A controversy that flared over the sale...

A controversy that flared over the sale by the Islamic Center of Southern California of what was called a book defaming Jews has been apparently resolved with an interfaith statement urging that no religious group distribute materials that slander those of another faith.

The resolution adopted unanimously by the Interreligious Council of Southern California also refers to the recent massacre of Jewish worshipers at an Istanbul synagogue and cautions religious leaders against “associating these criminal acts, such as the synagogue massacre, to any religion or any religious group or people.”

The Los Angeles controversy erupted after a Sept. 7 news conference at the Islamic Center was called by Christian, Muslim and Jewish leaders to condemn the terrorist killings in Istanbul. Some Jewish visitors to the center’s bookstore were outraged when they found for sale the book, “Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” which Jewish officials say is a fraudulent tract used by anti-Semitic groups for years.

Dr. Maher Hathout, an Interrelgious Council representative from the Islamic Center, said “Protocols” would not be sold in the future at the bookstore. Another official at the center confirmed those plans, and noted that the few remaining copies of the book were sold quickly because of the attention it received in the press.

The Interreligious Council has members from Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh Dharma and Bahai organizations.

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