LONDON (EJP)— One of Britain’s most senior Islamic leaders has called on Muslim communities not to tolerate “casual anti-Semitism” within their ranks.

In statements being seen as an attempt to thaw the ice-cold relationship between UK Jewry and Islam, the assistant secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) Inayat Bunglawala also said he accepted that the decision by his organisation to shun the British Holocaust Memorial Day had caused “distress” among UK Jews, and revealed it was being reviewed.

Bunglawala’s comments came a day after a conference scheduled for Leeds University on Islamic anti-Semitism was cancelled, apparently because of fears that the speaker, the academic Dr Matthias Kuntzel, could be attacked.

Speaking to the Jewish Chronicle Bunglawala, whose organisation has in the past come under intense UK Government and media pressure to do more to combat extremism within the British Islamic community, said Muslim and Jewish communities had much in common, in particular the support for faith schools.

“As some secular groups are increasingly advocating the abolishment of faith based schools, it makes sense for Muslims and Jews to work together to uphold the right of parents to send their children to such schools, and make sure they are properly resourced,” he said.

Need to do more

However, admitting that the UK Islamic community must do more to stop legitimate criticism of Israel’s policies turning into racist discrimination, or anti-Semitism, against Jews, he said: “Muslim communities must take more responsibility to ensure that criticism of Israel’s policies does not slide into casual anti-Semitism.

“The best way to encourage this is to ensure that grass-roots ties prosper between our communities.”

Adding that the decision by the MCB not to recognize Holocaust Memorial Day had damaged trust between the faiths, Bunglawala said: “I accept that some actions, including the MCB’s absence from the Holocaust Memorial Day ceremony – it has asked that the name be changed to a more inclusive Genocide Memorial Day – have caused some misgivings and even distress among British Jews.

“The MCB has decided to undertake a consultation of British Muslims about the issue, and the position is currently under review.”

Bunglawala also said that, while most British Jews and Muslims are unlikely to agree on the reasons for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, “a failure to agree on this issue is used as an excuse to stop talking about other areas in which we could cooperate, to our mutual benefit”.