Muslims and Jews in the West

A Picture of an inter-faith dialogue at the Harvard School of Divinity

It has been fifteen centuries since the Muslims established themselves as a political community in which followers of all three monotheistic religions coexisted peacefully and equitably. Until the beginning of the 19th century the Islamic civilization, whose terrain extended over three continents, provided a milieu of tolerance that, in contrast to the history of Europe and the Western world in general, prevented the progression of ideological and religious differences into violent conflict. Islam, whose values and principles governed the public and private conduct of individuals and groups, recognised Christians and Jews as legitimate members of the community within the Islamic State and accorded them inalienable rights. Their blood, honour, wealth, faith and shrines were sanctified and protected. This recognition enabled the followers of these creeds to fulfil their potential capabilities and thus innovate and participate on equal footing with the Muslims in building the Arab and Islamic civilization.

Muslims never used the term ‘minorities’ to describe fellow-citizens who belonged to other religions. Since the early establishment of Almadniah al Monowarah under Prophet Muhammad the Muslim community were referred to in its first constitution as an Umma (fellow religious communities) in a complex, multi-faiths nation, with a universal mission to defend global justice and human dignity. Furthermore, the Islamic State opened its gates wide open and provided a safe haven to those oppressed and discriminated against elsewhere in the world. Jews in particular, who suffered persecution and banishment at the hands of European Christians who blamed them for every single conflict or catastrophe incurred, benefited from Islam’s veneration of the right to human dignity irrespective of one’s creed or race. It was only in Muslim lands that the Jews found peace, security and freedom, enabling them to join the political, intellectual and economic elite, and to contribute to all aspects of life and all domains of civility.

• Introduction: Muslim View on Jews and Judaism
• The Shift in Perception
• General Guidelines for Muslims in Western Countries

Dr. Azzam Tamimi is the director of the London-based Institute of the Islamic Political Thought.