Islam's Displacement Of Jews And The Upcoming Barcelona Conference

Islam, like Christianity, deals with the fact that Judaism and Jews still exists--but differently:

Islam faces a similar theological need to explain away Jewish "chosenness." But unlike Christianity, the Muslim displacement theory does not base itself on being the "New Israel;" instead, it recasts the Jewish prophets as Muslims by creating a direct link with Ishmael, the son of Abraham, the "first Muslim" according to the Koran. As philosopher Abraham Geiger (later the founder of Reform Judaism) wrote in his 1833 doctoral thesis, Did Muhammad Borrow from Judaism?, the need to distance Islam from its Jewish roots explains much of the anti-Jewish sentiment in its theology. Sheikh Abd Al Rahman Al Sudayyis, the imam of the most important mosque in Mecca, said as much in February 2004: he described the existence of Jews as a major challenge to "our religious principles, historical rights, and past glories"--a conflict "of creed, identity, and existence." The denial of the role Judaism played in the foundation of Islam is a significant part of Islamic theology.

Vilifying or killing Jews is a recurring motif in Muslim holy texts. An oral tradition from the Prophet Mohammed, for example, contends that the rivalry with the Jews will continue until the end of the days: "The Last Hour will not come until the Muslims fight against the Jews," it reads, "and the Muslims will kill them until the Jews will hide themselves behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say: 'O Muslim, the servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me. Come and kill him.'" The Koran accuses the Jews, repeatedly, of falsehood, distortion, and of being "corrupters of the scriptures." It argues that the Jews did not deserve to be the chosen people, and because of their sins they are condemned to "degradation in this world." Islam's obsession with Judaism is no less serious than the Catholic Church's before Vatican II--and, unfortunately, it has become even more severe in the past few decades.

All of which brings us to next week's meeting in Madrid of religious leaders organized by Saudi Arabia--

There's an irony, then, in King Abdullah's call for a dialogue of "Abrahamic religions." Saudi Wahhabism is responsible more than any other segment in Islam for the most extreme interpretation of their religion's superiority--and the resulting pathologies that have come from the need to deny Islam's historical entwinement with Judaism. As religious leaders from around the world gather in Madrid next week under the auspices of the Saudi government, history teaches us that only by finding a way to reconcile the existence of Judaism with the existence of Islam--a difficult but fruitful process undertaken by Christians in recent decades--can a productive dialogue actually begin.

Read the whole thing.

Under current conditions, it is hard to imagine any "painful concessions" from the Saudis--or the Muslim world--in their attitude towards Jews, which makes one wonder where the Saudi motivation for this meeting comes from in the first place.

In any case, they are building up to a meeting in Saudi Arabia itself, slowly--having invited only one rabbi from Israel:

Rabbi David Rosen, president of the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations, is the only rabbi who lives in Israel who was invited by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and the World Muslim League to the conference that is slated for July 16 to 18.

Whether this whole project is just a PR move for the Saudis or not, Rabbi Rosen admits that if down the road the 2 Chief Rabbis of Israel are not invited to participate, then the value of the summit will be greatly reduced.

All we can do is wait and see how this plays out.

Technorati Tag: Saudi Arabia.