Head of Public Policy Tim Dieppe continues his series on antisemitism in Islam, this time revealing how many of the leading figures in Islam have expressed exactly the kinds of antisemitism you would expect, given what we have already seen
As we have already seen, there is ample evidence in the Qur’an and the traditions that Islam is antisemitic, and attempts to balance this with so-called philosemitic verses are unconvincing.
But on top of that, the evidence of antisemitism in Islamic history is overwhelming. The texts cited here are given in chronological order.
Decree of Caliph al-Mutawakkil (850AD)
In the following decree we can see clearly what status actually meant. It was a discriminatory system which gave Jews (and Christians) second class citizenship, wearing distinctive clothing. They were not allowed to build synagogues or display religious symbols. This is in addition to paying an exorbitant jizya subjugation tax. It is not difficult to see how this is very similar to an apartheid system for Jews (and Christians).
“In that year [AH235/850AD), al-Mutawakkil ordered that the Christians and all the rest of the ahl al-dhimma be made to wear honey-colored taylasans (hoods) and the zunnar belts. They were to ride on saddles with wooden stirrups, and two balls were to be attached to the rear of’ their saddles. He required them to attach two buttons oil their qalansuwas (conical caps) – those of, their) that wore this cap. And it was to be of a different color from the qalansuwa worn by Muslims. He further required them to affix two patches on the exterior of then slaves’ garments. The color of these patches had to be different from that of the garment. One of the patches was to be worn in front oil the breast and the other on the back. Each of the patches should measure four fingers in diameter. They too were to be honey-colored. Whosoever of them wears a turban, its color was likewise to be honeycolored. If any of their women went out veiled, they had to be enveloped in a honey-colored izar (large wrap). He further commanded that their slaves be made to wear the zunnar and be forbidden to wear the mintaqa (Arab military belt).
He gave orders that any of their houses of worship built after the advent of Islam were to be destroyed and that one-tenth of their homes be confiscated. If the place was spacious enough, it was to be converted into a mosque. If it was not suitable for a mosque, it was to be made an open space. He commanded that wooden images of devils be nailed to the doors of their homes to distinguish them from the homes of Muslims.
He forbade their being employed in the government offices or in any official business whereby they might have authority over Muslims. He prohibited their children [from] studying in Muslim schools. Nor was any Muslim permitted to teach them. He forbade them to display crosses on their Palm Sundays, and he prohibited any Jewish chanting in the streets. He gave orders that their graves should be made level with the ground so as not to resemble the graves of Muslims. And he wrote to all his governors regarding this.”[1]
al-Jahiz d.869
“Our people [the Muslims] observing thus the occupations of the Jews and the Christians concluded that the religion of the Jews must compare unfavorably as do their professions, and that their unbelief must be the foulest of all, since they are the filthiest of all nations. Why the Christians, ugly as they are, are physically less repulsive than the Jews may be explained by the fact that the Jews, by not intermarrying, have intensified the offensiveness of their features. Exotic elements have not mingled with them; neither have males of alien races had intercourse with their women, nor have their men cohabited with females of a foreign stock. The Jewish race therefore has been denied high mental qualities, sound physique, and superior lactation. The same results obtain when horses, camels, donkeys, and pigeons are inbred.”[2]
Note the clear antisemitic attitudes.
Qadi Ahmed b. Talib (d.889)
“A Jew who dresses like the Muslim and fails to wear the clothing that distinguishes him from them will be incarcerated, beaten, and paraded ignominiously through the places inhabited by the Jews and Christians as an example.”[3]
Jews must wear distinctive clothing on pain of incarceration, beating and parading.
Obadiah, the Norman Proselyte (c.1090)
The following text is from a Jewish writer explaining how Jews were treated in Baghdad where he was living at the time. Note how Jews are to be distinguished by wearing yellow badges and are required to pay a hefty subjugation tax – even after they have died!
“…Prior to this, the ruler of Baghdad, whose name was al-Muqtadi, had given full authority to his vizier, Abu Shuja, to make a change in policy regarding the Jews living in Baghdad. Now he (Abu Shuja) had already sought on many occasions to destroy them, but the God of Israel had thwarted his intention, and on this occasion too, he protected them from his fury.
He (Abu Shuja) directed that yellow badges should be affixed to the headgear of every Jewish male. In addition to the badge on the head, another of lead, the weight of a silver coin, was to hang round the neck of every Jew. The lead pendant was to be inscribed with the word “dhimmi” indicating that the Jews were tribute bearers. He also imposed that every Jew should wear a distinguishing belt around the waist. Abu Shuja imposed two distinguishing signs upon Jewish women. Each woman had to wear one red shoe and one black shoe. Furthermore, each woman had to have a small copper bell on her neck or on her shoe which would tinkle so that all would know and differentiate between the women of the Jews and of the Muslims. He assigned cruel Muslim men to watch over the Jewish men and cruel Muslim women to oversee the Jewish women, in order to oppress them with every sort of insult, humiliation, and contempt. The Muslims would mock them, and the common rabble, together with their children, would beat Jews throughout all the streets of Baghdad.
The law regarding the tribute which was collected annually by the servants of the ruler of Baghdad is as follows: From every wealthy Jew, they would collect four and a half dinars, from every Jew of the middle class, two and a half, and from the poorest Jews, one and a half. If a Jew died, not having paid the tribute in full, the Muslims would not let him be buried until the remainder is paid, be the amount large or small. If the deceased left nothing of value, the Muslims demanded it from the Jewish community, and they must redeem their dead by paying the outstanding tribute money out of their own funds. If not, the Muslims would seek to burn the body.”[4]
Moses Maimonides (d.1204)
Maimonides was a Jewish Rabbi and philosopher widely regarded as perhaps the greatest Jewish scholar of the Middle Ages. I was surprised in my debate with Reza Aslan that he cited Maimonides as an example of Muslim tolerance towards the Jews. Maimonides’ own words show that this was far from a great example of Islamic tolerance. Maimonides is clear that the Jews were heavily persecuted by the Muslims. He viewed it as the worst persecution the Jews had ever endured.
Here is a section from his Letter to the Jews in Yemen:
“Remember, my co-religionists, that on account of the vast number of our sins, God has hurled us in the midst of this people, the Arabs, who have persecuted us severely, and passed baneful and discriminatory legislation against us, as Scripture has forewarned us, “Our enemies themselves shall judge us” (Deuteronomy 32:31). Never did a nation molest, degrade, debase and hate us as much as they. . . . Although we were dishonoured by them beyond human endurance, and had to put with their fabrications, yet we behaved like him who is depicted by the inspired writer, “But I am as a deaf man, I hear not, and I am as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth.” (Psalms 38:14). Similarly, our sages instructed us to bear the prevarications and preposterousness of Ishmael in silence.” . . .
“But the Muslims themselves put no faith in their own arguments, they neither accept nor cite them, because they are manifestly so fallacious. Inasmuch as the Muslims could not find a single proof in the entire Bible nor a reference or possible allusion to their prophet which they could utilize, they were compelled to accuse us saying, “You have altered the text of the Torah, and expunged every trace of the name of Mohammed therefrom.” They could find nothing stronger than this ignominious argument the falsity of which is easily demonstrated to one and all by the following facts.”[5]
Al-Jaubari (d.1222)
“Know that these people are the most cunning creatures, the vilest, most unbelieving and hypocritical. While ostensibly the most humble and miserable, they are in fact the most vicious of men. This the very essence of rascality and accursedness. If they remain alone with a man, they destroy him. . . . They are the most unbelieving and most perfidious of men. So beware of their company. They have no belief or religion. This is the description of the learned of the Jewish liars.”[6]
Blatant antisemitism from this alchemist from Damascus.
Ibn Kathir (d.1373)
“This Ayah [Q2:61] indicates that the Children of Israel were plagued with humiliation, and that this will continue, meaning that it will never cease. They will continue to suffer humiliation at the hands of all who interact with them, along with the disgrace that they feel inwardly.” [7]
Ibn Kathir is a highly respected Medieval commentator on the Qur’an whose Tafsir (or commentary) continues to be cited.
Al-Maghili d.c.1505 (Algeria)
“Love of the Prophet requires hatred of the Jews.”[8]
Al-Maghili was an influential Muslim missionary in Algeria. His writings were widely circulated in Morocco and continued to influence the treatment of Moroccan Jews through to the early twentieth century.[9] Hunwick elaborates further on Al-Maghili’s articulation of dhimmitude:
“Any Muslim who befriended a Jew or came to his defence, or opposed the destruction of the synagogue was to be considered an unbeliever. Dhimmis must be considered in a permanent state of abasement. This is why jizya must be paid in a public ceremony in which the Dhimmi at the moment of payment is given a tap on the neck and pushed forward to show him he has thus escaped the sword. This abasement is more important than the sum paid. No religious edifice may be erected by a dhimmi in the land of Islam and if any governor gave permission for one, this permission must be revoked and the building torn down. This is because the manifestation of the dhimmi’s religion in the form of a building is a contradiction of the concept of abasement.”[10]
Note the insistence that the Dhimmi be in a state of abasement.
Ahmad Sirhindi d. 1624 (Indian Sufi theologian):
“Whenever a Jew is killed it is for the benefit of Islam.”[11]
Sirhindi was an Indian theologian and mystic who reasserted orthodox Sunnite Islam in India.
Germaine Moüette (1683)
Germain Moüette is a French writer who wrote about what he observed about the degrading treatment of the Jews in Barbary – what is now Morocco.
“The Jews are very numerous in Barbary, and they are held in no more estimation than elsewhere; on the contrary, if there is any refuse to be thrown out, they are the first employed. They are obliged to work at their crafts for the king, when they are called, for their food alone. They are subject to the blows and injuries of everyone, without daring to say a word even to a child of six who throws stones at them. If they pass before a mosque, no matter what the weather or season might be, they must remove their shoes, not even daring in the royal cities, such as Fez and Marrakesh, to wear them at all, under pain of five hundred lashes and being put into prison, from which they would be released only on payment of a heavy fine.
“They dress in the Arab fashion, but their cloaks and caps are in black in order to be distinguishable. . . . There is practically never justice for them in these lands.”[12]
Note the degrading treatment of the Jews.
American Reverend, Justin Perkins (1836)
“Yesterday an unoffending Jew was publicly beheaded and burned in this city [Urmia, northwest Iran]. The enraged Mohammedans had, for two or three days, thronged the governor’s palace by thousands, demanding that the whole Jewish population of the city should be put to death to a man. And to appease the mob, the governor delivered up this individual. He was arraigned under the accusation of having murdered a Mohammedan child. The Mohammedans…cherish the belief, (or profess to cherish it,) that the Jews possess an instinctive thirst for human blood, as well as seek human victims for an annual sacrifice. In this instance, a Mohammedan infant was found dead, before the door of a Jew. The probability is that the child died a natural death and was thus exposed by interested persons, to rouse public indignation against the poor Jews; and so strong is the hatred of the Mohammedans towards the descendants of Israel, that the stratagem proved entirely successful, as is often the case in Mohammedan countries…The hostility cherished by Mohammedans towards the Jews is inconceivably more bitter than their hatred to Christians. The determined aversion which the Jews early manifested to the religion of the impostor [Muhammad] is still remembered and strongly resented by his followers.”[13]
Note the link with the religion of Muhammad.
French surgeon A.B. Clot (1840)
This extract relates how the Jews were treated by Muslims in Egypt in the nineteenth century.
“The Israelite race is the one the Muslims hate the most. They think the Jews hate Islam more than any other nation. . . . Speaking of a fierce enemy, the Muslims say: ‘He hates me the way the Jews hate us.’ During the past century, the Israelites were often put to death because they were accused rightly or wrongly to have something disrespectful about the Koran.”[14]
J.J. Benjamin II (1859)
In the following passage, Benjamin is commenting on the state of the Jews in Palestine under Ottoman rule.
“Deep misery and continual oppression are the right words to describe the condition of the Children of Israel in the land of their fathers. . . . They are entirely destitute of every legal protection and every means of safety. Instead of the security afforded by the law, which is unknown in these countries, they are solely under the orders of the Scheiks and Pachas, men, whose character and feelings inspire but little confidence from the beginning. . . . With unheard of rapacity tax upon tax is levied on them. With the exception of Jerusalem, every where else the taxes demanded are arbitrary. Whole communities have been impoverished by the exorbitant claims of the Scheiks, who, under the most trifling pretences, without any control, oppress the Jews with fresh burthens. It is impossible to enumerate all these oppressions.”[15]
Iqraa Television (Saudi Arabia, 2002)
In May 2002, Iqraa, the Saudi satellite television station, which, according to its website, seeks “to highlight aspects of Arab Islamic culture that inspire admiration … to highlight the true, tolerant image of Islam and refute the accusations directed against it,” interviewed a three-and-a-half-year-old “real Muslim girl” about Jews, on “The Muslim Women’s Magazine” program. The little girl was asked whether she liked Jews; she answered, “no.” When asked why not, she said that Jews were “apes and pigs.” “Who said this?” the moderator asked. The girl answered, “Our God.” “Where did He say this?” “In the Qur’an.” At the end of the interview, the moderator said with satisfaction: “No [parents] could wish for Allah to give them a more believing girl than she… May Allah bless her and both her father and mother.”[16]
This station, claiming to promote the ‘true, tolerant image of Islam’ approvingly broadcasted blatant antisemitism justified on the basis of what the Qur’an says.
Islamic history confirms the antisemitic reading of the Qur’an
Many more examples could be cited, but these give a representative sample of evidence of the impact of Islamic antisemitism throughout the centuries of Islamic history.
This alone doesn’t prove that Islam, as defined by its texts, is antisemitic, but it does show how the antisemitic views we saw in parts one to three have been worked out in history.
Sadly, there has been plenty of antisemitism in church history as well. But the crucial difference is that such antisemitism is not supported by the Bible.
In the final part of this series, I will tackle that objection and demonstrate that Islamic antisemitism isn’t only a thing of the past, but remains ingrained in the religion today.
Read Antisemitism in Islam part one: the Qur’an
Read Antisemitism in Islam part two: traditions
Read Antisemitism in Islam part three: ‘philosemitic’ texts?
Endnotes
[1] Ye’or, Bat (2005), The Dhimmi: Jews and Christians under Islam (Revised & Enlarged English edn: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press; 7th; tr. from 1980), 185-86. From: Norman Stillman, The Jews of Arab Lands: A History and Source Book, (Jewish Publication Society, 1998), 167-168.
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/decree-of-caliph-al-mutawakkil-850-ce. Original source: Al-Tabari (1989), The History of Al-Tabari Vol. XXXIV: Incipient Decline, (State University of New York Press), 89-91.
[2] Finkel, Joshua (1927), “A Risāla of Al-Jāḥiẓ”, Journal of the American Oriental Society 47: 311-34.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/593285
[3] Bostom, The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism: From Sacred Texts to Solemn History, 54.
[4] Geniza Document, Kaufmann XV in Alexander Scheiber, Fragment from the Chronicle of Obadiah, the Norman Proselyte,” Acta Orientalia Hungarica, vol. 4 (1954), pp 278-78.
Cited in: Norman Stillman, The Jews of Arab Lands (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1979), p 251.
https://zionism-israel.com/hdoc/Jews_Baghdad_Eleventh_Century.htm
[5] Moses Maimonides, Epistle to the Jews of Yemen, 1172
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Epistle_to_Yemen/Complete
[6] Moshe Perleman “Notes on the position of Jewish Physicians in Medieval Muslim Countries,” Israel Orient Studies 2 (1972): 316-317.
Cited in: Bostom, The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism: From Sacred Texts to Solemn History, 321
[7] Ibn Kathir, Tafsir on Q2:61 http://m.qtafsir.com/Surah-Al-Baqara/Covering-the-Jews-in-Humiliati—
[8] Gwarzo, Hassan Ibrahim (1972), ‘The Life and Teachings of Al-Maghili, with Particular Reference to the Saharan Jewish Community’ (University of London), 134.
https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/33893/
[9] Bostom, The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism: From Sacred Texts to Solemn History, 691-692
[10] Hunwick, John O. “Al-Mahîlî and the Jews of Tuwât: The Demise of a Community.” Studia Islamica, no. 61 (1985) 176
https://www.jstor.org/stable/1595412
[11] Friedmann, Yohanan (1966), ‘Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi: An Outline of His Thought and a Study of His Image in the Eyes of Posterity’ (McGill University): 111. [Bostrom p329]
https://escholarship.mcgill.ca/concern/theses/5425kf73g
Cited in: Bostom, The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism: From Sacred Texts to Solemn History, 329
[12] Germain Mouette, Historie des conqestes de Mouuley Archy, (Paris, 1863).
Cited in: Norman Stillman, The Jews of Arab Lands, 304.
[13] Perkins, Justin, A Residence of Eight Years in Persia, (Allen Morrill & Wardwell, 1843), 276
https://t.ly/QqHJF
[14] Jacob M. Landau, Jews in Nineteenth Century Egypt, (New York University Press, 1969), 152-54
https://archive.org/details/jewsinnineteenth0000unse/page/152/mode/2up
Cited in translation in: Bostom, The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism: From Sacred Texts to Solemn History, 39
[15] J.J. Benjamin II, Eight Years in Asia and Africa: From 1846 to 1855, (Hanover 1959), 31.
https://archive.org/details/eightyearsinasi00benjgoog/page/n55/mode/2up?q=%22deep+misery%22+
[16] https://www.memri.org/reports/what-arab-antisemitism#_edn5
