Skip to content
polarisation

The recipe against polarisation: always keep talking

Polarisation is everywhere, but Andrei (chair of the Jewish student association) and his Muslim counterpart Mus’ab want to continue talking.

‘My grandparents taught me to always actively seek connection’, says Andrei Dontu (21). The International Business student has been chair of the Jewish student association IJAR in Groningen since September. ‘My grandparents fled from Poland to Transylvania in 1939. They taught me Jewish values and norms, such as: treat others as you want to be treated yourself.’

Mus’ab: ‘You should first engage with the other person before judging’

Mus’ab Ndayisaba (19) studies Islamic Sciences at the Al Islah Foundation. He too remembers the lessons of his childhood well. ‘I grew up in Rwanda where I was taught the principle that you should first engage with the other person before judging.’ Since the summer, Mus’ab has been the chair of the Islamic student union DEEN, founded in 2018. ‘There was no place for Muslim youth yet, so we started our own association’, says Mus’ab. ‘We want to inspire our members to learn about Islam. That’s why we hold information evenings and lectures with speakers who come and talk about important topics.’

Sometimes people are so convinced they are right that they are no longer able to listen to the other

IJAR has been active in the Groningen student community since the 1970s. ‘We bring Jewish students together through lectures, holidays and Shabbat dinners’, says Andrei. IJAR has a clear mission in Groningen: ‘We want to celebrate our Jewish identity and work on developing good ties with other communities in Groningen so that there is no room for polarisation.’

Polarisation occurs when people are so convinced they are right that they are no longer able to listen to the other. By the way, polarisation is not only negative, because in a democracy it is important to have different opinions. It starts to become a problem when differences of opinion lead to unbridgeable gaps between groups.

Andrei: ‘Our members have been waiting for such a dialogue for a long time’

Mus’ab and Andrei want to encourage mutual understanding. They organise inter-religious dialogues, for example. ‘It is a great initiative, a first step to bring communities together’,  says Andrei. ‘Our members have been waiting for such a dialogue for a long time, because they want to be heard.’ During the interfaith dialogues, speakers from different religions engage in conversation about common ground and connection.

‘We have more similarities than differences’, says Mus’ab. ‘People don’t realise how much they are alike. The name Allah, or God, appears in many religions. Jesus is the central figure in Christianity, but in Islam he is also an important prophet and for religious Jews he is an inspirational teacher.’ Andrei: ‘Nowadays, we label each other very quickly, but many of our experiences are similar.’

Both Andrei and Mus’ab want to combat us-versus-them thinking

One issue on which opinions differ widely is the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict. It is an issue with which members of both organisations feel heavily connected. Muslims and Jews are on different sides of the divide in this conflict, which is threatening to become unbridgeable. Andrei and Mus’ab want to prevent that and are reaching out to each other. They want to combat the us-versus-them thinking.

‘Many members feel they have become targets of anger and grief’, says IJAR chair Andrei. ‘They suffer from sleeping problems and find it difficult to concentrate.’ Last month was quieter, although Andrei himself faced aggression. ‘I am sometimes called a Zionist. People use that term derogatorily. They want to link me to misdeeds of the Israeli government.’

Hanze and RUG are trying their best, but they it is not effective, they should do more

Mus’ab does not hear many stories of negative treatment within DEEN. ‘I often wear a qamis (Islamic cloak, ed.) and then people look at me on the street with fear and distrust.’ Mus’ab understands. ‘When I see people in Rwanda who are not wearing normal clothes, I look at them the same way, it’s natural.’

Andrei is also getting a lot of support. ‘People in Groningen are understanding. I receive a lot of kind messages from people you wouldn’t readily expect it.’

To ensure that polarisation does not grow any further, DEEN and IJAR think Hanze and the University of Groningen should do more to combat it. ‘They are trying their best, but it is not effective,’ says Andrei. ‘They try to create equal spaces for Muslim and Jewish students, but more is needed. Teachers need to be better instructed. How can they recognise anti-Semitism and what can they do about it?’

Mus’ab: ‘We have a responsibility not to be neutral when an injustice or genocide takes place’

Mus’ab feels that institutions are particularly inactive around the war in Gaza. ‘It is a sensitive issue, but Hanze and RUG remain neutral while a genocide is taking place in Gaza.’ (the interview with Mus’ab and Andrei took place before the armistice, ed.) DEEN believes the two Groningen educational institutions should sever ties with Israeli institutions. ‘As human beings, we have a responsibility not to be neutral when an injustice or genocide takes place. Those who say nothing are complicit.’

The two presidents not only talk to each other themselves, they encourage students to do the same. ‘An Orthodox friend gave me a book of St Moses. From that, I learnt a lot about his life and parables,’ says Mus’ab. ‘I chose abu Moses because he is from East Africa, just like me. Such a connection gives you a familiar idea and then it’s easier to work with it.’

Andrei also hopes students will want to learn more about other cultures. ‘Visit a mosque or synagogue. I myself started in The Hague where there is a mosque that used to serve as a synagogue. That’s where Judaism and Islam are really connected.’

Picture: Tábata Vilches Maldonado