Wishful thinking Jacko. As long as you are sitting on stolen land, you
will
never rest in peace. You know where is your beloved home is, Poland,
Germany, Russia and some European countries. There is no place for you in
Palestine. You can take ****ing Abbas, Dahlan and the rest of Fatah
cluster
****. Because we intend to execute them after we put them on trial for
treason and collaboration with the Zionist regime. Death to the Zionist
Jews
"jgarbuz" <jgarbuz@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:69f9ff74-b62c-4014-8f06-f05876e11ac9@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> On Mar 8, 9:47 am, "Hajj Jafar" <Sja...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>> Hey Jacko, we are not questioning the existance of the Jews, it is
>> Bastard
>> like you that we don't need. Yes, Jews were part of our lives and our
>> History<
>
> Yeah, but we don't want YOU part of OUR lives or OUR history. L'at
> l'at, kol ha'aretz yihyeh b'yadenu, habibi.
>
>>. But **** like you and the rest of you filthy European ****s who
>> claim to be Jew is the problem we have. You are not related to us, you
>> are
>> the sons of Hitler and Stalin.<
>
> You WISH you were related to us. But you are related to the scorpions
> and s****s of the Nejd and Hijaz. Go back to your oily desert where
> you belong, and leave us and our tiny oil-free land in peace!
> That's all we want, and nothing more.
>
>
>
>
>>
>> Hajj Jafar
>>
>> "jgarbuz" <jgar...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
>>
>>
news:f2738baf-04fe-4e69-bc3c-cca20c3063a4@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>http://www.dangoor.com/71page33.html
>>
>> > Page 33
>> > The Jews of Arabia
>>
>> > Condensed from a recent lecture at the Montefiore Hall, London
>>
>> > by Lucien Gubbay
>>
>> > Mohammed, the Prophet of Islam, was born in Mecca in the year 570.
>>
>> > The world at that time had its physical centre somewhat around the
>> > Eastern edge of the Mediterranean sea. There for many hundreds of
>> > years the two great 'world' empires of Rome and Persia had confronted
>> > each other in a state of perpetual warfare, punctuated by brief
>> > periods of peace.
>>
>> > Our world was ready for change in the seventh century as conflict
>> > everywhere had undermined the old-established patterns of society.
>>
>> > The surviving Byzantine Eastern half of the Roman Empire, ruled from
>> > the splendid city of Constantinople, still controlled a broad swathe
>> > of territory in the Balkans, North Africa and the Middle East.
>> > Remember that the coast of North Africa then was not arid as it is
>> > today, but covered with trees and very fertile.
>>
>> > The Jews helped the Persians in their conquest of Jerusalem in 614.
>> > The Byzantines exacted their revenge when they recaptured Jerusalem
in
>> > 629. But the Persian and Byzantine empires were now in a state of
>> > utter exhaustion and impoverishment.
>>
>> > ARABIA
>>
>> > The vast and mostly arid peninsula of Arabia adjacent to both the
>> > Roman and the Persian empires.
>>
>> > By the time of Mohammed, the merchants of Mecca controlled much of
the
>> > transit trade between East and West. They bought goods off the ****ps
>> > at Aden and then trans****ted them along caravan routes for sale in
>> > Egypt, Syria and Persia. The proceeds were used to buy manufactured
>> > goods, which were then brought back to Mecca and sold at the trade
>> > fairs.
>>
>> > RELIGION
>>
>> > The rudimentary and barely developed pagan wor****p of the Arabs was
>> > centred on the three hundred and sixty idols which surrounded the
>> > shrine of the Ka'aba in Mecca, to which the Bedouins flocked in
annual
>> > pilgrimage. The Ka'aba housed a black stone sacred to all Arabs -
>> > which was most probably a meteorite that had once fallen flaming from
>> > the skies.
>>
>> > Some Arabs had developed an admiration for the more developed
>> > religions of the Jews and Christians.
>>
>> > This feeling manifested itself in signs of spiritual discontent such
>> > as the rejection of idol wor****p by a small number of seekers after
>> > the one God, who practised a religion of their own. There were also
>> > converts to both Judaism and Christianity in the settled populations
>> > of the desert oasis and in the deep South.
>>
>> > THE JEWS OF ARABIA
>>
>> > Before the coming of Mohammed, the Jews of Arabia, were few in
number,
>> > and I have found only two references to them in Jewish sources. All
we
>> > know of them comes from Arab historians, and from the Qur'an itself.
>>
>> > THE NORTH
>>
>> > I Will start on the Jews of the North.
>>
>> > Before Islam, they dominated many of the main oasis in the West of
>> > Arabia and had also settled in the present-day Gulf States - Bahrain
>> > in particular. There was even a tiny Jewish community with its own
>> > cemetery in Mecca. Curiously enough, Naim Dangoor told me that a
Saudi
>> > Arabian father of many children from the Gulf area visited him with
>> > his family, about 8 years ago to ask for help in emigrating to
Israel.
>> > He claimed to be one of a large group of Muslims of Jewish origin who
>> > had always maintained a separate identity, praying together and
>> > marrying only amongst themselves. Naim believed the story and
>> > contacted the Israeli Embassy on the man's behalf - but without
>> > success.
>>
>> > Arab historians mention some 20 Jewish tribes, including two tribes
of
>> > Kohanim. The Jews spoke Arabic, were organised into clans and tribes
>> > just like the Arabs, and seem to have fully assimilated the values
and
>> > customs of desert society.
>>
>> > A contingent of 500 Jewish soldiers was supplied by Herod to
accompany
>> > the Roman expedition set to conquer the Yemen in 25 BCE. It paused
for
>> > a time at a place said in the Talmud to contain Jews. We may
>> > legitimately ask ourselves whether the Jewish soldiers were sent to
>> > act as links between the Roman armies and the Jews of Arabia.
>>
>> > Arab sources maintain that the Jews of Medina were survivors of the
>> > Jewish revolt against Rome.
>>
>> > Another theory is that the Jewish date-growers - and the cultivation
>> > of dates was the most common occupation - might have come from the
>> > Jordan valley as refugees from Christian Byzantine persecution.
>>
>> > Another obvious source of immigrants was, of course, Babylonians.
>>
>> > The Jews were engaged in agriculture, not trade which was exclusively
>> > in the hands of the Arabs.
>>
>> > According to Arab legends, Jews introduced the date palm and the
honey
>> > bee into Arabia. Also, advanced irrigation and other new agricultural
>> > crafts.
>>
>> > The Jews appear to have been educated. It was their ability to read
>> > and write that made Bible stories and Midra****m generally familiar to
>> > the pagan Arabs - and those were the seeds from which Islam
developed.
>>
>> > Perhaps most im****tantly of all, Jews also familiarised the Arabs
with
>> > the belief in the coming of the Messiah.
>>
>> > THE SOUTH
>>
>> > Many legends refer to early Jewish settlement in Himyar, present-day
>> > Yemen.
>>
>> > The first is that Jews accompanied the Queen of Sheba when she
>> > returned from her visit to King Solomon.
>>
>> > Arab historians claim that very large numbers of Jews - the figure of
>> > 80,000 is mentioned - arrived after the destruction of the First
>> > Temple, to join others already established there.
>>
>> > There is a story that Ezra the scribe cursed the Jews of Yemen for
>> > ignoring his call to return to Israel and help rebuild the Temple. In
>> > retaliation from then on, they refused to name their sons Ezra.
>>
>> > Arab legend ascribes the conversion to Judaism of the king and people
>> > of Himyar to two Jewish Rabbis from the oasis of Medina who cured the
>> > kind of a terrible illness on an expedition to the North of Arabia.
>> > The king was so impressed by the Rabbis that he and his generals
>> > converted to Judaism on the spot. He then took the Rabbis back with
>> > them to Himyar where they also converted part of the population -
>> > presumably members of the court and leading families. Himyar fell to
>> > the Christian Ethiopians in the year 525.
>>
>> > Persia sent an expedition to expel the Ethiopians and take control
for
>> > itself. The Jews prospered for a time under Persian rule and
>> > maintained contact with their brethren in Babylon. But the economy of
>> > Himyar was in steep decline during this period, partly because of the
>> > warfare, and partly because of a catastrophic failure of the great
dam
>> > that controlled its irrigation system.
>>
>> > MOHAMMED
>>
>> > Mohammed was born in Mecca in the year 570, at a time when
>> > guardian****p of the Ka'aba and successful international trade had
>> > greatly enriched its ruling clans. We are told that the Meccans were
>> > swollen with pride and their society was an unhappy one, differing
>> > from that of other Arabs because of its rivalries, greed, and great
>> > disparity between rich and poor.
>>
>> > Mohammed came from one of the poorer and least influential of the
>> > ruling families of Mecca. Orphaned at an early age, he had a
>> > reputation for honesty and reliability.
>>
>> > Mohammed had already accompanied his uncle on trading missions to
>> > Syria, where he had come into contact with Christian monks and with
>> > Jews, when he was asked to lead a similar expedition himself on
behalf
>> > of the wealthy widow Khadijah. This was successful; and he accepted
>> > Khadijah's proposal of marriage on his return to Mecca. The marriage
>> > was a happy one. Khadijah bore him six children; and Mohammed took no
>> > other wife or concubine until after her death.
>>
>> > Thus freed from financial anxiety for the first time, Mohammed was
>> > able to devote himself increasingly to spiritual concerns. He made
his
>> > own family live frugally, distributed much of his money to the poor,
>> > and was conspicuously kind to slaves.
>>
>> > He used to retire alone to an isolated mountain cave for days at a
>> > time in order to meditate and pray.
>>
>> > Mohammed received his first revelation in the year 610, when he was
>> > forty years old. An angel appeared to him in his cave and commanded
>> > 'Iqra' - recite! When Mohammed demurred, the angel 'overwhelmed me in
>> > his embrace until I reached the limits of my endurance.' Then the
>> > angel proclaimed what was to become the first verse or sura of the
>> > Qur'an:
>>
>> > 'Recite in the name of your Lord, the Creator, who created man from
>> > clots of blood.'
>>
>> > At first Mohammed doubted his own sanity. It was only three years
>> > later, when other revelations began to follow in quick succession,
>> > that he recovered his self-confidence and commenced his mission to
the
>> > Arabs as the 'Messenger of God.'
>>
>> > The revelations, transmitted by the angel Gabriel to Mohammed when in
>> > a state of trance, were taken down in writing by his followers as he
>> > repeated them later. They were collected together after Mohammed's
>> > death, to form the Qur'an.
>>
>> > The message of the Qur'an is similar in essence to much Jewish and
>> > Christian teaching.
>>
>> > There is no God but Allah, the all-powerful Creator, and Mohammed is
>> > his Messenger.
>>
>> > There will be a Day of Judgement.
>>
>> > There is an afterlife in which the good will be rewarded and the
>> > wicked will burn in hell.
>>
>> > Life is to be lived according to divine law, with prayer and fasting,
>> > the giving of alms and the sup****ting of widows and orphans.
>>
>> > Mohammed had some success with the young and the poor, but he was
>> > ridiculed by the leaders of Meccan society.
>>
>> > The fact that he could not work miracles was held against him. His
>> > prayer ritual of repeated prostrations was alien to their proud
>> > Bedouin spirit; and the required total allegiance to the new
community
>> > of Islam cut right across traditional tribal loyalties.
>>
>> > More im****tant, Mohammed's teaching that their idol-wor****pping
>> > ancestors were burning in hell, outraged the Arabs, who had always
>> > venerated their forefathers.
>>
>> > Above all, the concept of only one God, and the resulting rejection
of
>> > idols, seemed almost to have been designed to ruin the cult of the
>> > Ka'aba, the basis of Meccan prosperity. It would, quite simply, have
>> > been disastrous for business.
>>
>> > Mohammed made some converts to Islam among pilgrims who visited Mecca
>> > on the haj. A group from Medina, a desert oasis some two hundred and
>> > fifty miles away, secretly invited Mohammed and his followers to join
>> > them there to become their judge in disputes between their tribes.
>>
>> > So, in the year 622, Mohammed and seventy of his followers fled from
>> > Mecca to Medina. And that is counted as year one of the Muslim
>> > calendar.
>>
>> > Medina was occupied by three Jewish tribes and two pagan tribes who
>> > had once forced their way into the oasis; each tribe lived in its own
>> > fortified village. Mohammed was soon accepted as leader by the pagans
>> > and concluded a treaty with the Jews.
>>
>> > Unlike the Meccans, the pagans of Medina - who had long lived
>> > alongside Jews - were not shocked by the demotion of their gods to
>> > mere spirits under the new order. It did not affect their livelihood,
>> > and they were thrilled by the presence in their midst of the Prophet
>> > for the Arabs, with his revelations in their own tongue. There was a
>> > rapid tide of conversions to Islam; and Arab historians praise the
>> > Jews for preparing the ground for the favourable reception of the
>> > Prophet's message.
>>
>> > MOHAMMED AND THE JEWS
>>
>> > As a fellow monotheist, Mohammed looked to the Jews as his natural
>> > allies; and he no doubt hoped they would accept him as their long-
>> > awaited Messiah. Some Jews did so at once and I quote an Arab
>> > historian's account of the first Jewish convert to Islam.
>>
>> > Many other Jews converted to Islam later and I am obliged to Naim
>> > Dangoor for his account of the Jewish ruler of Afghanistan visiting
>> > Mohammed at the peak of his power and accepting Islam.
>>
>> > The leading Afghan tribes, you may remember, still claim with pride
to
>> > be descended from King Saul of the tribe of Benjamin - as again
>> > confirmed by Naim Dangoor's account of the meeting of Eliezer
Kedourie
>> > and King of Afghanistan in 1925, and also by official guidebooks of
>> > the country.
>>
>> > In a deliberate attempt to reconcile the Jews and gain their
>> > acceptance, Mohammed promptly adopted the Aramaic name 'Medinta' used
>> > by the Jews ('al-Madinat' in Arabic) in place of Yathrib, the old
name
>> > of the oasis.
>>
>> > His followers were directed to face towards Jerusalem in prayer and
to
>> > recite three daily prayer services and special Friday evening prayers
>> > in imitation of the Jews.
>>
>> > Ablutions and forms of wor****p were modelled on Jewish patterns. It
>> > seems that the Muslims had misunderstood the solemn Jewish fast of
>> > Kippur to be a celebration of victory over Pharaoh, for they too
>> > adopted the same day to celebrate their own successes.
>>
>> > Mohammed repeatedly compared himself to Moses and clearly regarded
>> > himself as his successor. According to the Qur'an:
>>
>> > 'Before this book there was Moses's book.... and this book confirms
it
>> > in the Arabic language.'
>>
>> > And again, in response to taunts arising from the Jewish origin of
one
>> > of his wives, Mohammed proudly declared:
>>
>> > 'Aaron was my father and Moses my uncle.'
>>
>> > Above all, the Qur'an itself is full of Jewish elements.
>>
>> > MOHAMMED'S JEWISH ADVERSARIES IN MEDINA
>>
>> > It is clear that Mohammed knew the Torah only from hearsay and that
he
>> > was much confused by imperfect knowledge of scripture and rabbinic
>> > legend.
>>
>> > "The Messenger was a proud man who could not tolerate public
ridicule;
>> > and so, only eighteen months after his arrival in Medina, he began to
>> > order the assassination of Arab poets who had satirised him and also
>> > of certain Jews who had opposed him in one way or another.
>>
>> > His attitude to the Jews also changed radically. Mohammed
demonstrated
>> > his displeasure with the Jews as a whole and his growing self-
>> > confidence and his independence of them by adopting measures designed
>> > to steer his followers firmly against Jewish practices."
>>
>> > MOHAMMED'S CONQUEST OF THE JEWS
>>
>> > Mohammed next moved to eliminate the three Jewish tribes of Medina,
by
>> > then considered a threat to the Muslim community in its struggle
>> > against its pagan enemies in Mecca.
>>
>> > One by one he accused them of treachery, of having broken their
treaty
>> > with him by conspiring with his pagan enemies in Mecca. As already
>> > mentioned, the Jews were also accused of making common cause with the
>> > waverers within the ranks of the Muslims of Medina.
>>
>> > Curiously enough, the Jewish tribes made no attempt to defend one
>> > another against the common foe when pretexts were found to attack and
>> > besiege each of their villages in turn. They were eliminated one by
>> > one.
>>
>> > The first tribe was called on to accept Islam. When its members
>> > refused, a pretext was found to besiege its village. The Jews were
>> > expelled on condition to leave most of their possessions behind.
>>
>> > The following year saw the expulsion of the second tribe, accused of
>> > planning to kill the Prophet by dropping a rock on his head as he
>> > rested under a wall outside its village. Mohammed, who received
divine
>> > warning of the plot, returned home unharmed before anything happened.
>>
>> > The second tribe, being in a less vulnerable position managed to
>> > depart carrying all their possessions with them. Muslims were ordered
>> > to turn towards Mecca in prayer and no longer towards Jerusalem - now
>> > with five daily prayer services instead of the Jewish three.
>>
>> > All traces of the Sabbath were eliminated when Friday was declared a
>> > day of public prayer on which work was allowed. The month-long fast
of
>> > Ramadan was instituted in place of Kippur. The extra month instituted
>> > by the pagan Arabs long before Mohammed to reconcile the lunar year
>> > with the solar year, as practised by the Jews, was abolished. Since
>> > then the Muslim year has consisted of 12 lunar months, with no
>> > correction at all for the solar year.
>>
>> > In a complete change of emphasis, Mohammed began to lay far greater
>> > stress on Abraham, whom he claimed as the first Muslim, than on
Moses.
>>
>> > INFLUENCES ON MOHAMMED
>>
>> > Though respecting Christians - Christian monks in particular, and
>> > accepting Jesus as a major prophet, Mohammed vehemently rejected the
>> > notion that Jesus was the Son of God a well as all idea of the
>> > Trinity. The Qur'an itself is full of unmistakably Jewish elements -
>> > Bible stories and midra****min particular.
>>
>> > However, a major puzzle remains. Although Moses is mentioned over one
>> > hundred times and Jesus only twice in the Meccan period of the
Qur'an,
>> > Mohammed's often repeated dread of the Day of Judgement and hellfire
>> > is certainly more akin to Christian monasticism than to rabbinic
>> > Judaism.
>>
>> > Mohammed died of natural causes in the year 632, leaving the whole of
>> > Arabia united under the rule of Islam.
>>
>> > By definition, Mohammed - as Messenger of God and the last of the
>> > Prophets, was irreplaceable. Yet, a new leader had to be found at
once
>> > if his achievements were not to be squandered.
>>
>> > The Arabs found it very difficult to elect a successor and bitter
>> > struggles between rival clans resulted in the violent death in office
>> > of three out of the first four Khalifs. One of them, and this is
>> > significant, was killed by a revolt led by a Jewish convert to Islam.
>>
>> > Those early controversies persisted; and it was the refusal of some
to
>> > accept the legitimacy of any but a descendant of the murdered Khalif
>> > 'Ali (cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet) that created the ****'a
>> > movement, which permanently split Islam.
>>
>> > Welded together by Islam, their poverty and their greed, the half-
>> > starved Bedouin nomads erupted from Arabia with extraordinary vigour.
>> > The Byzantine Empire was humbled and the Persian Empire totally
>> > destroyed during their first twenty years of warfare.
>>
>> > By 732, one hundred years after the death of Mohammed, the Arab
Empire
>> > stretched from the Atlantic in the West to modern Pakistan in the
>> > East. At one stage, the vanguard reached a point in France only two
>> > hundred and fifty miles from Dover before falling back into Spain.
>> > Progress was slower after that, with Sardinia, Sicily and parts of
>> > Southern Italy gradually added to the Islamic world.
>>
>> > Many hundreds of years later, of course, the Muslim world expanded
>> > again to include the Balkans in Europe - though Spain was lost to the
>> > Christians, much of the Northern half of the African continent, the
>> > whole of Northern India and parts of South East Asia, such as
>> > Indonesia. In retrospect, it is not difficult to find convincing
>> > reasons for the astoni****ng success of the comparatively small body
of
>> > Bedouin tribesmen in defeating the armies of two mighty empires and
>> > then going on to conquer much of the civilised world.
>>
>> > There can be no doubt that Mohammed himself had the rare ability to
>> > inspire unlimited devotion in most of those who met him in Arabia.
>>
>> > Also the essential simplicity and egalitarianism of Islam suited the
>> > mentality of the Arabs, already discontented with their primitive
form
>> > of paganism and aspiring to a nobler expression of their religious
>> > yearnings. The new creed of Islam, combined with the old fighting
>> > traditions of the Bedouin tribes, provided the Arabs with the self-
>> > confidence they needed to challenge the rest of the world.
>>
>> > Once the invasions started, belief in the one God who had chosen the
>> > Arabs and rewarded them with success after success became
>> > inspirational. Fighting, Arab-style, seemed to be the way of God as
>> > the Bedouin warriors used the deserts like seas - appearing suddenly
>> > from nowhere and, whenever necessary, retreating back where none
could
>> > follow.
>>
>> > Looked at in another way, the Arab conquest was a classic invasion of
>> > the world's settled lands by semi-starved nomads, seeking bread and
>> > booty - but this time, spurred on by the powerful missionary zeal of
>> > Islam.
>>
>> > It should not be forgotten that the Arabs exploded into a world
>> > exhausted by twenty-six years of constant warfare, a world whose
>> > inhabitants longed for peace and stability and had come to believe
>> > that great changes were inevitable. Christian heretics and Jews in
the
>> > Byzantine Empire, to whom almost any change must have seemed for the
>> > better, welcomed the Arabs with open arms. The Christians and Jews of
>> > the Persian Empire too, weary of civil and religious strife, also
>> > willingly accepted the prospect of change.
>>
>> > Another im****tant factor in the overwhelming success of the Arabs was
>> > the generosity of their surrender terms. For most pagans, the choice
>> > of Islam or the sword was not onerous; they too could join the ranks
>> > of the conquerors by simply declaring: 'There is no God but Allah,
and
>> > Mohammed is his Messenger.' Also, it soon became widely known that
>> > Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians would not be harmed by the
>> > triumphant Muslims so long as they submitted to the new order by
>> > paying the poll tax, which often amounted to no more than the tax
>> > demanded by the former regimes.
>>
>> > The result was that, in time, almost all the defeated nations aspired
>> > to the name 'Arab'. Though strict social barriers between Arabian and
>> > non-Arabian Muslims were erected in the first century following the
>> > conquest, those dissolved and merit alone became the key to
>> > advancement for Muslims in the expanding empire.
>>
>> > According to surviving records, Jews helped the Arabs in many places.
>> > From Syria to Spain, they opened city gates to the besieging armies;
>> > and in Spain, they often garrisoned the captured cities to enable the
>> > Muslims to sweep on to further conquests.
>>
>> > In 658, Gaon Yizhak of Pumbeditha, at the head of 90,000 Jews, was
>> > re****ted to have welcomed Khalif 'Ali into Firuz-Shapur. The Exilarch
>> > Bustanay was even awarded one of the Persian King's daughters by the
>> > grateful Arabs - and as another daughter was given to Husain,
grandson
>> > of the Prophet, that was no mean gift.
>>
>> > The conquests of Islam united both halves of the Jewish people under
a
>> > single political and cultural system. Arabic became the universal
>> > language, replacing the Aramaic, Persian, Greek and Latin they had
>> > previously spoken.
>>
>> > Jews, accustomed to adversity, found their change of masters an
>> > improvement. They survived the hard****p brought about by the conquest
>> > and were eventually able to participate in the creation of the new
>> > Arabic civilisation that followed.
>>
>> > Islam, claiming to be God's last and perfect revelation to mankind,
>> > extended limited toleration to members of the older monotheistic
>> > faiths on condition they submitted humbly to its rule. In contrast,
>> > the only choice open to polytheists was Islam or the sword - though
>> > the less wasteful alternative of slavery was often substituted for
the
>> > sword.
>>
>> > The Qur'an frequently refers to Jews and Christians, who had received
>> > earlier revelations from God but had then distorted and corrupted
>> > them.
>>
>> > Though some of its suras (verses) mention Jews and Christians in
>> > friendly terms and are quoted in sup****t of Islam's tolerant attitude
>> > to fellow monotheists, others display very different sentiments. The
>> > Qur'an it must be remembered, came to Mohammed in stages throughout
>> > the many years of his ministry - from the time he was a persecuted
>> > outcast to that of his final role as the undisputed master of all
>> > Arabia.
>>
>> > Non-believers, though protected by Islam, were generally despised
>> > because of their wilful persistence in refusing to accept the words
of
>> > God recorded in the Qur'an. However, unlike Jews in Christian Europe,
>> > they were neither hated nor demonised.
>>
>> > Mainstream (Sunni) Islam and Judaism have more in common with each
>> > other than with Christianity. First and foremost, they both share the
>> > basic concept of the absolute unity of God. Though Muslims accept
>> > Jesus as a major prophet, they strenuously deny that he was the Son
of
>> > God. In the words of the Qur'an:
>>
>> > '...Allah is one, Allah the eternal. He begets not and is not
>> > begotten. Nor is there anyone like him'.
>>
>> > Abraham is accepted as the first man to have received God's
>> > revelations: and most other Jewish patriarchs and prophets are also
>> > revered by Islam.
>>
>> > Both religions are based on divinely given books. The Qur'an like the
>> > Torah, is the unchanging word of God; and every letter of its text is
>> > holy. Sunni Muslims go even further and believe that the Qur'an is
>> > eternal and untreated - as is the view of the Torah held by some
>> > Jewish mystics.
>>
>> > Muslim forms of wor****p are far closer to those of the Synagogue than
>> > the Church. Neither Islam nor Judaism employs priests with
>> > supernatural powers to serve at symbolic alters of sacrifice. Indeed,
>> > Jewish Rabbis and Sunni Alem receive similar training and perform
much
>> > the same function. Other concepts such as the sanctity of Jerusalem,
>> > forbidden and permitted foods, and many others, appear to have come
>> > directly from Judaism.
>>
>> > The equivalent position of law in Islam and Judaism may not be a
>> > coincidence, for Islamic law first developed in Iraq, home to the
>> > great academies of Jewish learning. In both faiths, holy law governs
>> > every aspect of human activity and its very study is an act of
>> > wor****p. Both distinguish between 'written' and 'oral' law in much
the
>> > same way; and in the development of 'oral' law, the mufti's fatwa
>> > serves the same purpose as the Rabbi's responsa (an authoritative
>> > statement of the law on an obscure or disputed point).
>>
>> > Another common feature of the two systems is that neither was imposed
>> > by the state or by a central ecclesiastical authority - as was the
>> > canon law of the Church - but was developed by the deliberations of
>> > independent scholars.
>
|
