鸟大大影院

Table of Contents

Introduction

The Foundational Period

The Early Centuries of Muslim History

The Medieval Period

The Modern Period

The Future

Introduction

Relations among Muslims, Jews, and Christians have been shaped not only by the theologies聽 and beliefs of the three religions, but also, and often more strongly, by the historical聽 circumstances in which they are found. As a result, history has become a foundation f辞谤听 religious understanding. In each historical phase, the definition of who was regarded as聽 Muslim, Jewish, or Christian shifted, sometimes indicating only a religious identification, but聽 more often indicating a particular social, economic, or political group.

While the tendency to place linguistic behaviour, religious identity, and cultural heritage聽 under one, pure definition has existed for a very long time, our modern age with its ideology聽 of nationalism is particularly prone to such a conflation. Ethnic identities have sometimes聽 been conflated with religious identities by both outsiders and insiders, complicating the task聽 of analyzing intergroup and intercommunal relations. For example, Muslims have often been聽 equated with Arabs, effacing the existence of Christian and Jewish Arabs (i.e., members of聽 those religions whose language is Arabic and who participate primarily in Arab culture),聽 ignoring non-Arab Muslims who constitute the majority of Muslims in the world. In some聽 instances, relations between Arabs and Israelis have been understood as Muslim-Jewish聽 relations, ascribing aspects of Arab culture to the religion of Islam and Israeli culture to聽 Judaism. This is similar to what happened during the Crusades, during which Christian Arabs聽 were often charged with being identical to Muslims by the invading Europeans. While the聽 cultures in which Islam predominates do not necessarily make sharp distinctions between the聽 religious and secular aspects of the culture, such distinctions make the task of understanding the nature of relations among Muslims, Jews, and Christians easier, and therefore will be used聽 as an analytic tool in this chapter.

Another important tool for analyzing Muslim-Jewish-Christian relations is the placement of聽 ideas and behaviours in specific temporal and geographic contexts. Visions of the past have聽 had a strong influence on each of the religions, and none more strongly than Islam. Many聽 Muslims have as keen an awareness of the events around the time of the Prophet as they do聽 their own time. It is important for a practicing Muslim to know what the Prophet did in his聽 relations with Jews and Christians as a means of shaping their own behaviour toward them.聽 The聽蚕耻谤鈥檃苍聽and the聽蝉耻苍苍补听of the Prophet are key guides for a Muslim in dealing with Jews聽 and Christians, as they are in all areas of conduct. This same historical consciousness is also聽 present among Jews and Christians, as each group makes claims for positions and status in聽 Islamic societies. What is important to remember is that the historical interactions of聽 Muslims, Jews, and Christians have resulted in each constituency being shaped, affected, and聽 transformed by the others, such that it is difficult to imagine how each religion would be as it聽 is without the presence and influence of the others.

The Foundational Period

When Prophet Muhammad was born in 570 CE , Arabia was deeply involved in the political,聽 religious, and economic rivalries between the聽Byzantine聽and Sassanian Persian empires.聽 Arabia was an important trade route for goods coming from the Far East and Africa and was聽 strategically important for each empire鈥檚 defence. Arabs were recruited into the armies of聽 both sides, providing horse and camel cavalries, and each empire had maintained Arab client聽 states as buffers and bases of operation. Around fifty years earlier, the last Jewish kingdom in聽 southern Arabia allied with the Persians and was defeated and replaced by a Christian聽 Monophysite army from Abyssinia allied with Byzantium. According to early Muslim聽 historians, this army, led by a general named Abraha, tried to invade Mecca in the year of聽 Muhammad鈥檚 birth because the pagan Arabs had defiled one of the Christian churches in聽 southern Arabia. Abraha and his forces were, however, defeated. Because the Abyssinians聽 used war elephants for their attempted invasion, many think that this is the elephant referred聽 to in the聽蝉耻谤补听迟颈迟濒别诲听补濒-贵颈濒听in the 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍Muslims believe that the Holy 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍 contains divine revelations to the Prophet Muhammed received in Mecca and Medina over a period of 23 years in the early 7th century CE. More: 105.

There were numerous Christian settlements throughout the southern and eastern parts of聽 Arabia, but few in the聽Hijaz(Arabic; lit. 鈥榯he barrier鈥�). A region in the west of present-day Saudi Arabia along the Red Sea which includes some of the holiest sites and cities for all Muslims 鈥�…, the area of Muhammad鈥檚 birth. The聽Hijaz聽had numerous Jewish聽 settlements, most of long standing, dating to at least the time of the destruction of the Second聽 Temple in 70 CE. According to some scholars, the earliest Jewish presence in the聽Hijaz聽was at聽 the time of Nabonidus, about 550 CE. The Jews in these settlements were merchants, farmers,聽 vintners, smiths, and, in the desert, members of聽Bedouin聽tribes. The most important Jewish dominated city was Yathrib, known later as Medina, which featured prominently in聽 Muhammad鈥檚 career. The Jews of the聽Hijaz聽seem to have been mostly independent, but we聽 find evidence of their being allied with both Byzantium and the Persians. Some made the聽 claim to be 鈥渒ings鈥� of the聽Hijaz, most probably meaning tax collectors for the Persians, and,聽 for a variety of reasons, more Jews were loyal to Persian interests against those of the聽聽Byzantine聽Empire. Jews, as well as Christians, seem to have been engaged in attempting to聽 convert the Arabian population to their religious and political views, often with some success.聽 The loyalties of the Jews and Christians to one or the other of the two empires meant that Arab sources report that, at the time of Muhammad鈥檚 birth, some Meccans had abandoned聽 Arabian polytheism and had chosen monotheism. In Arabic these individuals were referred to聽 as聽丑补苍颈蹿听in a Jewish, Christian, or non-sectarian form. From 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍ic and other evidence, it is聽 clear that Meccans were conversant with the general principles of Judaism and Christianity聽 and knew many details of worship, practice, and belief. During Muhammad鈥檚 formative and聽 early adult years, the character of his birth city, Mecca, was very cosmopolitan.

When Muhammad had his first revelation in 610 CE, his wife Khadija sought the advice of聽 her cousin, Waraqa ibn Nawfal, a聽hanif, learned in Jewish and Christian scriptures.聽 Muhammad eventually declared that he was a continuation of the prophetic traditions of聽 Judaism and Christianity, claiming that he had been foretold in Jewish and Christian scripture.聽 A central doctrine of Islam places Muhammad at the end of a chain of prophets from God,聽 starting with Adam and embracing the major prophetic figures of Judaism and Christianity,聽 including Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. Denial of this central idea by Jews and Christians is聽 said to be a result of the corruption of the sacred texts, either inadvertently or on purpose.聽 This disparity of perspective underlies much of what Muslims believe about their Jewish and聽 Christian forebears, and conditions Islamic triumphalist views about the validity of Islam聽 against the partial falsity of the other two traditions.

The聽蚕耻谤鈥檃苍聽and the聽厂颈谤补听(the traditional biography of Prophet Muhammad) present聽 ambivalent attitudes toward Jews and Christians, reflecting the varied experience of聽 Muhammad and the early Muslim community with Jews and Christians in Arabia. Christians聽 are said to be nearest to Muslims in 鈥渓ove鈥� (蚕耻谤鈥檃苍 5:82), and yet Muslims are not to take聽 Jews or Christians as 鈥渃lose allies or leaders鈥� (蚕耻谤鈥檃苍 5:51). The聽蚕耻谤鈥檃苍聽often makes a聽 distinction between the 鈥淐hildren of Israel鈥� (i.e., Jews mentioned in the Bible) and members聽 of the Jewish tribes in Arabia during Muhammad鈥檚 time. This distinction is also present in the聽聽厂颈谤补听and other histories. Some Jews are represented as hostile to Muhammad and his mission,聽 while others become allies with him. The 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍ic revelations that Muhammad received in聽 regard to Christians and Jews seemed to correspond to the degree of acceptance that he was聽 awarded by these two communities. Initially, Muhammad sought their acceptance, but when聽 the leaders of the Christian and Jewish communities rejected him as a false prophet, he聽 received revelations that commanded him to distance himself from them. In the 鈥淐onstitution聽 of Medina,鈥� which Muhammad negotiated with the聽Ansar, the Muhajjirun, and the Jews of聽 Medina, Jews were included in the聽Umma, the community, and were allowed freedom of聽 association and religion in return for the payment of an annual tax. This agreement and the聽 subsequent treaties negotiated by Muhammad with the Jews of Tayma, and other cities in the聽聽Hijaz, establish the precedent of symbolically including 鈥淧eople of Scripture鈥澛�(Ahl al-Kitab)聽聽in the聽鲍尘尘补.听As the armies of conquest encountered communities of Jews, Christians, and聽 Zoroastrians, the model of Muhammad鈥檚 accommodating behaviour extended the original聽 notion to incorporate all these recipients of God鈥檚 revelation as聽Ahl al-Dhimma,聽辞谤听顿丑颈尘尘颈,听听protected peoples. There were fewer Christians in the聽Hijaz聽than Jews, so Christians are聽 featured less prominently in the political history of the establishment of the Muslim聽 community. Nevertheless, Muhammad had frequent contact with Christians from the southern聽 areas of Najran and Ethiopia, disputing with them as he had with the Jews over matters of聽 religious belief and practice. The traditions surrounding the sending of the Muslims to聽Ethiopia represent the ruler as seeing little difference between Islam and Christianity. The聽 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍ic presentation of the life of Jesus and Christian belief shows that Muhammad and the聽 early Muslims understood eastern Mediterranean Christian belief and practice, particularly if聽 one acknowledges the importance of the 鈥渋nfancy鈥澛燝ospels聽in Christian thought at the time.聽 The聽蚕耻谤鈥檃苍, however, denies the deity of Christ.

The death of Muhammad and the subsequent expansion of Islam out of Arabia brought about聽 a definitive break with the Jewish and Christian Arab communities, so that subsequent聽 relations were built on Jewish and Christian interactions with Muslims who knew the聽 Prophet鈥檚 actions only as idealized history. During the first Islamic century, the period of the聽 most rapid expansion of Islam, social and religious structures were so fluid that it is hard to聽 make generalisations. Jews and Christians were theoretically expelled from Arabia, or, at聽 least, the聽Hijaz, but later evidence shows that Jews and Christians remained for centuries聽 afterward. As late as the eighteenth century, for example, Jewish Bedouins roamed north聽 western Arabia, and Christian Arabs were found in numerous settlements throughout Arabia.

The Early Centuries of Muslim History

The period of the first caliphs and the subsequent era of the聽Umayyads聽was a time in which聽 Muslims, Jews, and Christians negotiated the new power arrangements. The parameters of聽聽顿丑颈尘尘颈听status were developed, and both head and land taxes were paid to the Muslim caliphs聽 through representatives and not individually. For the Jews, the Resh Geluta or Exilarch was聽 from the Rabbinic branch of Judaism, it became the dominant form, generally displacing聽 other groups. Also, because Muslims expanded to include most of the world鈥檚 Jews in their聽 polity, Rabbinic Judaism was able to develop its institutions within the context of the Islamic聽聽Umma. For the newly forming Islamic state, the loyalty of the Exilarch, and, by extension, the聽 Jews, added legitimacy to Muslim claims to legitimate rule over its various non-Muslim聽 populations. The interaction between Jews and Muslims thus produced profound effects on聽 both Judaism and Islam.

Christians acted as physicians, architects, clerks, and advisors in the courts of the early聽 caliphs. Greek and Coptic were the administrative languages for several centuries before聽 Arabic became established enough to be the general medium of public discourse. Even the聽 occasional uprisings against Muslim rule, as the Coptic uprisings of the early ninth century聽 and the Jewish revolts against the聽Umayyads聽a century earlier, were local, over specific聽 grievances, and not anti-Islamic as such. In fact, the Jewish revolt against the聽UmayyadsFirst major ruling Muslim dynasty that was based in Damascus (661-750).,聽 driven, it seems, by messianic visions, was sympathetic to early聽Shia聽views and attempts to聽 overthrow the last Umayyad聽caliphIn Arabic khal墨fa, the head of the Muslim community. See caliphate..

The first two Islamic centuries was a time of translating Christian and Jewish scripture into聽 Arabic, along with a vast body of commentary, particularly on biblical figures. 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍ic聽迟补蹿蝉颈谤听听(commentaries) became the repository of much Jewish and Christian tradition concerning聽 such figures as Abraham, Moses, Solomon, Jesus, and others. The beginnings of Islamic聽 theological speculation were stimulated by translations of Hellenistic thought from Aramaic,聽 Coptic, Greek, and Syriac. One of the effects of this trend was to produce tension between聽 those inclined toward greater cosmopolitanism of the intellectual and cultural heritage of聽 Hellenism and those who felt that Islamic society should be centered only on the聽蚕耻谤鈥檃苍聽and traditions from Muhammad, presaging the debates about the inclusion or exclusion of outside聽 ideas. The resulting balance between religious and scientific learning became such a part of聽 Islamic societies that even in periods of political fragmentation, Jews and Christians con tributed along with Muslims to the intellectual and cultural life of the Islamic communities.

The Medieval Period

In the western Islamic lands of the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa, Jews, Christians, and聽 Muslims combined in a society that is often described by later historians with the adjective聽 鈥済olden.鈥� The areas of poetry, music, art, architecture, theology, exegesis, law, philosophy,聽 medicine, pharmacology, and mysticism were shared among all the inhabitants of the Islamic聽 courts and city-states at the same time that Muslim armies were locked in a losing struggle聽 with the Christian armies of the聽Reconquista. In the eastern Mediterranean, similar symbiotic聽 societies could be found. The universities of聽al-Azhar聽in Cairo and Cordoba in Spain, both聽 founded in the tenth century, followed the older model of the聽Bayt al-Hikma聽in Baghdad, as聽 places of shared learning among scholars from the three traditions. Both the concept of these聽 types of institutions of learning, as well as the learning itself they produced, had profound聽 influence on European institutions of higher education and European scientific advancement.聽 Within the intellectual circles of the Islamic world, Jews contributed and participated in this聽 civilization through contact with Muslim philosophers and theologians, just as Muslims had聽 from contact with Christians earlier. In the areas of commerce, world trade was dominated by聽 trading associations made up of Muslims, Jews, and Christians from Islamic lands.

The twin attacks on the Islamic world in the Middle Ages by the聽Crusaders聽from the West and聽 the Mongols from the East transformed Muslim attitudes toward the聽Dhimmi, and also the聽 attitudes of the Jews and Christians in Islamic lands toward their relations with Muslim polity.聽 Many Islamic areas develop in accordance with an already existing tendency to organize聽 society along military lines. This becomes particularly true in areas where Turkic peoples take聽 over the leading governmental and military roles. Converted by Sunni merchants and聽 organised as military brotherhoods imbued with the spirit of military聽jihad, the Turks became聽 the defenders of the Islamic lands. In their vision of society, the influence of Christians, Jews,聽 and non-Sunni Muslim groups was circumscribed and made more rigid, but it was not聽 eliminated. Muslim religious scholars used depictions of Jews and Christians found in the聽 foundation texts as cautionary models for Muslims, but actual communities of Jews and聽 Christians were treated with strict adherence to legal precedent. The聽顿丑颈尘尘颈听had to wear聽 distinctive clothing and badges to indicate their position in society, as did Muslims, as part of聽 a general 鈥渦niform鈥� indicating rank and status. Certain occupations became common for Jews聽 and Christians, such as tanning, which was regarded as imparting ritual impurity to Muslims,聽 and it became less common in this period to find Jews and Christians in the highest ranks of聽 advisors to the rulers. Jews and Christians usually lived in separate quarters of cities, and,聽 while they were inferior to Muslims in public and barred from riding horses or blocking the聽 public way with religious processions, they lived autonomously with respect to their聽 communal affairs. This autonomy, while somewhat protective of individuals, was to prove to聽 have long-term consequences. Some Christian communities, caught in the middle of the聽 conflict during the Crusades, actively expressed their loyalty to Rome and Constantinople and聽 looked to the聽Crusaders聽as protectors of their interests. This association began a process of聽 separation of some of these communities from the matrix of Muslim polity, and they became聽 viewed as foreign by Muslims and themselves.

When Jews and Muslims were expelled from Spain in 1492 CE, the majority of Jews chose to聽 move to Islamic lands, the area of the Ottoman Empire in particular. The Iberian Jews were so聽 numerous, well educated, and prosperous, that Iberian Jewish culture often supplanted that of

the older Jewish communities, so that Sephardic became the general term for Jews living in聽 Islamic lands. The trading and manufacturing skills and the capital of these immigrants to the聽 Ottoman Empire provided much of the wealth for Ottoman expansion. Under the聽Ottomans,聽 Jewish and Christian communities achieved the greatest degree of autonomy. Through the聽聽尘颈濒濒别迟听system, each community was distinct and responsible directly to the Sultan. The most聽 famous intrusions into communal life occurred with the Ottoman institution of the Jannisary聽 corps. Young Christian males were conscripted by the Ottoman military, trained as soldiers,聽 converted to Islam, and placed in high positions in Ottoman administration. The process聽 sometimes produced resentment among Christians, but some families actively sought to have聽 a member chosen because of the possibilities of favours and preferential treatment later when聽 the candidate assumed official duties.

The Modern Period

Napoleon鈥檚 invasion of Egypt in 1798 is generally regarded as the beginning of the modern聽 period of the history of the Islamic Middle East and the beginnings of Western colonialism聽 that was to encompass most of the Islamic lands in Asia and Africa. In reality, it signified the聽 decline of Muslim polities against the economic and technological rise of Western Europe. By聽 the eighteenth century, most Muslims found themselves living in or dependent on one of the聽 three great Muslim empires: the Ottoman, the Mughal, or the Safavid Empire. All three聽 empires were agrarian and relied on peasant labour for wealth, military strength, and products聽 for worldwide trade. As Western Europe underwent the technological transformation usually聽 termed the Industrial Revolution, with the concomitant rise of capitalism, it also underwent a聽 social and religious revolution that placed great value on the individual and stressed聽 individual effort and initiative. This reorganisation produced societies generally freed from聽 family and clan constraints on labour allocation, rewards, and relations with governing聽 powers such that the societies became more efficient in manufacturing and trading goods on聽 the world market. In the worldwide competition, major areas of the Islamic world became聽 providers of raw or only partially manufactured goods for the industrialized West. When the聽 West sold back the manufactured goods, which often drove superior local goods from the聽 market, it also exposed the Muslim customers to the ideals of the reorganised, industrialised聽 society: individualised human rights, democracy, secularism and secular law, universal edu cation, science, nationalism, and the subordination of religion to the greater ideology of the聽 nation-state. Western military and economic success proved attractive to many members of聽 the Islamic states who sought to adopt Western ways as a means of securing part of this聽 success.

In the Ottoman Empire, the British and French found Jews and Christians to be willing agents聽 for their commercial activities, and the聽Ottomans, in turn, were pleased to employ the聽顿丑颈尘尘颈听聽for these purposes as well. Many Jews and Christians sought to secure the benefits of Western聽 societies for themselves and their offspring by asking for and getting Western protection,

passports, and, in some instances, citizenship. The聽顿丑颈尘尘颈听often fell under the protection of聽 the foreign powers. The increasing identification of Jews and Christians with non-Muslim聽 powers served only to isolate these non-Muslims from the rest of Islamic society. Even in places where there was not an indigenous Jewish or Christian population to be exploited f辞谤听 economic gain, Western European powers arrived as colonialists with professedly Christian聽 institutions, expectations, and ideologies. The British were able to separate Egypt from the聽 Ottoman Empire and establish a protectorate in 1882, as they were able to put India under聽 direct British rule in 1857. The French colonized Algeria in 1830 and Tunisia in 1881. The聽 Dutch competed with the British for Southeast Asia, so that by the end of the nineteenth聽 century, most Muslims were under Western political and legal influence. The secular legal聽 systems devised in the West supplanted both Christian and Muslim customary and religious聽 law, seriously challenging or eliminating the category of聽顿丑颈尘尘颈听in those countries. The聽 result was often a complete separation of Jews and Christians as groups from a relationship in聽 law with Muslims.

The dissolution of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I, resulting in the creation of聽 a number of small nation-states, resulted in a further separation of non-Muslims from聽 Muslims. The ideology of nationalism reduced religion to the status as one of the components聽 of a nation-state ideology. Education became Western, technological, and secular, further聽 reducing religion to peripheral status. By the eve of World War II, most Islamic countries聽 were prepared to overthrow colonialism and establish nation-states. When this happened after聽 World War II, constitutions were modelled after such countries as Switzerland, the United聽 States, and France, usually guaranteeing freedom of religion but providing no particular聽 safeguards for religious expression. Other religious and ethnic groups also desired nation states. Nominal Christian states were formed in the Balkans, and the state of Israel was聽 formed in the formerly British mandate territory of Palestine. The creation of the state of聽 Israel in 1948 became a central focal point for Muslim-Jewish relations, which had steadily聽 deteriorated since the end of World War I. The worsening conflicts in Palestine increased聽 Jewish-Muslim conflict in the Arab states, where Jews were seen as both foreign and聽 instruments of Western colonial designs. Within twenty years after the formation of the state聽 of Israel, the majority of Jews living in Arab lands migrated to Israel, thus crystallizing the聽 conflict in Palestine into a Jewish-Muslim conflict. Rulers in predominantly Muslim countries聽 no longer had a constituent Jewish population. Jews were an abstract and hostile other, and聽 Judaism, now increasingly identified with Zionism by Jews and non-Jews alike, was聽 revalorized as the ever-present opposition to Muslims in Islamic history. This last notion,聽 while having its roots in the foundation texts of Islam, was now abstracted in a way unlike聽 any time in the past, and Jewish-Muslim relations took a new direction.

A common thread among many Islamic intellectuals concerned with the role and direction of聽 Muslims in the postcolonial world is the role of the Jews in Islamic history. As mentioned聽 above, the historical circumstances of a strong Jewish presence in the聽Hijaz聽during聽 Muhammad鈥檚 time and the opposition of most of the Jewish tribes to Muhammad鈥檚 mission聽 embedded numerous seemingly anti-Jewish statements into the early literature. For a few, in a聽 quest to use the Islamic historical past to explain the present, the negative accounts of Judaism聽 and Christianity became abstracted so as to conflate the past with the present Arab-Israeli and聽 East-West conflicts; for example, biblical descriptions of Jews rebelling against God鈥檚聽 commands. Medinan Jewish opposition to the forming Muslim state and Israeli actions聽 against Palestinians were read together as an eternal Jewish character, a view sometimes聽 informed by Western anti-Semitic literature. The Egyptian intellectual,聽Sayyid聽Qutb鈥檚 article聽 鈥淥ur Struggle with the Jews,鈥� is one example, as are the views expressed by leaders of the聽 American Nation of Islam.

Other Muslim intellectuals read the same foundation texts with an emphasis on the special聽 relationship between God and People of the Book. While deploring the problems in Palestine,聽 they separate the Arab-Israeli conflict from discussions about Jews and Christians. Some at聽聽al-Azhar聽in Egypt cite the聽蚕耻谤鈥檃苍聽and聽蝉耻苍苍补听to support peace accords between Israel and the聽 Palestinians, and Warith D. Muhammad, the son of Elijah Muhammad, in the United States聽 has countered the anti-Jewish essentialist reading of the past with a 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍ic-based message聽 of mutual cooperation among Muslims, Jews, and Christians.