Muslims, Jews, and Patriotism

Judge Jeanine Pirro (Rolling Stone)

I have no clue who Judge Jeanine Pirro is except that she is a conservative political commentator for Fox News. But she was way off base in attacking Ilhan Omar.

That may shock many people who know of my own criticism of Ms.Omar. I believe she is an antisemite.  But that does not mean that anyone can hurl any criticism they choose at her  when it isn’t warranted. That only undermines the legitimate criticism she deserves.

The issue here in Pirro’s suggestion that Omar’s religious practices should be seen as traitorous. Pirro has basically done to devout Muslims what Omar did to Jews that support Israel. From Ha’artez: 

On her show, Pirro noted that the Minnesota representative wears a hijab in apparent conformity to a directive in the Quran. “Is her adherence to this Islamic doctrine indicative of her adherence to Sharia law, which is in itself antithetical to the U.S. Constitution?” she asked. 

Pirro defended her comments by claiming she only asked the question to start a debate and did not claim Omar was un-American. That in my view is disingenuous. It would be like asking the question about whether an Orthodox Jew is traitorous by wearing a Kipa and thereby suggesting that Torah law (Halacha) is antithetical to the constitution. Putting those comments in the form of a question has the same negative connotation.

Wearing Hijab or a Kipa is not un-American.

The law in this country is that people are free to express themselves in any way they choose as long as it does not deny the freedom of others. That law has the constitutional guarantee of the 1^st Amendment. Questioning Omar’s religious practices in effect questions the very constitution itself! And it is hurtful to anyone whose religious practices are not seen as the norm. Am I un-American by lighting a Menorah on Chankah during the height of the Christmas season when just about everyone else is putting up Christmas trees?

Fox was right to condemn Pirro’s comments. As do I.

It might make some people feel good to disparage devout Muslims while at the same time extolling devout Christians. But feeling good about putting others down is not the Torah’s way. The ways of the Torah are pleasant. And every Jew is obligated to follow the ways of the Torah.

The truth of the matter is that Judaism has a lot more in common with Islam that it does with Christianity. It would be wise for the Islam bashers to recognize that and treat it accordingly.

While it is true that Christians today are far more favorably inclined to support the Jewish state (the more devout – the stronger the support) and it is true as well that we share a bible with them (i.e. ttheir old testament) their theology is considered a form of idolatry for us. While some Rishonim say that non Jews are permitted to believe in more than one deity as long as one of them is God, (which is called  Shituf) that is not the case for us.

Muslims on the other hand believe only in one God. The same one we believe in. And neither of us believes in any other god.

It is also true that much of Islamic law is similar to Jewish law. For example they believe that an animal must be ritually slaughtered (Halal or Zabiha) in order to be permitted to eat it. They even rely on Jewish ritual slaughter (Shechita) if they do not have a Muslim trained in their own version of ritual slaughter. Their modesty laws are similar to ours if not more stringent. Even to the extent of a woman covering their hair. Which is what the hijab is all about. While the details of modesty laws between Judaism and Islam are a bit different, the idea behind them is the same.

There are other similarities.  Islam ought to be respected at least as much as Christianity is. So that when a Muslim is denied their right to practice their religion in any way, we need to protest it. If they go to court to fight an unjust law that somehow denies their freedom to practice their religion, we ought to join them.

The one thing we should never do is vilify Islam. This is not to say that all forms of Islam should be supported. Certainly the type of Jihadist Islamism that ISIS practices needs to be vigorously fought. But mainstream Islam is not Jihadist. And if their way of life were to be more closely examined, we would find more similarities of Judaism than dissimilarities. And a desire for peaceful and respectful co-existence in the brotherhood of man.

I find it all too common for Orthodox Jews to vilify Islam as though all Muslims want to take over the world and establish Sharia Law. Sure - anyone that believes in the laws of their religion believes that is the way God wants all of us to live. It is no different than Jews believing that Torah laws for Jews and the seven Noahide laws for gentiles is what God wants. The difference is in whether either of our religions would force those views upon the rest of the world. And whether those beliefs entail any means necessary towards achieving it. Including war, torture, mass murder, or suicide bombings.

That is what we should all oppose no matter what religion is behind it. In our day, it is Islam that is behind it and when expressed in that form it is not only un-American - it should be fought until it is obliterated. But we must differentiate on the one hand between Jihadist countries like Iran;  Islamists like ISIS and Al Qiada; Hamas and Hezbollah… and on the other hand mainstream Muslims that are nothing like them. They are as different from each other as black is from white.

It is true that most of even the peaceful Muslims are opposed to Israel. Some of that opposition is religion based. Some of it is based on misguided notions of what the real cause of Palestinian  misfortune is. But most Muslims would not hurt anyone anymore than most Jews or Christians would.

I believe that - if not for the Jihadists  that are currently calling the shots in the Middle East - in their heart of hearts, most Palestinian Muslims are realists and would rather just make peace with Israel and get on with their lives - even though they would prefer if we were not there in the first place.  

The prosperity that would likely follow would be good for everyone. I would be thrilled if Israel no longer had to treat  every Muslim that wants to cross into Israel with suspicion that they want to hurt us. Wouldn’t it be great if Israel ended up having the same relationship with Palestinians on the West Bank that America has with Canada?

At the moment, that is a distant dream for both sides. Like it or not (and I don’t) Israel must be cautious in ways that places hardships on Palestinians. But at the same time - what should be absolutely clear is that any unfair treatment or criticism of a Muslim just because they are Muslim ought to be rejected. It is wrong and does not do anyone any good.