Is the Qur’an “antisemitic”? (Prof. Firestone)

The Qur’an expresses significant antipathy toward Jews. Jews (or Israelites) are portrayed as disobeying God (2:93), rejecting their own covenant (2:100), failing to follow their own Torah (5:66), and distorting or twisting the meaning of the divine revelation they received (2:101, 174). Jews are even cursed by God in the Qur’an (2:88; 4:51–52), and on occasion it calls to fight them (or more accurately, some of them: 9:29). For some observers, that is enough to condemn the Qur’an as “antisemitic.” But this reaction is reductive, mistaken, and irresponsible. To be precise, the Qur’an, like the Hebrew Bible and New Testament, directs resentment, anger, and even occasional rage toward its detractors. To consider such sentiments whenever directed against Jews to be antisemitism is erroneous and irresponsible, for there exists a vital and unsubtle difference between the resentment and anger expressed in scriptures against parties considered threatening, and the preaching of racialized hatred that lies at the core of antisemitism. Jews are not singled out in the Qur’an. In fact, at least two other communities are feared and reviled significantly more in the Qur’an than Jews, as we shall observe in what follows. In the case of the Hebrew Bible, the threatening communities that it reviles (Canaanites, Moabites, Amalekites, etc.) have long since disappeared from human history, so angry and even hateful language directed against them does not feel personal. It can be dismissed as symbolic or rhetorical.

There are plenty of severely negative portrayals of Christians and Muslims in post-biblical Jewish sacred literature, just as there are plenty of negative portrayals of Jews and Christians in Muslim post-scriptural tradition and negative portrayals of Jews and Muslims in Christian post-scriptural tradition (See T. L. Hettema and A. van der Kooij, Religious Polemics in Context (Leiden: Brill, 2004); S. Stroumsa, “Jewish Polemics Against Islam and Christianity in the Light of Judaeo-Arabic Texts,” in Muslims and Others in Early Islamic Society, ed. R. Hoyland (Aldershot: Ashgate Variorum, 2002), 201–10; N. Caputo, “Jewish-Christian Polemics Until the 15th Century,” in Oxford Bibliographies (Oxford: Oxford University Press), https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/docu ment/obo-9780199840731/obo-9780199840731- 0038.xml).

Jews in the Qur’an

It is quite clear that the Qur’an has a lot to say about Jews, and it uses a number of different terms to refer to them. The most common is “Children of Israel” (banū isrā’īl), which appears forty-three times and often refers to the ancient Israelites in narrations of stories with clear parallels in the Hebrew Bible. The term can also refer to Jews living contemporarily with the Qur’an, but when it does, the use of banū isrā’īl is evocative of their biblical origins—usually in relation to Israelite opposition to or rebellion against Moses and God. Parallel to this appellation are such terms as “the people of Abraham” (qawm ibrāhīm; two times), the people of Moses” (qawm mūsā; 3 times), “those who have Judaized” (al-ladhīna hādū; 10 times), “Jews” (al-yahūd; 8 times), and “Jew” or “Jewish” (yahūdī; once). The last three terms, all constructed from yahūdī, seem to refer to Jews living in the period of the Qur’an’s emergence—which is usually taken to be seventh-century Arabia.

Another common locution is various forms of “People of the Book” (ahlū alkitāb), which occurs thirty-three times: “[those] who have been given the Book” (al-ladhīna ūtū al-kitāb; 19 times), “[those] whom We have given the Book” (alladhīna ātaynā al-kitāb; 6 times), “[those] who have been given a portion of the Book” (al-ladhīna ūtū naṣīban min al-kitāb; 3 times), and occasionally other locutions, such as “[those] who read/recite the Book” (al-ladhīna yaqra’ūna al-kitāb) or “successors who have inherited the Book” (khalfun warithū al-kitāb), and “People of the Reminder” (ahlu al-dhikr; twice), in which “Reminder” (dhikr) becomes a synonym (as it does elsewhere) for Scripture, meaning divine writ. Sometimes ahlū al-kitāb refers only to Jews, sometimes only to Christians, and sometimes to both simultaneously. But the contexts in which they appear most often reflect reference specifically to Jews. The Qur’an uses still other terms, such as “[those] who have been given the Knowledge beforehand” (al-ladhīna ūtū al-‘ilm min qablihi, 17:107) and the collective “one who has knowledge of the Book” (man ‘indahu ‘ilmu al-kitāb, 13:43), which probably refers not only to Jews and Christians but also to followers of Muhammad. Other appellations include “People of Abraham” (āl ibrāhīm, 4:54), who were given “the Book and the wisdom and […] a great kingdom,” and “the tribes” (al-asbāṭ), which always (four times) occurs in the expression “Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the tribes.” The Qur’an also refers to two additional categories within the community of Jews.

1. One refers to rabbis—rabbāniyūn (3:79; 5:44, 5:63) and perhaps rabbiyyūn (3:14)—and the other to scholar-colleagues—aḥbār (sing: ḥabr, 5:44, 5:63; 9:34). The latter category is known in the Talmud as ḥaver/ḥaverim—learned Jews at a slightly lower status than rabbis (M. Jastrow, A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Jerusalem: Chorev, n.d.), 421–22; M. Sokoloff, A Dictionary of Jewish Babylonian Aramaic (Ramat-Gan: Bar Ilan University, 2002), 428–29).
2. The large number of references to Jews and their ancestors, the Israelites, reveals the important status Jews held in the region from which the Qur’an emerged in late antiquity. The Qur’an cannot avoid the Jews, nor does it wish to, yet it nevertheless expresses a clear ambivalence. In some contexts it expresses admiration and esteem: “Surely We sent down the Torah, containing guidance and light. By means of it the prophets who had submitted (al-nabīyūn al-ladhīna aslamū) rendered judgment for the Jews, and [so did] the rabbis and the teachers (wal-rabbāniyyūn wal-aḥbār), with what they were entrusted of the Book of God, and they were witnesses to it” (5:44). More often, however, the Qur’an is highly critical of Jews. Jews are accused of refusing to accept their own divinely inspired prophets and even going to the extreme of killing many of them (2:87, 92; 3:52, 112, 183; 5:70). They are cursed by God for their unbelief and refusal to accept God’s messages (2:88; 4:51–52). God is angry with them (3:112). They consistently disobey God (2:93), reject their own divine covenant (2:100; 3:187; 4:155; 5:12–13), and fail to follow their own Torah (5:66). They (or some of them) hide or distort and twist the very revelation they received from God (2:101, 174; 3:78; 4:46; 5:13, 41). They claim that Ezra (‘Uzayr) is the son of God (9:30). They lack true commitment to God (2:246), speak lies against God (3:78, 93; 6:20 –24, 28; 61:6–7), and followed the words of the satans (al-shayāṭīn) in the time of Solomon (2:102). As a result of their stubbornness and evil behaviour, God ordained that they observe strict behavioural laws (4:160 –161; 6:146–147; 16:118) and punished them in various ways, including exile from their land (59:2–4).

1. The best source for information about the Jews during the earliest period of emerging Islam is M. Lecker’s many studies, including The Banū Sulaym: A Contribution to the Study of Early Islam (Jerusalem: Hebrew University Press, 1989); Muslims, Jews and Pagans: Studies on Early Islamic Medina (Leiden: Brill, 1995); Jews and Arabs in Pre- and Early Islamic Arabia (Aldershot: Ashgate, 1998); The “Constitution of Medina”: Muḥammad’s First Legal Document (Princeton: Darwin, 2004); People, Tribes and Society in Arabia around the Time of Muḥammad (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2005); and Muḥammad and the Jews (Jerusalem: Ben Zvi Institute, 2014) [Hebrew].
2. The Qur’an recognises that not all Jews (or not all Jews and Christians) are alike. Some are believers and behave properly by doing good deeds and acting righteously (2:62; 3:113, 3:199; 4:54, 4:155; 5:69; 22:17; 28:52–55). Such references may refer to those Jews who recognise the prophethood of Muhammad and accept his revelation (3:199; 4:162).

1. Scripture Is Polemic
2. The Qur’an likewise justifies its existence in relation to prior Scripture. It claims, for example, that the words of former Scriptures are inaccurate and do not represent the complete and unadulterated will of God because they have been physically altered and/or their meaning has been distorted (2:75; 4:44–46; 5:13, 5:41). It also argues that Jews (and Christians) do not practice religion properly, so they need a new divine dispensation (4:160 –161). The Qur’an often notes exceptions and is often careful not to condemn all practitioners of established religions (Q. 2:62; 3:100–115, 199; 4:162; 5:69; 22:17?). They hold improper beliefs (9:30 –31). The details of these critiques reflect a significant knowledge of Jewish and Christian Scripture, religious practice, and belief, though some references—such as the condemnation of Jews for claiming that Ezra is the son of God— have perplexed Jews for centuries (9:30: qālat alyahūd ‘uzayr ibnu Allāh).

1. Examples
2. As noted above, polemical references in the Qur’an often suggest, indicate, or allude to criticisms and challenges to which they are responding.
3. Jewish Rejection/Criticism of the New Revelation:

Jewish Rejection and Undermining of the Authority of the Prophet:

Jewish Criticism of New Religious Practices:

1. Summary
2. These verses appear to represent responses to disapproval and disparagement levelled against the new community of believers, its revelation, and its prophet. The strong Qur’anic reaction is directed not only against Jews, but against Christians and indigenous practitioners of Arabian religions as well, but the prominent and respected status of Jews living in Arabia in the seventh century seems to have made them a particularly important target for rebuttal. Early Muslim traditions refer to the highly respected status of Jews living among native Arabian peoples, so it is likely that Jewish critiques of Muhammad and the revelation he brought had to be countered vigorously. See: Muslim-Jewish Relations | Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion. The Jewish community as a whole clearly did not accept Muhammad’s prophetic claims, though some individuals certainly did, which then defined those Jews who followed the Prophet and his revelation as apostates from the Jewish perspective. Islamic tradition depicts some Arabian Jews as anticipating the coming of a prophetic or redemptive leader from somewhere in Arabia (Al-Sīra al-nabawiyya li’ibn hishām, 2 vols., Dār al-thiqāfa al-‘arabiyya (Beirut, n.d.), 1:213–14, 513–14, 527; 2:522–23; A. Guillaume, The Life of Muhammad (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1955), 93–95 and 239–41; Ibn Sa‘d, Al-Tabaqāt al-Kubrā, 8 vols. + index (Beirut: Dār al-kutub al-‘ilmiyya, 1997/1418), 1:126). If it is true that some Jews were expecting a redemptive figure, then it would be likely that those Jews who did not consider Muhammad to be the awaited one would have been particularly unhappy with their fellow religionists who did and thus likely to level strong criticisms both against them and against Muhammad and his message.

So the Qur’an is not anti-semitic. It is important to note that the Qur’an does not call anywhere to “kill the Jews.” Neither does it single out “the Jews” as the enemy. Moreover, the Qur’an never associates Jews with the devil, despite the fact that al-shayṭān and iblīs occur as regular terms for Satan within it. These malicious sentiments and accusations against Jews were floating around in Christian writings by the time of Qur’anic emergence, yet the Qur’an does not pick them up. It would be wrong to label the Qur’an as antisemitic. The Qur’an does not racialize Jews, nor does it dehumanize them. It certainly does not call for their destruction.