Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D
The present conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians in
the Holy Land has created the false impression that the tension between Jews
and Muslims has been going on for centuries. That is not correct. Peaceful
coexistence has occurred in many places. In fact, Islam (meaning “submission”
to God’s will) recognizes that it owes a great deal to Judaism (and
Christianity) in its formulation of its own faith.
I grew up in Turkey and had a good exposure to Islam. I have
visited and, in fact, attended many
services at Mosques in many parts of the country and, later on, studied Arabic
at the University of Pennsylvania.
Islam began when Mohammad, born in Mecca around 570 CE, claimed
to have received his first revelation from God in 610. After he and his
followers escaped Mecca (in 622) for a northern city called Yathrib, later
known as Medina, Mohammad interacted with a number of Jewish tribes. At the
beginning, relationships were good but as Jews began to refuse Mohammad’s claims
to prophecy, things began to sour between them, and Mohammad started to come up
with statements critical of Jews as well as Christians. Thus, for example, even
though he had identified these two groups as the “people of the book” (namely
the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament; see, Sura 3: 84), he later on told his
followers, “Do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies; some of them are
allies of one another” (Sura, 5:51). After Mohammad’s conquest of Mecca in 630,
he began to come out with newer religious teachings. These eventually became
the substance of the Koran, the sacred text in Arabic of the newly formed faith.
He died in Mecca in 632 at the age of 62, and was followed by Abu-Bakr
(632-634), Uthman (644-656), and Ali (656-661). Some Muslims, namely the
Shiites, believed that Ali should have followed Muhammad as caliph
(“successor”), and therefore split from the Sunni Muslims. Today, for example, while
most people in Iran are Shiite, the
majority of Turks are Sunnis. It is
estimated that 90% of the Muslims are Sunnis and 10% are Shiite. There are a
few differences between these two Muslim groups with regards to some religious
practices but not concerning the main instructions of the Koran.
Islam promotes five major teachings: 1. It is monotheistic,
and declares the unity of God and promotes Mohammad as God’s messenger; 2. It
requires 5 different prayer services during the day, facing Mecca; 3. It
demands that 2.5% of one’s savings be given to the poor and the needy; 4. It
asks that followers fast and exercise self-control during the daylight hours of
the holy month of Ramadan, the 9th month of the Muslim calendar;
and, finally, 5. It encourages Muslims to undertake a pilgrimage to Mecca, at least once in a
lifetime, if one is able.
During the medieval times, in spite of the fact that both
Jews and Christians were considered dhimmis, namely, second class
citizens in the Muslim world, Jews, especially, were able to create kind of a
“golden age” for a period of time in Andalucía, Spain, where they spoke and
wrote in Arabic, and gave rise to great philosophers and poets, like Ibn Ezra,
Judah Halevi and Maimonides. However, because of deteriorating circumstances
and the Reconquista of Spain by the Christians, Jews were expelled from Spain
in 1492, who then spread through North Africa and all over Europe, including
the Ottoman Empire.
Judaism, Christianity and Islam share a number of teachings:
1. They are all monotheists, but Muslims do not accept Jesus as
divine.
2. Islam recognizes the biblical prophets, both Jewish and
Christians, but these two groups do not accept Mohammad as a prophet.
3. All three religions consider Jerusalem a holy city.
4. Both Jews and Muslims require circumcision of males, even though
Jews do it on the 8th day after birth and Muslims shortly before
puberty. Christians do not require this procedure.
5. During worship services, most Jews and all Muslims cover their
heads, whereas among Christians nuns do that. Also, in the Catholic Church, the Syrian Orthodox church and in Anglicanism, clerics wear a zucchetto, like a skullcap.
6. Both Jews and Muslims stay away from eating pork, and follow certain
required rules of diet. Christians have no restrictions regarding food, except
during Lent (no meat).
7. Jews or Muslims do not allow sculptures or human images in their
respective houses of worship, even though Christians do.
In our time, especially in the USA, there is a strong
movement towards establishing respectful
relationship among the clergy of the main three faiths, especially in religious
associations of all the professionals. And, that is the way it ought to be.
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