Review of Bostom's book by NS Rajaram

It's a monumental study that throws light on the scriptural basis of intolerance and its manifestations in history,

says NS Rajaram in his review of The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism: From Sacred Texts to Solemn History by Andrew Bostom.

Review by NS Rajaram in The Daily Pioneer (India)


Islam, we are constantly told, is a religion of peace and brotherhood. According to this view, terrorists taking innocent lives in its name are either ignorant of the true teachings of Islam or are driven to violence as a last resort because of injustices suffered at the hands of the victims -- Hindus, Jews and Christians. This claim of scriptural innocence and the historical reality are examined in detail in the monumental work, The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism, by Andrew Bostom, the compiler of the equally monumental The Legacy of Jihad.


But first we must ask: Can we accept teachings and conduct in the name of religion that would be unacceptable on humanistic grounds? Quranic passages -- "When the sacred months are passed, kill those who join other gods with God (Allah) wherever ye shall find them; and seize them, besiege them with every kind of ambush..."; and, "Gather against them all your armies and your horses so you may strike terror in the hearts of the enemies of Allah and your enemies..." -- need to be reinterpreted.


The scope of The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism is broader than what the title suggests. It is better seen as a study of the theology and practice of intolerance than as a study limited to the persecution of Jews under Islamic rule. Unlike Hindus who encountered the full fury of Islam five centuries after its founding, Jews have had to deal with it right from the start in countries stretching from Spain to Iran. We thus have not only the authentic scripture of Islam but also abundant historical records by Jews, Christians and Muslims. These are presented in a systematic manner, allowing us to get a vivid picture of the treatment of non-Muslims.


These records make it clear that there is no middle ground in Islam, of a spirit of live and let live. In the words of the philosopher KD Prithipaul of the University of Alberta (conveyed to this reviewer), Muslims can live only "as an oppressive majority or a turbulent minority". Even the Indian Sufi Shayk-Ahmad Sirhindi wrote: "Whenever a Jew is killed it is for the benefit of Islam." This was long before the creation of Israel.


In spite of this vast and unambiguous record spanning over a thousand years, there is no shortage of 'liberal' intellectuals who extol the tolerance shown by Islam. Economist Amartya Sen wrote that when the "Jewish philosopher Maimonides was forced to emigrate from an intolerant Europe in the 12th century, he found a tolerant refuge in the Arab (Muslim) world". The truth is that the 'intolerant' Europe Maimonides had to flee happened to be Spain then under Berber Muslim rule, which, according to Foujad Ajami, "made the life of Spanish Jews... utter hell".


The depth of hatred for Jews that permeates the Islamic scriptures is truly staggering, but Moses Maimonides (1135-1204) noted also a parallel tendency for denial: "Never did a nation molest, degrade, debate and hate us as much as they (Muslims)... Although we were dishonoured by them beyond human endurance,... we have acquiesced, both old and young, to inure ourselves to humiliation." This could well have been written about Hindus, especially their modern prophets of 'secularism.'


As part of this denial, Jews themselves joined hands with some apologist scholars to create the myth of a 'Golden Age' of Spain under Islamic rule. Jane Gerber explodes this myth: "The aristocratic bearing of a select class of courtiers and poets, however, should not blind us to the reality that this tightly knit circle of leaders was neither the whole of the Jewish history nor of Spanish Jewish society." This applies equally to the myth of India's 'Golden Age' under the Mughals with its 'synthetic culture' propagated by secularist historians.


Academic whitewashers of the Islamic record like Amartya Sen have now been joined by a brand of 'moderate' Muslims who claim that the extreme Wahaabi brand of Islam in force in countries like Saudi Arabia is a deviation from the true teachings. A prime example of these is Ed Husain, a reformed British radical Muslim and author of The Islamist. These 'moderates' are lionised by the establishment, especially in Britain. The same establishment, on the other hand, shuns serious critics like Ibn Warraq and the late Anwar Shaikh who raise uncomfortable questions.


A curious thing about these so-called moderates is that they live in open non-Islamic societies like the UK, the US and India where they enjoy the protection of democratic Governments. Their message of moderation is for public consumption and never taken to those who really need it -- the fundamentalists who rule Saudi Arabia, the Taliban, Al Qaeda and their ilk. In effect, they are little more than apologists.


The message to these 'moderates' is -- lip service is not enough. They must take a forthright stand and play an active role in reforming the Islam. All other religions -- Hinduism included -- have reformed themselves and continue to do so.

In summary, The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism leaves little doubt that intolerance and violence are not a recent phenomenon due to Israel or Ayodhya or anything else, but only the latest phase in a theology and history that goes back 1,400 years. It is an indispensable source for every serious student of religion, especially of Islam and its history.

A Trip Across Israel in Real Time

Filmed by Judith Weiss
Concept, driving and narration by Steve Dzik
Backseat driving by Mary Madigan

During his trip to Israel last year, when the nation was celebrating its 59th birthday, Steve came up with the idea of filming the drive across the entire width of Israel from the West Bank wall to the Mediterranean Sea.

The drive took less than twenty minutes, about the time it takes the average American to commute to work. This demonstrates how small and vulnerable Israel is.


aggregated from solomonia.com

Peres: No chance of peace with PalestiniansBy Yossi Verter

President Shimon Peres believes there is no chance of an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.

Peres, the one-time proponent of a "new Middle East" made this statement last Saturday at a dinner with the Jordanian and French ambassadors in Defense Minister Ehud Barak's Tel Aviv apartment.

At the end of the meal an argument erupted between the Jordanian envoy, Ali Ayed, and a well-known "dovish" attorney, who said Israel had no chance of reaching an agreement with the Palestinian Authority under Mahmoud Abbas' leadership. Barak supported his guest's hawkish stance.

At a certain point, Peres intervened, surprising the participants by joining the attorney's prediction. "It would be very hard to reach an agreement," Peres said, due to the Hamas-Fatah split.

He said Abbas had no support among his people, no power to carry out security agreements and that any agreement Israel and the PA made crumbled a day later due to the PA's weakness. Therefore there is no chance of agreement, he summed.

Iranian TV 'documentary' series: Jewish Plan for the Genocide of Humanity

How much anti-Semitism coming from Iran is needed to convince folks of the government's intent?

Videotape #1802 - "The Secret of Armageddon" - An Iranian TV "Documentary" Claims That "a Jewish Plan for the Genocide of Humanity," Includes a Conspiracy for the Takeover of Iran by Local Jewish and Bahai Communities [ Material compiled by The Middle East Media Research Institute E-Mail: memri@memri.org website: www.memri.org]




Following are selected excerpts from MEMRI's documentation about "The Secret of Armageddon," an Iranian TV documentary, which aired on IRINN (the Iranian news channel) in May and June 2008:

IRINN, May 11, 2008

Iranian university lecturer Ali-Reza Karimi: What is known worldwide today as The Protocols of the Elders of Zion contains the plans and policies of the elders of this sect to conquer the world and establish a global Jewish government, which were discussed at the 1897 [Zionist] Congress in Basel, Switzerland.

Narrator: These plans, which exposed the views and designs of the Zionists, were edited and collected into 24 protocols. They deal with political, educational, social, economic, and legal strategies, which they planned to use after the destruction of the culture, civilization, and religions of other nations. These strategies will be carried out using dishonorable means and conspiracies, leading to the establishment of a global Jewish kingdom.

[...]

Iranian researcher Shams Al-Din Rahmani: The goal of the Zionists is the total destruction of Islam. They know that this destruction will not be achieved easily, and therefore, they are trying to Americanize the religion of Islam.

[...]

The Zionist Jew-boys talk about a "Greater Israel" – from the Euphrates to the Nile – but their actual goal is world domination.

[...]

IRINN, May 12, 2008

Iranian university lecturer Ali-Reza Karimi:
According to historical documents, it was the Rothschilds who instilled the idea of Palestine as the Promised Land in the minds of the wealthy and enlightened Jews, and insisted on making it happen. At the time, most of the Jews did not have a specific country in mind, and some even considered America or South Africa to be the Promised Land. It was due to the economic and political power of the Rothschilds that this plot was realized.

[...]

The British government, which was controlled by the Zionist empire, led by the Rothschild family, committed itself to the realization of the Zionist aspiration.

[...]

IRINN, May 23, 2008
Narrator: If we take another look at modern history, we realize that with the Balfour Declaration from November 2, 1917, England officially began to serve the World Zionist Organization's policies. Thus, the implementation of some of the main clauses of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion became the agenda of some British politicians, who were connected to the Zionist societies.

[...]

Iranian researcher Shams Al-Din Rahmani: Oliver Cromwell, the dictatorial prime minister of England, placed England entirely at the service of the Jews in the 17th century. This [policy] became so deeply engrained that by the early 18th century, the Jews had a colonialist empire, which reached as far an India. They launched the slave trade, which is a Jewish trade par excellence. Most of the slaves back then were black Muslims from Africa. This was part of their evil plan to eradicate Islam in Africa. This plan was guided entirely by the Jews.

IRINN, May 19, 2008

Iranian historian Mohammad-Taqi Taqipour:

The Zionists and their organizations in Iran devised a plan, which was signed in 1931 by Rabbi Azizullah Naim, chairman of the Iranian Zionist Organization. This plan included eight clauses. In brief, according to this plan, Reza Shah's regime must permit Jews from all over the world to enter Iran and settle wherever they wish, in accordance with the plan that they themselves devised. In addition, these Jewish immigrants would be granted liberties by law, and no one could deny them these liberties. There would be equality between Jews and non-Jews in Iran – most of whom are Muslims. Fertile lands throughout Iran would be allocated to these Jewish immigrants free of charge. After two years, they would be granted citizenship, and a visa from the government also free of charge.

Iranian University Lecturer Ali-Reza Karimi: They planned to take over large parts of Iran, and to establish concealed camps, which would be populated by Jews from around the world, and especially Europe. This way, they wanted to gradually take over Iran, like they did in Palestine.

[...]

Narrator: Is it possible that according to the schemes of the global Zionist empire, Iran was meant to become another Israel, like in the case of Palestine?

[...]


IRINN, May 28, 2008

Iranian university lecturer Ali-Reza Karimi: Historical documents point to a connection between the leaders of the Bahai sect and the Rothschild family, who financed and led the World Zionist Organization.

[...]

The Bahai way of thinking is very similar to that of the Zionist Jews. Just like the Zionists considered Palestine to be their promised land, the Bahais talked about Iran as the promised land. Out of their desire to take over the land and to destroy Islam and the Shia in Iran, they had many dreams and wrote many history books, but with the grace of Allah, none of those dreams have come true.

[...]

Narrator: A shocking SAVAK document, dated April 22, 1971, is just one example of the anti-Islamic and anti-Iranian conspiracies of this Zionist [Bahai] cult. This document quotes one of their leaders in Iran as saying: "We have received explicit instructions from America and London to spread [Western] fashion and immodesty in this country, so Muslim [women] will remove their veil. We will bring suffering upon the Muslims in Iran and other Muslim countries by means of fashion and advertisements, so they will no longer be able to claim that that imam Hussein was the conqueror of the world, and that Ali ruled the world. Weapons and ammunition are manufactured in Israel by our youth. Ultimately, these Muslims will be destroyed by the Bahais, and the world of Bahaullah will flourish."

IRINN, June 5, 2008

Narrator: For many years, Hollywood constituted another aspect of the cultural war. The film industry in the early 20th century was shaped by Jewish immigrants, most of whom belonged to Zionist organizations.

[...]

Iranian researcher Sayyid Hashem Mir-Louhi: Moral corruption will spread wherever these Jew-boys tread. In other words, every Jew-boy believes it is his personal duty to destroy the moral values of other nations, in order to control people's minds and souls. This menacing problem has penetrated American theater and cinema, and is clearly evident.

[...]

Narrator: Thus, a new front against the Islamic revolution is opened. Global imperialism invests billion of dollars and uses a broad distribution network to flood Iran with videos, CDs, and DVDs of the latest vulgar, destructive, Western films with Farsi subtitles. These films are sold cheap to the youth in dark alleys, as well as in broad daylight, in public places. The films spread vulgarity, and feed the youth with the forged Zionist way of thinking, so that in future attacks, they will remain defenseless.

[...]

IRINN, June 7, 2008

Iranian researcher Sayyid Hashem Mir-Louhi: There is a genocidal Zionist Jewish plan for the genocide of humanity at the hand of the Zionist Jew-boys. Even though the Jew-boys sometimes talk about a "Greater Israel," their real goal is world domination.

[...]

Narrator: Today, there are many indications that the "hidden hands" of world Zionism were involved in the 9/11 terrorist attack. According to a large group of Western intellectuals, the Zionists are the real rulers of the United States. According to irrefutable documents published by independent American media outlets, the Zionists used intelligence agents and spies, with the full cooperation of agencies with the country, to carry out this terrorist operation in full view of the world, in order to prepare the ground for taking over Afghanistan and Iraq, and to realize the dream of a greater Israel.

Hebrew wording on British Mandate document (1921)indicates recognition of the Jewish claim

Contrary to Palestinian claims to exclusivity, Jews not interlopers



License to immigrate to Land of Israel given to Joachim [Chaim] Berger in Vienna, 1921 [Ynetnews.com]

"Land of Israel" written in Hebrew on official Mandate docs [Comment posted on Ynet in regard to the document pictured.]

On the immigration papers, the words "Palestine Office" are written in Hebrew as "haMisrad Eretz haIsraeli" and "Misrad Eretz Israel". (Office of the Land of Israel). This gives the lie to the claim that Israel simply replaced or erased Palestine in 1948.

The term "Land of Israel" was a legally recognized name for Mandate Palestine, when written in the Hebrew language.

Israel was not created out of Palestine in 1948, but on the territory of the former British Mandate Palestine, which was absolutely categorically NOT a country.

The bottom line is that Israel is the only independent locally-ruled nation-state based in the Land of Israel in history. The use of the term "Palestine", which was originally only meant as a vague term for a geographical region, not a political entity, has become a by-word for denying or questioning Israel's right to exist.

Jake (06.20.08)

This is part IV of a series about Islamic anti-Semitism as seen, essentially, from the perspective of Andrew Bostom, author of The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism: From Sacred Texts to Solemn History. Bostom's recently published book is likely to restructure or overturn popular conceptions of the topic.

Conflict during the early years of Islam, in the 7th Century

The discussion about how Islam related, historically, to non-Muslims and Jews, in particular, begins with an examination of the treatment of Jews in Medina, under the direction of the prophet Muhammad (after his departure from Mecca.)

There is disagreement as to the context of a seminal incident known as the massacre of the Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayzah. As referenced below, the incident is related only in Islamic sources -- in which the treatment of the Jews is justified. The Jews were accused of breaking a pact, under which they were "protected." This, then, is seen by some critics of the traditional Islamic interpretation as an application of coercion directed toward the non-Muslim minority which led to the commission of jihad against the allegedly non-compliant minority. -- Mark Finkelstein



Detail from miniature painting ''The Prophet, Ali, and the Companions at the Massacre of the Prisoners of the Jewish Tribe of Beni Qurayzah'', illustration of a 18th century text, Kitāb-i Hamlah-i Haydarī, by Muhammad Rafi Bazil (d.1711 or 12). Manuscript now in the British Library.

The 'Banu Qurayza' (Arabic بني قريظة; بنو قريظة were a Jewish tribe who lived in northern Arabia during the 7th century, at the oasis of Yathrib (now known as Medina). In 627 CE, the tribe was charged with treachery during the Battle of the Trench and besieged by the Muslims commanded by Muhammad. The Muslims took the Qurayza captive and all the men, apart from a few who converted to Islam, were beheaded, while all the women were enslaved.

From a Muslim perspective:

The famous pact of Medina and its terms

On the arrival of the Prophet at Medina they [the Jews] had joined with the Muslims in a half-hearted welcome to the Prophet. The Prophet upon his arrival joined the heterogeneous and conflicting elements of the city and its suburbs through a Charter by which the rights and obligations of the Muslims and of the Muslims and Jews were clearly defined. The Jews because of the irresistible character of the brotherly movement had gladly accepted the pact.

This pact was officially made between the tribes living in Medina. The Jews of Bani-Kainuka Ban-Kuraizha and Bani-Nadir gladly accepted all the terms. This famous pact proceeds as follows:

"The state of peace and war shall be common to all Muslims ; no one among them shall have the right of concluding peace with, or declaring war against, the enemies of his co-religionists. The Jews who attach themselves to our commonwealth shall be protected from all insults and vexations ; they shall have an equal right with our own people to our assistance and good offices : the Jews of the various branches of 'Auf, Najjar, Harith, Jashm, Th'alaba, Aus, and all others domiciled in Yathrib (Medina), shall form with the Muslims one composite nation; they shall practise their religion as freely as the Muslims ; the clients and allies of the Jews shall enjoy the same security and freedom ; the guilty shall be pursued and punished ; the Jews shall join the Muslims in defending Yathrib against all enemies ; the interior of Yathrib shall be a sacred place for all who accept this Charter ; the clients and allies of the Muslims and the Jews shall be respected as the patrons ....."

This pact was concluded with the terms:

" All future disputes between those who accept this Charter shall be referred, under God, to the Prophet. "

Hostility of the Jews
No kindness or generosity, however, on the part of the Prophet would satisfy the Jews ; nothing could conciliate the bitter feelings with which they were animated. Enraged by the Prophet's tremendous success they soon broke off (secretly) , and ranged themselves on the side of the enemies of the 'new' Faith. They reviled the Prophet ; they twisted their tongues and mis-pronounced the Quranic words and the daily prayers and formulae of Islam, rendering them meaningless, absurd, or blasphemous; and the Jewish poets and poetesses, of whom there existed many at the time, outraged all common decency and the recognised code of Arab honour and chivalry by lampooning in obscene verse the Muslim women. But there were minor offences. Not satisfied with insulting the Muslim women and reviling the Prophet, they sent out emissaries to the enemies of the State, the protection of which they had formally accepted.

Bostom's perspective

Bostom characterizes 'the so-called “Medina Charter” of Muhammad— [as]in reality, a part of Muhammad’s design to neutralize the Jews of Medina, and establish a hegemonic Islamic order.' He defines the Quarayza massacre as an act of jihad.
Bostom discusses the early relations between Muhammad and the Jewish tribes as follows:

September 622 C.E. marks a defining event in Islam, the hijra. Muhammad and a coterie of followers (the Muhajirun), persecuted by fellow Banu Quraysh tribesmen who rejected Muhammad's authenticity as a divine messenger, fled from Mecca to Yathrib, later known as Medina. The Muslim sources described Yathrib as a Jewish city founded by a Palestinian diaspora population which had survived the revolt against the Romans. Distinct from the nomadic Arab tribes, the Jews of the north Arabian peninsula were highly productive oasis farmers. These Jews were eventually joined by itinerant Arab tribes from southern Arabia who settled adjacent to them and transitioned to a sedentary existence.

Following Muhammad's arrival in Medina, he re-ordered Medinan society, eventually imposing his authority on each tribe. The Jewish tribes were isolated, some were then expelled, and the remainder attacked and exterminated. A consensus Muslim account of the massacre of the Qurayzah " one of the Jewish tribes of Medina " has emerged as conveyed by classical Muslim scholars of hadith (putative utterances and acts of Muhammad, recorded by pious Muslim transmitters), biographers of Muhammad's life (especially Ibn Ishaq), jurists, and historians.

-Earlier segments of this series are archived on http://jcommunitynews.blogspot.com

Criticism of the anti-Jewish content within the Quran and the Islamist jihadi culture should not be taken as an indictment of all Muslims. As put by Bernard Lewis: "Not all Muslims are fundamentalists and not all fundamentalists are terrorists...."
The content of this series is the sole responsibility of Mark Finkelstein. Direct comments to jcrc@dmjfed.org

For Bostom's introduction to the subject, read "Misunderstanding Islamic Antisemitism."

Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Palestinians Unworthy of Sovereignty [from weblog of Yaacov Lozowick* ]

Hamas has announced it will not "protect Israel from attacks by other factions". There is nothing new about this idiotic line of reasoning, of course, and it has been one of the standard canards ever since Israel began disbanding its occupation and transferring power to the Palestinians in 1993.

The question is not if the PLO, or PA, or Hamas, or anyone else, will protect Israel from the more extreme Palestinian forces that will always continue with their anti-Israeli violence no matter what agreements are reached. The question is if whatever Palestinian government it may be will take upon itself one of the most basic of all tasks of government, the monopoly of waging violence. As long as they don't understand that this is a fundamental need of their own, irrespective of Israel, no peace agreement with them will ever hold. On the contrary, the longer they insist on behaving like little children, the more obvious and irrevocable it will be not to allow them a government. Governing is a matter for adults.

[Which doesn't mean Israel should continue to control them. More and more I am beginning to think there will ultimately be not choice but to hand over some sort of control of the Palestinians to the Jordanians and the Egyptians
-----------
* Yaacov Lozowick,Jerusalem, Israel
Historian, author of "Right to Exist, A Moral Defense of Israel's Wars" and other works, former Director of Archives at Yad Vashem