December 13, 2017
Menorah for your Thoughts?
Dana Mathewson
Sent by Friend Ken.
Here is an interesting article on the history of the early Muslims with the Jews. Relative to the Mosque site and its influence today.
From the article:
"The Jerusalem Post reported on the discovery during an archaeological dig of ancient Islamic coins dated back some 1,300 years, shortly after the dawn of the Islamic faith during the Umayyad dynasty. The coins prominently feature a rather Judaic symbol — the menorah.
"The Jewish symbol which the Muslims were using was the menorah (the gold seven-branch candelabra from the Temple), which appeared on several coins and other early Islamic artifacts,†explained archaeologist Assaf Avraham of Bar-Ilan University, who teamed up with Peretz Reuven of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem."
So, the Jews and Muslims weren't always bitter enemies, it seems. The article continues:
"According to The Times of Israel, the pair of archaeologists believe these and other recent discoveries are evidence of a "dialogue†and peaceful co-existence of the Judaic and Islamic faiths in the early days of Islam — one they hope could be resumed today or in the near future.
End excerpt.
This from Tim:
I once read a description by a scholar (and I sadly don't remember who it was) who described Islam as Judaism without the Jews. I don't agree as Islam has some major deviations from Judaism. And even if true, Islam shows what happens when you take the Jews out of Judaism; you have a Law without a People, so it simply becomes a demand, a barked order. The Judaic Law is tempered with mercy because the Jews suffered so much in this world that they are inclined to offer mercy. The Muslims, who have generally had things their own way because they demand obedience as a Divine right, seek to impose what they see as justice under the law. It's not tempered with mercy because the Muslims did not and do not suffer the same kind of persecution that Jews have lived with for millenia.
Taking the Jews out of the equation is rather like taking the Crucifixion out of Christianity. Both are central pillrs of the faith, and without them the faith becomes something either frivilous or malignant.
But indeed Islam was modeled on Judaism, and Muhammed appears to have believed his mission was to teach monotheism to the pagans of the Arabian desert. Part of the animous between Jews and Moslems stems from the rejection of Muhammed's teaching by Jewish leaders in Arabia early on, who pointed out he didn't understand the scriptures. Muhammed believed God was telling him directly what the scriptures said, so he was disinclined to believe the Jews, and he appears to have been a rather prideful man who didn't like being corrected and wouldn't have the patience to gently reprove the Jews.
Still, he gave orders for "Peoples of the Book" to not be molested as pagans. (Interestingly enough, that included Jews, Christians, and the followers of John the Baptist, who had fled eastward and lived in many parts of Asia. They are now pretty much extinct, but for a while they had a faith that rivaled Christianity in Persia and Central ASia.) Early Islam appeared to tolerate Jews and Christians as "seperated Bretheren" in the early days. Much of the difference between Muslims and Jews/Christians was cultural; many Middle Eastern Christians call God Allah, for instance, so that is not a major break.
Many of the customs and some of the beliefs of Islam come from Asia, too. Ritual purification before prayer, which is conducted facing Mecca, and done publicly multiple times a day came out of Manicheanism. Mani, founder of taat faith, was called The Seal of the Prophets" a title the Muslims would give to Muhammed. They all faced south, not toward Mecca, but their ritual was the same albeit different prayers.
Jihad was a concept straight out of Mithraism, the religioun that emerged from Asia as a competitor to Christianity in the early Roman empire. Mithraists believed in dualism, where there was a devil of equal power to God and a war had to be waged to stop the darkness. This was popular among Roman soldiers and no doubt found it's way to Arabia aftter it was suppressed by the Roman emperors. Islam seems to have adopted it in the concept of ihad.
So, as groups of people converted to Islam they changed it from a sort of Jewish cult into a whole new religion, one with emnity to Israel. Laying claim to the mantle of Ishmael to give the faith gravitas, Islam chose to be the enemy of the Children of Israel, the decendants of Jacob. In fact, they seek to supplant Israel. But, like all cheap imitations, they fail in their efforts because rarely is a copy better than the original.
Islam can also be seen as a Christian heresy, as it took root in places where heresies had flourished and adopted many of their beliefs (such as the idea Jesus was a prophet and not Divine, as in Arianism, which was powerful in the Middle East.) That is for another day. Suffice it to say Islam started life as a Jewish cult and was apparently friendly to their elder brothers at first.
Sent by Friend Ken.
Here is an interesting article on the history of the early Muslims with the Jews. Relative to the Mosque site and its influence today.
From the article:
"The Jerusalem Post reported on the discovery during an archaeological dig of ancient Islamic coins dated back some 1,300 years, shortly after the dawn of the Islamic faith during the Umayyad dynasty. The coins prominently feature a rather Judaic symbol — the menorah.
"The Jewish symbol which the Muslims were using was the menorah (the gold seven-branch candelabra from the Temple), which appeared on several coins and other early Islamic artifacts,†explained archaeologist Assaf Avraham of Bar-Ilan University, who teamed up with Peretz Reuven of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem."
So, the Jews and Muslims weren't always bitter enemies, it seems. The article continues:
"According to The Times of Israel, the pair of archaeologists believe these and other recent discoveries are evidence of a "dialogue†and peaceful co-existence of the Judaic and Islamic faiths in the early days of Islam — one they hope could be resumed today or in the near future.
"At the beginning of the Muslim rule, not only didn’t they object to the Jews, but they saw themselves as the continuation of the Jewish people,†Avraham explained."
As proof of his assertion that Muslims initially viewed themselves as a continuation of the Jewish people, Avraham pointed to an inscription that had been found in a 1,000-year-old mosque in the village of Nuba, which referenced the Temple of Solomon — now known as the Dome of the Rock — and spoke of the need to rebuild it.
This from Tim:
I once read a description by a scholar (and I sadly don't remember who it was) who described Islam as Judaism without the Jews. I don't agree as Islam has some major deviations from Judaism. And even if true, Islam shows what happens when you take the Jews out of Judaism; you have a Law without a People, so it simply becomes a demand, a barked order. The Judaic Law is tempered with mercy because the Jews suffered so much in this world that they are inclined to offer mercy. The Muslims, who have generally had things their own way because they demand obedience as a Divine right, seek to impose what they see as justice under the law. It's not tempered with mercy because the Muslims did not and do not suffer the same kind of persecution that Jews have lived with for millenia.
Taking the Jews out of the equation is rather like taking the Crucifixion out of Christianity. Both are central pillrs of the faith, and without them the faith becomes something either frivilous or malignant.
But indeed Islam was modeled on Judaism, and Muhammed appears to have believed his mission was to teach monotheism to the pagans of the Arabian desert. Part of the animous between Jews and Moslems stems from the rejection of Muhammed's teaching by Jewish leaders in Arabia early on, who pointed out he didn't understand the scriptures. Muhammed believed God was telling him directly what the scriptures said, so he was disinclined to believe the Jews, and he appears to have been a rather prideful man who didn't like being corrected and wouldn't have the patience to gently reprove the Jews.
Still, he gave orders for "Peoples of the Book" to not be molested as pagans. (Interestingly enough, that included Jews, Christians, and the followers of John the Baptist, who had fled eastward and lived in many parts of Asia. They are now pretty much extinct, but for a while they had a faith that rivaled Christianity in Persia and Central ASia.) Early Islam appeared to tolerate Jews and Christians as "seperated Bretheren" in the early days. Much of the difference between Muslims and Jews/Christians was cultural; many Middle Eastern Christians call God Allah, for instance, so that is not a major break.
Many of the customs and some of the beliefs of Islam come from Asia, too. Ritual purification before prayer, which is conducted facing Mecca, and done publicly multiple times a day came out of Manicheanism. Mani, founder of taat faith, was called The Seal of the Prophets" a title the Muslims would give to Muhammed. They all faced south, not toward Mecca, but their ritual was the same albeit different prayers.
Jihad was a concept straight out of Mithraism, the religioun that emerged from Asia as a competitor to Christianity in the early Roman empire. Mithraists believed in dualism, where there was a devil of equal power to God and a war had to be waged to stop the darkness. This was popular among Roman soldiers and no doubt found it's way to Arabia aftter it was suppressed by the Roman emperors. Islam seems to have adopted it in the concept of ihad.
So, as groups of people converted to Islam they changed it from a sort of Jewish cult into a whole new religion, one with emnity to Israel. Laying claim to the mantle of Ishmael to give the faith gravitas, Islam chose to be the enemy of the Children of Israel, the decendants of Jacob. In fact, they seek to supplant Israel. But, like all cheap imitations, they fail in their efforts because rarely is a copy better than the original.
Islam can also be seen as a Christian heresy, as it took root in places where heresies had flourished and adopted many of their beliefs (such as the idea Jesus was a prophet and not Divine, as in Arianism, which was powerful in the Middle East.) That is for another day. Suffice it to say Islam started life as a Jewish cult and was apparently friendly to their elder brothers at first.
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
08:15 AM
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