BESA exhibit honours Muslims saving Jews
Derryl Maclean, 778.782.5278; derryl_maclean@sfu.ca
Bill Jeffries, 778.782.4266; bill_jeffries@sfu.ca
Carol Thorbes, PAMR, 778.782.3035; cthorbes@sfu.ca
Given the current state of their relations in the Middle East, it may be hard to conceive of a time when Muslims rescued Jews from certain death. But an upcoming photo exhibit co-sponsored by the Simon Fraser University Gallery and SFU’s Centre for the Comparative Study of Muslim Societies and Cultures (CCSMSC) tells a different story.
From June 24 to Oct. 29, the Teck Gallery, Harbour Centre campus will host BESA, Muslims Who Saved Jews in World War II, featuring photos taken and gathered by photographer Norman H. Gershman. He undertook the project over a five-year period—2003 to 2008.
Each Gershman portrait illuminates the little-known story of how Albanians, most of them Muslims, rescued virtually all the Jews living in their country during Nazi occupation in World War II.
At great risk to themselves, Albanians sheltered Jews in accordance with BESA, an ancient principle in their culture offering protection to those who need it.
Derryl Maclean, CCSMSC director, says: “The BESA exhibit counters the widely-held notion that Jewish-Muslim relations were always and necessarily confrontational.”
At the opening night of the exhibit, June 24, Steven Wasserstrom, professor of Judaic Studies at Reed College, Portland, Oregon will give a lecture on Thoughts on the Rise of the Term Abrahamic Religions.
They are historically the world’s three primary monotheistic faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, which share a common origin and values.
Bill Jeffries, director and curator of SFU’s galleries, notes: “The stories in the BESA images provide a magical example of people being tolerant and supportive of people who are not like themselves. The behaviours discussed, if extended globally, would make this an amazingly pleasant planet.”
—30—
Peter
Thank you for addressing this, I'm glad people will be acknowledged with this concept.