Antisemitism in Islam: Difference between revisions

[[File:Images-nazism-0022.jpg|210px|right|thumb|''Mein Kampf'' has at times sold well when published in some countries in the Muslim world and elsewhere, and is often sold along-side religious literature.<ref name="Alastair Lawson">Alastair Lawson - [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8382132.stm Mein Kampf a hit on Dhaka streets] - BBC News, November 27, 2009</ref><ref name="AFP Mar 18 2005">[{{Reference archive|1=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Culture/Arts/Mar/18/Hitlers-Mein-Kampf-sells-50000-copies-in-Turkey-in-three-months.ashx#axzz1mYj9kPvg|2=2012-02-16}} Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' sells 50,000 copies in Turkey in three months] - Agence France Presse, March 18, 2005</ref> Depicted above are Islamists employing the Nazi salute.]] Jews have historically suffered [[Dhimmitude|dhimmi]] status under [[Khilafah (Caliphate)|caliphates]] of the past, like all religious minorities permitted to keep to their faiths under Islamic rule. At times and places this co-existence was had a quality of tolerance, sometimes persecution. In recent times the Islamic intellectual, social, and political milieu has to a considerable extent grafted itself onto more Western notions of anti-semitism, especially as expressed and ideologized by Nazi Germany. Modern '''Islamic antisemitism''' is consequently based upon a medley of Islamic scriptural citations and new-fangled Western (and especially Nazi) terminologies and tropes. In illustration of this, modern Islamic anti-Jewish polemics often feature in Arab book-fairs and bookstores alongside Arabic translations of Hitlers ''Mein Kumpf'' (sometimes translated in Arabic as "My Jihad"). Some academic scholars date the modern increase in anti-semitism in the Muslim world to the beginnings of the Arab-Israeli conflict, while others trace it to the 19th century and possible influence from Arab Christians.

Any notion of Islamic antisemitism must be distinguished, through both comparison and contrast, from the form of antisemitism which has, and in a few places continues to, oppress Jews in the (usually Christian) West. The English term of antisemitism is usually used to refer to the Western hatred of Jews by Christians which, at least historically, was deeply rooted in Christian religious beliefs about the status of Jews as a people responsible for the murder (deicide) of God in the form of Jesus Christ. There was also the idea of the failure of the Jews to embrace the New Testament and the new covenant with God advanced by Christians. These two ideas, coupled with historical allusions to the religious failures of early Jews according the Old Testament and stereotypes about Jews (such as their financial cunning and exaggerated physique) which accreted in the centuries after Jesus' demise, worked together to constitute a uniquely acute and religious hatred of the Jewish people which in some ways, if not formally than practically, almost amounted to a Christian religious doctrine.

More important today than the historical origins and constitution of either form of antisemitism, however, is how they responded to the rise and fall of Nazi Germany. In the West, the manifestation and consequences of Nazi Ideology threw the incompatibility of Christian antisemitism and Enlightenment values into excruciating sharp relief. Western nations, faced with this fork in the road, decided to marshal popular spirit against Nazi ideology in the name of human rights. By contrast, much of the Muslim world, already at loggerheads with the West due to recent and ongoing struggles against colonialism, positioned itself against the Nazis enemies and thus behind the Nazis. Henceforth, what were once somewhat vaguer notions of anti-Jewish sentiment based largely in Islamic scripture now incorporated much of the pseudo-scientific and rationalized nature of German antisemitism. The expression of Islamic antisemitism in the modern world, while still couched in religious terminology and religiously justified as fundamentally Islamic, often employs the symbolic and practical methods of the Nazis. In summary, the phenomenon of Nazi Germany placed both Western and Islamic antisemitism at a cross roads. And while the West decided at this point in history to overcome its past and begin a secular crusade against antisemitism and other forms of discrimination (with the Civil Rights Movement), the Islamic world found new fuel for antisemitism (in the form of translating Nazi propaganda into Arabic and incorporating the material into textbooks) that would enable it to take its antisemitism to new and previously unknown heights.

The Arabs, Ethiopians, and Assyrians are considered as comprising the Semitic people. However, in the context of "Anti-Semitism", it is commonly understood to refer to people who identify as Jewish. Indeed, the Princeton dictionary explicitly defines antisemitism as an "intense dislike for and prejudice against Jewish people".<ref>[http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=antisemitism Definition - Antisemitism]

''Since the Jews have said that Allah's hand is tied up, their hands will be tied up and they will be cursed. They are obstinant, rebellious, and blasphemous, and Allah has cursed them with enmity and hatred until Judgment day. Allah halts their efforts of warfare, and they are always causing [[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Mischief|mischief]].''

Muhammad is central to Islam. As the [[Uswa Hasana|uswa hasana]] (perfect example), every action on his part (as recorded in the [[hadith]]) is foundational to the [[Islamic Law|laws]] and doctrine of Islam. Emulating Muhammad's [[Sunnah]], or "way", is considered the most pious of endeavors. Many if not most of the following hadiths, while considered authentic and canonical to orthodox Islam, have been cast into doubt by source-critical historians who argue that these traditions may have emerged when latter Muslims sought justification for their hatred of Jews by projecting their views back to Muhammad in the form of mythical anecdotes from his life.  

The latter teaching, among other things, became enshrined as a part of Shariah laws regulating the social presence of dhimmis.

When you look at the many anti-Semitic sermons and articles by Muslim Scholars, the inspiration behind them is hard to miss. Without the anti-Semitic sentiments found within Islamic scripture and classical Muslim thinking, these attacks on the Jewish race would lose much of their meaning and impact among the Muslim listeners.{{Quote|Sayyid Qutb (D. 1966), In the Shade of the Qur'an, vol. 8: Surah 9|History witnessed repeated violations by the Jews of their treaties with the Muslim state in Madinah, as also their scheming against the Muslims. These violations led to the encounters with the Jewish tribes of Qaynuqa, al-Nadir and Qurayzah, and also the Battle of Khaybar. Their efforts to bring together all the forces hostile to Islam in an unholy affiance, with the aim of exterminating Islam altogether, are well known.

Mein Kampf, written by Adolf Hitler, is a modern-day best-seller in the Arab and wider Islamic world in countries including including: Egypt, Palestine,<ref name="Mein Kampf a best-seller">Sean O'Neill and John Steele - [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1388161/Mein-Kampf-for-sale-in-Arabic.html Mein Kampf for sale, in Arabic] - The Telegraph, March 19, 2002</ref><ref>[http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/292.htm Hitler's Mein Kampf In East Jerusalem And PA Territories] - MEMRI: Special Dispatch, No. 48, October 1, 1999</ref> Turkey,<ref name="AFP Mar 18 2005" /><ref name="Antisemitism in Turkey">[http://www.memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP90005 Antisemitism in the Turkish Media] - MEMRI - April 28, 2005</ref> and had also sold well in London areas with large Arab populations.<ref name="Mein Kampf a best-seller" /> It is often sold along-side religious literature. ''Mein Kampf'' is sometimes translated as "My Jihad" in Arabic. Mein Kampf has sold as well as Dan Brown's latest novel in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where sales of the book have been reported to soar around Eid, likely due to its being bought by significant numbers as an Eid gift.<ref name="Alastair Lawson" />

The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is a 19^th century anti-Semitic tract that remains immensely popular in the Islamic world.<ref>[http://www.memritv.org/subject/en/363.htm The Protocols of the Elders of Zion] - MEMRI TV</ref><ref name="Antisemitism in Turkey" /> It was a forgery made in Russia for the Okhrana (secret police) and blames the Jews for the country’s ills. It was first privately printed in 1897 and was made public in 1905. Adolf Hitler later used the Protocols to help justify his attempt to exterminate Jews during World War II.<ref>Robert T. Carroll - [http://www.skepdic.com/protocols.html Protocols of the Elders of Zion] - The Skeptic's Dictionary</ref> Its popularity has led to it being adapted as a TV mini-series broadcasted in various Islamic countries.<ref>[http://www.adl.org/special_reports/protocols/protocols_recycled.asp Protocols Recycled] - Anti-Defamation League, January 9, 2004</ref>

As with [[Islam_and_Homosexuality#Treatment_of_Homosexuals|homophobic writing]], anti-Semitic literature in the Muslim world is not confined to bookstores. The following are extracts taken from 2010-11<ref>Charles Lewis - [{{Reference archive|1=http://life.nationalpost.com/2011/09/28/saudis-export-anti-christian-and-anti-jewish-textbooks-across-the-world-report/|2=2011-10-04}} Saudis export anti-Christian and anti-Jewish textbooks across the world: report] - National Post, September 28, 2011</ref> Saudi Ministry of Education Textbooks for Islamic Studies:

Anti-Semitic incidents around the world more than doubled in 2009 compared to the previous year, and most violent attacks in Western Europe came from people of Arab or Muslim heritage.

100 percent of Jordanians view Jews unfavorably

Among adults 39 percent of Muslim Swedes have a systematically negative view of Jews compared to 5 percent among the rest

Jews left Sweden when hate crimes double

About 2 out of 5 British Muslims believe Jews are "a legitimate target"

Some modern and especially Western Islamic authorities make efforts to portray Muhammad in a better light vis-a-vis Jews by suggesting that he attended a Jew's funeral and forgave a Jewish woman who used to throw garbage and carrion at his doorstep.<ref>A repetitive example can be found here: [http://tablighijamaattruth.blogspot.in/search?q=jew]</ref> Traditionally these stories are considered [[Mawdu' (Fabricated Hadith)|weak or fabricated hadiths]] are therefore not considered legitimate basis for doctrine by traditional and mainstream Islamic authorities<ref>http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-1204985</ref><ref>Bukhari 1250 is misquoted here: [http://dailyhadith.abuaminaelias.com/2011/03/30/the-prophet-stood-up-for-the-funeral-of-a-jew-out-of-respect-for-his-humanity/]. The site quotes Sahih Muslim correctly but ignores [https://sunnah.com/muslim/11/31 this] hadith from the same book, where Muhammad says the dead Jew is being punished eternally.</ref>. most often these favorable anecdotes from the prophet's life are taken from hadith and sira books that are otherwise dismissed by the same modern and western authorities as unreliable, such as [[Ibn Ishaq]], Ibn Saad and ''Al-Mustadrak alaa al-Sahihain''.<ref>http://seekershub.org/ans-blog/2011/02/11/is-it-true-that-someone-threw-trash-on-the-prophet-peace-and-blessings-of-allah-be-upon-him/</ref><ref>http://www.islamweb.net/emainpage/index.php?page=showfatwa&Option=FatwaId&Id=283960</ref>