The Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) has found itself at the centre of significant controversy following its call for a boycott of Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD), drawing criticism from various quarters.

At its core, IHRC argues that its call to action is about ensuring that genocide remembrance is inclusive, fair and reflective of the lessons of history. It maintains that the selective recognition of certain atrocities while excluding others undermines the universal principle of “never again”. This is a long standing critique and is the reason it inaugurated Genocide Memorial Day in 2010, an annual event that has both been attended by Jewish communities and also organised by them in Jerusalem.

To gain clarity on the organisation’s position, MEMO interviewed IHRC Chair, Massoud Shadjareh.

There is a lot of controversy around the IHRC position on HMD. How did we get here?…..more