The Koran and the Jews

Debmey

By Jamie Glazov
FrontPageMagazine.com | June 3, 2004

Frontpage Interview's guest today is Prof. Khaleel Mohammed, Assistant Professor at the Department of Religious Studies at San Diego State University.

FP: Prof. Mohammed welcome to Frontpage Interview.

Mohammed: You do me a great honor. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to introduce my views to your readers. As you know, I am interested in a moderate Islam, one that is inclusive and is concerned about all human rights. My mission is to help reclaim the beauty that once was practiced in Islam, a message not currently in fashion amongst more traditional or fundamentalist Muslims.

FP: You are yourself a Muslim and yet, quite unconventionally amongst Islamic clerics and scholars, you teach that the Koran says Israel belongs to the Jews. Can you educate us on this Islamic teaching?

Mohammed:  The Qur'an adumbrates several principles that hover around a common theme:  God does not love injustice and will assist those who are wrongly treated.  And  it focuses so much  on this  that  the  person most mentioned in the Qur'an is Moses -- who is presented as God's revolutionary, and who leads a people despised and tormented for no other reason than that they worshipped God,  out of the land of bondage to the  Promised  Holy Land.

The Qur'an in Chapter 5: 20-21 states quite clearly: Moses said to his people: O my people!  Remember the bounty of  God upon you  when  He bestowed  prophets upon you , and  made  you  kings and gave you that which  had not been given to  anyone before you amongst  the nations. O my people!  Enter the Holy Land which God has written for you, and do not turn tail, otherwise you will be losers."

The  Quran goes on to say why the Israelites were not allowed to enter the land for forty years...but the thrust of my analysis is where Moses says that the Holy Land is that which God has "written" for the Israelites. In both Jewish and Islamic understandings of the term "written", there is the meaning of finality, decisiveness and immutability. And so we have the Written Torah (unchangeable) and the Oral Torah (which represents change to suit times). And in the Qur'an we have "Written upon you is the fast"--to show that this is something that is decreed, and which none can change.  So the simple fact is then, from a faith-based point of view: If God has "written" Israel for the people of Moses, who can change this?


The Qur'an refers to the exiles, but leaves it open for return...saying to the Jews that if they keep their promise to God, then God will keep the divine promise to them. WE may argue that the present state of Israel was not created in the most peaceful means, and that many were displaced--for me, this is not the issue. The issue is that when the Muslims entered that land in the seventh century, they were well aware of its rightful owners, and when they failed to act according to divine mandate (at least as perceived by followers of all Abrahamic faiths), they aided and abetted in a crime. And the present situation shows the fruits of that action--wherein innocent Palestinians and Israelis are being killed on a daily basis.

I also draw your attention to the fact that the medieval exegetes of Qur'an--without any exception known to me--recognized Israel as belonging to the Jews, their birthright given to them. Indeed, two of Islam's most famous exegetes explained "written" from Quran 5:21 thus:


Ibn Kathir (d. 774/1373) said: 揟hat which God has written for you

RedChaSiew

me thinks this  will be deleted : not politics.

Debmey

It is related to politics. It concerns the right of the Jews to Israel.

Red, read again. It's all politics that got in the way clearly stated as you follow the development of the event in which religion had been misused to further a political struggle.

RedChaSiew

it will never end : either all moslems are dead or all jews are buried in the red sea. or armageddon comes and consume evrybody b4 this carnage is over.

come quickly.

Debmey

Not true. If only Muslims get real about scriptures and be honest with themselves. Then there will be no disputes. The problem is, most Muslims do not even read their own qurans?

DARSITA

1. While cut-n-pastes are technically allowed, all articles posted must include a working URL link and the person posting these should also include their own comments as well and state what they wish to be discussed, especially in posts that start a new thread.

Originally posted by DARSITA at 6-6-2004 03:11 AM:
1. While cut-n-pastes are technically allowed, all articles posted must include a working URL link and the person posting these should also include their own comments as well and stat ...

Cut and paste is the only thing this Singaporean know...ff:

Debmey

I have already given me comment.
I think its more like Darsita and Robotic don't have any answers to what the Koran says.

peace

Where are the 'major players' when it comes to interesting articles like these? I mean if Debmey started a thread like 'Muhd, a child rapist' FOR EXAMPLE(!), you get many Muslims replying in full-force with articles and reasoning etc etc. However, a reasonably moderate post like this comes along, and DEAD SILENCE follows.

I am not advocating Debmey's style of reasoning but not everything he posts are rubbish. There may be elements of interests in 1% of his posts and this is, in my opinion, can be considered in that 1%.

The Qu'ran says 'Jews', not Zionists.

[ Last edited by KENNKID on 6-6-2004 at 10:16 PM ]

The Qu'ran says 'Jews', not Zionists. Zionists are Jews who corrupt God's words. So the time has not come. Only when the true repented Jews return will Muslims accept. Sharon, Natenyahu, Begin & their likes are not worthy of it. They are nothing but terrorists, murderers and thieves.

[ Last edited by KENNKID on 6-6-2004 at 10:25 PM ]

Debmey

Yep, the Koran does say that Israel belong to Jews alright, and Zionists are the people who support that very concept shared by the Koran.
Once Muslims start agreeing with the Koran on this issue, there will be peace.
Its no wonder that so many Muslim nations are put to shame many times by little Israel cos Godis against Muslims.

ariyamusafir

Originally posted by Debmey at 4-6-2004 15:12:
It is related to politics. It concerns the right of the Jews to Israel.

Yes but not at the expanse of the Palestinians' rights.

ariyamusafir

Originally posted by Debmey at 6-6-2004 22:51:
Yep, the Koran does say that Israel belong to Jews alright, and Zionists are the people who support that very concept shared by the Koran.
Once Muslims start agreeing with the Koran on thi ...

It is because Israel has US imperialism backup

Debmey

There are no Palestinians, not to mention Palestinian rights.

So Muslism have no answers to what the Quran says?

In accordance with Deuteronomy's prophesy, foreign legions would return the Jews to Israel. It had been fulfilled. The time is exactly 2000 years!

Seraphim

Originally posted by Debmey at 6-6-2004 10:51 PM:
Yep, the Koran does say that Israel belong to Jews alright, and Zionists are the people who support that very concept shared by the Koran.
Once Muslims start agreeing with the Koran on thi ...

You got that right...This shows something...Israel alone rightfully belong to the Jews...:ah:

Debmey

Muslims are stuck with their hatred and zeal to destroy Jews so much that they even deny their own quran in doing so. Those anti zionist Muslims should be rightfully be known as kafirs cos they don't believe in the Quran, they don't even read it. I think thats very bad but all these are prophesied in the Bible so yu can't change it no matter what the Quran or Muslims say.

peace

This is a statement made in the year 2000  by Jews Against the Occupation

"we tried to convince ourselves that our occupation was a benevolent one. But we know from history that an occupation is an occupation is an occupation." - Yossi Beilin


We hold the State of Israel accountable for these abuses of human rights.

We hold the State of Israel responsible for these deaths, the deaths of Israeli citizens as well as the deaths of refugees, the deaths of Jews as well as the deaths of Palestinians.

And as Jews living in the United States, we hold our own government accountable as well, for its role in supplying arms and military aid to Israel, for its role in manipulating the Israeli/Palestinian conflict to secure its own oil interests and its foothold in the region, and for its role n brokering round after round of accords which are not part of a process of peace, but a process of occupation.

As Jews, we are appalled by the violence perpetrated by the Israeli government against Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and against Palestinian citizens within Israel. We reject the Israeli government claim that the military action of recent weeks has been in self-defense -- the disparity between Israeli and Palestinian deaths, injuries and armaments clearly shows the dishonesty of this claim. We reject also the use of the history of anti-Semitism to obscure contemporary Israeli power and to justify Israeli claims of fear of annihilation by the Palestinians.

THE MEMORY OF JEWISH HOMELESSNESS AND SUFFERING SHOULD ALWAYS LINK US TO THE PLIGHT OF THE OPPRESSED, WHEREVER THEY EXIST IN THE WORLD.

It is our position as Jews that obliges us to voice our opposition to the continuing oppression and violence perpetrated against the Palestinian people by the Israeli government. It is our position as Jews living in the United States that obliges us to stand up and voice our opposition to U.S. policies that arm the Israeli government against the Palestinian people.

For all these reasons, and because the diversity of Jewish opinion about the conflict has been ignored by the corporate media, silenced by the leadership of many U.S. Jewish organizations, and deemed irrelevant by local and national politicians in the U.S.,

WE DEMAND

that Israel take responsibility for the refugee crisis it has created, and for its just resolution as well as political accountability, including reparations, for the systemic destruction of Palestinian homes, livelihoods, and cultural institutions during the course of the occupation.

WE DEMAND

immediate food and medical relief and the lifting of all blockades around Palestinian towns.

WE DEMAND

an international commission of inquiry into the Israeli security forces' actions since September 29, 2000.

WE DEMAND

the immediate release of all Israeli military personnel imprisoned for refusing to served in the Occupied Territories.

WE DEMAND

an immediate withdrawal of all Israeli military personnel from the Occupied Territories.

There can be no peace in the Middle East until Israel ends the occupation!

http://www.al-awda.org/newyork/features/jato.html

http://www.jatonyc.org/UNresolutions.html

[ Last edited by KENNKID on 7-6-2004 at 09:49 AM ]