A group of young Muslims in the Norwegian capital Oslo intend to form a ‘peace ring’ around the city’s main synagogue after this weekend’s Shabat celebration.
Event organiser Hajrad Arshad, 17, said the group wanted to change people’s perception on the prejudices between Muslims and Jews. She explained that on the back of the Copenhagen terrorist attacks, it was the right time for Norway’s Muslim community to distance themselves from the rising harassment of Jews across Europe.
Jewish community leader Ervin Kohn is backing the idea, saying that the message they were putting out was that if anyone in Norway wanted to discriminate or attack Jews, they would have to go through them first.
He confirmed that the synagogue had given the green light for the ring, as long as more than 30 Muslims take part. He explained that if there were just 30 people or less, it could be viewed as “counter-productive’, but if Bergstein (where the synagogue is located) is full, it would be a very positive thing.
Arshad, along with six other organisers, created a Facebook forum called Urett Avslores (Injustice Revealed) to discuss recent events involving Muslims and Jews. At present, more than 450 people have signed up to attend Saturday’s show of unity.