Dear Moses and other "civilized" onlookers

Submitted by Prince AlyKhan (United States), Dec 2, 2008 at 16:33

Dear Moses and other "civilized" onlookers,

Firstly, I am sorry that your education about Islam did not accord you the same respect and tolerance towards the faith that my education about Judaism and Christianity has accorded me. Heinous crimes have been committed by peoples of all faiths, and yet I would never describe the Prophet of any religious tradition as a "murdering thieving rapist pedhophile". By such vanity and hostility, you will only set yourself up for confrontation with others, not to mention... a very unhappy life. I imagine that you are a pretty unhappy person (if you are honest enough to look inside yourself) -- as, clearly, it is this unhappiness and pain in you that is speaking, rather than your better nature, which is inherent in each human being. While you nobly promised civility, any rational reader of your writing might think otherwise. I am not sure if you (and others) are reacting to my writings because of my name or because I am Muslim, or just out of sheer hostility and lack of civility. And while I concede that I may not be as well informed as my critics hold me to be, we might endeavour to put-away our prejudices for it will lead to mutual understanding.

I will attempt to set the record straight and shed light on historical facts as objectively as possible. Yet we should remain mindful that it is most unfortunate, although not uncommon, that the followers of Abrahamic traditions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) are so blind towards their common ethics and roots. It is these that we should resuscitate and allow to shape the current discourse in politics and among peoples of diverse faiths, rather than focusing on differences. Moreover, the tragedies and crimes in our shared history only serve to divide humanity rather than unite us, in the spirit that our common Creator desires.

You mention the "existence and dominance of the Arab Jews" in pre-Islam or the early days of revelation. And you also mention "genocide". How are these ideas connected? What happened in the early days of Islam that leads so many Jews (and even Muslims) to falsely believe that Prophet Muhammad was against them and committed atrocities?

When Prophet Muhammad established Medina, the Jews (and others) came to him for protection, fearing that the other tribes amongst whom they lived (in Medina) would become hostile towards them if Islam was made the official religion of the State. And so, Prophet Muhammad established the Constitution of Medina, a document in which he accorded formal constitutional status to the Jews as full-fledged citizens of the "Ummah" (community). In the present discourse, many Muslims have unknowingly expropriated the concept of "Ummah" as referring only to themselves. But in truth, in the early days of Islam, the "Ummah" included Muslims, Christians and Jews, given their Quranic status as "People of the Book", people of a common creed. And so, for a short time, all was well between the Jews of Medina, the Muslims, the Christians, and the others who travelled through this desert oasis.

After some time, however, the Jews started feel the "pinch" of Islam in their pockets, i.e. their economic prosperity started to decline because many of them (not all) were carpenters and idol-makers, whose source of income and sustenance depened on the trade of idols. As you may know, Mecca was a prominent centre for trading, particularly the buying and selling of idols, which were traded at the Kaba, the holy shrine which had been founded by Prophet Abraham, who is venerated in Islam as much as in Judaism. Muhammad came to restore the original religion of Abraham, which had been corrupted by the Meccans over time. Is not ironic that the Jews, who worshipped the One God, made their living by selling idols to those who did not believe in monotheism?

With the spread of Islam, the Jews of Medina, who thrived on the idol-making business, started to hurt in their pockets and so they conspired against Prophet Muhammad. The Jews of Medina made a pact with the Qurraish, the powerful Meccan elite tribe, who were also against Muhammad and the religion of monotheism. And so the two forces, Jews and the Qurraish, conspired to kill Muhammad. To their disappointment, they failed. And Muhammad soon learned of the conspirators. In response, Muhammad gathered all the Jews of Medina to determine their fate. While many Muslims at the time urged the Prophet to slaughter ALL the Jews in Medina, Muhammad was more restrained. He declared that only the men should die (a swift, painless death) and that the women and children should return to Israel. And so this decision was fulfilled. The number of male Jews which died numbered in the hundreds, perhaps the thousands, definitely not as many as the number of Muslims and Jews that die in modern times at the hands of each other. What's more is that Muhammad ordained that the Jewish women and children should receive a full escort to Israel, so that pirates would not raid their caravans, and so he sent his best troops to provide the escort.

The above is historically correct and you will find this story in Muslim, Christian and atheist accounts of early Islam. I am not sure what events have happened that lead you to believe in the claims that you have made about rape and genocide and theft, but such falsehoods are not uncommon among those who rely purely on Judaeo-Christian propaganda. I had these discussions with my Jewish friends, who are fortunately open-minded and have no difficulty changing their positions once they are more informed.

Regardless of whether or not you believe the above, I think you would do well to focus on what you (and others) share with Muslims (who are NOT a monolith by the way!), rather than focus on what you oppose. It is unhealthy to live with such hate, anger and rage. Ignorance is sometimes healthy, if it is latent. But if your ignorance becomes obvious, you will perish under it. Sorry for the unsettling truth. In closing, I wish to underline that I mean no disrespect to the readers, of whatever faith or background, but simply wish to convey the facts as I have understood them. We have a common essence, and it is from that origin where this voice comes.

Alykhan

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