Zionist vs Judaism

Muslims approach towards Jews or Christians should be as ordained by the Quran as “people of the Book”. Relations between Muslims and Jews must be within the framework of justice, peace, and tolerance and it is incumbent on Muslims to establish friendly relations with Jews and Christians living in the same community. The main reason of this spirit of tolerance, peace and justice is the Islamic principles.

Targeting Jews for their belief, violating their civil rights, sending them to concentration camp is oppression. And history tells us that when Jews were subjected to oppression and cruelty, they always found the peace and security in the lands of Islam. Also, Muslim Rulers of the Ottoman Empire always guaranteed Jews refuge when fleeing persecution. The anti-Semitic sentiments often seen in Christian countries never flourished on Muslim soils. It was Islamic principle that created this secure environment whereby Jews and Christians were always allowed to follow their own faith and even observe their own law, free of any form of oppression.

However, the other side of the coin also deserves attention and that is Palestinians, who have been mercilessly massacred, oppressed, their land occupied and driven out of their land by some Jews who have adopted Zionism, which is a racist ideology. Muslims are against Zionism, which is purely racist. Similarly, Muslims are also against anti-Semitism, that is hatred felt for Jews, which is a racist ideology as well. If someone criticizes and hurts an innocent Jews because of the crimes of Zionism, he violates justice. One must separate Zionism from Judaism. Islam rejects any racist ideology whether it is anti-Semitism or Zionism, Indeed there are many Jews who oppose the crimes against humanity of Zionism, maintain that Israel must immediately withdraw from all occupied territories, and wish Israel to be a free state in which Muslims, Christians and Jews can live together as equal. Muslims should never practice prejudice towards any human being because Quran says about the people of the book “we believe in what has been sent down to us and what was sent down to you. Our God and your God are one and we submit to him (Quran 29:46)

Zionism emerged in the 19th century as racism and colonization’s ideology. The Jews who propagated the ideal of Zionism were people with weak religious beliefs. They saw Judaism as the name of the race, not as a community of believers. The Zionist considered Jews being a chosen and a separate race from European nations, that it was impossible for them to live together and that it was essential they establish their own homeland. Theodor Herzl, the founder of Zionism, once thought of Uganda, and this became known as the “Uganda Plan”. The Zionist later decided on Palestine - as “Jewish homeland”. Many Jews criticize the ideology of Zionism as Rabbi Hirsch one of the foremost Jewish men of religion said, “Zionism wants to define the Jewish men of religion as a national entity. Which is a heresy”. Many religious Jews who criticize Zionism do not even see the state of Israel as a legitimate entity and thus refuse to recognize it. The Israeli statesman Ammon Rubinstein says: “Zionism is a revolt against their (Jews) fatherland and synagogue of Rabbis”, while orthodox Jew like Neturia Karta, say, “ according to the Torah, Jews are not allowed to shed blood, harm, humiliate or dominate another people. Zionist politicians do not speak for the Jewish people, the name Israel has been stolen by them”.

Today the true Zionists are a minority in the Jewish world and the worst enemy of the prophetic Jewish faith is the nationalist, racist and colonialist logic of tribal Zionism. Terror, violence and intimidation were used to accomplish political goals prior to the establishment state of Israel. Zionist underground organizations, such as the Haganah, headed by David Ben Gurion, The Irgun Zvei Leumi, headed by Menachem Begin, and Stern gang, co-headed by Yitzhak Shamir, engaged in a form of “ethnic cleansing”. Many leaders of the Zionist terrorist gangs later became prime minister of the “only democracy in the Middle east”. The implantation of the Zionist entity in Palestine has been described as Al-Nakba (the catastrophe) by Palestinians. This was only made possible but driving out the indigenous population – the Palestinians from their ancestral lands, through terror and mass murder. Deir Yasin (April 9, 1948) was but one example of numerous Zionist atrocities perpetrated against innocent civilians. Palestinian women were paraded naked in the streets. Many of them were bayoneted to death before their bodies were dumped in the wells. At least 750,000 Palestinian were expelled from their homes in campaign to settle European Jews in Palestine. The ideology of Zionism is principally responsible for years of endless conflict and wars, bloodshed and tears and implantation of seed of terrorism in Palestine. Zionism and its agenda are not well known in the West, hence many people are sympatric to the Zionism ideal of a homeland for Jewish people, but in reality the ideology is of ethnic cleaning and ruthless colonizing with total disregard of native Muslim Arabs. Zionist slogans such as “unpopulated land for a landless people” were no more than misleading propaganda, as the Jews were not homeless, nor were the land they sought unpopulated. The philosophy of “the strong win and the weak are doomed to lose”, drifted the German nation to Nazism as it drifted Jews to Zionism. The purpose of Zionism was well defined by David Ben Gurion as “The present map of Palestine was drawn by the British mandate. The Jewish people have another map, which our youth and adults should strive to fulfill – From the Nile to the Euphrates”.

Muslims should not criticize Judaism or the Jewish race, but Zionism. There will be no peace in the Middle East unless Israel accepts the rights of return of Palestinian refugees and a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as it’s capital. Zionism’s policy of occupation in the Middle East under the cloak of “Judaism” actually harms Jews and Judaism all over the world and makes the citizen of Israel or the Diaspora Jews the target of fanatics.

Muslims recognize the right of the existence of Israel: The Jewish citizen of Israel have a right to live in peace and security in Palestine. However, they must recognize the right of Palestinians, the other owners of Palestine. In truth, Jews the people of the Book and Muslims are not enemies. As a matter of fact, they are allies in defending the moral values, peace, justice and tolerance.

By Mohammed Khaku