European Jewish-Muslim group formed to protect religious freedoms

A new European group has been formed for Muslim and Jewish religious leaders to advocate for protecting religious freedoms across the continent.

The Muslim-Jewish Leadership Council was formed this week, following a meeting in Vienna between the Conference of European Rabbis, Islamic Relief Worldwide and the Islamic Council for the Federal Republic of Germany.

Leaders stressed the “historical significance” of the group, saying it was the “first common platform for European Muslims and Jews”.

Ibrahim El-Zayat, past chairman of IRW, said: “The [group] is urgently needed as we see repeated attempts to curtail religious freedoms of certain minorities. History also tells us that when one community’s rights are constrained, soon other communities will face similar restrictions.”

Present at the meeting were the chief rabbis of Moscow and Denmark, and an advisor to the chief rabbi of France.