Anti-Semitism from the Islamist side was hushed up for a long time. There are several reasons for this: firstly, not to place Muslims under general suspicion and not to feed grist to right-wing sentiments. In addition, they did not want to be labeled as anti-Muslim. However, one should also mention here that with such an argument, “homemade” anti-Semitism – from the left or right – could also be pushed under the carpet: you don’t want to put Germans, Austrians or French people under general suspicion of being anti-Semitic.
In addition, the crime statistics, which attributed around 82 percent of anti-Semitic crimes across the EU to right-wing extremism, gave the impression that the Muslim variety of anti-Semitism was only a marginal phenomenon. However, it blanketly attributed all unclear cases, which are most of them, to right-wing extremism. This intentional visual error was corrected two years ago, but it will take a while for the change to have an impact on the statistics, and even then the problem remains that the motive for anti-Semitic crimes is often not clearly identifiable.
Ever since the widespread applause for the Hamas massacre, the phenomenon of Muslim anti-Semitism has been talked about relatively openly, simply because it can no longer be ignored. Studies and surveys make it clear that anti-Semitism is particularly widespread in Islamic countries. According to the Anti-Defamation League’s 2014-15 poll, 65 percent of respondents in Arab countries agreed that Jews are responsible for all the world’s ills, compared to 20 percent in Europe. Although Muslim anti-Semitism is less strong there, anti-Semitic attitudes among Muslims are around twice as common among Muslims as among non-Muslims, even in Europe. Research is relatively unanimous on this issue, although there is a lack of recent comparative studies. There is debate about the validity of the religious factor.
According to statistical and survey-based data, Muslim identity is the main influencing factor, ahead of national origin. It should be borne in mind here that Islamic anti-Semitism usually appears as a confused bundle of ideas. The central, overlapping influencing factors include (more secular) pan-Arabism, anti-Semitic state propaganda, religious derivations or an anti-Semitic everyday culture. The Middle East conflict plays a prominent role, but should not be overestimated because Islamic anti-Semitism is not limited to the Arab world.
One can take this as an indication of the strong weight of religion, but it depends on interpretation. According to interdisciplinary research, there is, for example, more anti-Semitism among strict Sunnis than among moderate Alevis, who are, however, viewed by many as heretics. Dogmatic interpretations promote anti-Semitism. It must be said that they are widespread in the Islamic world. Although anti-Jewish passages predominate in the Quran, it does not provide a clear reading. What is certain is that almost all Jews that once lived in Islamic countries in large numbers have withdrawn from there.
Some scientists argue that Muslim anti-Semitism in Europe is the result of experiences of discrimination. However, this does not go well with the strong anti-Semitism in the countries of origin. It is true that feelings of marginalization encourage anti-Semitic attitudes. In addition, the anti-Semitism of the host society influences Muslim anti-Semitism, but it is not absorbed into it.
At its core, Islamic anti-Semitism is an amalgam of anti-Jewish motifs from early Islamic times and imported anti-Semitism from Europe. The religious motif comes from Muhammad’s fight against the Jews in Medina, which ended with the destruction of a Jewish tribe. From here Jews have a reputation for cowardice and weakness. In addition, Jews are described in the Quran as seducers and forgers of the holy scriptures. This did not prevent long centuries of relatively peaceful coexistence, with the caveat that Jews, as dhimmis in Islamic countries, were second-class citizens. There was never a golden age; anti-Jewish pogroms also occurred in the Islamic world. Nevertheless, the Jews there had a better life than in the Christian West.
Islamic anti-Semitism only gained its current form when it merged with European anti-Semitism at the beginning of the twentieth century and took up the motif of the Jewish world conspiracy. Alongside the weak, inferior Jews of religious tradition now appeared the threatening, all-powerful conspirator. This was largely due to the influence of the National Socialists, who wanted to use the Arabs to destroy the Jews in the Middle East and prevent a state of Israel. The Arabs, in turn, wanted to shake off the British occupiers with German help. The imported anti-Semitism is therefore also a re-import, especially from the Nazi era.
The Muslim Brotherhood, which emerged in the 1920s and also cooperated with the Nazis, continued the line. The defeats of the Arab states in the wars with Israel increased susceptibility to the conspiracy motif and linked Islamic anti-Semitism with the Middle East conflict. The influence of Sayyid Qutb’s writing “Our Struggle with the Jews” can hardly be overestimated. Qutb, the ideological mastermind of the Muslim Brotherhood, coined the idea of the natural hostility between Jews and Muslims. The line can be followed to this day. Hamas, a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, is the exemplar of this ideology. Its founding charter combines the religiously based call to kill Jews with the European conspiracy motif. The Muslim Brotherhood also has branches in Europe. However, it does not seek influence on politics and society through terror, but clandestinely through education and the media. There is a huge need for research here.
In the past, research into Muslim anti-Semitism was often met with resistance. The accusation was quickly made that scientists were joining in with right-wing propaganda simply by pointing out the phenomenon, or that they were just looking for an excuse to distract from anti-Semitism in this country. Others were offended by the term Islamic anti-Semitism. However, this does not mean that Islam is anti-Semitic per se, but rather focuses on the religious cause. Some prefer to speak of anti-Semitism among Muslims. However, this means something different, namely anti-Semitic attitudes of Muslims, which do not have to have a religious basis. Most of the time you are dealing with mixed forms.
Anti-Semitism is particularly widespread in Islamist organizations, which is why some prefer to speak of Islamist anti-Semitism. However, Muslim anti-Semitism is not limited to Islamism, but is an everyday phenomenon in many Middle Eastern countries. Anti-Semitic stereotypes can be found in scientific publications and even in political programs. One should not forget that the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” the best-known anti-Jewish inflammatory pamphlet, is one of the bestsellers in Arab countries.
A clear distinction cannot be made between politics and religion because the anti-Semites themselves do not do so. Anti-Israel or pro-Palestinian demonstrations are often forums of religiously based Jew-hatred, and the blame for the Middle East conflict is blamed on Jews all over the world. Given the widespread ignorance, a lot can be achieved through education. However, for parts of science and politics it is also a self-clarification about their own failures.
The arm of Islamism and the anti-Semitism associated with it extends into politics and science and is continued through projects that are left-wing and critical of racism. If, as happened in Germany, for example, the direct representation of the Iranian mullahs’ regime is involved in the organization of religious education or a Sunni foundation is in charge of Islamic education that refuses to allow liberal theologians to teach, there is no reason to expect clarification, just as there is no expectation of clarification from scientists who do theirs Cultivate BDS sympathies.
Never-again calls will not be enough to get the problem under control. Politicians must no longer shower institutions close to Islamism with funding, following the absurd mantra that Islamism can be fought with the help of Islamists. Above all, however, the constant appeasement and downplaying must come to an end through a politics that only wants its dear integration peace and is looking for the support of science, which can partly be used for this because it is richly rewarded for it. There is no talk of peace when “Death to the Jews” is chanted on streets and squares in Europe.
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