The Drumlanrig jolly

Yesterday we heard that various minor British Muslim leaders had presented an ‘accord’ to the king that they had agreed with the leaders of British Judaism, including the Chief Rabbi, a major rabbi from Scotland, and leaders of other branches of Judaism such as Reform and Masorti; these are being called “a pathway away from playground bullying, toxic university campus culture, and rising discrimination faced by both faith groups amid a politically unstable world” according to the Jewish Chronicle. The ‘Muslim’ leaders included two representatives of the Ismaili community, which mainstream Islam regards as outside of Islam altogether. While the mainstream and Jewish media both trumpet the ‘unprecedented’ accords, signed after a year of negotiations and a three-day retreat at Drumlanrig Castle in Dumfriesshire, home of the dukes of Buccleugh and Queensberry and hosted by the current duke. The effort seems to have no website at all, however, and it took a while to find the accord online, but the Westminster Catholic diocese’s website has a PDF here.

Muslims and Jews do have a history of collaboration on matters we have in common as we both have book-based religions with actual laws; in terms of religious obligations, these include slaughtering without stunning and circumcision of boys, both of which as I have mentioned here before have vocal opposing lobbies in this country. Right now, neither of these things is under serious threat, however. The issue facing us now is that the majority of the religious Jewish community here, and its leadership, support the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza which has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives since October 2023, while the majority of Muslims stand with the people of Gaza. British Jews, including leaders of campus Jewish societies, have in fact fought for the Israeli army during this period. On previous occasions, Muslim leaders have been called upon to condemn terrorism unequivocally, with a few rushing to do so and being praised for “historic fatwas” that are in fact recognised only by their own flock and aimed at others across sectarian divides. There is none of that here; it’s a five-page document about setting up various joint committees accompanied by some boilerplate about shared values and concepts.

However, the Muslim ‘leaders’, many of them from the same communities who have been forthcoming with anti-terrorist fatwas in the past, should have made it clear that there were obligations on the Jewish side to even sit across the same table from them when the matter was nothing we have in common with them. These should have included admitting that the Israelis’ actions were genocide and condemning it outright; they should have included condemning any British Jew who went to Israel to serve it in the army while it was carrying out this genocide and both supporting their prosecution on return and dispensing with their services as chaplains. They should have included condemning the Jewish settlers who harass and abuse (and kill) Palestinian civilians in the West Bank, and the army who back them up — and again, any of their flock who go to Israel and assist in that. They should have included calling for Palestinians jailed for trivial acts of resistance, such as throwing stones at soldiers occupying their towns and villages, to be released, especially if they were children when arrested. They should have included condemnation of any abuses of Palestinian prisoners, such as torture or rape, known to be going on in Israel’s prisons. Finally, they should have been expected to condemn spurious accusations of antisemitism against people in the UK and other western countries who call out Israel’s atrocities, which has included even calling them that.

Without all of these things, there should have been no negotiations and certainly no ‘retreat’ at that Scottish castle. Doubtless an opportunity to hobnob with members of the upper class in a posh stately home in beautiful surroundings is a temptation, but that isn’t the only way to enjoy the scenery; you can just go with your family, or maybe arrange a conference or three-day study retreat or something similar. Sitting with men who cheer on the massacre of their brothers in Palestine, writing bland ‘accords’ with them about reconciliation and love of humanity, without expecting any moderation in their position, really does nothing for the Muslims here nor for our brothers and sisters there. It’s just a jolly and a lot of pointless talk.