Mohammad and the Jews - Israel Time Line

Mohammad and the Jews

By Arthur Rosen

The relationship between Mohammad and the Jews was not just a historical event that happened, but rather an important guide for us today to understand the Islamic mind. Mohammad was born approximately 571 C.E. during a period of time that the Jews as well as their pagan Arab neighbors lived in the Arab peninsula. His home town was Mecca which was located on a route that linked Yemen in the south of the Arab peninsula to Egypt and Damascus in the North. The Jews had lived in this region for centuries, some say even before the destruction of the first Temple others say after the destruction of the second Temple.

Mecca was a leading religious center of pagan Arabia and the Kia'ba (also known as the Kaaba is an ancient building that today is the holy shrine of Islam) was the object of an important annual pilgrimage. Muhammad was approximately forty years old when became convinced that God had spoken to him through the angel Gabriel. He first converted his immediate household to his new belief in one god, Allah, and then began to meet with success with converting his neighbors in Mecca to his new belief. Since Mecca was an important center for paganism and the inhabitant merchants profited from the influx of the pagan pilgrims, Muhammad's message of monotheism was soon rejected by many locals. He was soon ostracized and persecuted to the extent that he and his followers realized that they must leave Mecca.

In 622 he moved to the community of Yathrib, also known as Medina, about 250 miles north of Mecca. The area of Yathrib was a fertile oasis and had been settled by Jews centuries before his arrival. It is speculated that the name Medina (which happens that in Hebrew it means an autonomous area) was given by the Jews. The Jews were the majority of the population in that area and were organized into tribes. The three most important tribes were the Banu el nadir, Banu Kurayza and Banu Kaynuqa; the first two mentioned were descendents of the priests. There were two main pagan Arab tribes living there also, the Banu Aws and Banu Khazraj. Prior to Mohammad's arrival there had been a struggle for dominance in which the Nadir and Kurayza tribes sided with the Aws and Kaynuqa sided with the Khazraj. They had exhausted themselves fighting when Muhammad came to live there.

His reputation was such that he was accepted there as a arbitrator to settle inter-tribal disputes. Within a short time he had made many converts amongst the Aws and Khazrajs who pledged their support and protection to him. The Jews had no part in inviting him to Medina nor his meditations between tribes. To Mohammed, it was bad enough that the Jews did not accept his visions and prophecies, but they ridiculed his obvious errors in reference to biblical history. Mohammud believed that the Jew's rejection of him was due to their pride and arrogance since he believed that he was divinely sent as a prophet. Yet at this time his chief thought was of conquering Mecca, the Jews were only a secondary disturbance to him.

In 624, the Muslims won their first military victory over the Meccans. This was the turning point that Mohammed was waiting for. He began to move against his enemies in Medina; he had two pagan poets who had written satirical verses about him assassinated. Then he turned against the weakest of the Jewish tribes, the Banu Kaynuqa who surrendered to him unconditionally. It is significant to note that the other Jewish tribes did not come to their aid.

Shortly afterwards, the Muslim army suffered defeat at a battle at Mt. Uhud which weakened Muhammad's position and prestige. Many of his men had been murdered by Bedouin tribes. His logic was to attack the Jewish Nadir tribe since they had not come to his aid since the battle took place on the Shabbat. In addition, they were contented with the Muslim army's defeat. The Nadir tribe was wealthy and the Muslims were in need of money. Mohammad accused the Nadir of plotting against him and ordered them to leave Medina. The Jews thought they would have support from Banu Kurayza and from other smaller Jewish tribes and so they tried to resist. Their support never came and they were required to surrender. Terms of surrender included leaving the area. They left for the Jewish oasis of Khaybar where two years later their men were killed and their women taken by an invasion of the Muslim army. Now remained only one important tribe in Medina, the Banu Kurayza. The Banu el Nadir's land was divided and taken providing livelihood for Muhammud's devoted helpers.

In 627 the Meccans together with their Bedouin allies attacked the Muslims in Medina. The Banu Kurayza help defend the area by contributing tools to the Muslims but during the actual attack they remained in their forts in a state of armed neutrality. They negotiated with the enemy but since they did not trust them they never came to their side. From the Muslim view, although they did nothing, they were like accomplices, reasoning that if you do not help us, you are against us.

When finally the Muslim army repulsed the Meccans and Bedouins, Muhammad attacked the Banu Kurayza. They held out for 25 days and when all hope was gone they tried to surrender with the same terms of the Banu Nadir but Mohammud wanted to make an example out of them. Mohammad who was sensitive to public opinion gave his aide Saad b Mu'adh the task of judging them. He sentenced the males to death, and the women and children to slavery. Muhammad declared that this was Allah's will. The men of the Banu Kurayza, some 600 to 900, were beheaded in the central market place. This act was extremely impressive on the surrounding clans and tribes who now realized that Muhammad was an extremely dangerous force to face.

Later the few Jews that remained in Medina were forced to sell their properties and leave the area. Still Mohammad did not forget the antagonism that the Jews had shown him. He now turned to the Jews of Khaybar who now understood fully the dangerous position that they were in. Muhammud sent emissaries to Khaybar to negotiate with them. The Jews suspecting no harm came unarmed to negotiate and as they traveled to together the Muslims turned upon them killing all but one who managed to escape. “War is deception” declared the prophet!

The Jews of Khaybar felt that war was inevitable so they joined in an alliance with fellow Jewish tribes and several Bedouin tribes. Mohammad made no move and so the Jews relaxed thinking that he would not attack. The Jews were unprepared when Mohammad attacked. The Jews knew what to expect from the Muslims so they put up a stiff resistance. Mohammad bought off the Jew's Bedouin allies and the Jews were forced to surrender; however they did made terms for their surrender. In return for their lives, homes and property, they agreed to pay one half of their annual date harvest. This settlement became a legal precedent for the treatment of subdued tribes. In addition they had to agree to other terms that gave the Muslims superiority over them.

This victory gave Muhammad the power and prestige that he desired. Eighteen months after the conquest of Khaybar, Mecca peacefully surrendered and its inhabitants accepted Islam. This became the banner of Islam, surrender and accept Islam, or surrender and pay tribute, or be killed. “War is deception” is a practice that has been used for centuries since then and has proven a trusty and useful tactic. The spread of Islam through out the Arab world continued based on these terms.

Today as Israel tries to live with and negotiate with Arab countries, they must keep this in mind, that to the Muslim mind, “War is deception” is a bonafide and time proven method of achieving Islam's goals. It is not that Arabs can not be trusted to keep their word, rather it is part of their strategy for achieving their goals. They will say and promise what ever is needed to say to achieve their goals even if it is the opposite of what is in their hearts. They know that in time since we Jews want so much to live in peace, we will accept their terms and they will later use this as an advantage to arm themselves. This is part of the Islamic legacy and should not be ignored. They have been very successful in negotiation and will use it to their best advantage. Jews have a history of wanting so much to believe in peace that they will jump at any offer even if it is not worthy.

History has much to teach us, but we must read it.

Israel Time Line

Arranged by Matania Ginosar

(BCE - Before the Common Era)	HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS of ISRAEL
17th-6th C. BCE	BIBLICAL TIMES
c. 17th century	The Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob - patriarchs of the Jewish people and bearers of a belief in one God - settle in the Land of Israel. Famine forces Israelites to migrate to Egypt
c. 13th century	Exodus from Egypt: Moses leads Israelites from Egypt, followed by 40 years of wandering in the desert.Torah, including the Ten Commandments, received at Mount Sinai.
13th-12th centuries	Israelites settle the Land of Israel
c. 1020	Jewish Monarchy established; Saul, first king
c. 1000	Jerusalem made capital of David's kingdom
c. 960	First Temple, the national and spiritual center of the Jewish people, built in Jerusalem by King Solomon
c. 930	Divided kingdom: Judah and Israel
722-720	Israel crushed by Assyrians; 10 tribes exiled (Ten Lost Tribes).
586	Judah conquered by Babylonia; Jerusalem and First Temple destroyed; most Jews exiled to Babylonia
536-142	PERSIAN AND HELLENISTIC PERIODS
538-515	Many Jews return from Babylonia; Temple rebuilt
332	Land conquered by Alexander the Great; Hellenistic rule
166-160	Maccabean (Hasmonean) revolt against restrictions on practice of Judaism and desecration of Temple
142-129	Jewish autonomy under Hasmoneans.
129-63	Jewish independence under Hasmonean monarchy.
63	Jerusalem captured by Roman general, Pompey.
63 BCE-313 CE	ROMAN RULE, 376 yrs
	Herod, Roman vassal king, rules the Land of Israel;
(CE - Common Era) 37 BCE – 4 CE	Temple in Jerusalem refurbished
c. 20-33	Ministry of Jesus
66	Jewish revolt against the Romans
70	Destruction of Jerusalem and Second Temple.
73	Last stand of Jews at Masada.
132-135	Bar Kokhba uprising against Rome.
c. 210	Codification of Jewish oral law, Mishnah, completed.
313-636	BYZANTINE RULE, 323 yrs
c. 390	Commentary on the Mishnah, the Jerusalem Talmud, completed.
70 - 632	Mohammad
614	Persian invasion
636-1099	ARAB RULE, 463 yrs
691	On site of First and Second Temples in Jerusalem, Dome of the Rock built by Caliph Abd el-Malik
1099-1291	CRUSADER DOMINATION; (Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem), 192 yrs
1291-1516	MAMLUK RULE, 225 yrs
1517-1917	OTTOMAN RULE, 400 yrs
1564	Code of Jewish law, Shulhan Arukh, published.
1860	First neighborhood, Mishkenot Sha'ananim, built outside Jerusalem's walls.
1882-1903	First Aliya (large-scale immigration), mainly from Russia.
1897	First Zionist Congress convened by Theodor Herzl in Basel, Switzerland; Zionist Organization founded.
1904-14	Second Aliya, mainly from Russia and Poland.
1909	First kibbutz, Degania, and first modern all-Jewish city, Tel Aviv, founded.
1917	British Foreign Minister Balfour pledges support for establishment of a "Jewish national home in Palestine", the Balfour Declaration
1917	400 years of Ottoman rule ended by British conquest
1918-48	BRITISH RULE – 30 years
1919-23	Third Aliya, mainly from Russia
	Histadrut (Jewish labor federation) and Haganah (Jewish defense organization) founded.
1920	Vaad Leumi (National Council) set up by Jewish community (yishuv) to conduct its affairs.
1921	First moshav, Nahalal, founded.
	Britain granted Mandate for Palestine (Land of Israel) by League of Nations;
	Transjordan set up on three-fourths of the area, leaving one-fourth for the Jewish national home.
1922	Jewish Agency representing Jewish community vis-a-vis Mandate authorities set up.
1924	Technion, first institute of technology, founded in Haifa.
1924-32	Fourth Aliya, mainly from Poland.
1925	Hebrew University of Jerusalem opened on Mt. Scopus.
1929	Hebron Jews massacred by Arab militants.
1931	Etzel, (Irgun) Jewish underground organization, founded.
1933-39	Fifth Aliya, mainly from Germany.
1936-39	Anti-Jewish riots instigated by Arab militants.
1939	Jewish immigration severely limited by British White Paper. 100,000 maximum.
1939-45	World War II; Holocaust in Europe. British Navy curtails emigration from Europe.
1941	Lehi underground movement formed; Palmach- strike force of Haganah, set up.
1944	Jewish Brigade formed as part of British forces.
1947	UN proposes the establishment of Arab and Jewish states in the Land. Arabs rejected it.
1948	STATE OF ISRAEL proclaimed (14 May). 600,000 Jews in the land.
	End of British Mandate (14 May)
	Israel invaded by five Arab states (15 May)
	War of Independence (May 1948-July 1949)
1948	Israel Defense Forces (IDF) established
	Armistice agreements signed with Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon.
	Jerusalem divided under Israeli and Jordanian rule.
	First Knesset (parliament) elected.
1949	Israel admitted to United Nations as 59th member.
1948-52	Mass immigration from Europe and Arab countries.
1956	Sinai Campaign against Nasser, with England and France, Pres. Eisenhower defeated it.
1962	Adolf Eichmann tried and executed in Israel for his key part in the Holocaust.
1964	National Water Carrier completed, bringing water from Lake Kinneret in the north to the semi-arid south.
1967	Six-Day War, Jerusalem reunited.
1968-70	Egypt's War of Attrition against Israel
1973	Yom Kippur War
1975	Israel becomes an associate member of the European Common Market.
1977	Likud forms government after Knesset elections, end of 30 years of Labor rule. Visit of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat to Jerusalem.
1978	Camp David Accords & framework for comprehensive peace in Middle East and proposal for Palestinian self-government.
	Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty signed.
1979	Prime Minister Menachem Begin and President Anwar Sadat awarded Nobel Peace Prize.
1981	Israel Air Force destroys Iraqi nuclear reactor just before it is to become operative.
	Israel's three-stage withdrawal from Sinai completed.
1982	Operation Peace for Galilee removes PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) terrorists from Lebanon.
1984	National unity government (Likud & Labor) formed after elections. Operation Moses, Immigration of Jews from Ethiopia. Itzhak Shamir and Shimon Peres alternate PM.
1985	Free Trade Agreement signed with United States.
1987	Widespread violence (intifada) starts in Israeli-administered areas.
1988	Likud government in power following elections, Itzhak Shamir PM.
	Four-point peace initiative proposed by Israel.
1989	Start of mass immigration of Jews from former Soviet Union.
1991	Israel attacked by Iraqi Scud missiles during Gulf war.
	Middle East peace conference convened in Madrid;
1991	Operation Solomon, airlift of Jews from Ethiopia. President Bush major assistance.
	Diplomatic relations established with China and India.
1992	New government headed by Yitzhak Rabin of Labor party.
1993	Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements for the Palestinians signed by Israel and PLO, as representative of the Palestinian people.
	Implementation of Palestinian self-government in Gaza Strip and Jericho area.
	Full diplomatic relations with the Holy See.
	Morocco and Tunisia interest offices set up.
	Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty signed.
1994	Rabin, Peres, Arafat awarded Nobel Peace Prize.
	Broadened Palestinian self-government implemented in West Bank and Gaza Strip; Palestinian Council elected.
	Prime Minister Rabin assassinated at peace rally.
1995	Shimon Peres becomes prime minister.
	Fundamentalist Arab terrorism against Israel escalates.
	Operation Grapes of Wrath, retaliation for Hezbollah terrorists' attacks on northern Israel.
	Trade representation offices set up in Oman and Qatar.
	Likud forms government after Knesset elections.
	Benjamin Netanyahu becomes prime minister.
1996	Omani trade representation office opened in Tel Aviv.
1997	Hebron Protocol signed by Israel and the PA.
1998	Israel celebrates its 50th anniversary.
2000	Arafat rejects President Clinton's effort to achieve peace after generous offer by PM Barak
	Arafat PA starts intensive terrorism against Israeli civilians
Summer 2005	Israel evacuates all Jewish communities in Gaza, Palestinian infighting starts; Kassam rockets from Gaza attacks Israel on regular basis.
Jan 2006	PM Sharon incapacitated by massive stroke, Olmert takes over as PM. Hamas won election
July 2006	Hezbollah war in Lebanon, massive rocket attacks on Israeli civilians in Northern Israel