I thought I would create a new thread to discuss something of a mystery to me. Over the last few decades their has been a growing tide of Islamic clerics that claim that the Jews never lived in Palestine. They consider these claims so important they have held seminars throughout the Islamic world at various universities spewing their lies.
Some of these clerics have go so far as to claim that their never was a Jewish temple on the temple mount and that Jerusalem was an arab city all this time. Setting aside the prepostorous nature of their claims I began looking into the issue from the muslim point of view. What I found was amazing given the current political climate revolving around this issue.
Muslims consider the koran to be the direct word of God to Muhammad as dictated to him by the angel Gabriel. They consider it to be innerant and the final authority on all matters. Wether it be a social, personal, political or religious quandry the koran is used by muslims as their final authority. Given that, one would assume that they would pay heed to all the words in the koran. However it would seem that most do not.
It is no secret that muslims, wether moderate or not (a contradiction in terms to start with), want to see the land of Israel turned into an Islamic state and the Jews removed or annihilated completely. The problem with this view is it takes a serious oversight of the koran itself to maintain this viewpoint. What do I mean? It is true that the koran calls for the destruction of the Jews and the whole world to be under Islamic rule but it also promises the land of Israel to the Jews. If you don't believe me take a look at this verse from the surah "Night Journey"
"To Moses We [Allah] gave nine clear signs. Ask the Israelites how he [Moses] first appeared amongst them. Pharoah said to him: 'Moses, I can see that you are bewitched.' 'You know full well,' he [Moses] replied, 'that none but the Lord of the heavens and the earth has revealed these visible signs. Pharoah, you are doomed.'"
"Pharoah sought to scare them [the Israelites] out of the land [of Israel]: but We [Allah] drowned him [Pharoah] together with all who were with him. Then We [Allah] said to the Israelites: 'Dwell in this land [the Land of Israel]. When the promise of the hereafter [End of Days] comes to be fulfilled, We [Allah] shall assemble you [the Israelites] all together [in the Land of Israel].""We [Allah] have revealed the Qur'an with the truth, and with the truth it has come down. We have sent you [Muhammed] forth only to proclaim good news and to give warning."
[Qur'an, "Night Journey," chapter 17:100-104]
I have asked a few muslims about this but they always sidestep the issue or try to change the topic of discussion. Those are both favorite tactics of theirs when faced with an obvious contradiction or if they simply did not know of the existence of the verse to begin with. So I implore you my fellow Christians when faced with the debate over the land of Israel by muslims ask them about this and see what they say. Undoubtedly some will have a far-fetched answer that will stretch the imagination to believe, but that is the nature of Islam to start with.
God bless
