The Muslim Jewish Forum of Greater Manchester
Established to develop the cultural and social ties between the Muslim and Jewish communities of Greater Manchester
TV appearance: Why Holocaust commemoration is vital
Co-Chair Mohammed Amin's 22-minute appearance on the Islam Channel, alongside a Jewish guest, to explain why everyone should commemorate the Holocaust.
Transmitted 28 January 2019. Posted 7 February 2019.
Human history is littered with awful crimes, some with many millions of victims.
The Holocaust stands out because the Nazis wished to exterminate all Jews, regardless of their age or innocence or loyalty to the German state. It is because of the Holocaust that we have the word “genocide” and the post-war Genocide Convention.
Mohammed Amin appeared in a 22-minute discussion on the Islam Channel about the Holocaust and Holocaust commemoration. You can watch it below.
About the programme
This was the “Living the Life” programme on the Islam Channel. The presenters were Bilal (we do not have his surname) and Hajra Khan. The two guests were:
Shaul Usiskin, previously called Paul Usiskin, who is a dual UK/Israeli citizen and a published author.
Mohammed Amin, described as Co-Chair of the Muslim Jewish Forum of Greater Manchester.
The key points Amin made
The entire session can of course be watched below, but for the convenience of readers we have briefly summarised Amin's key points:
The Holocaust has been a perpetual backdrop to his life. He still remembers Adolf Eichmann being put on trial, and the German trial of Auschwitz concentration camp guards.
The Holocaust shows humanity at its worst, and also humanity at its best. Brave people chose to risk the lives of themselves and their families to shelter complete strangers. See Amin's review of "The Other Schnindlers."
We need empathy for others. Amin's experience of growing up as the child of refugees from India during partition makes it easier for him to relate to the horrors of the Jewish experience, when after the Evian Conference all the major powers in practice closed their borders to Jewish refugees.
Holocaust Memorial Day also commemorates the other internationally recognised genocides of Cambodia, Rwanda, Srebrenica, etc.
Amin also had the opportunity to describe what our Forum does.
The programme is embedded below and can be watched by clicking it. The full programme is one hour long and includes sessions other than the one described above.
To watch only the Holocaust session of 22 minutes, start watching at the time of 13:12.
The Muslim Jewish Forum of Greater Manchester
Established to develop the cultural and social ties between the Muslim and Jewish Communities of Greater Manchester