Jews, Christians and Muslims in History

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Jews, Christians and Muslims in History

• Marek Cejka

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• Middle East today gives the impression that it is
  a place of mutual hatred and conflict of the
  three great religions
• Middle East disputes are often presented as an
  interfaith intolerance, "clash of civilizations",
  etc.
• But these are simplistic argument, the reality is
  far more complex
• Until the early 20th century were among Muslims,
  Jews and Christians in the Middle East no major
  problems

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The common basis of three "Abrahamic" religions

• JUDAISM is the foundation - the oldest of the
  three religions
• 70. AD beginning of the Jewish Diaspora - Jews
  expelled by the Romans
• CHRISTIANITY was established initially as an
  offshoot of Judaism, and later separated and
  significantly changed
• Christianity started to be dominant in the Middle
  East
• ISLAM - the last in line - his birth linked to
  the life of Prophet Muhammad (570-632)
• Islam is considered to be the heir of Judaism and
  Christianity, but it also considers itself the
  most perfect of the whole series. Islam accepts
  both previous religion, but considers them to be
  imperfect and attributed a different meaning for
  many phenomena (Jesus)

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Similarities

• Common for Judaism - Christianity - Islam
• Monotheism
• The worship of the patriarchs, kings and prophets
  of the Old Testament - Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,
  Moses, Elijah, David and Solomon
• Common for Islam - Judaism
• The similarity between is apparently higher than
  between Judaism and contemporary Christianity
• kosher-halal,
• systems of law (Halacha-Shariah)
• clothing, beards, skullcaps
• circumcision

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The similarities of Christianity and Islam

• prayer, fasting, alms, pilgrimages
• The Quran in many places recognizes Jesus and his
  teachings
• Sura 19 of Koran is devoted to the Virgin Mary
• Contentious issues
• Mohammed, Holy Trinity, the Incarnation of Christ
  and his resurrection

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Islam and Jesus

• Muslims contend that crucifixion did not occur.
  The basis of all of these beliefs is the
  following verse in the Qur'an
• That they said (in boast), "We killed Christ
  Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah"-
  but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but
  so it was made to appear to them, and those who
  differ therein are full of doubts, with no
  (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to
  follow, for of a surety they killed him not Nay,
  Allah raised him up unto Himself and Allah is
  Exalted in Power, Wise
• Qur'an, sura 4 (An-Nisa)
  verses 157-158

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Situation in the Middle East until emergence of
Christianity

• The presence of monotheism - Judaism,
  Zoroastrianism
• The presence of various religions and polyteistic
  cults
• Egypt, the Assyrian Empire (9th to 7th century BC
  is)
• Biblical Jewish State of Israel (1020 - 926 BC)
• Babylon (from 1900 BC)
• Persian Empire (550-330 BC)
• Empire of Alexander the Great (from 330 BC)
• The Roman Empire (70 BC 395 AD)
• Byzantine Empire (395 AD 1453 AD)

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Christianity in the Middle East the Byzantine
Empire from 4. to 7. Century
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The expansion of Islam and the emergence of the
Caliphate (since the 7th century)
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Islamic Caliphate
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Hundreds of thousands of Jews and Christians
living in the Muslim Middle East

• Polytheism is inhibited by Muslims, but Abrahamic
  monotheisms (Judaism, Christianity) are usually
  recognized and their supporters usually not
  forced in the Muslim environment to convert.
• Tolerance especially in the so-called "golden age
  of Islam" (8th-13th cent.)
• Christians and Jews in subordinate position of
  Islam - the dhimmi status
• Some restrictions
• special taxes
• could not wear a certain color of clothing,
  special signs
• not allowed to marry Muslim women
• limited ability of their testimony in court
• Could not hold some offices.

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Quran and tolerant relationship to the People of
the Book"

• Do not argue with the people of the scripture
  (Jews, Christians, and Muslims) except in the
  nicest possible manner - unless they transgress -
  and say, "We believe in what was revealed to us
  and in what was revealed to you, and our god and
  your god is one and the same to Him we are
  submitters.
• Quran - Sura 29 Spider,verse 46

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The status of other religions in Islam is usually
better than that of the Muslims and Jews in
Christianity

• Christian antisemtism and antijudaism
• Basic charges murder of Jesus and the resulting
  collective responsibility of Jews for his
  crucifixion.
• pogroms, torture, accusations of ritual murder,
  desecration of hosts, poisoning wells
• Anti-Semitism is particularly strong in the
  Catholic lands, Protestants are usually more
  moderate
• Forced conversion of Jews and Muslims in Spain
• After the "Reconquista" (1492) Jews flee from
  Spain to Muslim North Africa

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Exspulsion of Jews
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The intellectual foundations of Christian
Antisemitism

• Some maintain that a number of early and
  influential works by the Church Fathers such as
  the dialogues of Justin Martyr, the homilies of
  John Chrysostom, and the testimonies of Cyprian
  are anti-Jewish. Others, like Augustine, argued
  that the Jews should be left alive, to suffer as
  a perpetual reminder of their murder of Christ.
• Thomas Aquinas (1225 1274)
• "as the laws say, the Jews by reason of their
  fault are sentenced to perpetual servitude and
  thus the lords of the lands in which they dwell
  may take things from them as though they were
  their own with, nonetheless, this restraint
  observed that the necessary subsidies of life in
  no way be taken from them...and that the
  services coerced from them do not demand things
  that they had not been accustomed to do in times
  gone by. "
• Reformation Martin Luther (1483 1546)
• in his book On the Jews and their Lies Jews
  are venomous beasts, vipers, disgusting scum,
  canders, devils incarnate. Their private houses
  must be destroyed and devastated, they could be
  lodged in stables. Let the magistrates burn their
  synagogues and let whatever escapes be covered
  with sand and mud. Let them force to work, and if
  this avails nothing, we will be compelled to
  expel them like dogs in order not to expose
  ourselves to incurring divine wrath and eternal
  damnation from the Jews and their lies."

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Christianity versus IslamThe Crusades (1095 -
1291)
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Reconquista of Spain (finished 1492)
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Turkish expansion Ottoman empire, 12991922
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Ottoman Empire

• The peak during reign of Suleiman I. Magnificient
  (1520 - 1566)
• At the same time the first symptoms of stagnation
  - Empire loses in many aspects breath to Europe,
  the effort to modernize
• Conflict with Persia and Russia, the defeat at
  Vienna (1683)
• The loss of European territory in the Balkans
• The alliance with European superpowers (France,
  Britain) and later with Germany
• "Sick man on the Bosphorus"
• Politically the harsh centralization,
  repression, bureaucracy
• From a religious perspective relative tolerance

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The Middle East on the eve of the WW1
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• For more see
• http//blizky-vychod.blogspot.com
• Mareks books
• Judaism and politics in Israel (2002, 2009)
• Israel and Palestine (2005)
• Encyclopedia of the Middle Eastern Terrorism
  (2007)
• Rabbis of our Time (2010, co-author)
• History of Modern Israel (2011)