IS IT POSSIBLE THAT THE LOBBY LIED TO US ABOUT ISLAM
BUT... Right here, right now, just a week after the infamous Islamo-Fascist Week 'celebrations' sponsored by the Lobby in America, a group of Jewish Israelis honoured Muslims that saved their lives during the nazi occupation of Albania.
JERUSALEM - Tears welling in his eyes, an elderly Holocaust survivor on Thursday embraced the son of the Albanian man who saved him from the Nazi death camps, highlighting the little-known role played by European Muslims in helping Jews during World War II.
The two met for the first time at a photography exhibition at Yad Vashem, Israel's official Holocaust memorial, honoring Albanians who sheltered Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution. Albania, a tiny European country with a Muslim majority, sheltered about 1,000 Jews who, except for one family, survived Nazi occupation, according to officials.
"This is a very unique story," said Yehudit Shendar, the exhibition's curator. Though Islam has an anti-Jewish image, these were "Muslims who endangered their own lives to save Jews," she said. Six million Jews were killed by the Nazis during World War II.
Albanians sheltered between 600 and 1,800 Jewish refugees, risking death or imprisonment, officials said. At the end of the war, Albania was the only European country with a larger Jewish population than before the war.
Yoshua Baruchowic, 84, wore a grim smile as he retold the harrowing story of his rescue. He stood next to Enver Alia Sheqer, the Albanian whose father saved him.
For decades, Baruchowic exchanged letters with Sheqer, 50, and his father, Ali Sheqer Pashkaj, who died in 2004. They often sent family photos, and he called Sheqer his "brother."
Despite many invitations, Baruchowic, who moved to Mexico after the war and became a dentist, refused to visit Albania while the communists were in power, and later because of political turmoil.
Meeting Sheqer on Thursday, he said, "It's glorious. It's something I waited to do all my life."
In 1941, a Nazi convoy transporting Jews passed the Sheqer family's general store deep in the Albanian mountains. Sheqer's father offered the soldiers food and wine. When they became drunk, he handed a message — hidden in a melon — to one of the prisoners, the 18-year-old Baruchowic.
Though they had never met, Baruchowic agreed when Ali Sheqer urged him to flee to the woods. The young Jew hid while Sheqer's father feigned ignorance as he repeatedly stared down a Nazi gun barrel. He held out until the Germans left and then retrieved Baruchowic, hiding him for three years.
"My father was a devout Muslim," Enver Sheqer said. "He believed that to save one life is to enter paradise."
He said his father had to help Baruchowic because of the Albanian code of "Besa," which means "to keep the promise."
The exhibition is named after that code and features black and white photographs of Albanians holding family photos and awards honoring their heroism. Israel has honored 63 Albanians as "Righteous Among the Nations," a title granted to non-Jews who helped Jews escape Nazi persecution.
The photo exhibit is the product of five years of "headhunting" by American Jewish photographer Norman Gershman, who said he was inspired culling the archives at Yad Vashem. Working through several organizations, Gershman spent four years in and out of Albania tracking down survivors.
"It started at Yad Vashem and now it's going to take off from here," he said. The exhibition is next going to the United Nations headquarters in New York for a display on the International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Jan. 27, he said.
At the exhibit Thursday, Baruchowic and Enver Sheqer stood beneath a photo of Sheqer sitting at the foot of a statue of the Albanian national hero Skanderbeg, a resistance general who led the fight against the Muslim Ottoman Empire in the 15th century.
In the picture, Sheqer delicately clutches his chest while a furrowed brow looks poised for tears. A similar look covered his face as he struggled to the find words to describe meeting Baruchowic for the first time.
"I have such a good feeling," Sheqer said. "I can't begin how to describe."

7 Comments:
desert peace if you want more info on how the Albanians saved the jews in ww2 e mail me at kujtim_zenelaj@hotmail.com I'll be happy to share this with you.
This hatred must stop - its the responsibility of the entire world to ensure peace between every nation.
Stop the lies and untruths that have led to wars and atrocities.
Any true believer in Islam knows that its a grave sin to take the lives of innocent people - so terrorism (in the name of Islam) and Islam are like oil and water.
The media should be responsible and stop being anti-muslim
Tell the truth and only the truth
Steve, I am working on a few 'special subject' blogs at
http://levantnotes.blogspot.com/
They will (I hope) include warts&all stories about:
Yasser Arafat
Marwan Barghouti
Yitzhak Rabin
Netan yahu
If you have any personal anecdotes about these people, please let me know.
Meanwhile, I know sweet FA about Steve Amsel - who is he?
I don't believe that Islam is evil or that Muslims are bad. I do believe that a lot of wars have been fought over religion.
Every religion has its radicals, such as Bush is with his beliefs, and those people are the ones who give their religous beliefs a bad name.
www.pafundi.com
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Number of Operations Iraq Freedom and Enduring Freedom casualties as confirmed by U.S. Central Command: 4278
Islam is a religion of peace. Allah does not command muslims to kill innocent civilians even if they are non-muslim. If a muslim kills an innocent person, it is as if he has killed the whole of mankind. So, we muslims are not foolish or stupid to kill innocent non-muslims. History is witness to the fact that when the Jews were persecuted in Europe and when they fled Europe, they came to Muslim lands. Muslim rulers welcomed them and protected them. Ask any good Jew and he will tell the truth about how good the Muslims are. Muslims do not fight the non-muslims unnecessarily. But when they are oppressed, and when they are prevented from worshipping Allah, then they are commanded by Allah to fight. This is the truth from our Lord, Allah.
According to my study, here are some irrefutable Facts about Islam! Muslims CANNOT call themselves Shias, Sunnis or any other name and divide in ANY sect. This phenomenon is a result of clergy wars. Islam teaches very exclusively the sense of self reliance and individuality with recognition of local traditions where a muslim lives as long as they don't collide with one's relationship with God. Islam holds all prophets equal in rank, from Adam to Mohammad. Quran holds the appearance of 1,24,000 prophets with Adam as first and Muhammad as last. It is claimed in Quran that there is NO nation that was sent at least one prophet for the same message and mostly made them either Gods and started worshiping them instead of God Or persecuted them. when muslims pray, they face towards kaba (a cubic structure in city of mecca) to mark dicipline. Kaba was (originaly) built by Abraham as a place to worship One God. It has been rebuilt many times afterwards. When muslims go for pilgrimage, they follow footsteps of Abraham and Adam. It is believed that Adam's appologies were accepted by God on this specific hill where muslims appear as a part of their pilgrimage. Other rituals include running of Hagar with her son Ishmail to look for water and circling kaba. When muslims say the decleration (creed) they say "There is no (other) God but (One) God and Muhammad is his prophet". This serves the purpose that Muhammad was only a messanger and not to be confused with any divinity. It is also to convey that since He was a prophet from God, his message (Quran) is the word of God. About Jihad, so known as "sixth" pillar in Islam, is first of all being designated as 6th pillar by clergymen (who by the way have no status or recognition in religion of God). It's meaning was originaly to define the internal strugle between good and evil for every individual (it was later distorted). About Women's clothing, there is Absolutely Nothing in Quran that tells them to cover themselves like shuttle cocks. Quran asks women and men to cover their bodies and not to reveal their body parts in any sensual way. Rest of the stuff was taken from clergy writtings. Oh and about jews and christians, and how we hear that they are called to be killed by believers, Wrong!. They are called "people of the book" who, according to Quran comprise of both good and bad types (like muslims) with the responsibility of judgement left on God. People of books phrase has explaination in quran as "quran attests Psalms of david, Torah of Moses, Testaments of Jesus as divine words". And a most interesting fact of all, and it's so unknown (even among muslims-umm specially among muslims) that it's funny, quran declares that anyone from any religion (and it names few religions for example) will recieve reward from God for his/her good deeds Only if he/she believes in 1-God, 2-the end day of judgement. That covers all people of all religions. And this is found only in Quran that it is speaking to everyone with good words. I can provide exact chapter where its written in case someone wants to do the study. Thats all i can think of right now. oh and those verses from Quran where it calls for war and stuff, are actualy When YOU are in WAR. One has to read the whole topic instead of taking a specific line out context and using it for propaganda purpose. Its a very spiritual religion if you think about it. Thanks.
Chapter Al-Maidah in the Qur'an has a verse that says something to the fact that the christians, the sabians, the jews, the muslims and all people who believe in God and do good deeds, they shall have no fear nor shall they grieve. Is there any other religious text that is so beautiful that gives rewards and and equality in receiving of blessings regardless of one's religion? That's why it is called what it is, Islam,Peace.
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