What caused Jews and Muslims to become enemies?

Answer 1

Answer 1

First of all, saying Jews and Muslims are enemies is like saying that all Americans and Mexicans are enemies. What about Mexican-Americans? Who is their enemy? The same thing goes for Jewish Arabs and Israeli Muslims. Who are they supposed to hate? Themselves? Sure a Jewish woman once tried to poison Muhammad. The poison didn't affect him. However, when Muhammad went to Yathrib (Medinah) the Jews praised him. They believed he was the last prophet. The reason the Jews stopped accepting him was because he wasn't an Israelite. That's when a rivalry began. But that has a small link to the Israel thing.

Answer 2

Mohammed originally described himself as a 'Jewish prophet'. The religion he was developing, which today we know as Islam, incorporated many aspects of Judaism within it. Some of the dietary laws are the same, for instance. Religious Jews pray three times a day - religious Muslims pray five times daily. There are many other similarities. But then Mohammed demanded that the Jews abandon their own faith and instead convert to Islam. Naturally, the Jews declined. At this point, Mohammed turned on them and this is the starting point of the enmity.

Judaism teaches that all religions are to be respected, and that all humans are equally God's children. And indeed, there are many instances of Jews and Muslims living and working together perfectly well. In fact, in general, Jews fared far better in Islamic countries than they did in Christian nations.

The dispute over land is more complex; bear in mind that Jerusalem is the holiest Jewish city. But for Muslims, it is the THIRD most holy city, because Mecca and Medina are their first two. Jews have always prayed facing Jerusalem, wherever they are in the world. Muslims pray facing Mecca and Jerusalem is not mentioned ONCE in the Quran, the Islamic holy text!

Answer 3

A lot of things contributed to the problem, but the central disagreement between them is over ownership of land. Religious people on each side believe that God gave them the land where they live. It is important to remember though, that in general, Jews and Moslems don't ALL believe that they are at war, or even have bad feelings toward the other religion. Most of the conflict is among people who are very different trying to live in close proximity in the Middle East. Some of them don't even believe in their religions... they just can't get along next to each other. Hatred like that exists whenever people don't try to understand each other, or start hating people just because they belong to a certain group even though they don't know them.

Answer 4

The answer to the question lies in the beginning of Islam and the original Jewish tribes that defied Muhammad's demand to convert to Islam. Because the Jewish tribes refused to convert and tried to assassinate Muhammad, the Jews became the object of Islamic hate.

Sura (5:59-60) - This verse begets the infamous belief on the part of some Muslims that Jews are descended from swine and apes, since it says that wicked Jews (at least) were transformed by Allah in the past.

The Qur'an also contains dozens of verses that specifically describe Jews in the ugliest, most hateful terms. These parts of the Qur'an are indistinguishable from hate literature.

There is nothing in Jewish literature or in the religion that promotes or directs hate towards any other religion. The Qur'an is believed by Muslims to be the word of God so as the Qur'an directs the Muslims to hate the Jews, the faithful follow the Qur'an's teaching.

Answer 2

People often make the mistake that the conflict between Palestine and Israel is between Muslims and Jews. The truth is that not all Palestinians are Muslim, and not all Israelis are Jewish. The conflict is over land, not religion.

Answer 3

Answer 1

It is not true that Jews and Muslims don't get along or that Muslims hate Jews. Muslims don't consider Jews enemies. Muslims are not in conflict with Jews. Muslims believe in their holy book (Torah) and their prophet (Moses; peace be upon him). Muslims consider Jews as "people of the book". There are still many Jews residing and living in many Islamic countries without any discrimination or enmity. Quran; Muslims holy book; calls Muslims to tolerant, kind, and peaceful when dealing with non Muslims so far those non Muslims don't drive Muslims out of their homes or prevent them from practicing their religion rituals. There are still many Jews in Arab countries and living in good harmony with Muslims in Arab countries.

As Hints on the Expert Answer by Prioktan918 above:

1. Referring to what is mentioned in that Answer that "Jews in the Arab World lived as second class citizens in the Dhimmi System", this is not true. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said that who hurts any Dhimmi will never smell the Paradise. You may know the story of Judge who looked for a suit claimed by Ali Ibn Abou Taleb that a Jew stolen his war shield. The Judge asked Ali if he has a proof that it is his he said that my sons could witness that it is his. He said their witness could not be accepted and ordered the war shield for the Jew. The Jew admired the Judge and the just in Islam and converted to Islam and gave the war shield to Ali admitting that it is his. However, Aly gave the shield back to the Jew as a present. There are many other stories about the fairness and justice of Islam religion when dealing with the Dhimmi. They were never treated as second class citizens.
2. Referring to what is mentioned in that Answer that "the jizya, which was a tax that Dhimmi had to pay for Muslims for the right to not be killed where they stood for not acknowledging Mohammed's Prophecy; it was a form of humiliation", this is again not true. This Jizya was imposed on non Muslims for being exempted from military service and from financing the Islamic army that defends them. That is why Jizya was not paid for women, children, old people, and/or sick people who can't participate in military service. Also, poor people were exempted from paying it. Currently, this Jizya is no longer paid as non Muslims also participate in military service as Muslims to the extent that in Egypt the leader of one of the three Egyptian armies was non Muslim.
3. Referring to what is mentioned in that Answer that "Additional taxes included the kharaj, which was a tax on non-Muslim land-holdings in the Muslim World". This kharaj was paid equally by all citizens; Muslims and non Muslims; although Muslims at that time were; per Islam law; required to 2.5 % of their wealth to the government as Alms giving (or Zakat).
4. All Islamic countries were know by the justice and equality among all their citizens; Muslims and non Muslims; to the extent that the Christians in Egypt called Muslims to invade Egypt to relieve them from the tyranny of the Romans. They were only able to practice their rituals openly when the country became under the Muslims control.

However, Muslims may consider the Israelis as enemies because of the aggression and oppression that they exercise against the Palestinians and because of the massacres that they committed against them to drive them away from their lands in addition to what they doing in the Al-Aqsa Mosque that may lead to its destruction.

Answer 2

Primarily because their views of the ideal historical outcome with regard to the survival and future of a Jewish state in the Middle East are so wildly at odds.

Answer 4

Societal Issues
Jews and Muslims were not in active conflict for most of their history. Currently, US and Canadian Jews and Muslims get along rather well. In the Middle East, they do not get along as well. To understand why the political conflict started between Jews who wanted their own country and Muslims who wished to prevent this autonomy, you have to understand modern history.

Prior to the Conflict
Up until the early 1800s, most Jews in Europe had little to do with Arabs and most Jews in the Arab World lived as second class citizens in the Dhimmi System. The Dhimmi, or non-Muslim under Muslim occupation was required by the Pact of Omar to pay a number of taxes that were connected with his Dhimmi status. The most famous was the jizya, which was a tax that Dhimmi had to pay for Muslims for the right to not be killed where they stood for not acknowledging Mohammed's Prophecy; it was a form of humiliation. Additional taxes included the kharaj, which was a tax on non-Muslim land-holdings in the Muslim World. The kharaj was so untenable that most Dhimmi were forced to live in the cities where the tax would not be applicable. (Muslims often note that kharaj did apply to Muslims, but do forget that the rate at which the kharaj applied to Muslims was far lower than for non-Muslims and therefore did not have these adverse effects.) Dhimmi were also unequal as concerns justice. On paper, a Christian or Jew could testify against a Muslim, but in reality, such testimony was not acceptable and the attempt to defame a Muslim would receive retribution. Christians and Jews were not allowed to build new houses of worship, restore old houses of worship, proselytize in any way (this included religious debate or dialogue), or allow wine or pigs to be shown in public.

Foreign Imperialism in the Arab World
As the 1800s began, European leadership began to colonize much of the Old World, especially Africa and southern Asia. Most of the Islamic World was not under direct colonial authority, but was on a short leash maintained by colonists. As a result, the segregated Dhimmi System gave way to a new, modern bureaucratic system where Europeans were the dominant class and natives, regardless of their religion were second-class, unless they became part of the bureaucracy. To do this, a person would require an education in order to become literate and be able to successfully perform functions in the Arab World.

Many Jewish groups (like Alliance Israélite Universelle) along with similar Christian groups came to the Arab World with European educations and European perspectives. They met up with their co-religionists and began to educate them so that they could become part of the new colonial bureaucracy. This created a fundamental imbalance from the way Arab society had been traditionally structured. Now it was the Muslims who were underrepresented in government, who were less educated, who were less free to practice their faith, and who were humiliated with laws passed against their interests. This would lead to many Arab Muslims painting the Jews and Christians who were native to their countries as foreign imperialists and usurpers. The hatred of Christians would eventually wane and remain marginal as Christians fled the Middle East in massive numbers in the 1920s and 1930s never to return. As the Jews had no intent of leaving, the hatred felt for them would only grow.

Arab Nationalism and Anti-Semitism
The European concept of a nation-state was beginning to become more and more popular in the Arab World since nationalism was the term used for resisting colonial and imperial authorities. It had worked for most of the countries in the Balkans of Europe, it had led to the independence on several Eastern European States, and it was internationally accepted as a legitimate form of resistance. Nationalism, however, is not terribly kind to minorities within any nation-state's area, since the concept of the "nation" was dependent on the idea that all of the people in any particular nation were of the same ethnic stock and heritage. Jews in the Arab World were branded by this system to be "the Other" and were regarded as traitors, spies, thieves, and fifth columns.

Arab Nationalism made a link between Arab Identity and Muslim Practice. This alienated Jews, Christians, and other minority religions from really participating. These issues started cropping up in the early 20th century, especially after World War I (1914-1919). The anti-Semitic nature of Arab Nationalism was only increased when Nazism became prominent in Europe (1933-1945). Arab Nationalists opposed British and French Imperialism and saw the Nazis (who also opposed British and French interests) as an ally and ideological equivalent. As a result of the increasing Anti-Semitism, many Jews in the Arab World felt uncomfortable and a small wealthy minority of them were bullied, stolen from, and executed. This, naturally provoked Jewish reciprocal hatred of the Arabs who were treating them so barbarically.

European Jewish Response to European Nationalism and Nazism
The issue of Nationalism in Europe was quite similar to that in the Arab World, although Herzl recognized the issue before it had made it to the Arab World (but while it was very persuasive in Europe). However, European Jews believed that Europeans in general were culturally superior to other peoples and that it would be unnecessary to worry. When the Dreyfus Affair turned out marches in Paris that said "Death to the Jews" on account of a kangaroo court against a particular guiltless Jew, it became clear to Herzl and several like-minded individuals that the Jew could not be integrated into Europe. Jews formed Zionist Congresses that debated how, when, and where would be the best place to create a State specifically for Jews.

By the 1910s, the Zionists were well-organized and were able to effectively petition the British to declare His Majesty's intent to create a Jewish State in the southern Levant (where Israel is now). Jewish Settlers began to arrive in Mandatory Palestine and built an economy. There were local skirmishes between the Arab Natives and the European Jews and these would increase during the the 1930s and 1940s. Mandatory Palestine was still seen as a backwater and dangerous place by most European Jews who preferred to live in the European cities they knew and loved. They thought a Jewish State to protect the Jewish people was unnecessary, but the mass extermination of the Holocaust fundamentally changed this perspective. Jews worldwide aligned themselves with the Zionists and were able to capture enough sympathy to get UN Resolution 181 passed, which would permit the Declaration of Independence of a Jewish State (and an Arab State) in Mandatory Palestine.

Arab-Israeli Conflict
The Arab-Israeli War was the internationalization of the Jewish-Arab conflict in the British Mandate of Palestine. When the United Nations passed Resolution 181, allocating territory to Jewish State and to an Arab State (Palestine), the Arabs rejected the plan leading to skirmishes between Jewish Militias and Arab Militias. In 1948, when the British announced the end of the Mandate, the Jewish Settlement used the opportunity and the legal avenue opened by Resolution 181 to declare a State (Israel). The day after, seven Arab armies from neighboring countries joined with the Arab Militias already operating. As the fighting progressed, Israel was able to repel the invaders and claim about 78% of British Mandate of Palestine as the grounds of their new state. The War is considered by most to be an Israeli Victory.

Throughout the fighting (from 1947-1949) numerous Palestinians were forced from their homes inside what would become Israeli territory. Other Palestinians left in fear that they too could be attacked and forced to leave. This climate of fear and and desire to leave was increased by Arab leaders who encouraged such activities claiming that it would get civilians out of the way while the fighting occurred. After the War and the elimination of Israel, the Palestinians would return without issue. This did not happen as Israel was victorious. Palestinians call this event (the overall war and removal from their homes) the Nakba or Great Catastrophe. Israel has refused the Right of Return for Palestinians claiming that if it did so, it would no longer have a Jewish majority, putting the entire purpose of a Jewish State in jeopardy.

Comments
Comments on the "Hints" that Ibrahim El-Osery has written in his answer commenting on this answer have been moved to the Discussion Section. I invite you, the reader, to see the argument there and see whether or not his "Hints" are actually substantiated.

Answer 5

Introduction
Jews and Muslims have never had primarily religious quarrels. The issues they tend to fight over are political such as control of land and applicable governmental laws. Therefore not every Jew hates every Muslim and the reverse is also false. One should also note that a proper Jew and a proper Muslim should show reverence to the practices of the other as explained by the principles of Noahide and Ahl Al-Kitaab respectively.

Earliest Jewish-Muslim Violence
The first Jewish-Muslim confrontation was during the Wars between Mecca and Medina at Islam's origin. Some Jewish Tribes made alliances with Mohammed and others made alliances with those who wished to thwart him. These battles were about controlling the Arabian Peninsula in a political and mercantile fashion and had nothing to do with faith (as opposed to [for example] the Thirty Years War in Europe which was about faith.)

Positive Jewish-Muslim Relations
Jews assisted Muslims in their conquests throughout the Rise of Islam period. A great example of this was when the Muslims captured the city of Cordoba. They approached the Jewish community, gave them weapons, and asked them to be the stewards of the city until the Conquest of Spain was complete.

Development of Modern Islamic Anti-Semitism
Aside from occasional pogroms (which happened far less in the Muslim World than in Europe), Jews and Muslims had minimal confrontation in Islamic Empires. The major confrontations began again during the Rise of Arab Nationalism in the Arab World. (There were not enough Jews in India or Indonesia to be bothered by those countries' nationalistic movements.) Arab Nationalism made a link between Arab Identity and Islamic Practice. This alienated Jews, Christians, and other minority religions from really participating.

The anti-Semitic nature of Arab Nationalism was only increased when Nazism became prominent in Europe. Arab Nationalists opposed British and French Imperialism and saw the Nazis (who also opposed British and French interests) as an ally and ideological equivalent. As a result of the increasing Anti-Semitism, many Jews in the Arab World felt uncomfortable and a small wealthy minority of them were bullied, stolen from, and executed.

Arab-Israeli Conflict
Another political bone of contention was the establishment of the State of Israel. The Arab-Israeli Wars, which are primarily a political confrontation, put Jews (who consider the State of Israel to be part of their ethnic identity) and Arab Nationalism (considered by most Muslims to be a political extension of Arab ethnic identity) against each other.

Muslim attacks against Zionism were and are still construed as attacks on Jewish identity and Jewish attacks against the Palestinian People and their rights were and are still construed as attacks against Muslim and Arab identities. Each attack (either verbal or physical) would inflame the other party to act more aggressively and to reach out less. As a result, there remain bitter tensions between the Jewish and Muslim communities because of these political struggles.