Muslim Attitudes to Jews and Israel – The Ambivalences of Rejection, Antagonism, Tolerance and Co–operation

Manifestations of hatred of Jews and Israel have risen over the last few decades in the Arab and Muslim world. This hatred is demonstrated in many ways: in speeches and writings of religious, intellectual, and political leaders; in school textbooks and mass media; and in horrific suicide bombings and other terrorist actions. Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, al-Qa'ida leader Osama Bin Ladin, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Hizballah all have repeatedly called for Israel's destruction. But is such hatred the result of Islamic anti-Semitism, as widely claimed? Or does it have other roots and reasons? This book sets the record straight by explaining that while anti-Semitism is the credo of fanatic groups and regimes, such an attitude is not representative of traditional and contemporary Islam. For centuries, Muslim attitudes to Jews were ambivalent - contempt and antagonism alongside tolerance and cooperation. In fact, Jews under Islam were better off than their Christian neighbors, and much better off than their Jewish brethren under Christianity. A similar pattern of relations has developed over the last several decades between Muslim nations and the Jewish State of Israel - hostility and violence, mostly by Muslim Arabs, but also dialogue and cooperation by and with many other Muslims. These complex relations are discussed by Muslim and Jewish scholars - from Azerbaijan, Egypt, India, Israel, Jordan, Pakistan, the US, Palestine, and Turkey - who analyze the religious, cultural, political, and economic factors that have shaped Muslim attitudes to Jews and Israel. Ideas and suggestions are put forward to improve Muslim-Jewish relations, the theme of which was first conceived at an international conference organized by the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs and the Divinity School of Harvard University.