The below map was produced by Torbjorn Karfunkel and shows Arab massacres of Jews prior to 1948. If you go to the Europe News link, you can enlarge the map. It is a useful resource the next time you hear all these stories about how peacefully Jews and Muslims lived in the Middle East pre-1948 when the modern state of Israel was formed.
http://europenews.dk/en/node/39746
Iranians aren't Arabs -- ask either one what they think of each other. This distinction points out that to line up "Arab" massacres of "Jews" -- even if the map is accurate -- doesn't tell us much.
ReplyDeleteThose from 1000-1200 in western North Africa and Spain are of course the result of the Almohade dominion inventing a mystical anti-Jewish attitude, previously unknown in the region. Anything in the 600's on the Arabian peninsula was a political conflict within the context of Arab tribal warfare. Anything after 1900 was at least partly related to the rise of Zionist settlement in the Ottoman Empire. And what's left is pretty scattered, and needs more explanation of context.
None of this belies the centuries of close Jewish cooperation with the first few caliphates, or the flourishing of Jewish life during those periods. Nor would a map of "European Christian massacres of Jews" have any fewer flash points on it. In fact, it would probably have a much denser pattern.
In short, both the jihadists and the Modern-Christian-Friends-of-Israel-oh-please-we-know-you-didn't-kill-Christ-too-bad-you're-going-to-hell are displaying profound ignorance to say that Judaism and Islam are eternal enemies, while pseudo-leftists culture vultures are equally ignorant to proclaim the two faiths to be eternal bosom buddies.
Wow, this map is truly laughable. As Siarlys already more eloquently pointed out, could you imagine a map of Christian massacred of Jews that went back all the way to the birth of the Christian religion?
ReplyDeleteWhat a completely absurd thing to post, Gary.
Also, it is a historical fact that Jews lived better under Muslim rule than they did at the hands of Christians. Does that mean it was a utopia or always peaceful? Of course not. No one is arguing that and if they are then they're a fool. But the point is that it was a more harmonious existence than what existed in Christendom.
ReplyDeleteThat's a start Gary. Now, to paraphrase Hillel, "go forth and learn" some more.
ReplyDeleteTwo of our top non-Muslim authorities on Muslims are Bernard Lewis and Andrew Bostom
ReplyDeleteBernard Lewis in an important essay "The Pro-Islamic Jews" recounts how the romantic cult of Spain reaching its peak in Victor Hugo`s Hernani, influenced Jews who now nourished the illusion that they "had flourished in Muslim Spain, had been driven from Christian Spain , and had found refuge in Muslim Turkey" 2. But as Lewis points out, "The golden age of equal rights [in Spain] was a myth , and belief in it was a result , more than a cause , of Jewish sympathy for Islam.The myth was invented by Jews in nineteenth-century Europe as a reproach to Christians" 3. Something of the myth of the Golden Age of Spain persists to this day, and is perpetuated by politicians desperate to maintain social stability. Political leaders and the media in general in Europe are worried about the increasing number of Muslims in their respective countries, and are aware of the difficulties of assimilation .Under such circumstances the media will only invite those scholars who believe in the myth of Islamic tolerance. But European politicians in their collective hatred and fear of the United States have formed a strategic alliance with Arab states as a buffer to perceived threats from the only superpower, the Great Satan itself. In such a climate, an objective look at Jihad and Dhimmis is discouraged, and even scholars who should know better are swept along on the tide of Anti-Americanism.
Dr. Bostom wrote The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism
Those not interested in reading the whole book may find the foreword by Ibn Warraq informative about the "Golden Age" of Judiasm under Muslim rule.
http://www.andrewbostom.org/content/view/25/41/
The Table of Contents is at
http://www.andrewbostom.org/component/option,com_wrapper/Itemid,39/
.