Project Aladdin
Encyclopedia
Project Aladdin is a multi-faceted cultural initiative launched in March 2009 under the patronage of UNESCO
with the aim of countering Holocaust denial
and all forms of racism and intolerance, while promoting intercultural dialogue, particularly among Muslims and Jews. The project was initiated by the Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Shoah
, a French foundation dedicated to keeping alive the memory of the Holocaust
.
The Project's sponsors include President of France
Jacques Chirac
, and Prince Hassan bin Talal of Jordan
and former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder
, who are also on the Project's "Board of Distinguished Patrons." Other members of the Board include former Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid
, and former Mauritanian President Ely Ould Mohamed Vall
.
More than 500 distinguished figures from Europe
, North America
and the Muslim
world have joined the project by declaring their support for its fundamental text, A Call to Conscience. They include statesmen, parliamentarians, religious figures, intellectuals, historians, academics, authors, artists and civil society actors of different faiths and cultures.
In its effort to promote knowledge as a bridge between cultures, the Aladdin Project has set up a multilingual website in English
, French
, Arabic
, Persian
and Turkish
that contains information on the Holocaust
, as well as a basic introduction to Jewish faith
, history and culture and an overview of historical relations between Jews and Muslims in different countries.
A tenet of the project is its online library, where books in Arabic
and Persian
can be downloaded free of charge. The first collection includes the first-ever translation into Arabic and Persian of such classics as Anne Frank's Diary and Primo Levi
's Survival in Auschwitz
. In line with the project's expressed purpose of helping to "bring about a dialogue based on knowledge and mutual respect," the fast-expanding library is set to also include works of authors from the Muslim world translated into English and French.
, former French President Jacques Chirac and other dignitaries from Europe and the Muslim world to hail the Aladdin Project, reject Holocaust denial, and embark on a Jewish-Muslim dialogue based on mutual knowledge and mutual respect.
The conference was opened by UNESCO Director General Koichiro Matsuura
, who praised the project, saying that "UNESCO offers its support to this initiative, in the hope that it will enhance in a durable manner educational means for peace and tolerance." David de Rothschild
, President of the Shoah Memorial Foundation
, outlined the broad themes of the project and its objectives. Other speakers included President Wade of Senegal, André Azoulay
, Counselor to the King of Morocco
, Ahmed Toufiq
, Minister of Islamic Affairs, both representing King Mohammed VI, Qatar's Khalid bin Muhammad al-Atiyah, Minister for International Cooperation, representing Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, Egypt
’s Farouk Hosny
, Minister of Culture, representing President Hosni Mubarak
, Tunisia’s Prof. M’hamed Hassine Fantar representing President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
, and Bahrain
’s Princess Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa
, a former president of the United Nations General Assembly. Also present on behalf of their respective governments were Mustafa Ceric, the Grand Mufti of Bosnia, and Professor İlber Ortaylı
, a distinguished Turkish historian and president of the Topkapi
Museum in Istanbul.
Other notables who came from far away to be present at the conference included Abdou Filali-Ansari representing Aga Khan IV
, former Tunisian
Prime Ministers Hédi Baccouche
and Mohammed Mzali
, Egypt's Aly El Samman, a veteran proponent of interfaith dialogue and advisor to the late President Anwar El Sadat, Ahmed Aboutaleb
, the Mayor of Rotterdam, Gul Khan, the Lord Mayor of Nottingham, Iranian theologian Ayatollah Ahmad Iravani
, Hélé Béji, president of the International College of Tunis, and Pakistani-born British Mufti
Abduljalil Sajid.
In a message to the conference read on his behalf by French Justice Minister Rachida Dati
, President Nicolas Sarkozy
of France said, "The strength of the Aladdin Project is to extend a hand to those who have been handicapped by prejudices, ignorance, or simply a lack of accessible information; to expose the lies and clear up the misunderstandings; to open up a new horizon for our common future. I share, unreservedly, this fundamental intuition of the Aladdin Project, for I am convinced that peace between peoples can only be based on mutual understanding and respect, and these are acquired in knowing and interacting with the other side."
Former American President Bill Clinton
praised Project Aladdin, saying that it "has the potential to play a vital role in countering denial with facts and putting a human face on something that otherwise might seem too terrible to believe."
"Project Aladdin's focus on encouraging an intercultural dialogue based on mutual knowledge and mutual respect will help ensure that the 21st century is defined not by our differences, but by our common humanity. That is the key to a peaceful future," the former President concluded.
private school.
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
with the aim of countering Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial is the act of denying the genocide of Jews in World War II, usually referred to as the Holocaust. The key claims of Holocaust denial are: the German Nazi government had no official policy or intention of exterminating Jews, Nazi authorities did not use extermination camps and gas...
and all forms of racism and intolerance, while promoting intercultural dialogue, particularly among Muslims and Jews. The project was initiated by the Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Shoah
Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Shoah
Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Shoah is a Shoah Foundation that was formed in 2000, with recovered money from the property taken from French Jews during World War II. The Foundation’s mission is to support projects in all areas of history and research into the Shoah, education and transmission,...
, a French foundation dedicated to keeping alive the memory of the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
.
The Project's sponsors include President of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Jacques Chirac
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
, and Prince Hassan bin Talal of Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
and former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder
Gerhard Schröder
Gerhard Fritz Kurt Schröder is a German politician, and was Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany , he led a coalition government of the SPD and the Greens. Before becoming a full-time politician, he was a lawyer, and before becoming Chancellor...
, who are also on the Project's "Board of Distinguished Patrons." Other members of the Board include former Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid
Abdurrahman Wahid
Abdurrahman Wahid, born Abdurrahman Addakhil , colloquially known as , was an Indonesian Muslim religious and political leader who served as the President of Indonesia from 1999 to 2001...
, and former Mauritanian President Ely Ould Mohamed Vall
Ely Ould Mohamed Vall
Colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall is a political and military figure in Mauritania. He served as the transitional military leader of Mauritania following a coup d'état in August 2005 until 19 April 2007, when he relinquished power to an elected government....
.
More than 500 distinguished figures from Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and the Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
world have joined the project by declaring their support for its fundamental text, A Call to Conscience. They include statesmen, parliamentarians, religious figures, intellectuals, historians, academics, authors, artists and civil society actors of different faiths and cultures.
In its effort to promote knowledge as a bridge between cultures, the Aladdin Project has set up a multilingual website in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
, Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
and Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
that contains information on the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
, as well as a basic introduction to Jewish faith
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, history and culture and an overview of historical relations between Jews and Muslims in different countries.
A tenet of the project is its online library, where books in Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
and Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
can be downloaded free of charge. The first collection includes the first-ever translation into Arabic and Persian of such classics as Anne Frank's Diary and Primo Levi
Primo Levi
Primo Michele Levi was an Italian Jewish chemist and writer. He was the author of two novels and several collections of short stories, essays, and poems, but is best known for If This Is a Man, his account of the year he spent as a prisoner in the Auschwitz concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Poland...
's Survival in Auschwitz
If This Is a Man
If This Is a Man is a work by the Italian writer, Primo Levi, describing his 11 months—from February 21, 1944 until liberation on January 27, 1945—in the German concentration camp at Auschwitz in Poland, during the Second World War...
. In line with the project's expressed purpose of helping to "bring about a dialogue based on knowledge and mutual respect," the fast-expanding library is set to also include works of authors from the Muslim world translated into English and French.
Launch Conference at UNESCO
The Aladdin Project was officially launched on March 27, 2009, at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. In an unprecedented event, the Heads of State of Egypt, Morocco, Qatar, Tunisia and Bosnia and the governments of Turkey and Spain sent high-level representatives to join Senegalese President Abdoulaye WadeAbdoulaye Wade
Abdoulaye Wade is the third and current President of Senegal, in office since 2000. He is also the Secretary-General of the Senegalese Democratic Party and has led the party since it was founded in 1974...
, former French President Jacques Chirac and other dignitaries from Europe and the Muslim world to hail the Aladdin Project, reject Holocaust denial, and embark on a Jewish-Muslim dialogue based on mutual knowledge and mutual respect.
The conference was opened by UNESCO Director General Koichiro Matsuura
Koichiro Matsuura
is a Japanese diplomat. He is the former Director-General of UNESCO. He was first elected in 1999 to a six-year term and reelected on 12 October 2005 for four years, following a reform instituted by the 29th session of the General Conference...
, who praised the project, saying that "UNESCO offers its support to this initiative, in the hope that it will enhance in a durable manner educational means for peace and tolerance." David de Rothschild
David René de Rothschild
David René James de Rothschild is a banker and a member of the French branch of the Rothschild family. He is the chairman of Rothschilds Continuation Holdings, a Swiss holding company...
, President of the Shoah Memorial Foundation
Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Shoah
Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Shoah is a Shoah Foundation that was formed in 2000, with recovered money from the property taken from French Jews during World War II. The Foundation’s mission is to support projects in all areas of history and research into the Shoah, education and transmission,...
, outlined the broad themes of the project and its objectives. Other speakers included President Wade of Senegal, André Azoulay
André Azoulay
André Azoulay is a senior adviser to King Mohammed VI of Morocco. He previously advised Mohammed's father, King Hassan II. He currently presides over the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue Between Cultures, based in Alexandria, Egypt...
, Counselor to the King of Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, Ahmed Toufiq
Ahmed Toufiq
Ahmed Toufiq is a well-known writer and scholar from Morocco. He was born in 1943 in the High Atlas near the city of Marrakech.He presented his PhD in 1979 on the subject of social history in the Moroccan rural areas in the 19th century and worked as a professor of history in the Faculty of Letters...
, Minister of Islamic Affairs, both representing King Mohammed VI, Qatar's Khalid bin Muhammad al-Atiyah, Minister for International Cooperation, representing Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
’s Farouk Hosny
Farouk Hosny
Farouk Hosny , is an Egyptian abstract painter who was Minister of Culture from 1987 to 2011.-Early life and career:...
, Minister of Culture, representing President Hosni Mubarak
Hosni Mubarak
Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak is a former Egyptian politician and military commander. He served as the fourth President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011....
, Tunisia’s Prof. M’hamed Hassine Fantar representing President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali is a Tunisian political figure who was the second President of Tunisia from 1987 to 2011. Ben Ali was appointed Prime Minister in October 1987, and he assumed the Presidency on 7 November 1987 in a bloodless coup d'état that ousted President Habib Bourguiba, who was...
, and Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
’s Princess Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa
Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa
Sheikha Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa is a lawyer and diplomat from Bahrain who was the President of the 61st session of the United Nations General Assembly which began on September 12, 2006, and closed on September 17, 2007...
, a former president of the United Nations General Assembly. Also present on behalf of their respective governments were Mustafa Ceric, the Grand Mufti of Bosnia, and Professor İlber Ortaylı
Ilber Ortayli
İlber Ortaylı , is a leading Turkish historian, professor of history at the Galatasaray University in Istanbul and at Bilkent University in Ankara...
, a distinguished Turkish historian and president of the Topkapi
Topkapi
Topkapi or Topkapı can mean:* The Topkapı Palace in Istanbul, Turkey* Topkapı, a neighbourhood of Istanbul near the Roman city walls * Topkapi , a 1964 caper movie...
Museum in Istanbul.
Other notables who came from far away to be present at the conference included Abdou Filali-Ansari representing Aga Khan IV
Aga Khan IV
Prince Karim, Aga Khan IV, NPk, NI, KBE, CC, GCC, GCIH, GCM is the 49th and current Imam of the Shia Imami Nizari Ismaili Muslims. He has held this position under the title of Aga Khan since July 11, 1957, when, at the age of 20, he succeeded his grandfather, Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan...
, former Tunisian
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
Prime Ministers Hédi Baccouche
Hédi Baccouche
Hédi Baccouche was the Prime Minister of Tunisia from November 7, 1987 to September 27, 1989. Baccouche led the Socialist Destourian Party until it changed its name to the Constitutional Democratic Rally in 1988.- References :...
and Mohammed Mzali
Mohammed Mzali
Mohammed Mzali was a Tunisian politician.Mzali was born in Monastir, Tunisia in 1925. He served as Prime Minister from his appointment by President Habib Bourguiba until his dismissal in 1986 amid government-mandated price increases and subsequent rioting....
, Egypt's Aly El Samman, a veteran proponent of interfaith dialogue and advisor to the late President Anwar El Sadat, Ahmed Aboutaleb
Ahmed Aboutaleb
Ahmed Aboutaleb is a Dutch politician of the Labour Party . He has been the Mayor of Rotterdam since January 5, 2009...
, the Mayor of Rotterdam, Gul Khan, the Lord Mayor of Nottingham, Iranian theologian Ayatollah Ahmad Iravani
Ahmad Iravani
Highly recognized as an Iranian philosopher, Ahmad Iravani is also a respected scholar and clergyman from the Northern region of Iran, along the Caspian Sea. An avid advocate of interfaith and intra-faith peace dialogue, he has dedicated his life to such intellectual subjects...
, Hélé Béji, president of the International College of Tunis, and Pakistani-born British Mufti
Mufti
A mufti is a Sunni Islamic scholar who is an interpreter or expounder of Islamic law . In religious administrative terms, a mufti is roughly equivalent to a deacon to a Sunni population...
Abduljalil Sajid.
In a message to the conference read on his behalf by French Justice Minister Rachida Dati
Rachida Dati
Rachida Dati is a French politician and Member of the European Parliament, representing Île-de-France. Before her election, she held the cabinet post of Keeper of the Seals, Minister of Justice. She was a spokesperson for Nicolas Sarkozy during the French presidential election of 2007...
, President Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
of France said, "The strength of the Aladdin Project is to extend a hand to those who have been handicapped by prejudices, ignorance, or simply a lack of accessible information; to expose the lies and clear up the misunderstandings; to open up a new horizon for our common future. I share, unreservedly, this fundamental intuition of the Aladdin Project, for I am convinced that peace between peoples can only be based on mutual understanding and respect, and these are acquired in knowing and interacting with the other side."
Former American President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
praised Project Aladdin, saying that it "has the potential to play a vital role in countering denial with facts and putting a human face on something that otherwise might seem too terrible to believe."
"Project Aladdin's focus on encouraging an intercultural dialogue based on mutual knowledge and mutual respect will help ensure that the 21st century is defined not by our differences, but by our common humanity. That is the key to a peaceful future," the former President concluded.
Current events
Project Aladdin was recently in the news for its criticism of Hezbollah, citing a "campaign of intimidation" in relation to the use of The Diary of Anne Frank in a LebaneseLebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
private school.