In a democracy worthy of the name, the mentally invalid are not judged. But in a true democracy, one is.
The main theme of Holocaust Remembrance Day is “Never Again.” In Dubai’s ceremony, a new dimension was added to it. The opening remarks by museum chairman Ahmed Obaid Almansoori wearing his traditional white, ankle-length kandura and keffiyeh head-covering were illustrative.
While his speech included the message of “Never Again,” it went deeper, providing facts about the Holocaust to dispel false stereotypes that have been promulgated in the Arab world and to educate Jews about Arabs who sheltered Jews, which is a story not often heard. This way of memorializing the Holocaust was an attempt to take the positive from what Almansoori explained was a crime against humanity.
Holocaust remembrance in a Muslim country
Holocaust remembrance in a Muslim country
The main theme of Holocaust Remembrance Day is “Never Again.” In Dubai’s ceremony, a new dimension was added.
(April 18, 2021 / JNS) Marking Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day in an Arab country would once have been considered unthinkable. Yet, this is exactly what a group of us did on April 7 at the Crossroads of Civilizations Museum in Dubai.
The location in the historical Shindagha neighborhood, which boasts the unchanged original architecture of the homes of the sheikhs, was special. That the museum is located in the former residence of Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum, the second cousin once removed of Dubai’s current ruler, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, was even more so.