Aladdin Library

Aladdin is the first multilingual, free online library in the world that offers its subscribers 24/7 access to an online collection of books translated for the first time into Arabic and Persian with the aim of enhancing mutual knowledge among peoples of different cultures and rejecting conflicts of memory, including all forms of Holocaust denial and trivialization. You can read every book cover to cover and – for the first time in an online library – you can download the entire book free of charge. The library allows subscribers to search each and every word of all of the books and articles in the collection.

The library is the result of a partnership that aims to create a network of non-governmental organizations, intergovernmental institutions and private publishers in Europe and in the Muslim world with the objective of providing a multilingual, reliable and free source of knowledge and information easily accessible on the Internet.

Aladdin is a work in progress: the rich content of the library is set to expand with new titles being added on a regular basis. The library’s Committee of Experts, a panel of professionals with expertise in history, politics, literature, social sciences and publishing, selects books for translation on the basis of a firm conviction that knowledge is the foundation of peaceful and harmonious coexistence. The panel thus uses a clear criterion: how much does an average Muslim know about Jewish history and Judaism as a religion? And how informed is an average Jew (or Christian, or any Westerner, for that matter) of Muslim culture and the Islamic faith?

In the absence of reliable sources of information, this huge void of ignorance is being filled with myths, stereotypes and malicious propaganda. The Aladdin Online Library is an attempt to address this issue. The first books in our collection are Arabic and Persian translations of some of the classic books on a dark chapter in human history, the Holocaust.

If you wish to buy any of the books in paperback, you can order online and have it delivered to your doorstep.

The online library itself is part of the broader Aladdin Initiative, a programme launched under the patronage of UNESCO, that brings together more than 200 prominent intellectuals, academics, historians and public figures from Muslim, Jewish, Christian and other cultures and faiths to promote a climate of tolerance and friendship through intercultural dialogue.

We welcome your comments and extend an open invitation to all citizens, civil society actors, historians, academics, educators, human rights activists, NGOs and students, to join us in this partnership for building bridges of knowledge and friendship among cultures.

Committee of Experts

The Aladdin Online Library’s Committee of Experts:

• Mr. André Azoulay, adviser to the King of Morocco and President of the Euro-Mediterranean Anna Lindh Foundation for the Dialogue of Cultures;
• Mrs. Fatiha Benatsou, member of the Social and Economic Council of France ;
• Mr. Jacques Fredj, director of the French Shoah Memorial;
• Mr. Serge Klarsfeld, president of the Association of sons and daughters of Jews deported from France, vice-president of the FMS;
• Mr. Jean-Claude Lescure, university professor, expert in journalism;
• Mr. Jean Mouttapa, senior editor at Editions Albin-Michel, author of “An Arab in Auschwitz”
• Mr. Nicolas Philippe, president and founder, Editions Le Manuscrit (France);
• Mr. Abe Radkin, executive director of the Human Rights Foundation, with long experience of work on human rights issues in the Middle East;
• Mrs. Anne-Marie Revcolevschi, director general of the French Shoah Memorial Foundation, former director for international cooperation at the Ministry of Research and Education
• Mr. René Samuel Sirat, former Chief Rabbi of France, a veteran of interfaith dialogue and an expert in Jewish-Muslim relations