Fast Forward

Senior Saudi leader and Muslim religious leaders visit Auschwitz

Mohammed al-Issa, the secretary-general of the Mecca-based Muslim World League and a former Saudi justice minister, joined a delegation of Muslim religious leaders at the Auschwitz Concentration Camp, Thursday, January 23, 2020. Image by Twitter/AuschwitzMuseum

By Marcy Oster January 23, 2020

(JTA) — A senior Muslim leader from Saudi Arabia visited Auschwitz with a delegation from the American Jewish Committee.

Mohammed al-Issa, the secretary-general of the Mecca-based Muslim World League and a former Saudi justice minister, joined a delegation of Muslim religious leaders from several countries at the site of the former Nazi camp on Thursday, just days before International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Speaking in front of the international monument on the grounds of the memorial site, al-Issa called Holocaust atrocities a “crime against humanity.”

The American Jewish Committee said al-Issa is “the most senior Islamic figure ever to visit Auschwitz.”

The visit grew out of a visit that al-Issa, who is considered to be close associate of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, made to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., in May 2018, after which he wrote that “Muslims around the world have a responsibility to learn” about the Holocaust.

section class=”post-embed”>

History in the making: The most senior Islamic figure ever to visit @AuschwitzMuseum, Secretary General of @MWLOrg_en Dr. Al-Issa, begins his visit, accompanied by Muslim leaders from around the world and AJC leadership, to mark 75 years since the liberation of the Nazi camp. pic.twitter.com/43fxxJANSE

— American Jewish Committee (@AJCGlobal) January 23, 2020

The post Senior Saudi leader and Muslim religious leaders visit Auschwitz appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO