SPOTLIGHT who happened to be an ancestor of Prophet Mohammad ).
The Koran fully endorses Judaism and requires Muslims to believe in the Torah and to send salutations upon Prophet Abraham during every prayer . It also gives enlightened practitioners of Judaism the same status as enlightened Muslims ( a term known as Momin ). [ KORAN 2:62 ]
Furthermore , it was a Jewish scholar who first recognised Prophet Mohammad , the founder of Islam , to be a prophet of God . Even his beloved uncle , Abu Talib ibn Abdul- Muttalib - who helped protect Muslims on numerous occasions - was a Jew . Prophet Mohammad had an amicable relationship with the Jews ; he saw no harm in doing business with them or inviting them to his home . He did not forcibly convert any Jew to Islam . In fact , he approved of interfaith marriages between Jews and Muslims .
The Prophet Mohammad said , ‘ I have not come to reject any religion , but to reform what has been adulterated in them .’
Then where do anti-Semitic attitudes stem from in the religion ? The answer lies in a verse from the Koran which was revealed when Muslims were in the battlefield . Among those trying to defeat the Muslims during that battle were people who called themselves Jews and Christians . They were attempting to earn the trust of Muslims while plotting to attack them when they let their guard down .
The verse in question seems to order Muslims not to consider the Jews and Christians as their friends . [ KORAN 5:51 ]
However , the words used for Jews and Christians in this particular verse are Yahud and Nassara , which have very specific historical connotations .
The word Yahud is wrongly attributed to all Jews . In reality , it refers to an early group of people who defected from Judaism in the
era of Prophet Yahud ; thereafter they made it their goal to eradicate all prophets sent by God . These were the people responsible for the murder of the Prophet Zachariah . Those who follow in their footsteps today are considered Yahud by Islam ’ s scripture . In a similar fashion , the word Nassara refers to the people of Nazareth and their progeny , who troubled Lord Jesus and who were enemies to prophets . It does not refer to all Christians .
Most Muslims are neither aware of this difference nor interested in learning the subtle nuances of Koranic language . On top of this , there is no hierarchy in Islam which can verify the translations of the Koran . As a result , radical clerics have been successful in turning Muslims against Jews and Christians by manipulating translations of verses like the one mentioned here .
In short , due to factors such as the strife in the volatile Middle East , xenophobia cultivated by political leaders and misinterpreted sacred text propagated by sectarian clerics , the relations between the Jewish and Muslim communities are fragile . However , a look at the core teachings of both religions suggests that Islam and Judaism are very similar and their respective adherents do not have a divinely recognised reason for bearing hostility towards one another .
THE TRUE MEHDI • ISSUE 02 • FEB 2017 7