Islam and the Jews
This is the second in a four part series based on the lectures of Robert Wolfe, a historian from NYC. I want to emphasize that the concepts and ideas described here are solely Robert's, I am merely the redactor for the purpose of transmitting these concepts.
Continuing from where he left off: after the Jewish Wars described by Josephus, together with other attacks around the Roman Empire, many Jews were killed and the Jews were reduced to a weak minority, that the Romans no longer considered a threat. When it was declared the official religion of the Greco-Roman Empire, Christianity continued in the tradition of the persecution of the Jews. All pagan religions throughout the Empire were suppressed and although Judaism was permitted it was a capital offense to convert to Judaism. Although the period from 135 ce to ca. 330 ce was a relatively quiet period, when Constantine became the first Christian Emperor of the Byzantine Empire, he instituted a program to Christianize the Holy Land. The Samaritans revolted but were defeated and the power of the Sanhedrin was gradually reduced so that by ca. 500 ce the Jews were a powerless minority within the Byzantine Empire and within their own land.
However, on the fringes of the Byzantine Empire, beyond its reach, there was a process occuring that has been little recognized. A circle of mass conversions to Judaism in an arc from north Africa to Iran becomes apparent.
1. North Africa: Conquerors, such as the Phoenecians came along the coast and established Carthage. But although they were defeated by the Romans, this area was never fully conquered and occupied by them and consequently Jews were able to move within the Berber region. Many Berbers in the hinterland of the Atlas Mountains converted to Judaism and adopted Jewish religion and culture. When the Arab Muslims came along the coast and forcibly converted them to Islam and to the use of Arabic, many Berbers resisted. Even to this day many inhibitants of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia do not regard themselves as Arabs, and ca. 25% of the population speak Berber languages. The majority of the Jews that immigrated from N. Africa to Israel when the State was founded were descended from these Judaized Berbers. Furthermore, Judaized Berbers fled across the Sahara desert and founded the first civilizations in west Africa, until they too were overcome by the Arabs.
2. Ethiopia: The story of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon is probably apocryphal. The Kingdom of Ethiopia started much later in the 2-3rd century ce, and at first the Kings may have been Jewish. The Jews were very numerous and wars were fought over hundreds of years between the Jews and Christians for supremacy in Ethiopia. With outside help the Christians managed to finally defeat the Jews and reduce them to penury. But, the Monarchy still emphasized its Jewish descent and many Jewish practices were continued. There is no doubt that the ca. 100,000 Ethiopian Jews today (including the Falash Mura who converted to Christianity) are decendents of these Jews.
3. Arabia: About 100,000 Yemeni Jews were transferred to Israel when the State was founded. They were the remnants of a huge Jewish population all over Arabia, that is described in the Koran. In the 3-4th century ce the Kingdom of Sabah was Jewish , but the Ethiopians crossed the Gulf and destroyed it.
4. Iraq: Under the Babylonian Empire the Jewish community was acknowledged as the most erudite in the Jewish world and one version of the Talmud was written there. Although many of the Jews returned to the Holy Land, many Jews remained in the area of what was to become Iraq for centuries until they were finally thrown out in the 1950s.
5. Iran: Cyrus, the King of the Persians (550-530 bce), was essentially pro-Jewish and assisted the re-settlement of Israel. The Persian religion was Zoroastrianism, and several of its elements were similar to Judaism, such as the concept of good and evil, heaven and earth and a day of judgement. Their common enemies were first the Greco-Roman and then the Byzantine Empires. In the 3rd century ce there was a revival of Zoroastrianism by the Sassanid Persians, and a Judeo-Zoroastrian confederacy was formed. With an army of both Persians and Jews they attacked Syria in 610 ce, and conquered Jerusalem in 614 ce and re-established a Jewish State! But, this was very short-lived, it lasted only 3 years! In response to Byzantine pressure, Kusras, King of the Sassanids reversed himself, and decided to Christianize the Holy Land, and the Greco-Syrians then reconquered the Land and took revenge on the Jews, and by 624 ce no Jews remained in Jerusalem.
One important aspect of these otherwise obscure events is that they happened to coincide with the advent of Islam. Mohammed started to preach in 610 ce and died in 630 ce. The official date of the beginning of Islam is the hegira (immigration) from Mecca to Medina that occured in 622 ce. Quiet coincidental! Mohammed must have known about the events occuring in the Persian Empire and they must have influenced his teachings. Coincidentally, much of his teachings in Arabic coincide with the basic elements of the Judeo-Zoroastrian religion. Especially in the Koran there is a great emphasis on the war between good and evil and the day of judgement. It is clear that Mohammed learnt a lot of these things from Jewish and Persian merchants as he toured Arabia.
Jewish aspects included in Islam are descent from Abraham (not only of the King as in Ethiopia, but of all Arabs), the equivalence of hallal to kashrut laws, circumscision (although at age 13), at first Muslims prayed towards Jerusalem (!) but then switched to Mecca, heaven and hell, the adoption of the Temple Mount as sacred, etc. These did not come about by chance, but reflect a determined effort by Mohammed to base Islam in the traditions of the ancient Jewish religion, just as Christianity did.
There had been a power vacuum created by the defeat of the Sassanids by the Byzantines, and the Arabs invigorated by their adoption of Islam exploded out of Arabia and overpowered both the remaining Greek (Jerusalem in 632 ce, Damascus in 635 ce) and Persian Empires (by 651 ce). It should be noted that the historic practice of the Arabs had been "raiding" and the word "raid" is of Arabic origin. However, there were two aspects in Islam that were distinct from previous religions, first the emphasis on the supremacy of the Arabs and second the use of the Arabic language.
Basically Mohammed and the Koran are anti-Jewish, although not as Jew-obsessed as the New Testament. When the Jewish clan in Medina refused to ally themselves with Mohammed in his war against Mecca, he made a truce with them, but after he had conquered Mecca he returned and eventually killed all of them. It is important to remember that within a few years Mohammed himself massacred most of the Jews of Arabia, including those in Mecca and Khaibar. It should also be noted that thereby the Arabs became wealthy by stealing Jewish property, not the last time this was done.
Continuing from where he left off: after the Jewish Wars described by Josephus, together with other attacks around the Roman Empire, many Jews were killed and the Jews were reduced to a weak minority, that the Romans no longer considered a threat. When it was declared the official religion of the Greco-Roman Empire, Christianity continued in the tradition of the persecution of the Jews. All pagan religions throughout the Empire were suppressed and although Judaism was permitted it was a capital offense to convert to Judaism. Although the period from 135 ce to ca. 330 ce was a relatively quiet period, when Constantine became the first Christian Emperor of the Byzantine Empire, he instituted a program to Christianize the Holy Land. The Samaritans revolted but were defeated and the power of the Sanhedrin was gradually reduced so that by ca. 500 ce the Jews were a powerless minority within the Byzantine Empire and within their own land.
However, on the fringes of the Byzantine Empire, beyond its reach, there was a process occuring that has been little recognized. A circle of mass conversions to Judaism in an arc from north Africa to Iran becomes apparent.
1. North Africa: Conquerors, such as the Phoenecians came along the coast and established Carthage. But although they were defeated by the Romans, this area was never fully conquered and occupied by them and consequently Jews were able to move within the Berber region. Many Berbers in the hinterland of the Atlas Mountains converted to Judaism and adopted Jewish religion and culture. When the Arab Muslims came along the coast and forcibly converted them to Islam and to the use of Arabic, many Berbers resisted. Even to this day many inhibitants of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia do not regard themselves as Arabs, and ca. 25% of the population speak Berber languages. The majority of the Jews that immigrated from N. Africa to Israel when the State was founded were descended from these Judaized Berbers. Furthermore, Judaized Berbers fled across the Sahara desert and founded the first civilizations in west Africa, until they too were overcome by the Arabs.
2. Ethiopia: The story of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon is probably apocryphal. The Kingdom of Ethiopia started much later in the 2-3rd century ce, and at first the Kings may have been Jewish. The Jews were very numerous and wars were fought over hundreds of years between the Jews and Christians for supremacy in Ethiopia. With outside help the Christians managed to finally defeat the Jews and reduce them to penury. But, the Monarchy still emphasized its Jewish descent and many Jewish practices were continued. There is no doubt that the ca. 100,000 Ethiopian Jews today (including the Falash Mura who converted to Christianity) are decendents of these Jews.
3. Arabia: About 100,000 Yemeni Jews were transferred to Israel when the State was founded. They were the remnants of a huge Jewish population all over Arabia, that is described in the Koran. In the 3-4th century ce the Kingdom of Sabah was Jewish , but the Ethiopians crossed the Gulf and destroyed it.
4. Iraq: Under the Babylonian Empire the Jewish community was acknowledged as the most erudite in the Jewish world and one version of the Talmud was written there. Although many of the Jews returned to the Holy Land, many Jews remained in the area of what was to become Iraq for centuries until they were finally thrown out in the 1950s.
5. Iran: Cyrus, the King of the Persians (550-530 bce), was essentially pro-Jewish and assisted the re-settlement of Israel. The Persian religion was Zoroastrianism, and several of its elements were similar to Judaism, such as the concept of good and evil, heaven and earth and a day of judgement. Their common enemies were first the Greco-Roman and then the Byzantine Empires. In the 3rd century ce there was a revival of Zoroastrianism by the Sassanid Persians, and a Judeo-Zoroastrian confederacy was formed. With an army of both Persians and Jews they attacked Syria in 610 ce, and conquered Jerusalem in 614 ce and re-established a Jewish State! But, this was very short-lived, it lasted only 3 years! In response to Byzantine pressure, Kusras, King of the Sassanids reversed himself, and decided to Christianize the Holy Land, and the Greco-Syrians then reconquered the Land and took revenge on the Jews, and by 624 ce no Jews remained in Jerusalem.
One important aspect of these otherwise obscure events is that they happened to coincide with the advent of Islam. Mohammed started to preach in 610 ce and died in 630 ce. The official date of the beginning of Islam is the hegira (immigration) from Mecca to Medina that occured in 622 ce. Quiet coincidental! Mohammed must have known about the events occuring in the Persian Empire and they must have influenced his teachings. Coincidentally, much of his teachings in Arabic coincide with the basic elements of the Judeo-Zoroastrian religion. Especially in the Koran there is a great emphasis on the war between good and evil and the day of judgement. It is clear that Mohammed learnt a lot of these things from Jewish and Persian merchants as he toured Arabia.
Jewish aspects included in Islam are descent from Abraham (not only of the King as in Ethiopia, but of all Arabs), the equivalence of hallal to kashrut laws, circumscision (although at age 13), at first Muslims prayed towards Jerusalem (!) but then switched to Mecca, heaven and hell, the adoption of the Temple Mount as sacred, etc. These did not come about by chance, but reflect a determined effort by Mohammed to base Islam in the traditions of the ancient Jewish religion, just as Christianity did.
There had been a power vacuum created by the defeat of the Sassanids by the Byzantines, and the Arabs invigorated by their adoption of Islam exploded out of Arabia and overpowered both the remaining Greek (Jerusalem in 632 ce, Damascus in 635 ce) and Persian Empires (by 651 ce). It should be noted that the historic practice of the Arabs had been "raiding" and the word "raid" is of Arabic origin. However, there were two aspects in Islam that were distinct from previous religions, first the emphasis on the supremacy of the Arabs and second the use of the Arabic language.
Basically Mohammed and the Koran are anti-Jewish, although not as Jew-obsessed as the New Testament. When the Jewish clan in Medina refused to ally themselves with Mohammed in his war against Mecca, he made a truce with them, but after he had conquered Mecca he returned and eventually killed all of them. It is important to remember that within a few years Mohammed himself massacred most of the Jews of Arabia, including those in Mecca and Khaibar. It should also be noted that thereby the Arabs became wealthy by stealing Jewish property, not the last time this was done.
posted by Jack Cohen at 1:36 PM
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