In a recent TV interview Rashida Mughrabi (sister of Dalal Mughrabi) praised the Palestinian who recently killed three Israelis and wounded dozens of others while running his 20-ton bulldozer over cars and into buses in Jerusalem.
How can someone take pleasure in the senseless killing of others? It reminded me of the conversation I once had with a Palestinian friend. I asked her what the real meaning of the Arabic verb "shatama" was. The dictionary says it means to insult or demean someone, but I always sensed there was more to it.
Her surprising response was, "You'll never understand the meaning of that word. You're an American." When I asked what she meant, she continued, "Shatama means to really hope that something really bad happens to another person. You're an American, and you don't think that way. But we do."
She was right - that's not the way I think. Was she also right in the second part of her statement?
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
The Tale of Two Women
Two women have been in the news the last few days. I think their stories dramatically illustrate two opposing points of view.
The first is Ingrid Betancourt, recently rescued after being held hostage in Columbia for over six years. Even though her treatment was horrible and her suffering intense, she holds neither bitterness nor desire for revenge towards her former captives. When asked if she hated them, her reply was, “No, not at all. It’s a position I took many years ago that when I would be released I wouldn’t take out of the jungle any kind of bitterness or any eagerness to seek for revenge, anything like that…I pray to God to give them his blessing. I don’t want to forget, but I want to forgive.”
In another statement she said, “They closed the helicopter's doors and I saw the commander who for four years had been in charge of us, who had been cruel, humiliating and despotic so many times. I saw him on the floor, naked, blindfolded. I don't think I felt happiness, but rather pity, but I thanked God that I was with people who respect other people's lives, even when they are enemies.”
The second is Dalal Mughrabi, the young Palestinian woman who was killed in the Coastal Road Massacre over 30 years ago in Israel. Her remains are to be turned over by Israel in an upcoming prisoner exchange, and Al-Jazeera recently devoted an hour-long program to glorifying her. Notice the difference between the two accounts surrounding her death given in the program and what really happened.
Moderator One: Twelve men led by a woman named Dalal Mughrabi were able to establish the state of Palestine after the world refused to give them that right. They boarded a bus headed from Haifa to Tel Aviv and turned it into the temporary capital of an independent Palestine. They raised the white, red, and black flag of Palestine from the front of the bus and danced and sang as students do on a school trip. When the Zionist forces surrounded them and the helicopters hovered over them and armed soldiers forced their way unto the bus, they blew it up killing themselves as well. For the first time in the history of revolution, a bus became the capital of a country for four hours. What matters is not how long the state of Palestine lasted, what matters is that it was established and that its first President was Dalal Mughrabi. Heroism has no gender, and may all Arab men realize they do not hold the monopoly over the glory of life and the glory of death. A woman can love nobility more then they do, and can die a more glorious death then they.
Moderator Two (accompanied by stirring music): In her twentieth year she wrote her will. In the same year she determined to donate her life to Palestine. The fighter Dalal Mughrabi never even saw Palestine, but it lived in her heart and mind and that was enough to cause her to give her life for it. On March 11, 1978, with a group of 11 other fighters she was able to infiltrate Israel by sea from Lebanon and hijacked a bus to exchange its passengers for Palestinian prisoners. They called it the Kamal Adnan operation in memory of the commander who was killed by Israel in Beirut in 1973. The Israeli government ordered General Ehud Barak to take control of the bus. His unit entered the bus and killed Dalal Mughrabi. Killing her was not enough for Barak, who dragged her bullet-ridden body by the hair to display before the cameras of the media and photographers who were present.
The real story contains a few details Al-Jazeera failed to mention. Upon landing their boats north of Tel Aviv, Dalal and her associates asked an American photographer named Gail Rubin for directions. As soon as she told them, they killed her. The bus they hijacked was filled with families and children going on a picnic. When the Israeli Defense Forces stopped the bus, the gang started shooting passengers point-blank and then firebombed the bus trapping the passengers inside. At least 35 were killed, including 13 children.
Why would Al-Jazeera leave this out of its report? Could it be the same reason they failed to note that “the great hero” Samir Kantar, who will also be released in the prisoner exchange, was convicted not only of shooting an Israeli policeman but also of killing a man in front of his 4-year old daughter before beating her to death? Could it be the same reason the Iraqi insurgent leaders they interview always describe with great gusto the operations they undertake to kill American soldiers, but deny with equal vehemence any part in the car bombings and suicide operations (often involving female operatives) that target Iraqi civilians and children? Could it be the same reason that writers such as Riza Aslan and Ed Husayn deny that their prophet Muhammad actually married a nine-year-old girl when history clearly records that he did? Could it be a desire to get a point across rather then tell the truth because the truth does not represent the image they want to present?
I noted above that these two women represent two different ways of responding to reality, based upon the values of their respective traditions. In a most bizarre way, the Al-Jazeera reporter tries to merge these traditions by comparing Dalal Mughrabi to the Virgin Mary. He says, “When Dalal Mughrabi decided to carry out her true motherhood, she went to Palestine just as the Virgin Mary did. There on the ground that gives life to wheat and olives and the prophets, she leaned her back against the trunk of a palm tree and enjoyed its refreshment and ate and drank. She closed her eyes and dreamed that the birds of Hebron were flying above her while she was in the pains of giving birth. Five hundred years from now Palestinians will visit her grave, the grave of their mother, from which orange blossoms grow. A thousand years from now Arab children will read that on a March day in 1978 a woman named Dalal first established the state of Palestine inside a bus.”
The first is Ingrid Betancourt, recently rescued after being held hostage in Columbia for over six years. Even though her treatment was horrible and her suffering intense, she holds neither bitterness nor desire for revenge towards her former captives. When asked if she hated them, her reply was, “No, not at all. It’s a position I took many years ago that when I would be released I wouldn’t take out of the jungle any kind of bitterness or any eagerness to seek for revenge, anything like that…I pray to God to give them his blessing. I don’t want to forget, but I want to forgive.”
In another statement she said, “They closed the helicopter's doors and I saw the commander who for four years had been in charge of us, who had been cruel, humiliating and despotic so many times. I saw him on the floor, naked, blindfolded. I don't think I felt happiness, but rather pity, but I thanked God that I was with people who respect other people's lives, even when they are enemies.”
The second is Dalal Mughrabi, the young Palestinian woman who was killed in the Coastal Road Massacre over 30 years ago in Israel. Her remains are to be turned over by Israel in an upcoming prisoner exchange, and Al-Jazeera recently devoted an hour-long program to glorifying her. Notice the difference between the two accounts surrounding her death given in the program and what really happened.
Moderator One: Twelve men led by a woman named Dalal Mughrabi were able to establish the state of Palestine after the world refused to give them that right. They boarded a bus headed from Haifa to Tel Aviv and turned it into the temporary capital of an independent Palestine. They raised the white, red, and black flag of Palestine from the front of the bus and danced and sang as students do on a school trip. When the Zionist forces surrounded them and the helicopters hovered over them and armed soldiers forced their way unto the bus, they blew it up killing themselves as well. For the first time in the history of revolution, a bus became the capital of a country for four hours. What matters is not how long the state of Palestine lasted, what matters is that it was established and that its first President was Dalal Mughrabi. Heroism has no gender, and may all Arab men realize they do not hold the monopoly over the glory of life and the glory of death. A woman can love nobility more then they do, and can die a more glorious death then they.
Moderator Two (accompanied by stirring music): In her twentieth year she wrote her will. In the same year she determined to donate her life to Palestine. The fighter Dalal Mughrabi never even saw Palestine, but it lived in her heart and mind and that was enough to cause her to give her life for it. On March 11, 1978, with a group of 11 other fighters she was able to infiltrate Israel by sea from Lebanon and hijacked a bus to exchange its passengers for Palestinian prisoners. They called it the Kamal Adnan operation in memory of the commander who was killed by Israel in Beirut in 1973. The Israeli government ordered General Ehud Barak to take control of the bus. His unit entered the bus and killed Dalal Mughrabi. Killing her was not enough for Barak, who dragged her bullet-ridden body by the hair to display before the cameras of the media and photographers who were present.
The real story contains a few details Al-Jazeera failed to mention. Upon landing their boats north of Tel Aviv, Dalal and her associates asked an American photographer named Gail Rubin for directions. As soon as she told them, they killed her. The bus they hijacked was filled with families and children going on a picnic. When the Israeli Defense Forces stopped the bus, the gang started shooting passengers point-blank and then firebombed the bus trapping the passengers inside. At least 35 were killed, including 13 children.
Why would Al-Jazeera leave this out of its report? Could it be the same reason they failed to note that “the great hero” Samir Kantar, who will also be released in the prisoner exchange, was convicted not only of shooting an Israeli policeman but also of killing a man in front of his 4-year old daughter before beating her to death? Could it be the same reason the Iraqi insurgent leaders they interview always describe with great gusto the operations they undertake to kill American soldiers, but deny with equal vehemence any part in the car bombings and suicide operations (often involving female operatives) that target Iraqi civilians and children? Could it be the same reason that writers such as Riza Aslan and Ed Husayn deny that their prophet Muhammad actually married a nine-year-old girl when history clearly records that he did? Could it be a desire to get a point across rather then tell the truth because the truth does not represent the image they want to present?
I noted above that these two women represent two different ways of responding to reality, based upon the values of their respective traditions. In a most bizarre way, the Al-Jazeera reporter tries to merge these traditions by comparing Dalal Mughrabi to the Virgin Mary. He says, “When Dalal Mughrabi decided to carry out her true motherhood, she went to Palestine just as the Virgin Mary did. There on the ground that gives life to wheat and olives and the prophets, she leaned her back against the trunk of a palm tree and enjoyed its refreshment and ate and drank. She closed her eyes and dreamed that the birds of Hebron were flying above her while she was in the pains of giving birth. Five hundred years from now Palestinians will visit her grave, the grave of their mother, from which orange blossoms grow. A thousand years from now Arab children will read that on a March day in 1978 a woman named Dalal first established the state of Palestine inside a bus.”
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Ziyarat al-Banat (The Girls' Visit)
My usual ordinary, routine-driven life was wonderfully turned upside down the last two weeks by the visit of my daughters. Visits to the Filipino souk, the antique souk, the gold markets, the camel markets, the mosque where the founder of the Saudi brand of Islam known as Wahhibism said his prayers, dirtbike riding in the desert, meals in French, Filipino, and Arab restaurants, elavator rides to the top of the city's highest towers including the cigar smoker's top floor of the Fasaliya, and trying to keep up with my eldest daughter on the treadmill were only some of the fun. If anyone ever tells you there's nothing to do in Riyadh, send them my way. And if anyone ever says young women can't look beautiful in an abaya, I have some photos for you (although my daughters insist that isn't a compliment).
Friday, June 20, 2008
Muhammad and the Poets
The poets were the commentators and social critics in the pre-book world of seventh century Arabia . The Arianna Huffington and Bill O'Reilly of Muhammad’s day were the poets. Their poetry was memorized at fairs and public events, passed from person to person, and their influence was considerable.
That said, there were two kinds of poets. In addition to those described above who were well respected, there were many fortune tellers and soothsayers who did not enjoy good reputations and were often thought of as being public nuisances or slightly mad. Historian Ibn Ishaq describes them as people in contact with spirits and jinn. Muhammad stated that he despised these people so much he could not even look at them. When he received the first Quranic revelation via the angel Gabriel his initial fear was that he had become one of them.
History records four poets of the first type, the real poets, whose lives intersected with Muhammad. One of them accepted Islam, and the other three criticized him. In other words, one lived and three died.
The first was Al-Tufayl Bin Amr Al-Dausi, who visited Mecca soon after Muhammad began to preach. He was warned by friends there to stay away from this self-proclaimed prophet who was saying dangerous things. His response was, “I’m an intelligent person, a poet, and I know the difference between good and evil. I’ll listen to him; if what he says is good I’ll accept it and if it is bad I’ll reject it.” Al-Tufayl visited Muhammad in his home, where Muhammad recited the Quran to him. Al-Tufayl concluded he had never heard anything so beautiful in his life, and converted to Islam. He returned to his hometown and preached his new religion to the people there. When Muhammad later raided the Jewish community at Khaybar, Al-Tufayl and his converts joined him and were given a full share of the bounty.
The next was a Jewish poet, Ka’b Bin Al-Ashraf, who lived in Medina . Following the Muslim victory at the Battle of Badr, Muhammad sent spokesmen to different sections of Medina to proclaim his victory and recite the names of the Quraysh enemies who were killed. Ka’b realized his life was in danger and went to Mecca where he composed poems commemorating those who had been killed in the battle and critical of Muhammad. A few lines from one of them are:
Badr’s mill ground out the blood of its people
At events like Badr you should weep and cry
The best of the people were slain round their cisterns
Don’t think it strange that the princes were left lying
How many noble handsome men
The refuge of the homeless were slain,
Those who were liberal when the stars gave no rain
Who bore others burdens.
As soon as Muhammad learned of this, he asked, “Who will rid me of this man?” Bin Maslama volunteered to go to Mecca to kill Ka’b Al-Ashraf. After Bin Maslama accomplished his mission, he boasted that not a single Jew in Medina did not fear for his life.
The third poet, Abu Afak, was reportedly 100 years old. Following Muhammad’s murder of a man named Al-Harith, Abu Afak wrote critically of his people who had allowed Muhammad to rule over them. One of his verses was:
I have lived a long life and I have never seen
Men who were more faithful when called upon (to fight)
They overthrew mountains and never submitted
But now a rider (Muhammad) has come and split them in two
He divides everything into “halal and haram” (allowed and forbidden)
Why are you following him?
Muhammad’s response was, “Who will deal with this rascal for me?” One of his followers killed Abu Afak that very night. An associate named Umama then wrote a poet of his own, sneering,
Take that Abu Afak, in spite of your age
Even if I knew whether it was a man or a spirit
Who killed you in the middle of the night
I would never tell.
The final poetess was Asma Bint Marwan. In response to the murder of Abu Afak, she courageously wrote a poem critical of “the stranger” who had come to rule over them. Muhammad’s response again was, “Who will rid me of Marwan’s daughter?” A man named Umayr killed her that night in her bed where she was sleeping with her nursing child. The next morning he went to her other five children, mockingly asking which of them wanted to be next.
Muslims sometimes argue that Muhammad did not really give the order to kill the poets noted above, because his comments could be construed as not being a direct order for their deaths. Anyone who has ever watched an episode of the Sopranos or the Godfather knows exactly what was happening. “Hey, Joey, that Luigi on the other side of town has been giving me some trouble. You think maybe you could take care of that problem for me?” “Sure thing, boss”. And the next day Luigi’s body is pulled out of the river.
That said, there were two kinds of poets. In addition to those described above who were well respected, there were many fortune tellers and soothsayers who did not enjoy good reputations and were often thought of as being public nuisances or slightly mad. Historian Ibn Ishaq describes them as people in contact with spirits and jinn. Muhammad stated that he despised these people so much he could not even look at them. When he received the first Quranic revelation via the angel Gabriel his initial fear was that he had become one of them.
History records four poets of the first type, the real poets, whose lives intersected with Muhammad. One of them accepted Islam, and the other three criticized him. In other words, one lived and three died.
The first was Al-Tufayl Bin Amr Al-Dausi, who visited Mecca soon after Muhammad began to preach. He was warned by friends there to stay away from this self-proclaimed prophet who was saying dangerous things. His response was, “I’m an intelligent person, a poet, and I know the difference between good and evil. I’ll listen to him; if what he says is good I’ll accept it and if it is bad I’ll reject it.” Al-Tufayl visited Muhammad in his home, where Muhammad recited the Quran to him. Al-Tufayl concluded he had never heard anything so beautiful in his life, and converted to Islam. He returned to his hometown and preached his new religion to the people there. When Muhammad later raided the Jewish community at Khaybar, Al-Tufayl and his converts joined him and were given a full share of the bounty.
The next was a Jewish poet, Ka’b Bin Al-Ashraf, who lived in Medina . Following the Muslim victory at the Battle of Badr, Muhammad sent spokesmen to different sections of Medina to proclaim his victory and recite the names of the Quraysh enemies who were killed. Ka’b realized his life was in danger and went to Mecca where he composed poems commemorating those who had been killed in the battle and critical of Muhammad. A few lines from one of them are:
Badr’s mill ground out the blood of its people
At events like Badr you should weep and cry
The best of the people were slain round their cisterns
Don’t think it strange that the princes were left lying
How many noble handsome men
The refuge of the homeless were slain,
Those who were liberal when the stars gave no rain
Who bore others burdens.
As soon as Muhammad learned of this, he asked, “Who will rid me of this man?” Bin Maslama volunteered to go to Mecca to kill Ka’b Al-Ashraf. After Bin Maslama accomplished his mission, he boasted that not a single Jew in Medina did not fear for his life.
The third poet, Abu Afak, was reportedly 100 years old. Following Muhammad’s murder of a man named Al-Harith, Abu Afak wrote critically of his people who had allowed Muhammad to rule over them. One of his verses was:
I have lived a long life and I have never seen
Men who were more faithful when called upon (to fight)
They overthrew mountains and never submitted
But now a rider (Muhammad) has come and split them in two
He divides everything into “halal and haram” (allowed and forbidden)
Why are you following him?
Muhammad’s response was, “Who will deal with this rascal for me?” One of his followers killed Abu Afak that very night. An associate named Umama then wrote a poet of his own, sneering,
Take that Abu Afak, in spite of your age
Even if I knew whether it was a man or a spirit
Who killed you in the middle of the night
I would never tell.
The final poetess was Asma Bint Marwan. In response to the murder of Abu Afak, she courageously wrote a poem critical of “the stranger” who had come to rule over them. Muhammad’s response again was, “Who will rid me of Marwan’s daughter?” A man named Umayr killed her that night in her bed where she was sleeping with her nursing child. The next morning he went to her other five children, mockingly asking which of them wanted to be next.
Muslims sometimes argue that Muhammad did not really give the order to kill the poets noted above, because his comments could be construed as not being a direct order for their deaths. Anyone who has ever watched an episode of the Sopranos or the Godfather knows exactly what was happening. “Hey, Joey, that Luigi on the other side of town has been giving me some trouble. You think maybe you could take care of that problem for me?” “Sure thing, boss”. And the next day Luigi’s body is pulled out of the river.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Poetry in Motion
Muslims believe that one of the "miracles" of the Quran is its poetry. How could an illiterate man, they ask, write such exquisite poetry unless he was inspired by God?
The grammatical structure of Arabic lends itself to being a poetic language. Many nouns or adjectives, for example, end with the syllable "....eem". Muhammad could create a few lines each ending with one of these words that would be poetry to his listeners. As an example, Sura 66 is called "The Prohibition". The title as well as the final or penultimate words of the first few lines are "tahreem...raheem...aleem...hakeem." The English translation of these words, "prohibition...merciful...all-knowing...wise", of course do not rhyme at all.
The "story behind the story" is often more interesting than the story itself. Muhammad often created Quranic suras to get himself out of a tight spot. In the case of sura 66, he had literally been caught with his pants down. While visiting one of his wives, 20 year old Hafsah, he noticed her beautiful Egyptian Christian slave Mary. Muhammad had already legitimized sex with slaves for his followers, and told Hafsah that her father wanted to see her. As soon as Hafsah left the house, Muhammad had intercourse with Mary. When Hafsah realized her father had not called her and returned home to a locked door, she suspected the worst. Muhammad admitted what he had done, but promised Hafsah he would not sleep with Mary again. Hafsah was still upset, and told another of Muhammad's wives, Aisha, what had happened. Muhammad then claimed that Allah had revealed to him that Hafsah had complained to Aisha, and that Allah had also told him that he was free of his promise not to sleep with Mary again.
Now read the entire sura carefully. Notice who is at fault, who is to blame, who is threatened, and who is exonerated by Allah.
The grammatical structure of Arabic lends itself to being a poetic language. Many nouns or adjectives, for example, end with the syllable "....eem". Muhammad could create a few lines each ending with one of these words that would be poetry to his listeners. As an example, Sura 66 is called "The Prohibition". The title as well as the final or penultimate words of the first few lines are "tahreem...raheem...aleem...hakeem." The English translation of these words, "prohibition...merciful...all-knowing...wise", of course do not rhyme at all.
The "story behind the story" is often more interesting than the story itself. Muhammad often created Quranic suras to get himself out of a tight spot. In the case of sura 66, he had literally been caught with his pants down. While visiting one of his wives, 20 year old Hafsah, he noticed her beautiful Egyptian Christian slave Mary. Muhammad had already legitimized sex with slaves for his followers, and told Hafsah that her father wanted to see her. As soon as Hafsah left the house, Muhammad had intercourse with Mary. When Hafsah realized her father had not called her and returned home to a locked door, she suspected the worst. Muhammad admitted what he had done, but promised Hafsah he would not sleep with Mary again. Hafsah was still upset, and told another of Muhammad's wives, Aisha, what had happened. Muhammad then claimed that Allah had revealed to him that Hafsah had complained to Aisha, and that Allah had also told him that he was free of his promise not to sleep with Mary again.
Now read the entire sura carefully. Notice who is at fault, who is to blame, who is threatened, and who is exonerated by Allah.
You've Got To Go To The Source
A TV show I enjoy is “Minbar” on Al-Jazeera. The host chooses a different subject each week and people call in from all over the world to express their viewpoint. “Minbar” means pulpit, also equivalent to the English “soap-box”, and the show indeed allows people to stand on their soapbox for a few minutes.
In an episode on torture in Arab prisons the host asked a caller if he thought the Arab governments had made any progress in human rights during the last 50 years. The caller replied they had not and then said, “Real progress would be to let people say whatever they want. I don’t question the patriotism of anyone else. But we just want the opportunity to express ourselves, to say ‘Let me disagree with you, let you say something and me say the opposite, let’s disagree but reach a solution.’”
That’s a longing that exists throughout the people of the Middle East. But in looking at why it is not there, they never seem to go very far. They will acknowledge their governments do not allow freedom of expression, but that’s all. They seem unwilling or unable to take the next logical step, which would be to examine what it is in their cultural or religious heritage that makes criticism unacceptable. Which would of course eventually lead them to how Muhammad dealt with critics Ka'b Ibn Al-Ashraf, Abu Afak, and Asma Mint Marwan.
In an episode on torture in Arab prisons the host asked a caller if he thought the Arab governments had made any progress in human rights during the last 50 years. The caller replied they had not and then said, “Real progress would be to let people say whatever they want. I don’t question the patriotism of anyone else. But we just want the opportunity to express ourselves, to say ‘Let me disagree with you, let you say something and me say the opposite, let’s disagree but reach a solution.’”
That’s a longing that exists throughout the people of the Middle East. But in looking at why it is not there, they never seem to go very far. They will acknowledge their governments do not allow freedom of expression, but that’s all. They seem unwilling or unable to take the next logical step, which would be to examine what it is in their cultural or religious heritage that makes criticism unacceptable. Which would of course eventually lead them to how Muhammad dealt with critics Ka'b Ibn Al-Ashraf, Abu Afak, and Asma Mint Marwan.
Muhammad and the Jews Part 1: Great Expectations
There were few Jews in Mecca when Muhammad first announced he was to be obeyed as the Prophet of Allah, and his early efforts were directed towards the pagan Quraysh. He preached quietly for three years, and then became more public and confrontational, stating that he was a "plain warner of a coming severe punishment". The short blunt Meccan suras of the Quran mention hell 146 times, lucidly describing the parched skins and scalding water awaiting those who did not follow Muhammad.
Muhammad often repeated the stories from the Torah of Abraham, Joseph, and Moses, but with a distinctly different emphasis. In Muhammad's version, Allah had been prepared to destroy each of those civilizations unless they obeyed the prophets. God didn't just tell Abraham to leave Iraq and go to Canaan for a great blessing as recorded in Genesis, he was about to wipe out Abraham's people. This was the backdrop for Muhammad's main message, which was that Allah would likewise destroy everyone who did not accept him as the final and greatest prophet.
The Quraysh did not take kindly to Muhammad's warnings of divine judgment. They were not familiar with the Torah but Medina, a city 250 miles to the north, was about 50 percent Jewish. The rabbis there had long threatened enemies who robbed them that a prophet would come to set things straight. The Quraysh sent a delegation to Medina to inquire of the rabbis whether Muhammad might be this prophet. The rabbis told them to ask Muhammd three specific questions that would determine his validity. Suras 17 and 18 of the Quran give Muhammad's answer to the questions.
Looking back from a historical perspective, it is doubtful the rabbis really believed a non-Jewish Arab Muslim would be their anticipated prophet, but Muhammad thought they did. He began to focus his attention on them and stated that the Quran was the answer to all their questions. He also claimed to be taken to heaven on a night journey where he was accorded by Allah a status higher than all their prophets.
When some non-Jewish Medinans heard Muhammad's message at an annual fair outside Mecca, they converted to Islam. Returning to Medina, they gave good reports of Muhammad. They returned to the fair the following year, and invited Muhammad to their city. Most of them were from the Aus and the Khazraj tribes. The Aus were aligned with the Jewish tribes of Qurayza and Al-Nadir, and the Khazraj with the Jewish tribe of Qaynuqa. There were tribal conflicts in Medina, and they thought that Muhammad could come and mediate the differences. Muhammad saw this as an opportunity for expansion, and accepted the invitation. The year was 622 A.D., year one of the Muslim calendar, and Muhammad and his followers immigrated to Medina with great expectations of what the future would hold.
Muhammad often repeated the stories from the Torah of Abraham, Joseph, and Moses, but with a distinctly different emphasis. In Muhammad's version, Allah had been prepared to destroy each of those civilizations unless they obeyed the prophets. God didn't just tell Abraham to leave Iraq and go to Canaan for a great blessing as recorded in Genesis, he was about to wipe out Abraham's people. This was the backdrop for Muhammad's main message, which was that Allah would likewise destroy everyone who did not accept him as the final and greatest prophet.
The Quraysh did not take kindly to Muhammad's warnings of divine judgment. They were not familiar with the Torah but Medina, a city 250 miles to the north, was about 50 percent Jewish. The rabbis there had long threatened enemies who robbed them that a prophet would come to set things straight. The Quraysh sent a delegation to Medina to inquire of the rabbis whether Muhammad might be this prophet. The rabbis told them to ask Muhammd three specific questions that would determine his validity. Suras 17 and 18 of the Quran give Muhammad's answer to the questions.
Looking back from a historical perspective, it is doubtful the rabbis really believed a non-Jewish Arab Muslim would be their anticipated prophet, but Muhammad thought they did. He began to focus his attention on them and stated that the Quran was the answer to all their questions. He also claimed to be taken to heaven on a night journey where he was accorded by Allah a status higher than all their prophets.
When some non-Jewish Medinans heard Muhammad's message at an annual fair outside Mecca, they converted to Islam. Returning to Medina, they gave good reports of Muhammad. They returned to the fair the following year, and invited Muhammad to their city. Most of them were from the Aus and the Khazraj tribes. The Aus were aligned with the Jewish tribes of Qurayza and Al-Nadir, and the Khazraj with the Jewish tribe of Qaynuqa. There were tribal conflicts in Medina, and they thought that Muhammad could come and mediate the differences. Muhammad saw this as an opportunity for expansion, and accepted the invitation. The year was 622 A.D., year one of the Muslim calendar, and Muhammad and his followers immigrated to Medina with great expectations of what the future would hold.
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