Muslims
and Jews in the West
Introduction: Muslim View on Jews and Judaism
18/06/2003
The
Muslims’ perception of the Jews remained unchanged during the first
13 centuries of Islam. They saw them as People of the Book who,
together with the Christians, shared with the Muslims common values of
faith and conduct that entitled them to citizen rights in the Islamic
state. Such perception began to change after the Zionist movement
managed to embroil Jews in its colonial project with the aim of
solving the Jewish problem in Europe by establishing a national home
for the ‘Jewish People’ in Palestine.
In
the wake of the Second World War, and as a result of the persecution
of the Jews in Nazi Germany, the scene was set for the accomplishment
of the Zionist dream. The determination of the Western counties
to enable the Zionists to establish a Jewish state in Palestine and
violate the basic human rights of the Palestinian people turned Jews
into aggressors and hence they became an enemy , and lost their
centuries long equal status among Arabs and Muslims.
