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This article is about the relationship between Islam and antisemitism. The nature and extent of Antisemitism in Islam is a hotly-debated issue in contemporary Middle East politics. ANTISEMITISM IN THE CONTEXT OF ISLAM Various opinions of Antisemitism in the context of Islam are given by the scholars. The extent of antisemitism among Muslims varies depending on the chosen definition:
QUR'AN There are forty-three specific mentions of the term "Banū Isrāʾīl" (meaning the Children of , the coverage given to Jews is relatively insignificant.Lewis ''Semites and Anti-Semites'' 127 The , many of these passages reflect the struggles Muhammad had with the Jews of Medina , depicting negative pictures of the Jews. Other passages, however, speak more respectfully of them as the possessors of an earlier divine revelation and accord them with a degree of tolerance.Lewis ''Semites and Anti-Semites'' 122 According to Laqueur, conflicting statements about Jews in the Quran have defined Muslim attitudes towards Jews to this day, especially during periods of rising Islamic Fundamentalism .Laqueur 191 Judaism in Muslim theology Bernard Lewis writes that there is nothing in Muslim theology (with a single exception) that can be considered refutations of Judaism or ferocious anti-Jewish diatribes.Lewis (1999), p.126 Scholars on Islam (Lewis Lewis (1999), p.117-118 and Jerome ChanesChanes (2004), pg. 40-5) suggest that Muslims were not antisemitic for the most part due to the Quran and it's perception of God. They argue that the Qur'an: #orders Muslims to profess strict monotheism, as does Judaism; #views the stories of Jewish Deicide as a blasphemous absurdity, and other similar stories in the gospels are not part of the educational system in Muslim society; #did not present itself as a fulfillment of the Hebrew Bible but rather a restorer of its original messages that had been distorted over time - thus no clash of interpretations between Judaism and Islam could arise, and, #views Muhammad as fully human, not a Son of God or Messiah, a claim less offensive to Jews. In addition Lewis argues that the Quran lacks popular western traditions of "guilt and betrayal". Lewis ''Semites and Anti-Semites'' 122 Rosenblatt and Pinson suggest that the Quran teaches the toleration of Judaism as a fellow monotheistic faith.Pinson; Rosenblatt (1946), pg. 112-119 Schwietzer and Perry argue that the Quran () clears Jews from the accusation Deicide , and states "they killed him [Jesus not". They also argue that the Jewish Bible has not been incorporated in the Islamic text, and "virtuous Muslims" are not contrasted with "stiff-necked, criminal Jews". Khaleel Mohammed, associate professor of religion, asserts that the Quran respects Judaism. He claims that the Quran refers to the Torah as a book of light, () and tells the Jews that they are entitled to the kingdom of heaven. (, , , ) Mohammed, Khaleel, "Symposium: The Koran and Anti-Semitism" , FrontPageMag.com , June 25, 2004. (retrieved May 3, 2006) According to Stillman, the Quran praises Moses , and depicts the Israelites as the recipients of divine favour. The Quran dedicates many verses to the glorification of Hebrew prophets, says Leon Poliakov. He quotes verse as an example, We gave him Isaac and Jacob: all (three) guided: and before him, We guided Noah, and among his progeny, David, Solomon, Job, Joseph, Moses, and Aaron: thus do We reward those who do good: And Zakariya and John, and Jesus and Elias: all in the ranks of the righteous: And Isma'il and Elisha, and Jonas, and Lot: and to all We gave favour above the nations. Attacks on Jews The Qur'an contains attacks on JewsPoliakovLaqueur 192Gerber 78 for their refusal to recognize Muhammad as a Prophet of God . "The Quran is engaged mainly in dealing with the sinners among the Jews and the attack on them is shaped according to models that one encounters in the New Testament." Uri Rubin, Encyclopedia Of The Qur'an , Jews and Judaism The Muslim holy text defined the Arab and Muslim attitude towards Jews to this day, especially in the periods when Islamic Fundamentalism was on the rise.Laqueur 191 The standard Quranic reference to Jews is the verse .Lewis ''Semites and Anti-Semites'' 128 It says: And abasement and poverty were pitched upon them, and they were laden with the burden of God's anger; that, because they had disbelieved the signs of God and slain the Prophets unrightfully; that, because they disobeyed, and were transgressors.English translation of the Qur'an by Arberry. Cowardice, greed, and chicanery are a few of the characteristics that the Qur'an ascribes to the Jews.Gerber 78–79 The Qur'an further associates Jews with interconfessional strife and rivalry (Qur'an ). It claims that Jews believe that they alone are beloved of God (Qur'an ), and that only they will achieve salvation (). The Qur'an gives credence to the Christian claim of Jews scheming against Jesus, " ... but God also schemed, and God is the best of schemers."(Qur'an ) In the Muslim view, the Crucifixion Of Jesus was an illusion, and thus the Jewish plots against him ended in failure.Lewis (1999), p. 120 According to Gerber, in numerous verses (; ; ; ; , , ; )Gerber 91 the Qur'an accuses Jews of Altering The Scripture .Gerber 78 Interpretations of the attacks on Jews Poliakov and Uri Rubin agree that the Qur'an differentiates between "good and bad" Jews.Poliakov (1974), pg. 27, pg. 41-3 Rubin further states that the attacks deal mainly "with the sinners among the Jews and the attack on them is shaped according to models that one encounters in the New Testament." Uri Rubin, Encyclopedia Of The Qur'an , Jews and Judaism Tahir Abbas states that the Qur'an speaks favourably of Jews. It also criticizes them for not being grateful of God's blessing on them. The harsh criticisms, Tahir says, were only addressed towards a particular group of Jews, as it is clear from the context of the Qur'anic verses, but the translations usually confuse this by using the general term "Jews". Abbas says that to judge Jews based on the deeds of some of their ancestors is an anti-Qur'anic idea. Abbas, pg.178-179 Khaleel Mohammad suggests that the attacks on Jews should be considered in the context of the Quran. He says many of the attacks are due to the Quran's assumption that Jews are not observing Judaism. He claims that this is due to the fact that Judaism was not a monolithic construct during the time of Muhammad . Thus the Quran reflects arguments between different Jewish groups, says Mohammed. He argues that the attacks on Jews are not at all directed at all Jews but only towards those who committed certain transgressions. Mohammed further claims that criticism of the Jews is not unique to the Quran. The Hebrew Bible and Jewish oral tradition, he says, make similar arguments, blaming the suffering of the Jews because they "transgressed against the covenant". , June 25, 2004. (retrieved May 3, 2006) Jews transformed into apes and pigs The Qur'an refers to some Jews being punished by God and transformed into Ape s or Pig s, in Suras ,, and : And well ye knew those amongst you who transgressed in the matter of the Khaleel Mohammed suggests that these verses are a polemic, addressed to those who "who were making fun of Islamic beliefs". He further suggests that the source of these stories of transformation may be Midrash ic works (including the Talmud ) and Jewish oral tradition. Further he argues that the verse does not stereotype all Jews but only those who violated Sabbath. According to Lewis, the language of abuse was often quite strong among Muslims and the conventional epithets for Jews are apes, and for Christians are pigs. Lewis (1984) p.33 Johannes J. G. Jansen states that many modern preachers have applied this term to the Jews of twentieth century.Johannes J. G. Jansen, The Dual Nature of Islamic Fundamentalism, p. 179 Tolerance for Jews Khaleel Mohammed Mohammed, Khaleel, "Symposium: The Koran and Anti-Semitism" , FrontPageMag.com , June 25, 2004. (retrieved May 3, 2006) suggests that the Quran respects Judaism. He claims that the Quran refers to the Torah as a book of light, () and tells the Jews that they are entitled to the kingdom of heaven. (, , , ) Ali S. Asani suggests that the Quran endorses the establishment of religiously and culturally plural societies and this endorsement has affected the treatment of religious minorities in Muslim lands throughout history. He cites the endorsement of Pluralism to explain why violent forms of anti-Semitism generated in medieval and modern Europe, culminating in the Holocaust, never occurred in regions under Muslim rule. On Pluralism, Intolerance, and the Quran Lacqueur also agrees, stating that some verses of the Quran, notably , preach tolerance towards members of the Jewish faith. Laqueur 192 MUHAMMAD AND HADITH See also Muhammad And The Jews Of Medina During Muhammad's life, Jews lived in the Arabian Peninsula , especially in and around Medina . According to Koppel Pinson and Samuel Rosenblatt, although they initially swore friendship and peace with Muhammad, they later taunted and mocked him, charging him with ignorance. According to Pinson, Rosenblatt and F.E. Peters , they also began to connive with Muhammad's enemies in Mecca to overthrow him (despite having signed a peace treaty ). F.E.Peters(2003), p.194 The Cambridge History of Islam (1977), pp.43-44 After each major battle, Muhammad accused one of the Jewish tribes of treachery and attacked it. Two Jewish tribes were expelled and the last one was wiped out. Esposito (1998), pp.10-11 Pinson and Rosenblatt state that these incidents were not part of policies directed exclusively against Jews, and that Muhammad was more severe with his pagan Arab kinsmen than foreigner monotheists. According to Lewis, since the clash of Judaism and Islam was resolved and ended during Muhammad's lifetime with Muhammad's victory, no Muslim equivalent of the still unresolved theological dispute between Church and Israel fueled antisemitism.Lewis Semites and Anti-Semites 118 Schweitzer and Perry give significance to the fact that the death of Muhammad was not caused by Jews. Hadith The Hadith (recordings of deeds and sayings attributed to Muhammad) use both the terms ''Banu Israil'' and ''Yahud'' in relation to Jews, the latter term becoming ever more frequent and appearing mostly in negative context. According to Norman Stillman : Jews in Medina are singled out as “men whose malice and enmity was aimed at the Apostle of God”. The Yahūd in this literature appear not only as malicious, but also deceitful, cowardly and totally lacking resolve. However, they have none of the demonic qualities attributed to them in mediaeval Christian literature, neither is there anything comparable to the overwhelming preoccupation with Jews and Judaism (except perhaps in the narratives on Muhammad’s encounters with Medinan Jewry) in Muslim traditional literature. Except for a few notable exceptions... the Jews in the Sira and the Maghazi are even heroic villains. Their ignominy stands in marked contrast to Muslim heroism, and in general, conforms to the Qura'nic image of “wretchedness and baseness stamped upon them”Encyclopedia of Islam, ''Yahud'' Muhammad said, "He who wrongs a Jew or Christian will have myself as his indicter on the Day of Judgment." Another hadith says: "A Jew will not be found alone with a Muslim without plotting to kill him."Gerber 78 According to another hadith, Muhammad said: "The Hour will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say. 'O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him.'" (). This hadith has been quoted countless times, and it has become a part of the charter of Hamas .Laqueur 192 According to Schweitzer and Perry, the hadith are "even more scathing (than the Qur'an) in attacking the Jews": They are debased, cursed, anathematized forever by God and so can never repent and be forgiven; they are cheats and traitors; defiant and stubborn; they killed the prophets; they are liars who falsify scripture and take bribes; as infidels they are ritually unclean, a foul odor emanating from them - such is the image of the Jew in classical Islam, degraded and malevolent. ANTISEMITISM IN PRE-MODERN ISLAM Literature According to Lewis, the outstanding characteristic of the classical Islamic view of Jews is their unimportance. The religious, philosophical, and literary Islamic writings tended to ignore Jews and focused more on Christianity. Although, the Jews received little praise or even respect, and were sometimes blamed for various misdeed but there were no fears of Jewish conspiracy and domination, nor any charges of diabolic evil nor accusations of poisoning the wells nor spreading the plague nor were even accused of engaging in Blood Libels until Ottomans learned the concept from their Greek subjects in 15th century. Lewis (1999), p.122, 123, 126, 127 The famous Islamic theologian Al-Ghazali praised the piety of Jews, and described them as "steadfast in faith".Abu Abd el-Rahman, ''Description de k'Afrique septentrionale d'El-Bekri'', translated by Slane, Paris, 1859, pg. 158 Poliakov writes that various examples of medieval Muslim literature portray Judaism as an exemplary pinnacle of faith, and Israel bieng destined by this virtue. He quotes stories from the '' The Book Of One Thousand And One Nights '' that portray Jews as pious, virtuous and devoted to God, and seem to borrow plots from Midrashim . However, Poliakov writes that treatment of Jews in Muslim literature varies, and the tales are meant for pure entertainment, with no didactic aim.Poliakov (1974), pg.77-8. After Ibn Nagraela, a Jew, attacked the Quran by alleging various contradictions in it, Ibn Hazm, a Moor, criticized him furiously. Ibn Hazm wrote that Ibn Nagraela was "filled with hatred" and "conceited in his vile soul."Poliakov (1974), pg.92-3. According to Schweitzer and Perry, some literature during the tenth and eleventh century "made Jews out to be untrustworthy, treacherous oppressors, and exploiters of Muslims". This propaganda sometimes even resulted in outbreaks of violence against the Jews. An eleventh century Moorish poem describes Jews as "a criminal people" and blames them for causing social decay, betraying Muslims and poisoning food and water. Life under Muslim rule Jews living under Muslim rule were known as '' Dhimmi ''s. Under this, they were to be tolerated, and entitled to the protection and resources of the ''Ummah'', the Muslim commonwealth. In return they had to pay tribute known as the '' Jizya ''. Bernard Lewis writes that Jewish communities enjoyed toleration and limited rights as long as they accepted Muslim superiority. These rights were legally established and enforced.Lewis Semites and Anti-Semites 123 Abdul Aziz Said writes that the Islamic concept of Dhimmi , when applied, allowed other cultures to flourish and prevented the general rise of antisemitism.Said, Abdul Aziz (1979) Schweitzer and Perry write that while Jews were better off under Islam than under Christian rule, "there is an antisemitic infrastructure extant in Islam". They give as examples of early Muslim antisemitism: Ninth century "persecution and outbreaks of violence"; tenth and eleventh century antisemitic propaganda that "made Jews out to be untrustworthy, treacherous oppressors, and exploiters of Muslims". This propaganda "inspired outbreaks of violence and caused many casualties in Egypt". An eleventh century Moorish poem describes Jews as "a criminal people" and alleges that "society is nearing collapse on account of Jewish wealth and domination, their exploitation and betrayal of Muslims; that Jews worship the devil, physicians poison their patients, and Jews poison food and water as required by Judaism, and so on." Jews under the Muslim rule rarely faced martyrdom or exile, or forced compulsion to change their religion, and they were fairly free to choose their residence and profession. Their freedom and economic condition varied from time to time and place to place. Lewis (1999) p.131; Stillman (1979), p.27 Forced conversions occurred mostly in the Maghreb, especially under the Almohads , a militant dynasty with messianic claims, as well as in Persia, where Shi'a Muslims were generally less tolerant than their Sunni counterparts. Lewis (1984), pp. 94–95 Notable examples of the cases where the choice of residence was taken away from them includes confining Jews to walled quarters ( Mellah s) in Morocco beginning from the 15th century and especially since the early 19th century. Lewis (1984), p. 28 Spain With the Muslim conquest of Spain, Spanish Judaism flourished for several centuries. Thus, what some refer to as the " Golden Age " for Jews began. During this period the Muslims (at least in Spain) tolerated other religions, including Judaism, and created a heterodox society.Poliakov (1974), pg.91-6 Muslim relations with Jews in Spain were not always peaceful, however. The eleventh century saw Muslim pogroms against Jews in Spain; those occurred in , '' Jewish Encyclopedia ''. 1906 ed. The Muslim grievance involved was that some Jews had become wealthy, and others had advanced to positions of power. The Almohad dynasty, which overthrew the dynasty that ran Spain during the early Muslim era, 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 the Jewish rabbi, Theologian , Philosopher , and Physician Maimonides to feign conversion to Islam before fleeing the country). In Egypt, Maimonides resumed practicing Judaism openly only to be accused of Apostasy . He was saved from death by Saladin's chief administrator, who held that conversion under coercion is invalid. Kraemer, Joel L., ''Moses Maimonides: An Intellectual Portrait'' in ''The Cambridge Companion to Maimonides'' pp. 16-17 (2005) During his wanderings, Maimonides also wrote the is, Muslims , who persecute us severely, and who devise ways to harm us and to debase us…. No nation has ever done more harm to Israel. None has matched it in debasing and humiliating us. None has been able to reduce us as they have…. We have borne their imposed degradation, their lies, their absurdities, which are beyond human power to bear…. We have done as our sages of blessed memory have instructed us, bearing the lies and absurdities of Ishmael…. In spite of all this, we are not spared from the ferocity of their wickedness and their outbursts at any time. On the contrary, the more we suffer and choose to conciliate them, the more they choose to act belligerently toward us. Maimonides, ‘’Epistle to the Jews of Yemen”, translated in Stillman (1979), pp. 241–242 Mark Cohen quotes Haim Hillel Ben-Sasson, a specialist in Medieval European Jewish history, who cautioned that Maimonides' condemnation of Islam should be understood "in the context of the harsh persecutions of the Twelfth Century and that furthermore one may say that he was insufficiently aware of the status of the Jews in Christian lands, or did not pay attention to this, when he wrote the letter." Cohen continues by quoting Ben-Sasson, who argues that Jews generally had a better legal and security situation in the Muslim countries than in Christendom . Mark R. Cohen (1995) p. xvii-xviii Views Mark Cohen , Norman Stillman , Uri Avnery , M. Klien and Bernard Lewis opine that antisemitism in pre-modern Islam is rare, and did not emerge until modern times. Lewis argues that there is little sign any deep-rooted emotional hostility directed against Jews, or any other group, that can be characterized as antisemitism. There were, however, clearly negative attitudes, which were in part the "normal" feelings of a dominant group towards subject groups (which exists in virtually any society). More specifically, the contempt consisted of Muslim contempt for disbelievers.Sources for the following are:
Lewis states that in contrast to Christian Antisemitism , the attitude of Muslims toward non-Muslims is not one of hate, fear, or envy, but rather simply contempt. This contempt is expressed in various ways, such as abundance of Polemic literature attacking the Christians and occasionally also the Jews. "The negative attributes ascribed to the subject religions and their followers are usually expressed in religious and social terms, very rarely in Ethnic or Racial terms, though this does sometimes occur." The language of abuse is often quite strong. The conventional epithets are apes for Jews, and pigs for Christians. Lewis continues with several examples of regulations which were symbolizing the inferiority that non-Muslims living under Muslim rule had to live with, such as different formulae of greeting when addressing Jews and Christians than when addressing Muslims (both in conversations or correspondences), and forbidding Jews and Christians to choose names used by Muslims for their children by the Ottoman times. Lewis (1984) p.33 Abdul Aziz Said writes that the Islamic concept of Dhimmi , when applied, allowed other cultures to flourish and prevented the general rise of anti-Semitism.Said, Abdul Aziz (1979) Leon Poliakov writes that in general, the Jews as dhimmis were accorded a great degree of tolerance. Jerome Chanes writes that during the first seven or eight centuries of Muslim history antisemitic activity was very rare. Pinson and Rosenblatt also suggests that antisemitism "of an all-embracing character" has been rare throughout the history of Islam. Schweitzer and Perry argue that there are two general views of the status of Jews under Islam, the traditional "golden age" and the revisionist "persecution and pogrom" interpretations. The former was first promulgated by Jewish historians in the 19th century as a rebuke of the Christian treatment of Jews, and taken up by Arab Muslims after 1948 as "an Arab-Islamist weapon in what is primarily an ideological and political struggle against Israel". They argue that this idealized view ignores "a catalog of lesser-known hatred and massacres".Frederick M. Schweitzer, Marvin Perry., ''Anti-Semitism: myth and hate from antiquity to the present'', Palgrave Macmillan, 2002, ISBN 0312165617, pp. 267-268. Mark Cohen concurs with this view, arguing that the "myth of an interfaith utopia" went unchallenged until it was adopted by Arabs as a "propaganda weapon against Zionism", Cohen, 1995, p. 6. and that this "Arab polemical exploitation" was met with the "counter-myth" of the "neo-lachrymose conception of Jewish-Arab history", Cohen, 1995, p. 9. which also "cannot be maintained in the light of historical reality".
MODERN MUSLIM ANTISEMITISM Most scholars agree that antisemitism emerged in the Muslim world during modern times. While Bernard Lewis and Uri Avnery date the rise of antisemitism to the establishment of Israel, M. Klein suggests the antisemitism could have been present in the mid-19th century. Muslim Anti-Semitism by Bernard Lewis (Middle East Quarterly) June 1998Avnery, Uri (1968). ''Israel without Zionists''. (New York: Macmillan). pg. 220 Scholars point out European influence, including that of Nazis, and the establishment of Israel as the root causes for antisemitism. Muslim Anti-Semitism by Bernard Lewis (Middle East Quarterly) June 1998Avnery, Uri (1968). ''Israel without Zionists''. (New York: Macmillan). pg. 220 Norman Stillman explains that increased European commercial, missionary and imperialist activities during the 19th and 20th centuries brought anti-Semitic ideas to the Muslim world. Initially these prejudices only found a reception among Arab Christians and were too foreign for any widespread acceptance among Muslims. However, with the rise of the Arab-Israeli Conflict , European anti-Semitism began to gain acceptance in modern literature. Encyclopedia of Islam, ''Yahud'' Nineteenth century According to Mark Cohen , Arab anti-Semitism in the modern world arose relatively recently, in the nineteenth century, against the backdrop of conflicting Jewish and Arab nationalism, and was imported into the Arab world primarily by nationalistically minded Christian Arabs (and only subsequently was it "Islamized"). Mark Cohen (2002), p.208 British Historian Martin Gilbert writes that in the 19th century the position of Jews worsened in Muslim countries. There was a massacre of Jews in Baghdad in 1828. There was another massacre in Barfurush in 1867. In 1839, in the eastern Persia n city of Meshed , a mob burst into the Jewish Quarter , burned the synagogue, and destroyed the Torah Scrolls . Known as the Allahdad Incident . It was only by forcible conversion that a massacre was averted.1 Throughout the 1860s , the Jews Of Libya were subjected to what Gilbert calls Punitive Taxation . In 1864, around 500 Jews were killed in Marrakech and Fez in Morroco. In 1869, 18 Jews were killed in Tunis , and an Arab mob looted Jewish homes and stores, and burned synagogues, on Jerba Island . Gilbert, Martin . ''Dearest Auntie Fori. The Story of the Jewish People''. HarperCollins, 2002, pp. 179-182. In 1875, 20 Jews were killed by a mob in Denmat, Morocco . Elsewhere in Morocco, Jews were attacked and killed in the streets in broad daylight. Gilbert, Martin . ''Dearest Auntie Fori. The Story of the Jewish People''. HarperCollins, 2002, pp. 179-182. In 1891, the leading Muslims in Jerusalem asked the Ottoman authorities in Constantinople to prohibit the entry of Jews arriving from Russia . In 1897, synagogues were ransacked and Jews were murdered in Tripolitania . Gilbert, Martin . ''Dearest Auntie Fori. The Story of the Jewish People''. HarperCollins, 2002, pp. 179-182. In 1903, 40 Jews were murdered in Taza , Morocco. Gilbert, Martin . ''Dearest Auntie Fori. The Story of the Jewish People''. HarperCollins, 2002, pp. 179-182. In 1905, old laws were revived in Yemen forbidding Jews to raise their voices in front of Muslims, to build their houses higher than those of Muslims, and to engage in any traditional Muslim trade or occupation. Gilbert, Martin . ''Dearest Auntie Fori. The Story of the Jewish People''. HarperCollins, 2002, pp. 179-182. Twentieth Century M. Klein suggests that Arab antisemitism differs from European antisemitism in that it "is not distinguished by personal animosity towards Jews, nor do publications stress Judaism as an internal threat, to the majority population. This is basically political, ideological, intellectual, and literary antisemitism that focuses on the external threat which the State of Israel represents for the Arab countries..." M. Klein. New Encyclopedia of Zionism and Israel, ''Anti-semitism'' Standard antisemitic themes have become commonplace in the propaganda of Arab Islamic movements such as Hizbullah and Hamas , in the pronouncements of various agencies of the Islamic Republic Of Iran , and even in the newspapers and other publications of Refah Partisi , the Turkish Islamic party whose head served as Prime Minister in 1996 -97." The language of abuse is often quite strong. For example, the conventional epithets for Jews and Christians are apes and pigs, respectively. Lewis (1984) p.33-34 Arab sermons In 1944 , Mohammad Amin Al-Husayni , mufti of Jersualem, said on Radio Berlin: :"Arabs, rise as one man and fight for your sacred rights. Kill the Jews wherever you find them. This pleases God, history, and religion. This saves your honor. God is with you"Pearlman, M. (1947). Mufti of Jerusalem. London. p. 51 Palestinian preacher tree, which is the tree of the Jews. We believe in this Hadith. We are convinced also that this Hadith heralds the spread of Islam and its rule over all the land… Oh Allah, accept our Martyr s in the highest heavens… Oh Allah, show the Jews a black day… Oh Allah, annihilate the Jews and their supporters… Oh Allah, raise the flag of Jihad across the land… Oh Allah, forgive our sins…" {Link without Title} '' by Henry Ford . Examples of anti-Semitism in the Arab and Muslim world on intelligence.org.il, site of the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Center for Special Studies (C.S.S), Israel. Accessed 24 September 2006.]] In sermons, Jews are commonly referred to as the descendants of pigs and apes, and as calf-worshippers. As Ibrahim Madhi stated, "All spears should be directed at the Jews, at the enemies of Allah, the nation that was cursed in Allah's book. Allah has described them as apes and pigs, the calf-worshipers, idol-worshipers… Whoever can fight them with his weapons, should go out the battle ; whoever can fight them with a machinegun, should go out; whoever can fight them with a sword or a knife, should go out; whoever can fight them with his hands, should go out; This is our destiny… The Jews have exposed their fangs. Nothing will deter them, except the color of their filthy people's blood; nothing will deter them except for us voluntarily detonating ourselves in their midst. They have nuclear power, but we have the power of the belief in Allah… We blow them up in Hadera , we blow them up in Tel Aviv and in Netanya ." Hamas says: Allah did not mete out the punishment of transformation on any nation except the Jews. The significance of it is actual change in the appearance of the Jew and perfect transformation from human to bestial condition... from human appearance to the form of genuine apes, pigs, mice, and lizards....Solnick, Aluma. "Based on Koranic Verses, Interpretations, and Traditions, Muslim Clerics State: The Jews Are the Descendants of Apes, Pigs, And Other Animals" , Middle East Media Research Institute, Special Report - No. 11, November 1, 2002. Accessed March 5 , 2006. Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais is the leading Imam of the Grand Mosque located in the Islamic holy city of Mecca , Saudi Arabia .
In another sermon, on April 19, 2002 , he declared: According to Dr. Leah Kinberg, "Saudi Sheikh Ba'd Bin Abdallah Al-Ajameh Al-Ghamidi , in a sermon in Taif , explained": He also said Jews are “the scum of the human race, the rats of the world, the violators of pacts and agreements, the murderers of the prophets, and the offspring of apes and pigs.”
On May 7, 2002 , in a Saudi state-controlled TV station Talk Show entitled “Modern Muslim Woman” on channel ''Iqraa'', broadcast around the world, a three-and-a-half year old girl was interviewed. In the interview, she said she doesn't like Jews because they are apes and pigs, and it says so in the qur'an.
In April 2002, Egyptian Sheikh . 05 September , 2005 . described Jews in his weekly sermon as "the enemies of Allah, descendants of apes and pigs." On May 5, . Accessed March 4 , 2007. Erel Shalit writes: We need to bear to listen to the accusations from the Arab world, however outrageous and anti-Semitic many of them are, for instance, On July 21, 2006 Syrian Deputy Minister Of Religious Endowment Dr. Muhammad 'Abd Al-Sattar stated on Syrian TV . The Koran used terms that are closer to animals than to humans only with regard to those people. Look at the bestiality they demonstrate in the destruction of the Arab, Lebanese, and Palestinian people. This is why the people who were given the Torah were likened to a donkey carrying books. They were also likened to apes and pigs, and they are, indeed, the descendants of apes and pigs, as the Koran teaches us. "Syrian Deputy Minister of Religious Endowment Muhammad 'Abd Al-Sattar Calls for Jihad and States Jews ‘are the Descendants of Apes and Pigs’" , Middle East Media Research Institute, Special Dispatch Series - No. 1217, Antisemitism Documentation Project, July 28, 2006. Accessed March 5 , 2006. This followed a broadcast on November 8, 2005 in which 'Abd Al-Sattar similarly referred to Jews as "those whom the Koran called the descendants of apes and pigs". A May 2006 study of , May 2006, pp.24-25. According to , June 25, 2004. (retrieved May 3, 2006)Johannes J. G. Jansen suggests that verse was meant to apply to the Jews of Medina, and states that some modern writers have extended this term to the Jews of twentieth century.Johannes J. G. Jansen, ''The Dual Nature of Islamic Fundamentalism'', p. 179 On another occasion, ,' that is, the slaughter of the Jews by Nazism. However, Revisionist have proven that this crime, carried out against some of the Jews, was planned by the Jews' leaders, and was part of their policy… These are the Jews against whom we fight, oh beloved of Allah. On the other hand, [what is our belief about the Jews? Allah has described them as donkeys."[http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/arabs/sermons.html] Islamist groups Many Islamist Terrorist groups have openly expressed anti-Semitic views. Lashkar-e-Toiba 's propaganda arm has declared the Jews to be "Enemies of Islam," and Israel to be the "Enemy of Pakistan".http://www.hinduonnet.com/businessline/2001/01/05/stories/040555ra.htm Amal Saad-Ghorayeb , a Shiite scholar and assistant professor at the Lebanese American University has written that Hezbollah is not Anti-Zionist , but rather Anti-Jewish . She quoted Hassan Nasrallah as saying: "If we searched the entire world for a person more cowardly, despicable, weak and feeble in psyche, mind, ideology and religion, we would not find anyone like the Jew. Notice, I do not say the Israeli."3 Regarding the official public stance of Hezbollah as a whole, she said that while Hezbollah, "tries to mask its anti-Judaism for public-relations reasons ... a study of its language, spoken and written, reveals an underlying truth." In her book, ''Hezbollah: Politics & Religion,'' she explored the anti-Jewish roots of Hezbollah ideology, arguing that Hezbollah "believes that Jews, by the nature of Judaism, possess fatal character flaws." Saad-Ghorayeb also said that "Hezbollah's Quranic reading of Jewish history has led its leaders to believe that Jewish theology is evil." Trends According to Norman Stillman , Antisemitism in Muslim world increased greatly for more than two decades following 1948 but "peaked by the 1970s, and declined somewhat as the slow process of rapprochement between the Arab world and the state of Israel evolved in the 1980s and 1990s." Yahud, Encyclopedia of Islam Johannes Jansen believes that antisemitism will have no future in the Arab world in the long run. In his view, like other imports from the Western World , antisemitism is unable to establish itself in the private lives of Muslims.Jansen, Johannes, J. G. ''Lewis' Semites and Anti-Semites''. The Jewish Quarterly Review. According to the Pew Global Attitudes Project released on August 14 , 2005 , high percentages of the populations of six Muslim-majority countries have negative views of Jews. To a questionnaire asking respondents to give their views of members of various religions along a spectrum from "very favorable" to "very unfavorable," 60% of Turks , 74% of Pakistan is, 76% of Indonesia ns, 88% of Moroccans , 99% of Lebanese Muslims and 100% of Jordan ians checked either "somewhat unfavorable" or "very unfavorable" for Jews.
In 2006 , June 25, 2004. (retrieved May 3, 2006) "and we know that things learned at this stage of life become ingrained, almost to the point of being in one's DNA ." SEE ALSO
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