# Over-generalizing but: Why do Muslims hate Jews? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 20, 2004, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-generalizing-but-why-do-muslims-hate-jews/256076 "2004-07-20T22:21:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Atticus\_Finch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ec9cab/32.png) [@Atticus\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atticus_Finch)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-generalizing-but-why-do-muslims-hate-jews/256076/21 "2004-07-21T04:13:55Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > Were the Ottomans non-Arab? The Ottomans were Turks, and their heartland was in what is now Turkey. However, they ruled over a large part of the Arab Middle East as well, from Egypt to the borders of Iran (and of course much of south-east Europe). ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-generalizing-but-why-do-muslims-hate-jews/256076/22 "2004-07-21T04:15:06Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > Were the Ottomans non-Arab? They were Turkish. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-generalizing-but-why-do-muslims-hate-jews/256076/23 "2004-07-21T04:16:31Z")
> [@](#): > > Were the Ottomans non-Arab? Te Ottomans were Turks, who are not Arabs. Similarly, Iran is Persian, not Arab. What is now Iraq was not, originally, Arab, but became Arab(at least culturally (not sure about the genetics) during the first wave of Muslim expansion. > [@](#): > > Did they think that they would push Israel into the sea and take all the land for themselves? There is no single answer to this question. Many opposed sharing the land with the European “thieves” and “invaders.” (In response to your question, they would have responded that they wanted to “take back” the land for themselves.) Many believed the rhetoric of the surrounding Arab states, that Israel was doomed. Many who lived in what became Israel wanted to stay on their own land and yet not be ruled by Jews. Some wanted to see a pan-Arab state established (as the United Arab Emirates attempted shortly thereafter). There are probanly several other views that I am forgetting. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-generalizing-but-why-do-muslims-hate-jews/256076/24 "2004-07-21T04:27:37Z")
> [@observer](#): > > I have never understood why Palestine didn’t actually become an independent state at that time. What the Palestinians are demanding now was in their hands in 1948. What went wrong? They didn’t want a Jewish state in Palestine. read the previous posts for the motives. > [@](#): > > Did they think that they would push Israel into the sea and take all the land for themselves? Yes. Except that they certainly would have say _keep_ the land for themselves rather than _take_ the land for themselves. > [@](#): > > When they realized that wasn’t likely to happen, wouldn’t it have been better to take half a loaf than nothing? They weren’t offered such a choice after 1948 (which would have been the first time when they could have “realized it wasn’t likely to happen”) . Palestine was shared between Israel and its neighbors (Jordan, Egyptia). Assuming it would have been offered, they wouldn’t have signed up, since they thought that the other half of the loaf had been stolen from them. Anyway, they obviously didn’t realize it for a long time, since other wars were fought over this issue. ---
**Author:** ![PaulFitzroy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/2acd7d/32.png) [@PaulFitzroy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulFitzroy)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-generalizing-but-why-do-muslims-hate-jews/256076/25 "2004-07-21T04:29:20Z")
> [@](#): > > we have a few tens of thousands in the Middle East who object to Israel’s existence ! A few hundred million is more like it. I’d wager to say that most of Jordan, most of Egypt, most of Syria and most of Iran’s population are opposed to the existence of Israel. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-generalizing-but-why-do-muslims-hate-jews/256076/26 "2004-07-21T04:41:40Z")
Please, chaps, let’s not argue about the “whether” or “to what extent” and concentrate on the “why.” I don’t want this thread to end up in Great Debates (" . . . a sound and fury, signifying nothing . . .") much less the threatened “or worse.” As the Great And All-Powerful Mod(s) decide, however; as in all Board things, their will be done. I’m still curious as to why anti-semitism, if largely imported from Europe in the '20s, found such fertile ground in the Middle East. It seems odd that it would be embraced so quickly, and so whole-heartedly. Was it truly a situation of _tabula rasa_, or were their existing religious and/or cultural prejudices that were inflamed/exploited by the establishment of Israel? This is getting complicated enough, however, that I’m forced to ask my stock question: Can you recommend a good book I could read on the subject? Thanks to everyone posting, including TOM, who remains the smartest man I’ve never met. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-generalizing-but-why-do-muslims-hate-jews/256076/27 "2004-07-21T05:05:54Z")
> [@](#): > > It seems odd that it would be embraced so quickly, and so whole-heartedly. Was it truly a situation of tabula rasa, or were their existing religious and/or cultural prejudices that were inflamed/exploited by the establishment of Israel? I certainly do not have a clear answer on this. Various speculative guesses would include: The absence of many Jews in the Middle East made it easier to view them as “other”; The success of the Zionist movement (in recruiting immigrants and in holding off British interference on the occasions when Britain was in opposition) would have given conspiracy theorists much to wave about; The success of Hitler in demonizing Jews throughout Europe would have been seen as supportive of the anti-Jewish rhetoric. ---
**Author:** ![Atticus\_Finch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ec9cab/32.png) [@Atticus\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atticus_Finch)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-generalizing-but-why-do-muslims-hate-jews/256076/28 "2004-07-21T05:11:43Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > What is now Iraq was not, originally, Arab, but became Arab(at least culturally (not sure about the genetics) during the first wave of Muslim expansion. Originally, the Arabs were the people who lived in the Hijaz and the tribes of the surrounding deserts, roughly modern Saudi Arabia and some of the area surrounding it. After the expansion in the seventh century AD, Arab gradually came to apply to all people who spoke Arabic as their mother tongue and who didn’t have a more powerful alternate identity (eg many Jews). It wasn’t really a positive form of identity until the 20th century, when Arab nationalism gathered force - indeed it was often used disrespectfully, and especially used for the Bedouin etc. So nowadays it’s a cultural and linguistic unity of a sort, and there’s never been any type of genetic unification. > [@](#): > > Some wanted to see a pan-Arab state established (as the United Arab Emirates attempted shortly thereafter). There are probanly several other views that I am forgetting. Nitpick - The United Arab **Republic**. A union of Egypt and Syria under Nasser, which lasted only a couple of years, though it had lip serivce paid to it for a few years more. The United Arab Emirates was never intended to be a pan-Arab state, just a fairly loose union of powerful Gulf emirates working together for pragmatic reasons, a bit like Switzerland. ---
**Author:** ![PaulFitzroy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/2acd7d/32.png) [@PaulFitzroy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulFitzroy)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-generalizing-but-why-do-muslims-hate-jews/256076/29 "2004-07-21T05:13:25Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m still curious as to why anti-semitism, if largely imported from Europe in the '20s, found such fertile ground in the Middle East. It seems odd that it would be embraced so quickly, and so whole-heartedly. !!! Seven massive Arab armies of seven massive Arab countries are defeated in SIX DAYS by the _JEWS?!?!_ The Jews were the world’s doormat! Until then they had no reputation as warriors or soldiers; they were thought to be the weakest, wimpiest, most cowardly people in the world. The Jews were shopkeepers and junk-men and bums, not soldiers. Their only experience in the world had been persecution, and they never stood up for themselves as a group. And suddenly they defeat almost the whole Arab world in SIX DAYS?!?! Think about this: If the New York Yankees were defeated in the upcoming World Series by the Padres, how do you think New Yorkers (those of them with red blood in their veins, at any rate) would feel about the Padres from that point on? How about “resentment, shame and anger?” ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-generalizing-but-why-do-muslims-hate-jews/256076/30 "2004-07-21T05:25:12Z")
PAUL FITZROY, while I am of course impressed as all get out by your use of explamation points, italics, and caps, if you are talking about the Six Days War, I believe that was fought in the late '60s, not the '20s. So my question still stands. I’ll have to think about it some more later, but your comparison of the Arab-Jew / Arab-Israeli conflict to the Yankees-Padres frankly has fritzed out my brain for the night. Anybody want to recommend a book on the subject? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? ---
**Author:** ![PaulFitzroy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/2acd7d/32.png) [@PaulFitzroy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulFitzroy)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-generalizing-but-why-do-muslims-hate-jews/256076/31 "2004-07-21T05:31:36Z")
First of all, I don’t think that the Arab world was as anti-Semitic as it is now in the 20’s. I don’t think anti-Semitism was imported from Europe in the case of the Arab world. My best guess is that the Arab Muslims before the '67 war that were against Jews were against them for religious reasons: they were Muslims, the Jews were Jews, Muslim doctrine=Jews=Pigs & Dogs, and most of these people weren’t college-educated seculars. As Israel grew larger and stronger the resentment became religious combined with nationalist/anti-Semitic aka against the Jews as a people and not just a religion, culminating in the 6 day war victory which pretty much established the attitudes currently held by many Arab Muslims. And Jodi, thanks for making fun of me. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-generalizing-but-why-do-muslims-hate-jews/256076/32 "2004-07-21T05:44:44Z")
> [@](#): > > . . . Muslim doctrine=Jews=Pigs & Dogs . . . The “why” of this is the question I’m asking. And it was not my intention to make fun of you, but neither was it my intention to allow you to imply that my inquiry was stupid. ("!!!") Pax between us for GQ, I hope. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-generalizing-but-why-do-muslims-hate-jews/256076/33 "2004-07-21T05:50:07Z")
First of all I’ll recommend Bernard Lewis’ book The Jews of Islam for a more comprehensive look at the history of this issue. Next I’ll just add a small correction to **tomndeb’s** posts - the erosion of attitudes towards Jews started a bit earlier as the Ottoman state in particular began to decay badly in the 18th-19th century. Where **tom** is correct is that it became ingrained in the Muslim consciousness more firmly in the early twentieth. Allow me to quote an illustrative point from the aforementioned book: \*Several aspects of this affair call for comment. One of them was the blood libel itself. The charge of using human blood for ritual purposes first appears to have been leveled by pagans against the early Christians. It was then used by Christians themselves against the Jews, and has been a familiar theme of Christian anti-Semitism from the earliest times to the present. In classical Islamic times, this particular form of anti-Jewish calumny would seem to have been unknown. Its first appearance, under Islamic auspices, was during the reign of the Ottoman sultan Mehmed the Conquerer, and it almost certainly originated among the large Greek-Christian population under Ottoman rule. Such accusations had been common in the Byzantine empire. They occurred at infrequent intervals under the Ottomans, and were usually condemned by the Ottoman authorities. The blood libel recurs in epidemic proportions in the nineteeth century, when such accusations, somtimes followed by outbreaks of violence, appear all over the empire. The Damascus affair of 1840 may have been the first. It was very far from the last…In Iran and Morocco, in contrast, despite the general hostility toward Jews, this particular accusation for long remained virtually unkown, presumably because the Christian presense was smaller and the European influence later. Four features are worth noting. First, the libel almost invariably originated among the Christian populace and was often promoted by the Christian press, especially the Greek press; second, these accusations wrre sometimes supported and occasionally even instigated by foreign diplomatic representatives, especially the Greek and French; third, the Jews were usually able to count on the goodwill of the Ottoman authorities and on their help, where they were capable of providing it. Finally, and to an increasing extent, Jewish communities endangerd by such accusations could often call on the sympathy and even the active support of British representatives, and sometimes also Prussian and Austrian representatives. Although these accusations seem to have started in the Christian comminities, they did not remain confined to them. By the early twentieth century they figured as part of an Anti-Jewish campaign in some Egyptian Muslim newspapers, and have since become a common theme in Muslim anti-Jewish literature, in the Middle East and elsewhere…\* In general, as Lewis at least describes it, pre-modern Muslim attitudes towards Jews are probably best summed up as quiet contempt rather than active hostility. Contempt because they chose not to be Muslim, but little of the actual hatred seen in contemporary Christian anti-Semitism because a) Islam’s theology mandates a certain respect, but b) more practically because the Jews were “safe” subjects. They did not represent potential hostile third columns as could Christian subjects - to the contrary, as noted the lot of Jews was distinctly superior under Muslim regimes until the early modern period. Indeed their unique ( and very exposed and precarious ) status mean that they could often be useful to the Muslim governments in a variety of ways. When anti-Jewish sentiment arose in pre-modern times, it generally wasn’t in the form of government pogroms ( with some notable exceptions ) but rather was more often associated with the Christian underclass and/or the Muslim lower classes during periods of disruption or hardship - the equivalent of poor whites providing the bulk of the support for organizations like the KKK. With the decay of the Muslim world in the 18th century and the grave weakening of Muslim central government ( particularly in the sprawling Ottoman state, but really everywhere ), disruptions and anarchy multiplied and the Jews were a convenient scapegoat for local frustration. As Britain and other countries began to assert increasing quasi- and even outright colonialism and were seen or perceived to be favoring the Jews ( as well as Christians - a series of treaties led to various European powers actually exercising authority within the boundaries of the Ottoman state in the name of various Christian minorities ), this hostility fed on itself and went off the charts. To quote ole Bernie again: \*…That resentment increased with the advance of Russian, French, British and later also German penetration in the Middle East and North Africa, and the growing number of former **dhimmis** who in one capacity or another served the European great powers. Loss of power led to loss of confidence, and this in turn to a loss of tolerance… …But if the Jew was not the principal malefactor, he was certainly the easiest victim. The Christians were numerous and well protected; the Jews were few, and enjoyed at best a slender and intermittent protection from outside powers. At a time of general, often undirected fear and resenment, it was natural that hostility should turn against the Jewish as well as the Christian **dhimmis** , and that attacks should be directed to that quarter where there was the least chance of either immediate defense or subsequent retribution.\* That started things - the situation in Palestine/Israel steadily hardened already damaged attitudes. Why weren’t the Jewish settlersa welcome? As **tom** noted they were seen ( and in all fairness de facto were ) as outside colonizers ( and unthinking Muslim bigotry topwards what had formerly regarded as second-class citizens didn’t help ). Never mind they were paying for the land - a handful of wealthy Arab landowners, many based outside Palestine in places like Beirut, made a fortune, while the intinerant farmers that had essentially sharecropped the land for generations, were displaced ( especially as the well-meaning Jewish settlers, communally-oriented and opposed to exploitation of laborers, required and wanted none of this peasant Arab workforce ). - Tamerlane ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-generalizing-but-why-do-muslims-hate-jews/256076/34 "2004-07-21T05:52:06Z")
I blame Abraham. It’s clearly a “Daddy always liked you best” situation, in the worst possible way. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-generalizing-but-why-do-muslims-hate-jews/256076/35 "2004-07-21T06:05:47Z")
> [@PaulFitzroy](#): > > First of all, I don’t think that the Arab world was as anti-Semitic as it is now in the 20’s. I don’t think anti-Semitism was imported from Europe in the case of the Arab world. You appear to be incorrect, as I noted in part above. Muslim dislike of Jews was not imported ( they were always regarded as a distinct underclass and among some of the Shi’a ideas about ritual purity often generated even more dislike ). But anti-Semtism in the sense of open hatred, as opposed to disdain, does seem to have originally been a Christian/European import. > [@](#): > > My best guess is that the Arab Muslims before the '67 war that were against Jews were against them for religious reasons: they were Muslims, the Jews were Jews, Muslim doctrine=Jews=Pigs & Dogs, and most of these people weren’t college-educated seculars. No, the religious aspects were pretty secondary. Then Christian-run Lebanon invaded Israel in 1948 and was vocally supportive as a member of the Arab League in 1967. Many Palestinian terrorist leaders were ( and some still are ) Christian. The PLO was an explicitly secular organization as were the Nasserists in Egypt and the Ba’ath in Syria. No, the major issues were tribal and territorial, rather than religious. Pro-Arab, but not necessarily pro-Muslim. Really the religious issue in terms of militant and apocolyptic Islamism is a very modern develoment dating back only a couple of decades. > [@](#): > > As Israel grew larger and stronger the resentment became religious combined with nationalist/anti-Semitic aka against the Jews as a people and not just a religion, culminating in the 6 day war victory which pretty much established the attitudes currently held by many Arab Muslims. The first part I’ll agree with, but as to the second I only half-agree as while 1967 was a political watershed in the Arab world in many ways, I think you may overrating its particular impact in connecting to the roots of this issue just a tad. - Tamerlane ---
**Author:** ![Atticus\_Finch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ec9cab/32.png) [@Atticus\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atticus_Finch)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-generalizing-but-why-do-muslims-hate-jews/256076/36 "2004-07-21T06:09:14Z")
> [@PaulFitzroy](#): > > My best guess is that the Arab Muslims before the '67 war that were against Jews were against them for religious reasons: they were Muslims, the Jews were Jews, Muslim doctrine=Jews=Pigs & Dogs, and most of these people weren’t college-educated seculars. The dominant thread of thought among Arabs in the Middle East before 67 was Arab Nationalism, the opposite of Islamist fervour. Similarly, arguments against the Jews were likely to be nationalist ones. If you have any evidence for your “guess”, please let us know. I’d also like a cite for your claim that “Muslim doctrine=Jews=Pigs & Dogs”. Or better yet, take a look at Tamerlane’s long post referring to the status of Jews in the Muslim world. Try these wikipedia articles on the concepts of [dhimmis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhimmi) and the [ahl al-kitab](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_of_the_Book). ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-generalizing-but-why-do-muslims-hate-jews/256076/37 "2004-07-21T06:21:56Z")
> [@PaulFitzroy](#): > > I don’t know about this. Can you think of any Christian theocracies? (No John Ashcroft jokes please.) Well there is Vatican City. Remember that the King/Queen of England was the head of the church until recently. Then there was that little problem with Spain and the Inquistion. ---
**Author:** ![PaulFitzroy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/2acd7d/32.png) [@PaulFitzroy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulFitzroy)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-generalizing-but-why-do-muslims-hate-jews/256076/38 "2004-07-21T06:44:14Z")
From [Campusprogram.com](http://Campusprogram.com) and originally from Wikipedia: An interesting summary of this in a historical as well as recent context. > [@](#): > > Al-Jahiz (d. 869), a ninth century Islamic zoologist and author of The Book of Animals, writes that the mouse, cheetah, eel, white ant (termite), and lizard were originally sinful Jews. (See Al-Jahiz, Omar bin Bahar, Kittab Al-Hayawan. Cairo: Mustafa Al-Bai Al-Halabi and sons (1943), Col. I, p. 309.) > > In the Islamic Aghlabid dynasty (9th through 11th century, North Africa) Jews were forced to wear a patch that had an image of a monkey, and were also forced to afix said image to their homes; Christians were forced to wear a patch that had an image of a pig, and they were also forced to afix said image to their home. (F. Vir�, “Kird,” Encyclopedia of Islam, Second Edition.) > > Some Muslims in the Middle-east still believe that Jews were literally changed by Allah into pigs and apes. > > ``` > "Allah did not mete out the punishment of transformation on any nation except the Jews. The significance of it is actual change in the appearance of the Jew and perfect transformation from human to bestial condition... from human appearance to the form of genuine apes, pigs, mice, and lizards..." (Source: The Hamas monthy publication Falastin Al-Muslima (London), September 1996, series of articles nu Ibrahim Al-'Ali, pp. 54-55.) > > ``` > > The Palestinian Authority regularly broadcasts anti-Semitic religious sermons from Palestinian Mosques; many, such as the example below, incite Palestinians to kill Jews. The following quotes are excerpted from a sermon by Dr. Mustafa Najem, Dec. 6, 2002: > > ``` > "The Jews...are the brothers of monkeys and pigs...Allah has warned us against their evil and their arrogance, and has said: 'You will find that the most brazen among mankind, with hatred towards the believers, are the Jews and the Idolaters.' [Koran, 81,5]...The Jews are Jews, and we are forbidden to forget their character traits even for a moment, even for a blink of an eye. O Servants of Allah! The Jews are those who tried to murder your Prophet in order to expunge the call (to Islam)....Prayer and blessing to the Imam of the Jihad fighters, Mohammed, who waged a Jihad against the Jews...The Jews...are Idolaters, heretics, whose faith is false. > > ``` ---
**Author:** ![Atticus\_Finch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ec9cab/32.png) [@Atticus\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atticus_Finch)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-generalizing-but-why-do-muslims-hate-jews/256076/39 "2004-07-21T06:49:38Z")
> [@PaulFitzroy](#): > > From [Campusprogram.com](http://Campusprogram.com) and originally from Wikipedia: An interesting summary of this in a historical as well as recent context. Your cite does not talk about Muslim doctrine. We’ve got a few fuckwits from a millenium ago, and a few Hamas members. I wouldn’t trust a Hamas member to give me a good description of the role of Jews in Muslim society. I’m not saying that a few Muslims don’t hate Jews, and I’m sure a few call them pigs and dogs. But this is not the religious doctrine. Can’t you see the difference? ---
**Author:** ![av8rmike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/edb3f5/32.png) [@av8rmike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/av8rmike)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-generalizing-but-why-do-muslims-hate-jews/256076/40 "2004-07-21T13:39:18Z")
> [@Jodi](#): > > I’m still curious as to why anti-semitism, if largely imported from Europe in the '20s, found such fertile ground in the Middle East. It seems odd that it would be embraced so quickly, and so whole-heartedly. Was it truly a situation of _tabula rasa_, or were their existing religious and/or cultural prejudices that were inflamed/exploited by the establishment of Israel? A possible reference: Cecil’s column, “[Why is so much of the Islamic world backward and ignorant?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/030606.html)” Cecil doesn’t expressly address anti-Semitism, but one could make an deduction based on this excerpt: > [@](#): > > The truth is that the present gap between the fortunes of the Islamic world and those of the West isn’t a result so much of Muslim failure as European success. For roughly a thousand years, from the death of Muhammad in 632 to the breaking of the Ottoman siege of Vienna in 1683, Islamic rulers vied with Christian ones for dominance in the Mediterranean. In the end the Muslim powers lost because the circumstances of empire didn’t compel them to develop their human resources the way the Europeans did–they were outmanned, outwitted, and outgunned. If you tie into what **tomndebb** was saying above about the perception of the “wealthy European Jews” buying the land out from under the Arabs, it’s believable that the general animosity towards Europeans fomented anti-Semitism in a specific sense. Ultimately, it’s just speculation on my part, but the decline of Arab influence on the world probably isn’t a small factor. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-generalizing-but-why-do-muslims-hate-jews/256076.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-generalizing-but-why-do-muslims-hate-jews/256076.md?page=3)