Muslim-Jewish Solidarity:
A Call for Brotherhood, Peace & Coexistence
The Jewish & Muslim Friendship Group Netherlands issues a landmark Declaration of Solidarity after attacks on a Jewish school in Amsterdam and a synagogue in Rotterdam
The Muslim community in Europe — most prominently in Belgium and the Netherlands — must stand unconditionally alongside the Jewish community. Too many battles have been fought together against discrimination and hate speech for this bond to waver now.
The Jewish community has long demonstrated solidarity with Muslims navigating prejudice and exclusion in Europe. It is now high time that Muslims in Europe and beyond rise to meet that solidarity in kind — standing firmly against antisemitism, for peace, and for coexistence. Religious sites such as synagogues and schools are being targeted systematically; they must be protected.
“Both the Jewish and the Muslim communities are victims of the rise of extremism and far-right ideology — and their solidarity is at the very core of European and liberal values.”
— Manel Msalmi, FFNThe call for brotherhood, peace, and unity is not merely a civic virtue — it is a theological imperative rooted in both the Qur’an and the Torah. Neither tradition permits the desecration of houses of worship; both demand active pursuit of justice and peace.
Jewish & Muslim Friendship Group Netherlands
On behalf of the Jewish & Muslim Friendship Group Netherlands, we express our solidarity with the Jewish community in response to the recent attacks on a Jewish school in Amsterdam and a synagogue in Rotterdam. At the same time, we strongly condemn these acts of violence.
Such attacks strike at the heart of the values that have long characterized the Netherlands: tolerance, respect, and peaceful coexistence.
“If Allah had not repelled some people by means of others, monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques — where the name of Allah is often mentioned — would surely have been destroyed.”
“For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”
A house of worship is a refuge for everyone; attacking a synagogue or a school means violating a place that symbolizes our shared values of tolerance and peace.
We are now in the holiest days of the Islamic faith; tonight is Laylat al-Qadr, the most sacred night, on which a good deed carries a reward many times greater. Therefore, we call for Abrahamic solidarity: if you are Muslim, show your solidarity with your Jewish fellow citizens during this difficult time.
As Jews and Muslims, we stand shoulder to shoulder against hatred and intimidation, and we call on everyone to protect our houses of worship, schools, and communities, and to actively promote peace, understanding, and justice.
— Jewish & Muslim Friendship Group Netherlands
“Such attacks strike at the heart of the values that have long characterized the Netherlands: tolerance, respect, and peaceful coexistence.”
“A house of worship is a refuge for everyone.”
“As Jews and Muslims, we stand shoulder to shoulder against hatred and intimidation.”
Last month, several members of the Jewish & Muslim Friendship Group Netherlands attended a women’s peace conference in Cyprus — a gathering that brought together voices across faiths committed to building bridges where walls are more easily built.
Among the attendees were Soraya M. Deen, Manel Msalmi, and Imam Salima Al Musalima — women whose presence embodied the Declaration’s call: that peace is not merely spoken but demonstrated, lived, and led.
The Declaration is a reminder that in times of rising hatred, the most powerful response is visible, unapologetic solidarity — grounded in shared scripture, shared suffering, and a shared vision of what Europe can and must be.
“We call on everyone to protect our houses of worship, schools, and communities — and to actively promote peace, understanding, and justice.”
— Jewish & Muslim Friendship Group NetherlandsManel Msalmi is the Chief Executive of FFN, Founder & President of the European Association for the Defense of Minorities, a human rights advocate and interfaith peace activist, and Chief Executive of Faith & Freedom News.
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