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See anti-Semitism for etymology and semantics of the term. This article is concerned with the relationship between Islam and anti-Semitism. It covers:
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1 Historic events of Muslim persecution of Jews |
The Quran refers to Jews and Christians (and some other religions) as "people of the book". Muhammad had uneven relations with the Jews and they are condemned several times. The Quran also condemns those Jews who committed grave sins and turned away from the message revealed to them.
The Quran states that "Abraham was not a Jew, nor yet a Christian; but he was an upright man who had surrendered (to Allah), and he was not of the idolaters." (III - The house of Imran 67). This verse asserts that the biblical patriarch Abraham was not a Jew, but that he was a "Muslim" in the word's etymological sense of "one who has surrendered (to God)". Many Jews consider this to be anti-Semitic, arguing that it creates a historical anachronism that usurps the founding patriarch of Judaism, for the purpose of promoting a different religion. Muslims argue that calling him a Jew is itself anachronistic; if Abraham was an ethnic Jew, then the Arabs, as his traditional descendants through Ishmael, would equally have to be called Jews, and Judaism as we know it did not take shape until many centuries later. Many sceptics would argue that even if Abraham existed at the time, monotheism did not.
Islam mandates a limited level of tolerance for both Jews and Christians, as long as they did not challenge the superior status of Islam. Early verses in the Quran limit religious disputations with them to those occurring in a fair manner.
After Muhammad's efforts to convert all Jews and Christians to Islam failed, the sura "Those who reject (Truth), among the People of the Book and among the Polytheists, will be in Hell-Fire, to dwell therein (for aye). They are the worst of creatures. Those who have faith and do righteous deeds,- they are the best of creatures" (XCVIII: The Proof: 6-7) was revealed, and became part of the Quran.
When Muslim armies conquered nations, they did not force people of the Book (a category including Jews) to convert to Islam. Under Sharia law they were given the status of dhimmi, which gave them certain rights, as well as certain responsibilities. As dhimmis, Jews faced a greater level of tolerance under Muslim rule than under Christian rule. Dhimmis were provided with limited autonomy, and allowed to practice their religion. They had to pay the Jizya tax, but were exempted from the Zakat (alms) tax. The exact treatment of dhimmi varied greatly from place to place, although they were generally regarded as second-class citizens.
The constitution of Medina, one of the earliest documents of the Muslim community in Medina, which was transmitted by Ibn Hisham states: "The Jews of Banu Awf [phrases are repeated for the different Jewish communities] are a community along with the believers. To the Jews their religion and to the Muslim their religion."
For Jewish tribes which had treaties with the Muslim umma, the constitution of Medina states: "A Jew who follows us has a right to the same help and support as the believers, so long they are not wronged by him and he does not help others against them."
Using verses from the Quran, some Muslims hold that, although a Muslim must be friendly with Jews and Christians, one should avoid befriending or initializing a friendship with them. This view is still held by many Muslims today. However, Muslims do consider Judaism as one of the divine faiths; a great number of their prophets are of the tribe of the Children of Israel (Bani-Israel):
"We gave him Isaac, and Jacob: all We guided and before him, We guided Noah, and among his progeny David, Solomon, Ayub, Joseph, Moses, and Aaron: Thus do We reward those who do good. And Zakariya and Yahya, and Jesus and Elias: all in the ranks of righteous. And Isma'il and Elisha and Jonah (Yunus) and Lut. And to all we gave favour above the nations." <Qur'an 6:84-86>
Many other prophets are considered to be the descendants of the tribe.
"Bani-Israel" itself means the children of Israel and more or less concerns those of Jewish faith. Those who the Bani-Israel tribe consisted of were regarded as "the preferred ones", as mentioned in the Qur'an:
"O Children of Israel! Call to mind My favour which I bestowed on you and that I preferred you to all others (for my Message)" <Qur'an 2:47>
However, according to Qur'anic verses, the particular tribe showed constant ungratefulness towards God and did not obey the command of their great prophets.
"Indignity is put over them wherever they may be, except when under a covenant (of protection) from God, and from men; they have drawn on themselves the Wrath of God, and destruction is put over them. This is because they disbelieved in the Ayats (evidences) of Allah and killed the Prophets without right. This is because they disobeyed (God) and used to transgress beyond bounds (in God's disobedience, crimes and sins)" <Qur'an 3:112>
However, Muslims are obligated to respect those who believe in the same God.
Around 1000 CE the clinically insane Fatimid Caliph al-Hakim in Egypt ordered the killing of many Jews. Soon after its foundation by Yusuf ibn Tashfin, the Almoravid dynasty attempted to expel all Jews from Morocco in 1107; this effort soon petered out, and in fact one of their own military leaders was Jewish. However, its successor and overthrower the Almohad dynasty, founded by Ibn Tumart, was notoriously intolerant of all other religions, and indeed all other sects of Islam. In 1148, they offered Christians and Jews the choice of conversion or expulsion; in 1165, one of their rulers ordered that all Jews in the country convert on pain of death (forcing Maimonides to flee the country.) This policy was reversed by the succeeding Merinid dynasty in 1212.
Al-Jahiz (d. 869), a ninth century Islamic zoologist and belles-lettriste who authored The Book of Animals, writes that the mouse, cheetah, eel, white ant (termite), and lizard were originally sinful Jews. (See Al-Jahiz, Omar bin Bahar, Kitab Al-Hayawan. Cairo: Mustafa Al-Bai Al-Halabi and sons (1943), Col. I, p. 309.)
Qur'an 7:163 says that God told a group of Sabbath-breakers living by the sea "Be ye apes, despised and rejected" to punish them for breaking the Sabbath. This verse (interpreted to mean that they were turned into apes) is sometimes used by hostile groups to mock the Jews, on the grounds that these must have been Jews, since the Sabbath is a commandment which (according to Islam) God demanded of Jews but not of his other followers. Thus Hamas says:
Similarly, the following quotes are excerpted from a sermon broadcast on Palestinian TV by Dr. Mustafa Najem, Dec. 6, 2002:
In the Islamic Aghlabid dynasty (9th through 11th century, North Africa) Jews were forced to wear a patch that had an image of a monkey, and were also forced to affix said image to their homes. (For Christians, the image was of a pig.) (F. Viré, "Kird," Encyclopedia of Islam, Second Edition.)
Anti-semitic statements are particularly common amongst Muslim clerics in the Middle East; this may be reasonably ascribed to the fact that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has created much anger and polarized religious views in the region. However, it should be remembered that only 25% of the world's Muslim population live in the Middle East. Therefore, such views are not representative of "Islam", but rather of the Muslim communities and political contexts that produce them.
The following sermon was delivered at the Sheik 'Ijlin Mosque in Gaza, Palestinian Authority, The speaker was Sheik Ibrahim Madhi, and it was broadcast on Palestinian Authority television. August 3, 2001
The following sermon was also delivered at the Sheik 'Ijlin Mosque in Gaza, Palestinian Authority, The speaker was Sheik Ibrahim Madhi. June 8, 2001. In the name of Islam the speaker calls for suicide bombers to destroy not only all Jews, but also the United States and Britain.
The following sermon was delivered at the Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan mosque in Gaza. The speaker was Dr. Ahmad Abu Halabiya, an appointed member of the Palestinian Authority Fatwa Council, and is former acting Rector of the Islamic University in Gaza.
There are a number of projects working for peace among Israelis and Arabs; many of these include Jewish-Islamic theological dialogue. One of their goals is to reduce anti-Semitism.
Muslim organizations like the US based Muslim Wake Up! (http://muslimwakeup.com) (MWU) have explicitly denounced anti-semitism.
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