Jews… in the Koran? Diane Bederman
https://dianebederman.com/jews-in-the-koran/
So I was sitting on the couch, my legs on the coffee table, flipping through the Koran, glass of dry white wine in one hand and a platter of pita with hummus on the table, and, WOW. Almost spilled the wine. Jews in the Koran? In the second sura(chapter)? Seems Mohamed talked about the Jews in the Koran! Where were these Jews? In Germany? Poland? No?
Oh, in Arabia, today’s Saudi Arabia-the Middle East. So when people scream to Jews, today, go back to Poland and Germany, nope. Wrong places.
Jews didn’t come from Poland and Germany. According to Mohamed, they were in the Middle East BEFORE Islam, Germany or Poland. I’ll be damned. Who knew?
All I read is that Jews are colonizers of the Middle East, especially Israel. But it seems that’s all wrong!
During the days of Jewish clashes with the Roman Empire, Jews fled to areas outside the control of Rome and founded many towns and villages in Arabia. One very famous town, almost certainly founded by Jews, was Yathrib. Today Yathrib is better known as Medina and is considered Islam’s second holiest city (after Mecca). Mohamed’s journey to Yithrab in the year 622 CE, the year 1 of the Islamic calendar, was immortalized as the Hegira, his flight from Mecca to Medina, “the city of the prophet, in 622 where he was welcomed by the Jews. The Jews? Yes, Medina, founded by Jewish tribes who planted a date palm oasis after fleeing Roman conquered Judaea, and gave Muhammad refuge from his enemies in Mecca. I”be darned!
And as an historical document, the Quran provides evidence about the belief and practices of Arabian Jews during Late Antiquity(from the late 3rd century to the 7th or 8th century CE). Arabian Jews. Hmmm. I’m guessing they weren’t white. This evidence is found in numerous forms. First, the Quran makes numerous references to narratives from the Hebrew Bible, especially the Books of Genesis, Exodus, Kings, and Jonah. The text assumes that its contemporary audience, which included communities of Arabian Jews, was already steeped in Jewish scripture. Quranic retellings of Biblical stories provide clues about how these stories were understood by Arabian Jewish communities at the time. Second, the Quran engages with various aspects of Jewish law, both Biblical and Rabbinic. Quranic commentary on these laws contains evidence of Jewish legal culture and practice in Arabia at the time of the Quran. Third, the Quran contains communal addresses to Jewish communities in its historical context. These communities are called “The Sons of Israel,” “the Nation of Moses,” “the People of the Book,” “the Judeans(Judeans? From Judea????).”
So, let me get this straight. The Koran speaks of the Jews; Even Israel. Israel is mentioned more than 40 times in the
WHAAAAT?
But, hmmm, no mention of Muslims in the Torah or Gospels. How is that possible if Muslims lived on the land before the Jews? Wouldn’t these two Great Books have mentioned them? They mention other tribes: like the Canaanites, Philistines, Moabites, Ammonites, and Edomites.
Yet, the late Pope Francis seemed to think Jesus was an Arab Palestinian. How did that happen? If Jesus was a Palestinian, as suggested by Pope Francis, then why is there no mention of that in the Gospels?
The Quran consists of 114 chapters of varying lengths, known as a sūrah. Each sūrah consists of verses, known as āyāt, which originally means a ‘sign’ or ‘evidence’ sent by God.
Several suras mention the Children of Israel (Banu Isra’il), a term often associated with both Jews and Christians as a single religious lineage. Imagine my surprise when the Jews were mentioned in the second sura! Additionally, the Quran refers to the Jewish people (Yahudi) as a specific religious group. The exact number of suras mentioning Jews, or Banu Isra’il, is not definitively stated, but it is a significant number of sura.
What? Jews are mentioned frequently in the Koran? In the area of the Middle East? Living there BEFORE Muslims?
Verses 61 and 62 of Surah Al-Baqarah (The Cow) in the Quran discuss the Children of Israel’s discontent with their diet in the wilderness and then outline the conditions for salvation for all believers, including Jews, Christians, and Sabians, who believe in Allah and the Last Day and do good deeds.
So Mohamed knew all about the Jews: their receiving of the Law at Mount Sinai from God.
Verse 61: This verse recalls the Israelites’ complaint to Moses about their diet of “manna and quails,” expressing a desire for a more diverse range of foods, including herbs, cucumbers, lentils, and onions. They wanted to exchange the divinely provided sustenance for earthly provisions.
Verse 62: This verse shifts focus to a broader principle of salvation. It states that those who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and do good deeds, regardless of whether they were previously identified as believers, Jews, Christians, or Sabians, will receive their reward from Allah and experience neither fear nor grief.
(2:62) Whether they are the ones who believe (in the Arabian Prophet), or whether they are Jews, Christians or Sabians – all who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and do righteous deeds – their reward is surely secure with their Lord; they need have no fear, nor shall they grieve. The context of the verse makes it clear that it is not attempting to enumerate in detail all the articles of faith in which one should believe, or all the principles of conduct which one should follow in order to merit reward from God. These matters are mentioned elsewhere, in their appropriate places.
The aim of the verse is merely to repudiate the illusion cherished by the Jews that, by virtue of their being Jews, they have a monopoly of salvation. They had long entertained the notion that a special and exclusive relationship existed between them and God. They thought, therefore, that all who belonged to their group were predestined to salvation regardless of their beliefs and actions, whereas all non-Jews were predestined to serve as fodder for hell-fire.
(2:67) And then recall when Moses said to his people: “Behold, Allah commands you to slaughter a cow.” They said: “Are you jesting with us?” Moses answered: “I seek refuge in Allah that I should behave in the manner of the ignorant.” Hmmm
Seems Mohamed’s interactions with the Jews of Medina led him to lose faith in the Jews in Arabia, the Middle East, because they would not accept him as the last prophet and he declared in the Second Sura and fourth and fifth…
- “And humiliation and wretchedness were stamped upon them, and they were visited with wrath from God.” (Sura 2:61)
- “Of all men you will certainly find the Jews … to be the most intense in hatred of those who believe.” (Sura 5:85)
- “Vendors are they of error and are desirous that you go astray from the way … But God has cursed them for their unbelief.” (Sura 4:48-49)
So when did Jews settle in Saudi Arabia?
The period from 622 C.E. until Mohammed’s death in 632 C.E. was punctuated by periods of intense anti-Jewish violence as he systematically expelled, plundered and even slaughtered the Jewish tribes of Nadir, Khaybar and Banu Qurayza who lived in and around Mecca. The first mention of Jews in the areas of modern-day Saudi Arabia dates back, by some accounts, to the time of the First Temple(which was destroyed in 586 BCE). Immigration to the Arabian Peninsula began in earnest in the 2nd century CE, and by the 6th and 7th centuries there was a considerable Jewish population in Hejaz, mostly in and around Medina.
Mohammed’s victories of the Jews are discussed in great length in Sura 59 of the Koran, primarily discussing the expulsion of the Jewish tribe of Banu Nadir from Medina.
So Mohammed killed Jews, who had been living in the area, long before Muslims came into being!
Seems Jews have never been popular in Islam; long before October 7.
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