Wide-ranging Zaoui talk celebrates tolerance

By JULIET ROWAN


About 250 people filled an Auckland University lecture hall last night to hear a sweeping speech on Islam and the West from jailed asylum-seeker Ahmed Zaoui.

They included students, academics, lawyers, politicians and members of the public who had been following the case for the past two years.

The lecture was delivered by Professor Andrew Sharp of the political studies department. In it Mr Zaoui said too much was made of the supposed "clash of civilisations".

There was too little regard for the peaceful relations between Islam and, for example, Judaism and Christianity.

The speech ranged from the Koran to St Thomas Aquinas, Shakespeare and the works of Arabic and European intellectuals. But Mr Zaoui related an anecdote from his village in 1967 at the height of Arab-Israeli tension, to illustrate tolerance.

"There was a Jewish cemetery close to the football pitch, and sometimes the soccer ball would bounce into the cemetery.

"I and my fellow players took as much care as possible not to walk on any grave out of respect for the dead, since Islamic traditions prohibit such acts.

"Looking back, it strikes me, wasn't that a beautiful example of tolerance? Despite the inflamed feelings against the state of Israel, the principles my little buddies and I had been taught to hold dear never let us cross the line, or led us to act incorrectly against the symbols of another religion."

He added: "We need to recall these things now as many in the West see Islam as a byword for religious intolerance."

Most at the lecture appeared to be supporters of Mr Zaoui, with questions about why the Government continued to detain him dominating a question-and-answer session."Is there anyone in this room who can explain why we have an Attorney-General who wishes to restrict human rights?" a man asked.

Mr Zaoui's lawyer, Deborah Manning, who fielded questions with Dr Clive Aspin of the Human Rights Foundation, said Mr Zaoui's case was "showing the fragility of our democracy".

Dr Aspin, who visits Mr Zaoui in prison every Friday, said he was highly regarded among inmates and was often called to mediate in disputes. "He is a peacemaker."

Only two people expressed doubts about whether Mr Zaoui was a genuine refugee.

Herald Feature: Ahmed Zaoui, parliamentarian in prison

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