Dr. Ahmed al-Tayeb, Sheikh of Al-Azhar in Egypt, gave a speech last night for Laylat Al-Qadr where he stressed how tolerant Islam is towards Jews.
That tolerance seems to only go so far, though.
Dr. Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, the Sheikh of Al-Azhar called upon Muslims (pointing out) the necessity of differentiating between Jews (on the one hand) and the occupying Israeli state (on the other hand). He said: “Jews are one thing and Zionism is another thing. Criticising the Zionist entity doesn’t necessarily mean criticising Jews or Judaism “. He pointed out that the issue of (accusations of) antisemitism have turned out to be a lie that no longer fool the peoples (i.e. nations).See? As long as Jews are willing to live as second class citizens in a majority Muslim country, where they have to pay a poll tax and cannot build synagogues higher than mosques, they are fine. As long as they don't deny the truth of the Koran, they are fine.
The Grand Imam stressed in his speech that he delivered at the Waqf Ministry’s celebration of Laylat Al-Qadr that there isn’t a single Quranic verse that calls for the killing of Jews or Christians, and that there is no place in that book for this kind of barbaric cruelty. He stressed that the verses talking about fighting are supposed to (urge Muslims to) repel aggression.
He added: “The fair (or righteous) ones among the Jews themselves admit that they enjoyed a secure life with Muslims and acknowledge (that) the Islamic state in Egypt and Andalusia (acted this way).”
He pointed out that Islam does not blame/admonish/punish contemporary Jews for the crimes of their forefathers....
He mentioned that the words “curse” and “humiliation” in the Quran were not meant for all the Jews, only those among the People of the Book who denied (the truth) of the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Quran.
Only the others who actually have some pride are the ones that should be cursed.
(h/t Ibn Boutros)
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