Muslim Anti-Semitism

Part I

There have always been people who hate the Jews and most of them probably without knowing any Jews. The Muslim world has been growing increasingly verbal in calling for hatred against the Jews as well as genocidal action against them. There is a rash of statements from Muslim sources claiming that Muslims are commanded to kill the Jews wherever they find them. The following comes from a variety of sources. At the end of these sources, I want to evaluate them in a Biblical context.

“Last week, the principal Palestinian Authority religious leader, the Mufti Muhammad Hussein, presented the killing of Jews by Muslims as a religious Islamic goal. At an event celebrating the 47th anniversary of the founding of Fatah, he cited the Hadith (Islamic tradition attributed to Muhammad) saying that the Hour of Resurrection will not come until Muslims fight the Jews and kill them: "The Hour [of Resurrection] will not come until you fight the Jews. The Jew will hide behind stones or trees. Then the stones or trees will call: 'Oh Muslim, servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.'" (PA Mufti: Muslims' destiny is to kill Jews; Jan. 15, 2012)

“Despite promises to clean up violent and xenophobic content from textbooks, recent editions in Saudi Arabia continue to teach school children barbaric practices. Fox News network, which was able to obtain translated copies of the recently printed books from the Institute for Gulf Affairs in Washington, DC, said that the books teaches ninth graders that the annihilation of Jews is imperative. "The hour [of judgment] will not come until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them," one part reads. "There is a Jew behind me, come and kill him." The reviewed editions were printed for the 2010-2011 academic year. (Source)

“Then after all of this, it is said: “Our struggle against the Jews is a struggle for land and a border dispute!!” And the desired solution is to establish a petty Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, so that the followers of the three monotheistic – or so they claim - faiths can live in it. Are these people ignorant of the fact that the only Religion acceptable in the sight of Allaah is Islaam?” (Source)

“There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors.” (Source)

“Quran condemns Jews to extermination, "destruction of Jews" will bring "blessing" Source: Al-Aqsa TV (Hamas), July 13, 2008 Hamas cleric:
"The Meccan [Quran] chapter entitled 'Jews' or 'Children of Israel' is remarkable... It's about today's Jews, those of our century, and speaks only of extermination and digging graves... This chapter sentences the Jews to extermination before a single Jew existed on earth... Palestine's blessing is linked to destruction of the center of global corruption [Jews of Israel], the snake's head. When the snake's head of [global] corruption is cut off, here in Palestine, and when the octopus' [Jew's] tentacles are cut off around the world, the real blessing will come with the destruction of the Jews, here in Palestine, and it is one of the splendid real blessings in Palestine." (Source)

Extermination of Jews will be good for humanity
Source: Al-Rissala (Hamas weekly), Apr. 23, 2007

In an article promoting the continued use of suicide terror in the official Hamas newspaper:
"We find occasional condemnation and denunciation of the resistance operations and bombings [suicide attacks], carried out by Hamas and the Palestinian resistance branches... [Eventually] everyone will know that we did this [suicide attacks] only because our Lord commanded so - 'I did it not of my own accord' [Quran] - and so that people will know that the extermination of Jews is good for the inhabitants of the world." (Source)

"Don't be afraid of those Zionists. They are on the verge of death. Their time has passed. Do not surrender your people to them… Don't you know the nature of the Zionists? Don't you know who the Zionists are? They came in order to take over our region in its entirety. At first, they said that they wanted [a country] from the Nile to the Euphrates. Once they got settled, they said that there had been a mistake, and that they wanted all the Islamic lands… Unless they are put in their place at the very beginning of their conspiracy and fitna, they will jeopardize the security of the whole world, they will jeopardize the security of the whole region… They want the entire world. At their very first step, you must crush their step, crush their leg, so that they do not dare to invade the Islamic lands" [8] (April 22, 2009) (Source)

Part II

There have been many threats against the Jews since the time that Mohammed was supposed to have lived. There are hadiths that relate to the end of the Jews and the end of the world. Consider the following:

Sahih Muslim. 6985 “Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: The last hour would not come unless the Muslims will fight against the Jews and the Muslims would kill them until the Jews would hide themselves behind a stone or a tree and a stone or a tree would say: Muslim, or the servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him; but the tree Gharqad would not say, for it is the tree of the Jews.”

There was no nation of Israel when Muhammad uttered these words. Any Jew anywhere would be a target for killing. A victory over all the Jews would be the goal. The hatred toward the Jews was more recently expressed in the words of Ahmad Bahar, Acting Chairman of Parliament (Hamas):

“Be certain that America is on its way to disappear, America is wallowing [in blood] today in Iraq and Afghanistan, America is defeated and Israel is defeated, and was defeated in Lebanon and Palestine… Make us victorious over the infidel people… Allah, take hold of the Jews and their allies, Allah, take hold of the Americans and their allies… Allah, count them and kill them to the last one and don’t leave even one.” (Source)

There are some important theological implications about these statements and goals of the Muslims.

If the Jews were annihilated completely it would mean that the words of Yahweh would not be true. It would mean that the Islamic Allah would be victorious over the Biblical Yahweh. It would mean that Satan had won over Yahweh. This raises serious questions about the nature of God. Who is really God? Is the Islamic Allah really another front for Satan? If they claim that Muslims and Christians worship the same God, how can the Islamic Allah change his mind so completely to command a curse on the Jews that were blessed by Yahweh in Abraham? Is the Qur’anic Allah fickle?

If the Jews were completely annihilated it would mean that a new dark age would come to the world. Freedom would cease to be. Barbaric practices would reign supreme.

It is important to know that Yahweh has a history of revealing Himself. It began with Adam and Eve, continued through the time of Noah, and began to be more particular with Abraham and the beginning of the Jewish people. The history of Yahweh’s revelation involves making a covenant with Abraham and his son Isaac, and then Jacob. After that Yahweh revealed himself to Moses, Joshua, the Judges, then the prophets of the Old Testament. Yahweh spoke through the prophets about a great revelation that was to come in the person of the Messiah who would be a blessing to the world. A reading of the Old Testament tells of Yahweh’s revelations and history confirms that Yahweh did what he said he would do.

We now turn to the promises that Yahweh made to Abraham.

Since Yahweh has made certain promises we should review them in light of the Muslims hatred of the Jews. Our first reference begins in Genesis 12:

The LORD said to Abram, "Leave your country, your relatives, and your father's home, and go to a land that I am going to show you. I will give you many descendants, and they will become a great nation. I will bless you and make your name famous, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, but I will curse those who curse you. And through you I will bless all the nations." Genesis 12:1-3

This covenant was renewed four times: Genesis 13:14-17; 15:4-6; 17:10-14; and 22:15-18.

The account in 17:10 involves the renewal of the covenant with Abraham’s son, Isaac.

“God said to Abraham, "You must no longer call your wife Sarai; from now on her name is Sarah. I will bless her, and I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will become the mother of nations, and there will be kings among her descendants." Abraham bowed down with his face touching the ground, but he began to laugh when he thought, "Can a man have a child when he is a hundred years old? Can Sarah have a child at ninety?" He asked God, "Why not let Ishmael be my heir?" But God said, "No. Your wife Sarah will bear you a son and you will name him Isaac. I will keep my covenant with him and with his descendants forever. It is an everlasting covenant. (Genesis 17:15-19)

The steadfast promise of Yahweh to Abraham also goes to his son, Isaac, not Ishamel. The covenant was passed on to Jacob.

“And there was the LORD standing beside him. "I am the LORD, the God of Abraham and Isaac," he said. "I will give to you and to your descendants this land on which you are lying. They will be as numerous as the specks of dust on the earth. They will extend their territory in all directions, and through you and your descendants I will bless all the nations. Remember, I will be with you and protect you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done all that I have promised you." (Gen. 28:13-15)

The promise was renewed with Moses when Yahweh commissioned him to go to deliver the Hebrews from Egypt.

“Go and gather the leaders of Israel together and tell them that I, the LORD, the God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, appeared to you. Tell them that I have come to them and have seen what the Egyptians are doing to them. I have decided that I will bring them out of Egypt, where they are being treated cruelly,and will take them to a rich and fertile land---the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.” (Exodus 3:16-17)

The Jews lived in the land until 586 BC when their sins were judged and they were taken into captivity into Babylon. But Yahweh did not forsake them. The prophets speak of the return of the Jews to the land. Isaiah declared, “then you will find the joy that comes from serving me. I will make you honored all over the world, and you will enjoy the land I gave to your ancestor, Jacob. I, LORD, have spoken.” (Isa.58:14)

Jeremiah declares Yahweh’s words,

“The LORD says, "The time is coming when people will no longer swear by me as the living God who brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt. Instead, they will swear by me as the living God who brought the people of Israel out of a northern land and out of all the other countries where I had scattered them. I will bring them back to their own country, to the land that I gave their ancestors. I, the LORD, have spoken." (Jeremiah 16:14-15)

Other prophets proclaimed the promise that Yahweh made to the Jews. This was a covenant forever. There are several issues Muslims need to consider concerning these promises of Yahweh.

1. The promise has not been abrogated. Jesus began to proclaim the Kingdom of God. The world has been blessed by followers of Jesus. One wonders about the Muslims who have cursed the Jews. Does the backwardness of Muslim countries reflect any kind of curse by Yahweh on them because of the hatred toward the Jews? One cannot go on cursing the Jews and expect to prosper as well as other people.

2. Muslims who lay claim to the land are going against Yahweh. There is no divine grant of the land to Muslims. Even though the Muslims conquered Jerusalem and built a mosque there, their conquest does not mean any more than the conquest by Babylon or Assyria in ancient times. Islam will come to an end by virtue of the promise of Yahweh. “Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me." (Luke 10:16) "My Father has given me all things. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." (Luke 10:22)

Muslims do claim to honor Jesus, but only as a prophet. Jesus claimed to be the Son of God and if you reject Him as the Son of God, you also reject the Father. The father is Yahweh who made the covenant with the patriarchs.

3. Abraham was told that his descendants would bless the world. The world includes women as well as men. Women have not been blessed by Islam. They have been demeaned, enslaved, left in ignorance, mutilated in their youth, regarded as property, denied equality in inheritance, denied freedom to go out without a male relative, relegated to secondary positions by virtue of polygamy, raped, honor killed, and killed because of rape. Many women in Afghanistan regarded the day they were married as the saddest dayof their lives.

The Jews have blessed the world by their intellectual achievements. Muslim science was stalled by the Ash’arite influence in which investigation of the universe was not allowed because every moment is a re-creation by Allah. The flapping wings of a bird have nothing to do with its flight. The flight is the direct action of Allah. This would mean that a jet does not fly by its engines, but by Allah. When a plane crashes Allah caused it. On the other hand, Western science has made amazing advances because we regard Yahweh as a rational being who created order and laws in the universe. Christians and Jews have been awarded many scientific honors because of their discoveries. Moreover, Jewish women have contributed to scientific advancement.

4. The most important descendent of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God who is born into a Jewish family. Jesus was foretold in the books of the Old Testament. Yahweh gave indication about the Messiah where he would be born (Micah 5), who he would be (Isaiah 7:14, 9:6, 11:1) and why he would die (Isa.53). Matthew 1:23 affirms the word of Isaiah that he would be "God with us," Immanuel. At the trial before the crucifixion he was questioned by the High Priest, “…the High Priest spoke to him, "In the name of the living God I now put you under oath: tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God." Jesus answered him, "So you say. But I tell all of you: from this time on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right side of the Almighty and coming on the clouds of heaven!" At this the High Priest tore his clothes and said, "Blasphemy! We don't need any more witnesses! You have just heard his blasphemy!” (Matthew 26:63-65)

Jesus was very clear about who he was. This is seen in John 14 where these words appear.

"Do not be worried and upset," Jesus told them. "Believe in God and believe also in me. There are many rooms in my Father's house, and I am going to prepare a place for you. I would not tell you this if it were not so. And after I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to myself, so that you will be where I am. You know the way that leads to the place where I am going." Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going; so how can we know the way to get there?" Jesus answered him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one goes to the Father except by me. Now that you have known me," he said to them, "you will know my Father also, and from now on you do know him and you have seen him." Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father; that is all we need." Jesus answered, "For a long time I have been with you all; yet you do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. Why, then, do you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe, Philip, that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I have spoken to you," Jesus said to his disciples, "do not come from me. The Father, who remains in me, does his own work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. If not, believe because of the things I do.” (John 14:1-11)

Muslims must give up denying the crucifixion and ask the real question: why did he die? His death is related to one of the greatest questions Muslims need to know. Is there forgiveness for my sins now? Jesus rose from the grave and is alive. He is active in the lifeof people. Miracles still take place in his name. People are healed and transformed. Many former Muslims left Islam because they had a vision of Jesus, or a dream about Jesus appearing to them and telling that who He is.

We must pay attention to three things related to these words. First, Jesus said that he would return.

“For the Son of Man will come like the lightning which flashes across the whole sky from the east to the west. "Wherever there is a dead body, the vultures will gather. "Soon after the trouble of those days, the sun will grow dark, the moon will no longer shine, the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers in space will be driven from their courses. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky; and all the peoples of earth will weep as they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. The great trumpet will sound, and he will send out his angels to the four corners of the earth, and they will gather his chosen people from one end of the world to the other. (Matthew 24:27-31)

Second, he said that “… many false prophets will appear and fool many people.” (Matthew 24:11) Since Mohammed rejected the nature of Jesus as the Son of God he fits the claim of the warning of Jesus. This means that Mohammed was deceived by Satan. Jesus spoke to people who would not believe Him. “Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to listen to my message. You are the children of your father, the Devil, and you want to follow your father's desires. From the very beginning he was a murderer and has never been on the side of truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he is only doing what is natural to him, because he is a liar and the father of all lies.” (John 8:43-44) For more on false prophets, see here.

Third, the Muslim scenario is wrong. Killing all the Jews will not bring us to the end of the world. This is a view borne of hatred, violence, and revenge because the Jews saw through Mohammed and would not support him. There is nothing we can do to speed up the return of Jesus, nor delay it.

5. The end of the world described in the Bible is quite different than the Qur’an. Instead of slaying the Jews prior to the end of the world, we are given a different scenario in the New Testament. The Jews are still related to God’s promise. Paul describes the position ofthe Jews in the following words:

“There is a secret truth, my friends, which I want you to know, for it will keep you from thinking how wise you are. It is that the stubbornness of the people of Israel is not permanent, but will last only until the complete number of Gentiles comes to God. And thisis how all Israel will be saved. As the scripture says, "The Savior will come from Zion and remove all wickedness from the descendants of Jacob. I will make this covenant with them when I take away their sins." Because they reject the Good News, the Jews are God's enemies for the sake of you Gentiles. But because of God's choice, they are his friends because of their ancestors. For God does not change his mind about whom he chooses and blesses. As for you Gentiles, you disobeyed God in the past; but now you have received God's mercy because the Jews were disobedient. In the same way, because of the mercy that you have received, the Jews now disobey God, in order that they also may now receive God's mercy. For God has made all people prisoners of disobedience, so that he might show mercy to them all.” (Romans 11:25-32)

When the Lord returns it will be a visible return seen by all. Paul wrote:

“What we are teaching you now is the Lord's teaching: we who are alive on the day the Lord comes will not go ahead of those who have died. There will be the shout of command, the archangel's voice, the sound of God's trumpet, and the Lord himself will come down from heaven. Those who have died believing in Christ will rise to life first; then we who are living at that time will be gathered up along with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17)

When that event occurs there will be a new heaven and new earth as described in the book of Revelation.

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth disappeared, and the sea vanished. And I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared and ready, like a bride dressed to meet her husband. I heard a loud voice speaking from the throne: "Now God's home is with people! He will live with them, and they shall be his people. God himself will be with them, and he will be their God. He will wipe away all tears from their eyes. There will be no more death, no more grief or crying or pain. The old things have disappeared." (Revelation 21:1-4)

Conclusions:

Since there is a history of revelation leading up to the promised Messiah as the Son of God, there is no revelation in the Scripture foretelling a prophet coming nearly 600 years after Jesus. There are warnings against false prophets who would come and mislead the followers of Jesus. (See here)

In light of the claims of Jesus as the Son of God the thoughtful Muslim must raise the question: Am I fighting against Yahweh? If Yahweh chose the Jews as a people through whom the Messiah was to come, why should I obey a man who had no prophetic credentials? Why should I seek to kill the Jews who were chosen by Yahweh?

Which side do you want to adopt? The winner or the loser? Yahweh or Allah?

Consider the words of Scripture:

“The attitude you should have is the one that Christ Jesus had: He always had the nature of God, but he did not think that by force he should try to remain equal with God. Instead of this, of his own free will he gave up all he had, and took the nature of a servant. He became like a human being and appeared in human likeness. He was humble and walked the path of obedience all the way to death--- his death on the cross. For this reason God raised him to thehighest place above and gave him the name that is greater than any other name. And so, in honor of the name of Jesus all beings in heaven, on earth, and in the world below will fall on their knees, and all will openly proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11)