Fuel for antisemitism in the Qur’an, part 1

No religion perfectly mirrors its scriptures. Nonetheless, Islam’s history begins with the revelation of the Qur’an to Muhammad.

Whatever is good about a faith is likely to be derived from its scriptures; whatever is bad about a faith, likewise. This is true even if the bad elements constitute a distortion or an exaggeration of the holy text.

The Qur’an is ambivalent about Jews and Christians. Some texts commend them; other texts condemn them. The contemporary Muslim community appears to be divided along similar lines. At one extreme, Islamic rhetoric actively promotes hatred of Jews and the West (note the shift from Christianity to “the West”).

After 9/11, I took a good look at the Qur’an for the first time in my life. This month, because of the terrorist bombings in London on July 7, I have been revisiting the same questions that troubled me in 2001.

Muslim apologists insist that Islam is a peaceable religion, but one has to wonder: Where does this murderous hatred of Jews and the West come from? Does the Qur’an provide any justification for it, or is it abberant behaviour on the part of a fringe group?

My studies have led me to the following conclusions:

(1) The Qur’an lays an adequate foundation for peaceful relations between Jews, Christians, and Muslims. The Qur’an recognizes the Torah and the Gospel as authentic revelations from God, and hails Jews and Christians as fellow “people of the book.”

(2) On the other hand, certain texts criticize the Christians and especially the Jews¹ in very strong language. The texts I have in mind are bound to inflame antisemitic prejudices where such sentiments already exist.

1. Islam’s conciliatory face:

Let me begin by quoting a text that is relatively favourable toward Jews and Christians:

To each of you [Jews, Christians, and Muslims]
Allah has given a law
and a way and a pattern of life.
If Allah had pleased He could surely have made you
a single people.
But He wished to try and test you
by that which he gave you.
So try to excel in good deeds.
To him will you all return in the end;
It is he that will show you
the truth of the matters
over which you are in dispute.

Judge between them in the light
of what has been revealed
by Allah, and do not follow their whims,
and beware of them lest they lead you away
from the guidance sent down to you by God.
If they turn away, then know
that God is sure to punish them for some of their sins;
and many of them are transgressors.
(5:48-49)

The text’s commendation of Jews and Christians is rather startling. To paraphrase it:  The Torah and the Gospel are authentic revelations from Allah. There is no essential difference between Jews, Christians, and Muslims. In principle, Allah could have brought all three faiths together to constitute a single people.

On the other hand, “many” Jews and Christians are transgressors, and Muslims are warned not to be led astray by them. Muslims are to take the Qur’an as their guide where there is any disagreement with the other people of the book. Both the concern and the response to it seem perfectly reasonable.

The following quote comes from an article entitled Does the Qur’an Sound Anti-Semitic? I think the article accurately describes Qur’anic texts like the one we have just considered:

Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, was in the line of previous Prophets of Allah, including Prophets Abraham, Moses and Jesus, and the Qur’ân is in the line of previous scriptures revealed by Allah. The Qur’ân does not condemn the Semitic race and, in fact, accords Jews a special status given their shared Prophetic traditions with Islam.

The Qur’ân instead criticizes those Jews who turned away from Allah’s authentic message and admonishes those who scorned and ridiculed Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, and the message of the Qur’ân. Such criticism is similar to the criticism against Jews found in other scriptures, including the Bible, and should be taken by all people as a reminder and warning against forsaking and straying from the authentic message of Allah. Such specific criticism has never been interpreted by learned scholars of the Qur’ân to incite hatred against all Jewish people and should not be confused with anti-Semitism.

In particular, I wish to express my agreement with the statement, “Such criticism is similar to the criticism against Jews found in other scriptures, including the Bible.”

According to the Hebrew scriptures, whenever the nation of Israel went astray, God sent prophets to rebuke and warn them. Isaiah 5 is a good example of the sort of thing I have in mind.

No doubt Muhammad was disappointed that the Jews rejected his message; and, no doubt, it was this rejection that led to some of the criticisms contained in the Qur’an. But such criticism is not inherently “evil” or “antisemitic” — certainly not as long as it does not go beyond the sorts of criticisms contained in the Jews’ own scripture.

[In part 2 we will consider Islam’s hostile face.]

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¹At one point in the Qur’an, 5:82-83, Christians are not only praised but sharply distinguished from the Jews, who are lumped in with idolaters. The text presumably reflects a specific occasion when Muhammad found a favourable reception among Christians.