Do We Hate Jews and Christians? [View All]

[acmavm]

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=55212&d=28&m=11&y=2004
Dr. Khaled Batarfi • [e-mail]

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Some of my Jewish readers have doubts.

They suspect that Arabs and Muslims hate them, blaming them for Israel’s misdeeds and past mistakes such as trying to kill God’s prophets and messengers (peace be upon them). They say that Muslims still remember with bitterness how the Jews in Madinah tried to kill the Prophet (pbuh), broke their pact and betrayed him by siding with his enemies.

Many Christians suspect similar feelings for other historical reasons: Crusades in the Middle Ages, colonialism in the 18th and 19th centuries, recent wars on Muslims and suppression of Muslim minorities.

The Jews and the Christians are both right and wrong. There are no simple answers to these complex questions but let me try to explain. History is a great teacher but it is important that we use — and not abuse — its lessons. Students of history can be divided into three groups: Those who learn from the “rights” and build on them, those who ignore the lessons of the “wrongs” and repeat them, and those who get obsessed and live and die for them. It is much safer not to read history at all than to misread it.

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The problem lies with those who misinterpret history in order to serve self-interests and support predetermined convictions. They act like smart lawyers who laboriously look up laws and precedents supporting their cases while ignoring everything that contradicts them. Then they interpret what they have found in a way that suits their arguments. No guilt is felt because rivals do the same. It is a game where you are only punished if you fail to win your argument. Fanatics, paranoid individuals and seekers of fame, status and special interests may be the worst offenders — but they are not alone. Almost all of us practice selective reading and intentional misreading for various reasons. Collective passionate stands and thoughts, such as rallying around the flag or supporting patriotic and religious causes, make normally fair and balanced individuals perform “pick and choose” reading without the slightest intellectual guilt. They, too, assume the other side is doing the same.

Muslim fanatics are as guilty as any of such practices. Not only so they misinterpret the facts of history, they intentionally misrepresent the holy books — the Qur’an, the Torah and the Bible. Take for example our position toward the “people of the book” — i.e. Christians and Jews. Allah clearly differentiates between enemies and friends. He says in Surah Almumtehinah, Verses 7-9:

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