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The historical interaction of Islam and Judaism began in the 7th Century with the spread of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula . Because both of these religions share a common origin in the Middle East , and because of the shared aspects between Judaism and Islam, as well as the influence of Muslim culture and philosophy on practitioners of Judaism within the Islamic world, there has been considerable and continued physical, theological, and political overlap between the two faiths in the subsequent 1,400 years. EARLY RELATIONSHIP According to Islamic holy texts, Muhammad preached that the Pagan Arab s should abandon Polytheism , and accept '' Monotheism ''. The '' Qur'an '' states that Muhammad's teachings were the completion of revelations given to prophets throughout the ages. Judaism (as well as Christianity) share many common traits with Islam such as dietary restrictions forbidding the consumption of pork and common prophets who are revered in both faiths such as Moses and Abraham . Muslims commonly refer to Jews as fellow ' People Of The Book ' as in people who follow the same general teachings in relation to the worship of the one God worshipped by Abraham. In addition, due to the similarities between Hebrew and Arabic (the language used by Muslims for religious purposes) as Semitic Languages , many Muslim and Jewish terms are similar including the words for greetings, 'salam' and 'shalom'. Islamic view of the Torah Islam affirms that Moses was given a revelation, Torah , which Muslims call Tawrat , and believed to be the word of Allah . However, they also believe that this original revelation was modified over time by certain scribes and preachers. According to Islamic belief, the present Jewish scriptures are not the original divine revelations given to Moses. As a result, Muslims believe the Qur'an is the final revelation from Allah and a completion of the previous revelations. HISTORICAL Jew s have often lived in predominantly Islam ic nations. Since many national borders have changed over the fourteen centuries of Islamic History , a single community, such as the Jewish community in Cairo , may have been contained in a number of different nations over different periods. Jewish ethnic groups that have lived in the majority- Islamic World include Sephardi , Mizrahi , and Temani . The majority Muslim populations were generally tolerant of the Jewish minority and lived in relative peace with each other. Spain (711-1492) See Also: Golden age of Jewish culture in Spain Ottoman Empire (1326-1800) See Also: History of the Jews in Turkey Iraq See Also: History of the Jews in Iraq Persia and Iran (711-1900) See Also: Persian Jews North Africa Tunisia See Also: History of the Jews in Tunisia Morocco See Also: History of the Jews in Morocco Egypt See Also: History of the Jews in Egypt Algeria See Also: History of the Jews in Algeria Central Asia and the Mongol Khanates '' Dar Ul-Islam '' was considered the golden '' Medinah '' for the medieval Jew because of the considerable ease to observe '' Kashrut '' and the '' Halakha '' in a land where '' Halal '' and the '' Shari'a '' were maintained, unlike in Christian countries. The Mongol s, being Shamanists , Buddhist s, Nestorian Christian s and Muslim s at different stages of the Mongol domination of Turan , greatly enhanced Jewish social status, partly due to the Mongols' strategic interests with Jewish merchants. It is conjectured that the Yiddish word for the ''kippa'', '' Yarmulke '', derived from the Turkic word ''yarmuk'', meaning "rain cover". There are also accounts of special Mongol charters protecting Jews all over the Golden Horde in the events when the Khans' Muslim or Christian subjects directed their hostilities towards the Jews. The Yiddish Culture of Eastern Europe in modern times had extensive affinities to the Muslim Tatar cultures of Crimea , Russia , Poland-Lithuania and the North Caucasus . Jewish '' Klezmer '' bands often celebrate the themes of "Bulgarsky", revealing the origin of ''klezmer'' music in Eurasian Bulgaria (not the Balkans ). It is safe to say that the culture of the Eastern European Shtetl s had the same soul as the Tatar cultures of Russia and Ukraine . However, in the rather fervently Sunni Mongol khanate of the Timurid s and the Uzbek s, a light '' Jiziyya '' (tax) that was collected yearly, was imposed on the Jews of Central Asia, especially Bukhara . INTERPLAY BETWEEN JEWISH AND ISLAMIC THOUGHT See Also: Joint Jewish and Islamic Philosophies There was a great deal of intellectual and Early Muslim Philosophy '' Major thinkers in Jewish and Islamic philosophy See Also: Saadia Gaon One of the most important early Jewish philosophers influenced by Islamic philosophy is Rav Saadia Gaon ( 892 - 942 ). His most important work is '' Emunoth Ve-Deoth '' (Book of Beliefs and Opinions). In this work Saadia treats of the questions that interested the Motekallamin so deeply—such as the creation of matter, the unity of God, the divine attributes, the soul, etc. — and he criticizes the philosophers severely. The 12th Century saw the apotheosis of pure philosophy. This supreme exaltation of philosophy was due, in great measure, to Gazzali ( 1058 - 1111 ) among the Arabs, and to Judah Ha-Levi (1140) among the Jews. Since no idea and no literary or philosophical movement ever germinated on Arabian soil without leaving its impress on the Jews, Gazzali found an imitator in the person of Judah ha-Levi. This illustrious poet took upon himself to free religion from the shackles of speculative philosophy, and to this end wrote the ''Cuzari'', in which he sought to discredit all schools of philosophy alike. Maimonides endeavored to harmonize the philosophy of Aristotle with Judaism; and to this end he composed his immortal work, ''Dalalat al-Ḥairin'' (Guide of the Perplexed)—known better under its Hebrew title ''Moreh Nevuchim''—which served for many centuries as the subject of discussion and comment by Jewish thinkers. In this work, Maimonides considers Creation, the unity of God, the attributes of God, the soul, etc., and treats them in accordance with the theories of Aristotle to the extent in which these latter do not conflict with religion. For example, while accepting the teachings of Aristotle upon matter and form, he pronounces against the eternity of matter. Nor does he accept Aristotle's theory that God can have a knowledge of universals only, and not of particulars. If He had no knowledge of particulars, He would be subject to constant change. Maimonides argues: "God perceives future events before they happen, and this perception never fails Him. Therefore there are no new ideas to present themselves to Him. He knows that such and such an individual does not yet exist, but that he will be born at such a time, exist for such a period, and then return into non-existence. When then this individual comes into being, God does not learn any new fact; nothing has happened that He knew not of, for He knew this individual, such as he is now, before his birth" (''Moreh'', i.20). While seeking thus to avoid the troublesome consequences certain Aristotelian theories would entail upon religion, Maimonides could not altogether escape those involved in Aristotle's idea of the unity of souls; and herein he laid himself open to the attacks of the orthodox. Ibn Roshd ( Averroes ), the contemporary of Maimonides, closes the philosophical era of the Arabs. The boldness of this great commentator of Aristotle aroused the full fury of the orthodox, who, in their zeal, attacked all philosophers indiscriminately, and had all philosophical writings committed to the flames. Driven from the Arabian schools, Arabic philosophy found a refuge with the Jews, to whom belongs the honor of having transmitted it to the Christian world. A series of eminent men—such as the Tibbon s, Narboni , Gersonides —joined in translating the Arabic philosophical works into Hebrew and commenting upon them. The works of Ibn Roshd especially became the subject of their study, due in great measure to Maimonides, who, in a letter addressed to his pupil Joseph Ibn Aknin , spoke in the highest terms of Ibn Roshd's commentary. Influence on exegesis The influence which the Arabic intellect exercised over Jewish thought was not confined to philosophy; it left an indelible impress on the field of Biblical Exegesis also. Saadia Gaon's commentary on the Bible bears the stamp of the Motazilites ; and its author, while not admitting any positive attributes of God, except these of essence, endeavors to interpret Biblical passages in such a way as to rid them of Anthropomorphism . The Jewish commentator, Abraham Ibn Ezra , explains the Biblical account of Creation and other Scriptural passages in a philosophical sense. Nahmanides (Rabbi Moshe ben Nahman), too, and other commentators, show the influence of the philosophical ideas current in their respective epochs. This salutary inspiration, which lasted for five consecutive centuries, yielded to that other influence alone that came from the neglected depths of Jewish and of Neoplatonic Mysticism , and which took the name of '' Kabbalah ''. Influences on worship The '' Zohar '', a work of '' Kabbalah '', permits travelling Jews, in the circumstance where the number of Jews are insufficient to form a '' Minyan '', to pray alongside Muslims in a '' Salaat '', provided that Jewish prayers be uttered by the Jews. However, this recommendation did not enter the Jewish law and was never followed in practice. SEE ALSO
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