Today’s Ha’aretz has an interesting article on the spirit of co-existence between the Jewish and Muslim communities in Turkey.
According to all reports, the Istanbul Jewish community enjoys excellent relations with both the Muslim majority and the Christian minority in the city. Jews enjoy complete freedom of religion, as well as cultural and social cooperation with other local organizations.
All of this strengthens the assessment that the perpetrators of Saturday’s attack on two Istanbul synagogues came from outside the city, and perhaps even from outside Turkey.
One of the examples of interfaith coexistence in the city is the annual dinner that the Jewish community hosts in honor of the Muslims’ Ramadan fast. A spokesman for the Jewish community told Haaretz that this year, the end-of-fast dinner took place last Wednesday in the Neve Shalom synagogue, with many local Muslim dignitaries in attendance. That synagogue was one of the two targeted by Saturday’s bombings.
This is a real eye opener, and clearly illustrates that moderate and reasonable Muslims do exist in the world today. We occasionally hear isolated voices, but what is needed are more Muslim voices speaking out and condemning all terrorism in no uncertain terms, coupled with greater action by moderate Muslims against those that insist on using mosques and charities for terrorist purposes.