[Dean's World] Dean: Bible Readings

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Posted by Dean:
Bible Readings
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1148994027.shtml


   In continuing my series on the ignorance, hypocrisy, and bigotry of
   many Islamophobes, I would like today to talk about the claim I've
   often been confronted with, namely, that the early Muslim community
   slaughtered a Jewish tribe known as the Banu Quarayza. This supposedly
   shows that the Muslims are inherently barbaric and warlike. You can
   read a fairly neutral accounting of this slaughter [1]right here.

   Now, here's the thing: I don't find anything wrong with criticizing
   that sort of behavior in a modern context. In the context of ancient
   times, however, I have a hard time getting particularly worked up over
   it. The Muslim perspective on that has traditionally been that the
   Banu Quarayza had attacked the early Muslim community on more than one
   occasion, and they finally killed all the men of the Quarayza tribe
   because after multiple conflicts the Quarayza had been under a peace
   treaty with the Muslims, then broke it. That was the last straw and
   they decided to just wipe this tribe out by killing all the men.

   I also would have to say that if you're a secular humanist, an atheist
   or an agnostic who rejects all religion, then, criticizing this
   incident is also quite easy. Mind you, if you are such a person, you
   should also be willing to acknowledge the many crimes of radical
   secularists and sworn atheists, like Stalin and Mao, and stop
   pretending that religion by itself is automatically the cause of all
   the world's ills.

   But you know, I think it takes a special kind of a special blend of
   ignorance and hypocrisy for Christians or Jews to use the incident
   with the Quarayza tribe as proof that Islam is inherently violent and
   evil.

   ----

   From [2]The Book of Numbers, chapter 31 (with bold added by me to
   emphasize interesting parts):

   1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 2 âTake vengeance on the
   Midianites for the children of Israel. Afterward you shall be gathered
   to your people.â 3 So Moses spoke to the people, saying, âArm some of
   yourselves for war, and let them go against the Midianites to take
   vengeance for the LORD on Midian. 4 A thousand from each tribe of all
   the tribes of Israel you shall send to the war.â

   5 So there were recruited from the divisions of Israel one thousand
   from each tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. 6 Then Moses sent them
   to the war, one thousand from each tribe; he sent them to the war with
   Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, with the holy articles and the
   signal trumpets in his hand. 7 And they warred against the Midianites,
   just as the LORD commanded Moses, and they killed all the males. 8
   They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of those who were
   killedâEvi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian.
   Balaam the son of Beor they also killed with the sword.

   9 And the children of Israel took the women of Midian captive, with
   their little ones, and took as spoil all their cattle, all their
   flocks, and all their goods. 10 They also burned with fire all the
   cities where they dwelt, and all their forts. 11 And they took all the
   spoil and all the bootyâof man and beast.

   12 Then they brought the captives, the booty, and the spoil to Moses,
   to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the children of
   Israel, to the camp in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from
   Jericho. 13 And Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the
   congregation, went to meet them outside the camp. 14 But Moses was
   angry with the officers of the army, with the captains over thousands
   and captains over hundreds, who had come from the battle. 15 And Moses
   said to them: âHave you kept all the women alive? 16 Look, these women
   caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to
   trespass against the LORD in the incident of Peor, and there was a
   plague among the congregation of the LORD. 17 Now therefore, kill
   every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a
   man intimately. 18 But keep alive for yourselves all the young girls
   who have not known a man intimately.

   ---

   From the [3]Book of Deuteronomy, chapter 21:

   10 âWhen you go out to war against your enemies, and the LORD your God
   delivers them into your hand, and you take them captive, 11 and you
   see among the captives a beautiful woman, and desire her and would
   take her for your wife, 12 then you shall bring her home to your
   house, and she shall shave her head and trim her nails. 13 She shall
   put off the clothes of her captivity, remain in your house, and mourn
   her father and her mother a full month; after that you may go in to
   her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife. 14 And it shall
   be, if you have no delight in her, then you shall set her free, but
   you certainly shall not sell her for money; you shall not treat her
   brutally, because you have humbled her.

   ---

   I can pull out a lot more like this. It's amazing what you find in the
   Bible when you actually read it.

   It's rather intereesting to me, by the way, that Moses would order
   every Midianite male child to be slaughtered. Moses himself was, by
   tradition, spared when Pharoah ordered the deaths of all Jewish male
   children, because his mother and sister conspired to save him by
   floating him in a basket down the Nile and having him adopted.

   One of the things I like best about the Bible is that you can see it
   as a "warts and all" presentation. Most of the Biblical prophets were
   flawed and often did things that seem dumb, nasty, or duplicitous.
   Some of the stuff David did was amazingly nasty, for example, and was
   clearly often sinful by his own faith's standards. Rather than trying
   to cover this stuff up and prettify it, the Jews through the centuries
   just recorded it all, and added it to their commentary.

   In any case, the above passages, as well as any number of other things
   that can be found in the Bible, make Jews or Christians who attack
   Muhammed for having occasionally been warlike look rather odd. Such
   people inevitably grow furious with me and demand, demand that I stop
   comparing their faith with Islam. "I don't like it when you do that
   Dean! It makes me mad! You need to stop!"

   Feh. A reasoned, rational discussion of a religion will usually
   involve comparing and contrasting it with other traditions. It will
   also include talking to members of that faith about how they see it,
   about what they believe about it, how they as adherants actually
   interpret it. Outside criticism is also fine, but it ought to be based
   on respect and a committment to understanding. For example, the
   [4]Jews for Judaism can explain rather eloquently and why they reject
   the Gospel. They don't attack the Gospel, but they've clearly read it
   and understood the Christian faith very well, and can give reasonable
   answers as to why they don't believe it. They can also usually tell
   you precisely why they reject Islam, although they don't get asked
   that as much.

   Christians who really and truly understand their faith, and its
   traditions going back over the last 2,000 years, can explain to you
   why they believe the Jews have fundamentally erred. They can also
   explain, in non-angry, non-offensive terms, why they think Muhammed
   couldn't have been a real prophet.

   That's the basis of a decent dialogue.

   Those with a vendetta, on the other hand, tend to muddy up the waters
   considerably.

References

   1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banu_Qurayza
   2. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=numbers%2031;&version=50;
   3. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=deuteronomy%2021;&version=50;
   4. http://www.jewsforjudaism.org/