Islam and Judaism

The relationship between Islam and Judaism is special and close. Both religions claim to arise from the patriarch Abraham, and are therefore considered Abrahamic religions. As fellow monotheists, Muslims view Jews as "people of the book", a term that Jews have subse uentl! adopted as a wa! of describing their own connection to the Torah and other hol! te"ts. In turn, man! Jews maintain that Muslims adhere to the #even $aws of %oah. Thus, Judaism views Muslims as righteous people of &od. Jews have interacted with Muslims since the 'th centur!, when Islam originated and spread in the Arabian peninsula, and man! aspects of Islam(s core values, structure, )urisprudence and practice are based on Judaism. Muslim culture and philosoph! have heavil! influenced practitioners of Judaism in the Islamic world. In premodern Muslim countries, Jews rarel! faced mart!rdom, e"ile or forcible conversion, and were mostl! free in their choice of residence and profession. Indeed, the !ears '*+ to *,-- ./ under the 0mma!ad and the Abbasid rulers have been called the &olden age of Jewish culture in #pain. %on1Muslim monotheists living in these countries, including Jews, were known asdhimmis. 2himmis were allowed to practice their religion and to administer their internal affairs, but the! were sub)ect to certain restrictions that were not imposed on Muslims. 3or e"ample, the! had to pa! the )i4!a, a per capita ta" imposed on free adult non1Muslim males, and the! were also forbidden to bear arms or testif! in court cases involving Muslims. Man! of the laws regarding dhimmis were highl! s!mbolic. 3or e"ample, dhimmis in some countries were re uired to wear distinctive clothing, a practice not found in either the 5ur(an or hadiths but invented nearl! medieval Baghdad and inconsistentl! enforced.6**-7 Jews in Muslim countries were not entirel! free from persecution8for e"ample, man! were killed, e"iled or forcibl! converted in the *+th centur!, in 9ersia and b! the rulers of the Almohad d!nast! in %orth Africa and Al1Andalus. At times, Jews were also restricted in their choice of residence8in Morocco, Jews were confined to walled uarters :mellahs; beginning in the *<th centur! and increasingl! since the earl! *=th centur!. In the late +,th centur!, Jews were e"pelled from nearl! all the Arab countries. Most have chosen to live in Israel. Toda!, antisemitic themes have become commonplace in the propaganda of Arab Islamic movements such as >i4bullah and >amas, in the pronouncements of various agencies of the Islamic ?epublic of Iran, and even in the newspapers and other publications of ?efah 9artisi.