A new religious ruling by "Islamic sages" calls for killing Jews as a holy commandment in the name of Allah. Why must we know about this, and what should we do about it?
A month ago, 350 Islamist religious leaders from around the world gathered in Turkey. Their mission: to create a contemporary religious ruling under the umbrella title "The Ruling of Islamic Sages". Forty Islamic organisations signed off on this piece of "wisdom" they created, granting it broad legitimacy in the Muslim world. For those curious to be exposed to these pearls of wisdom, the fruit of the religion of brotherhood and peace, here is a summary of their words:
The sages opened their mouths and said: "All of Palestine - from the river to the sea - is Muslim. Anyone who gives up even a handful of it shall be called a traitor. Zionism is the enemy of humanity, Jews are infidels, and killing them is a commandment. On October 7th we were blessed with holy justice in the name of Allah. There should be no doubt about Hamas and the path of jihad. Iranian missiles on Israel are blessed, and all Arab nations must follow suit to destroy Israel." End of the wisdom verses.
One has to wonder what sort of god is Allah.
In Jewish belief, God is the one, transcendent, and personal Creator of the universe who expects humans to live ethically and justly. The Torah, particularly the Ten Commandments, outlines God's expectations for human behaviour:
Life is considered sacred and belongs to God, emphasizing the importance of preserving it. Jews believe they have a unique relationship with God, chosen to serve Him and bring knowledge of Him to the world, but Jews do not proselytise nor try to convert others to their religion. Jewish tradition emphasizes the sanctity of life, meaning that all life is precious and should be protected.
The Torah, along with other Jewish legal texts like the Talmud, provides guidance on how to live a life that aligns with God's will, the will to choose life. Jewish tradition emphasizes the importance of human action and responsibility in fulfilling God's will and making the world a better place.
Pikuach Nefesh, which means "saving a soul" or "saving a life," is the principle in Halakha (Jewish law) that the preservation of human life overrides virtually any other religious rule of Judaism.
Jews and Christians fundamentally believe they worship the same G-d, the G-d of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Both religions trace their origins back to the G-d revealed in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), although they interpret and interact with this G-d in different ways.
Do Christians, Muslims, and Jews worship the same G-d?
In short, it provided the foundation of what was later to be much elaborated on in sharia law. It is claimed that Muslims, Christians and Jews do all worship the same complex G-d.
Personally I question whether Allah is the same as Hashem. Here we have purported “sages” claiming in the name of Allah that “Jews are infidels, and killing them is a commandment” and this applies to everyone who is not a Muslim. Of course within Islam they have their own issues and conflicts and go on to say that anyone who is not Sunni is not a Muslim and vice versa anyone who is not Shi’ite is an infidel.
Islam believes that their religion contains the full and final revelation of the same G-d and therefore they are superior to both Judaism, Christianity. A common Islamic belief is that the scriptures of Judaism and Christianity (the Torah/the Bible) have been altered or corrupted over time, a concept referred to as Tahrif. This contrasts with the belief in the original, unaltered nature of these texts held by adherents of Judaism and Christianity. Of course Islam actually came millennia after Judaism and after Christianity and plagiarized the Jewish scriptures. Incompletely nor chronologically I must add.
So now, you decide whether Allah and Hashem are the same deity and if they are, then what we are seeing from the Islamic “sages” in their recent conference in Turkey is gross human self-serving madness to align with a monumentally misguided aberrant religion pandering entirely to human wishes and frailties, insanity, psychosis and hysteria. If Allah and Hashem are the same, and it is accepted that He creates all life, where is the logic and sanity in wanting one group to destroy life in another?
"The Ruling of Islamic Sages" is an example of how religions can be and are man-made. Islam’s god, Allah, as is always the case, is used and abused to further these medieval tribal savages’ personal aims and ambitions. Fatwas are declared as the emotional tide willy-nilly decides. Who are these men, mere human beings, to decide what Allah, their god, wants? It is obvious and the truth is that it is actually what these men want and nothing more.
Which brings me briefly to what we hear Islamists saying at every turn, Allah Huakbar, which is an Arabic phrase, called Takbir, meaning "God is greater". Greater and simply not great or greatest? Greater than? Greater than the G-d of the Jews and the Christians. It is almost an infantile claim.
What we see in this “ruling” is barbarism cloaked in pseudo legalese and convenient contrived and invented religious jurisprudence. Here we now have yet another Fatwa. This ruling is dangerous and cannot be ignored. What makes it even more dangerous is the very people it is sent down to. Do I have to discuss their religious, cultural, tribal and mindless fanaticism?
The only deterrent is the defeat, real complete defeat of all the terrorist organisations, Iran and radical Islam wherever it raises its head. Defeating Iran and facilitating regime change would generally take care of the Shi’ites.
The Sunnis cannot be ignored either as the likes of Turkey has rushed in to replace Iran in Syria, as an example, supporting the vicious, barbaric and uncivilised Jihadists that have taken over that country. Do not forget that Saudi Arabia has been for a long time behind Islamic attacks worldwide.…. and then there are all the other Islamic countries. Bin Laden and others did not emerge out of a vacuum or nothingness.
Fanatic radical Islam in all its guises is a curse on the world and has to be stopped. Basically Islam is Islam and there are no variations except what we see between Sunnis and Shi’ites. The sooner radical Islam is defeated the better. It cannot be allowed to go on in its current form, trend and ambition to take over the world in their misguided concept of their superiority and self-righteousness. In modern times Islam is the equivalent of the medieval barbarians that threatened and took over Rome ushering in the Dark Ages that lasted for centuries. Islam threatens Western civilisation and it will also threaten both China and Russia.
It says in the Torah, if someone comes to kill you, rise and kill first. These barbarians HAVE TO BE eliminated. There is absolutely no alternative.
David Hersch is Chairman of SAIPAC, the South African Israel Public Affairs Committee. Former chairman of the South African Zionist Federation (Cape Council) as well as a former national vice-chairman of the South African Zionist Federation (SAZF). He is also former member of the South Jewish Board of Deputies (Cape Council). Retired businessman and broadcaster.