Lecture series to explore Jewish-Arab co-operation

 

The Salah Sassoun Mahlab Lecture Series will shed light on a little-known subject, Jewish-Arab co-operation over the centuries.

Naim S. Mahlab conceived the series as a tribute to his father, a Jewish merchant who travelled widely in the Arab world.

“He was a personal friend of the founder of the Kuweiti dynasty of al Sabah, and built the first ice factory there in 1913. We lived in a Muslim milieu and had a lot of friends who were Muslims.” Mahlab is shocked by the “deep anti-Semitism” of some Christian Canadians.

“Anti-Semitism is a creation of Christianity and not Islam,” he said by e-mail. ”Although the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict is creating anti-Jewish feelings among Muslims, the religion, unlike Christianity, does not foster anti-Semitism.

“Some hotheaded Muslim youth may commit violent acts, but that is political more than anything else. ”Mahlab retired from a successful business career, and taught for several years in the John Molson School of Business. He was instrumental in establishing the Executive MBA program, and was its first director. &ldqupI have also come to know Dr. Lowy, and have great admiration for him,” he said.

“If you study the history of Muslim Spain, which was the only bright spot in the comatose Europe of the Dark Ages, you will discover unbelievable co-operation between the two Semitic religions. “When the Catholic Inquisition murdered and robbed the Jews, Muslim Turkey opened its doors to any Jewish refugees who reached its shores. ”

“I really hope to plant a seed that will foster an interest in both groups to delve into the history of Muslim-Jewish relations. I am convinced that once the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is resolved, things will, after a lapse of time, go back to normal. ”

The series is being organized by history professor Dana Sajdi. It begins Oct. 5 with a lecture by Mark Cohen, Professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University, and a well-known historian of the Jews in Arab lands in the Middle Ages.

Cohen’s publications include Jewish Self-Government in Medieval Egypt, which won the National Jewish Book Award for history in 1981; Jewish Life in Medieval Egypt 641-1382, which was translated into Arabic; and most recently, Under Crescent and Cross: The Jews in the Middle Ages (1994).