One outstanding feature of the Bali conference was that holocaust survivors were also invited to speak

The holocaust conference prepared with great discretion on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali aimed to clear up widespread prejudices and ignorance – particularly among Muslims – about the genocide of the Jews. The patron of the event was the former Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid, also known as Gus Dur. He saw the conference as serving one purpose in particular:

"A meeting of religions, with representatives of Buddhism from Japan, Hinduism from India and Christians, Jews and Muslims from around the world. The question was: how do we deal with the holocaust? Of course the holocaust took place and we all share this opinion, which was also anchored in our closing declaration."

The event was conceived as a counter-measure to the Teheran holocaust conference, at which the Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad referred to the genocide of the Jews as a "legend".

The symbolic meaning of the location

One outstanding feature of the Bali conference was that holocaust survivors were also invited to speak. Those of them coming from Israel were allowed into the country without restrictions, although Muslim Indonesia does not maintain diplomatic relations to Israel.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, left, shakes hands with anti-Zionism Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss, at the Holocaust conference in Tehran, Iran, December 2006 (photo: AP) — The Bali conference was conceived as a counter-measure to the Teheran holocaust conference, December 2006

One Israeli rabbi who had also been invited emphasised the importance of listening to the survivors, as the holocaust had mainly taken place in the west and there are therefore very few witnesses in Muslim countries to confirm the facts.

According to Rainer Adam, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation's representative in Jakarta, the choice of location was highly symbolic:

"No one had set a countersign to the conference in Iran before. There were Indonesians at that conference, and now the Indonesians have invited the other side to speak out, and have stated a clear position, so it's a very good thing that Muslims are standing up for the truth."

photo: AP — Kyai Haji Abdurrahman Wahid, conference patron and former president of Indonesia

Ahmad Suaedy, head of the Wahid Institute – a non-governmental organisation representing a moderate form of Islam – pointed out that most Muslims in Indonesia are only insufficiently familiar with the historical facts. With the exception of people who have studied in the Middle East, according to Suaedy, they don't know anything about the holocaust. But even those who are aware of its existence get most of their information from Egyptian and Iranian sources, he commented, which frequently deny the holocaust.

"There is not only the Arab Islam"

For Rainer Adam, the holocaust conference is therefore also important on the domestic front:

"In the struggle for important values in this country, such as tolerance, freedom and pluralism, this moderate Islam with its representatives here is very important. It shows that things can be done differently and there is not only the Arab Islam, but also a Javan Islam and an Indonesian Islam, which can be enlightened and modern, and show the way to the future."

At the close of the conference its patron, Abdurrahman Wahid, underlined the uniting force of religions in the search for truth:

"Although we all have our own political opinions, we are united by religion and are able to share our views with one another. Only through inter-faith dialogue can we bring the truth to light."

The holocaust conference on Bali proved not only that peaceful relations between the religions are possible, but also that inter-faith dialogue is a suitable instrument for finding the truth.

Tobias Grote-Beverborg

Translated from the German by Katy Derbyshire

Qantara.de

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