In Chapter 21 of the Book of Genesis we are told how the division between Jews and Arabs (later Muslims) came about. Hang tough for this is a complex story. Because he and his wife Sarah had waited unsuccessfully for a child, Abraham had taken a slave wife in order to have a son. He chose Hagar and they had a son Ishmael. God looked after them.
Then when his wife Sarah gave birth to Isaac, Abraham wanted to send Hagar and Ishmael away, but God spoke to him saying that he would make two great nations from these sons of Abraham (Genesis 21:13). “I will make a great nation of the slave girl’s son too, because he is your child as well”. So, Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael on their way and God directed them through the wilderness of Beersheba to that of Paran, just North of the Sinai peninsula. Ishmael became an archer and married a woman from Egypt. As time went bye Ishmael’s people came to dwell in the Arabian desert East of Egypt.
So, as it happened, Abraham’s son Ishmael became the progenitor of the Arabian people, who eventually embraced Islam as their religion. Now, fast forward to the early chapters of Exodus where we find that after his escape from Egypt, on the run for having killed an Egyptian, Moses had married Zipporah the daughter of one Jethro, a Median priest. Jethro soon became Moses’ right-hand man in sorting out the socio-political complexities of leading thousands of people out of Egypt toward the promised land. (Exodus 18: 1-27).
As it turns out, these Midian people are the descendants of Ishmael, and thus Moses was now married to a woman who was a descendent of Ishmael. Thus the nations of the two sons of Abraham have actually been united. In fact, Zipporah, Moses’ wife actually circumcised Moses’ son and Jethro became Moses’ father-in-law. One can now see the close relationship these two nations, and eventually, these two religions, have in common.
So when we come to modern times it is a shame to see what a difficult time these two peoples have had understanding one another. Indeed, actually, the Muslims accept the Hebrew scriptures, the Christian “Old Testament”, as authoritative to some degree as their own Quran. In a sense, then, the Jewish religion is the forerunner of Islam. Yet today these two faiths are constantly at war.
I myself find much of the Islamic faith weak and misleading, but I do think it is important for people of every faith to find ways to come together and work toward greater mutual understanding and respect. At the same time, it does not seem realistic to hope for this. I have tried honestly to read and understand the Quran but must admit that much if not most of it seems shallow and dogmatic, as of course does much of both the Jewish and Christian scriptures.
Nonetheless, I do believe that it is important for all of us to recognize and respect the faith of other people, as hard as this may be to do.
One response to “THE ORIGIN OF THE JEWISH-ISLAMIC DIVISION”
During my latest visit to Crete, I learned that most of the people in the western end of the island converted to Islam during the 400 years of Turkish occupation. While there are many who would say this occupation period was oppressive and unjust, I don’t think so many would point to the religious conversion as particularly problematic. Indeed, friends there are very open about oppressive aspects of Christian Orthodoxy. But I also heard people there say all this insistence on some inherent conflict between Christians and Muslims has to stop, that it’s primarily created by politicians and religious leaders seeking power and weapons dealers seeking profits. My taxi driver to the airport from Piraeus said the Greeks need to stop following the agendas of the northern Europeans so much and focus more on making peace and prosperity with their more immediate geographical neighbors.