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Anti-Semitism is a Racism
:: Totally Contrary
to Islam ::
by Harun Yahya
In the 20th century,
anti-Semitism has signed its name to great
disasters, one of the most horrible being the cruelty and murder inflicted
by the Nazis on the Jews. Besides this, in many countries authoritarian
regimes have targeted Jews and subjected them to cruel treatment. Fascist
organizations have harassed Jews and arranged bloody attacks against them.
In our times anti-Semitism is still an ideology which threatens world
peace and targets the well-being and security of innocent people.
So, how should a Muslim regard
anti-Semitism?
The answer is obvious. Every Muslim must oppose
anti-Semitism as he would
oppose every other racist ideology; he must resist this ideology of hatred
and defend the rights of Jews as he would defend the rights of all other
people. Every Muslim must recognize and defend the rights of Jews whether
in Israel or in the Diaspora to live in peace, to worship, to protect
their identity and to express themselves.
Today, Muslims justly condemn the cruel and aggressive policies of the
State of Israel. But to condemn Israel and criticize its official Zionist
ideology has nothing to do with anti-Semitism. The reason we object to
Zionism is because that Zionism is racism. For the same reason we reject
anti-Semitism.
Anti-Semitism: The Product of Neo Paganism
A basic fact that must be appreciated about
anti-Semitism is that it is
a pagan creed that no Muslim could ever espouse.
In order to make this clear, we must examine the roots of
Anti-Semitism.
This term is generally understood as meaning "anti Jewish,"
but its basic meaning is a "hatred of Semitic peoples".
The Semitic peoples are basically made up of Arabs, Jews and a few other
Middle Eastern ethnic groups. There is a great similarity between the
languages and cultures of the Semites; for example, Arabic and Hebrew
are much alike.
The second largest linguistic and racial group in the world is the Indo-European
community of nations. Most of the countries of present day Europe have
Indo-European roots.
The pagan war god Wotan, one of the symbols
of pagan barbarism and bigotry.
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All these various civilizations have had their prophets who proclaimed
the existence and the unity of God and made His commands known. But when
we examine recorded history, we see that Indo-European peoples from ancient
times always believed in paganism. The Greek and Roman
civilizations, the Teutons, Vikings and other Barbarian peoples living
in southern Europe at that time were all polytheistic pagans. For this
reason, these communities remained completely without moral guidance.
Violence and savagery were regarded as praiseworthy; homosexuality
and adultery were widely practiced. (The most important historical
representative of Indo-European civilization was the Roman Empire, and
we must not forget that it was a savage society that delighted in seeing
people torn apart in the arenas.)
These peoples who ruled Europe encountered monotheism through Jesus Christ,
a prophet sent to Semitic people. Sent as a prophet to the children of
Israel, the teaching of Jesus spread throughout Europe in the course of
time and all the formerly pagan peoples gradually accepted Christianity.
But in the 18th and 19th centuries, with the weakening
of Christianity and the growth of ideologies and philosophies that promoted
the rejection of religion, a strange current of thought circulated in
Europe- Neo-Paganism. The leaders of this movement claimed that
European societies must reject Christianity and return to ancient pagan
beliefs. According to the adherents of Neo-Paganism, the way European
societies understood morality in ancient pagan times (i.e., a warlike,
pitiless, bloodthirsty, unbounded barbarous morality), was much superior
to the morality they adopted when they accepted Christianity (i.e., a
humble, compassionate, peace-loving and religious morality).
Nietzshce was an
anti-Semite, because he sympathized
with the pagan culture of violence and hated Theistic religions.
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One of the most important representatives of this trend is also one of
the greatest theorists of Fascism- Friedrich Nietzsche. He hated Christianity;
he believed that it had destroyed the warlike spirit of the German people,
that is, it's very essence.
The adherents of Neo-Paganism were hostile to Christianity; at the same
time, they adopted a great hatred for Judaism which they saw as the source
of Christianity. Indeed, they saw Christianity as the disseminator of
Jewish ideas throughout the world and regarded it as a kind of Jewish
plot.
So, this Neo-Paganism, on the one hand incited hostility against religion
and, on the other, gave birth to fascism and antisemitism. Especially
when we look at the foundations of the Nazi ideology, we can see clearly
that Hitler and his confreres were, in fact, pagans.
Nazism: 20th Century Paganism
One of the greatest roles in the development of the Nazi ideology was
played by a thinker by the name of Jorg Lanz von Liebenfels. Lanz fervently
believed in the ideas of Neo-Paganism. He was the first person to find
in ancient sources the swastika which was later to become the symbol of
the Nazi party. The Ordo Novi Templi (Order of the New Temple), an organization
founded by Lanz, devoted itself totally to the rebirth of paganism. Lanz
freely proclaimed that he worshiped Wotan, the imaginary "War God"
of the ancient German people. He thought that the worship of Wotan was
the true religion of the German people and that Germans could be saved
only by returning to this religion.
Nazi ideology developed on the road prepared for it by
Lanz and other devotees of Neo-Paganism. One of the most important Nazi
ideologues, Alfred Rosenberg, thought that Christianity could not provide
the spiritual energy needed by the new Germany being established by Hitler,
and declared openly that the German people must return to their ancient
pagan religion. According to Rosenberg, when the Nazis came to power,
religious symbols in churches should be removed and replaced by swastikas,
a copy of Hitler's book "Mein Kampf" (My Struggle) and
swords symbolizing German invincibility. Hitler adopted the views of Rosenberg
but, thinking it would cause too much of a reaction among the people,
he did not put this new theory of German religion into effect.
[1]
Nazis were neo-pagans who sought to destroy
the Judeo-Christian ethics and convert the German society to pagan
barbarism.
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Nevertheless, during the Nazi regime, some important practices of Neo-Paganism
were instituted. Shortly after Hitler came to power, the holy days and
feasts of Christianity began to be suppressed and replaced by the holy
days of pagan religions. At weddings, oaths were sworn to such imaginary
gods as "Mother Earth" and "Father Sky". In 1935,
students in schools were forbidden to say Christian prayers and later,
lessons with any Christian content were completely discontinued.
Hitler once revealed his attitude toward Christianity when he bluntly
stated that religion is an:
…organized lie [that] must be smashed. The State must
remain the absolute master. When I was younger, I thought it was necessary
to set about [destroying religion] …with dynamite. I've since realized
there's room for a little subtlety …. The final state must be … in St.
Peter's Chair, a senile officiant; facing him a few sinister old women…
The young and healthy are on our side … Our peoples had previously succeeded
in living all right without this religion. I have six divisions of SS
men absolutely indifferent in matters of religion. It doesn't prevent
them from going to their death with serenity in their souls.
[2]
As we can see, Hitler saw only one idea as having importance in the spiritual
realm: the idea that would lead people to "go to their death with
serenity in their souls". He found it in abundance in such pagan
concepts as "the German spirit" and "honor in battle".
He saw monotheistic religions as beliefs that must be "destroyed
with dynamite" but, for political reasons, he acted more moderately.
The Nazi hatred for Jews was a part of this anti-Theistic ideology. Nazis
who hated Christianity saw it as a "Jewish plot." That Jesus
Christ, a prophet of Israeli origin, should be loved and revered by Germans,
who regarded themselves as the "master race", was for them unthinkable.
For the Nazis, it was not a prophet of Israeli origin that would be a
guide for Germans, but the barbarous and cruel warriors of pagan German
culture.
So, this is the real truth about Nazism and
anti-Semitism in general.
Today, the leaders of anti-Semitism are various Neo-Nazi and Fascist groups.
If we look at them, we see immediately that every one of them has an anti-religious
ideology and what they say is based on pagan ideas.
Anti-Semitism And Every Kind Of Racism Is Contrary To
Islam
From the facts that we have examined so far, the following is clear:
Anti-Semitism is an anti-religion ideology that has its roots in Neo-Paganism.
Therefore, it is unthinkable that a Muslim would espouse anti-Semitism
or feel sympathy for this ideology. Anti-Semites have no respect for
Abraham, Moses or David who were blessed prophets chosen by God to be
examples for humanity.
Anti-Semitism and other kinds of racism (e.g.. prejudice against Blacks)
have no place in true religion; they are perversions arising from various
ideologies and superstitions.
Furthermore, when we examine
anti-Semitism and other forms of racism,
we see clearly that they promote ideas and a model of society that is
totally contrary to the moral teachings of the Qur'an, For example, at
the root of anti-Semitism lie hatred, violence, and lack of compassion.
An anti-Semite may be so cruel as to support the murder of Jewish people
without distinguishing between women, children and the aged, and condone
their being subjected to torture. However, the moral teaching of the Qur'an
enjoins love, compassion and mercy for all people. It also commands Muslims
to show justice and be forgiving even to their enemies.
On the other hand, anti-Semites and other kinds of racists balk against
living together in peace with people of different race or creed. For example,
German racists (Nazis) and Jewish racists (Zionists) were opposed to Germans
and Jews living together; each side rejected this in the name of their
respective race as a degeneration. However, in the Qur'an, there is not
the slightest distinction between races; the Qur'an advises that people
of different faiths live together in the same society in peace and happiness.
According to the Qur'an, Muslims, Jews and Christians
Must Live in Friendship
Jews and Christians (called in the Qur'an the "people of the book")
are much closer to Muslims than idolaters (pagans or the atheists). The
people of the book, like Muslims, believe in one God and are subject to
His commands.
In the Qur'an, there is a significant difference between the people of
the book and the idolaters. This is especially emphasized in the area
of social life. For example, it is said concerning the idolaters: "(they)
are unclean, so after this year they should not come near the Masjid al-Haram."
(Surat at-Tawba: 28) Idolaters are people who know no divine law,
have no moral precepts and who can commit every kind of degrading and
perverse deed without hesitation.
But the people of the book, while they rely basically on God's revelation,
have moral precepts and know what is lawful and what is not. For this
reason, if one of the people of the book cooks some food, it is lawful
for Muslims to eat it. In the same way, permission has been given to a
Muslim man to marry a woman from among the people of the book. On this
subject God commands:
Today all good things have been made lawful for
you. And the food of those given the Book is also lawful for you and
your food is lawful for them. So are chaste women from among the believers
and chaste women of those given the Book before you, once you have
given them their dowries in marriage, not in fornication or taking them
as lovers. But as for anyone who disbelieve, his actions will come to
nothing and in the hereafter he will be among the losers. (Surat al-Mai'da:
5)
These commands show that bonds of kinship may be established as a result
of the marriage of a Muslim with a woman from the people of the book and
that those on each side of the union can accept an invitation to a meal.
These are the fundamentals that will ensure the establishment of equitable
human relationships and a happy communal life. Since the Qur'an enjoins
this equitable and tolerant attitude, it is unthinkable that a Muslim
could take an opposing view.
Monasteries, Churches And Synagogues Must Be Respected
Temples that deserve respect: A church...
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Another important fact we learn from the Qur'an is that Muslims must
respect Jewish and Christian places of worship. In the Qur'an, the places
of worship of the people of the book, ie. monasteries, churches and synagogues,
are mentioned as places of worship protected by God.
"…if God had not driven some people back by
means of others, monasteries, churches, synagogues and mosques, where
God's name is mentioned much, would have been pulled down and destroyed.
God will certainly help those who help Him - God is All-Strong, Almighty."
(Surat al-Hajj: 40 )
This verse shows to every Muslim the importance of respecting and protecting
the holy places of the people of the book.
... and a synagouge.
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Indeed, in the Qur'an, God commands Muslims not to harbor any enmity
toward any people. In many verses, friendship is recommended even with
the idolaters. God even refers to the idolaters at war with Muslims like
this: "If any of the idolaters ask you for protection, give them
protection until they have heard the words of God. Then convey them to
a place where they are safe." (Surat at-Tawba: 6)
Jews and Christians, however, are much closer to Muslims than idolaters.
Each of these religions has its book, that is, they are subject to a book
sent down by God. They know what is right and what is wrong, what is lawful
and what is unlawful. They know they will give an account to God and they
love and revere His prophets. This shows that Muslims and the people of
the book can live easily together.
Conclusion
In a Muslim's outlook on the world, one of his basic criteria is justice.
No matter whom he may oppose, he cannot depart from justice. He acts not
according to his feelings, but with his reason and conscience. He removes
himself from fanaticism and bigotry, and makes his decisions according
to wisdom.
What God teaches us in the Qur'an about different peoples and creeds
is clear:
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The morality of the Qur'an excludes every kind of racism.
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It is commanded in the Qur'an that, so long as they show no hostility
to Islam or Muslims, a tolerant and friendly attitude must be maintained
toward other religions.
It is evident that the Jews have committed many errors which the Qur'an
points out, criticizes and about which it gives a warning. The crimes
committed by Israel in the present day against humanity are painfully
well known, but all this must not be taken by Muslims as a cause to feel
hostility against Jews. The crimes committed by a group of Jews in allegiance
to their Zionist ideology will never be blamed on Judaism or the Jewish
people.
Our wish is that a world will be established in which people will be
able to live together in peace no matter to what race or religion they
belong, in which every racist perversion will be rejected, everyone's
rights will be regarded and everyone will be respected.
Notes:
[1] Michael Howard, The Occult Conspiracy:
The Secret History of Mystics, Templars, Masons and Occult Societies,
1.b., London: Rider, 1989, p. 130
return to text
[2] Hitler, A., Hitler's Secret Conversations 1941-1944, With an
introductory essay on The Mind of Adolf Hitler by H.R. Trevor-Roper, Farrar,
Straus and Young, New York, p. 117
return to text
Harun Yahya
is a prominent Turkish intellectual.
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