Does the Koran preach hatred of Jews and Christians?

[Thunder]

the answer? YES!!

and NO.

some of the Koran clearly has a lack of respect for Jews, Christians, and all other non-believers.

but other parts of the Koran show a great deal of respect towards the Jews, the Hebrew prophets, Jesus, etc.

I believe the Koran was written by 2 or more people..or if it was written by one guy, he went through fits and phases of love and hate.

[HansMustermann]

He went through more phases than that actually. You've probably heard of the "satanic verses", if nothing else via the fatwa on Salman Rushdie for using that name for a novel. At one point Muhammad supposedly mistook Satan for the Archangel Gabriel (who supposedly dictated the rest) and got tricked into actually accepting three pagan goddesses worshipped in Mecca as just that: god(dese)s. I'm sure that his trying to negotiate a peace with those guys at the moment had nothing to do with it ;) Then later revoked them.

But really, like any other major religion, it's play-dough and offers a wide variety of cherries to pick. You can find support for pretty much anything you want to find, from basically "be nice to the other followers of the abrahamic god", to basically "screw everyone who isn't a muslim."

[Thunder]

i looked through every single page of the Koran 2 weekends ago. took more than an hour. the first 1/3rd of the book speaks kindly towards Jews. after that, it gets less friendly.

clearly, more than one opinion is reflected. Mohammed on weed..and Mohammed off weed.

:)

[Darat]

No.

Because it is people that preach and people seem to be very good at preaching whatever they want no matter what any book may say or not say!

[HansMustermann]

Well, as you probably know already, first third and last third don't have anything to do with chronology or anything. The thing is pretty much sorted by length, with the longer suras coming first and the shorter ones at the end.

[TimCallahan]

It's quite possible that Mohammad's visions were induced by temporal lobe epilepsy. Thus, it's not surprising that the Qur'an will at one place say that all the "Peoples of the Book" (Muslims, Christians, Jews, Mandaeans and possibly Zoroastrians) will go to Paradise, while in other places Mohammad castigates the other "Peoples of the Book" for trying to lead believers (Muslims) astray.

[tsig]

Well, as you probably know already, first third and last third don't have anything to do with chronology or anything. The thing is pretty much sorted by length, with the longer suras coming first and the shorter ones at the end.

Which makes problems for the doctrine of abrogation, that is, a later Sura abrogating a later Sura.


http://www.answering-islam.org/Authors/Farooq_Ibrahim/abrogation.htm
http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=7&ID=2656&CATE=1

[marksman]

It's a classic development of antisemitism.

"The Jews don't join our religion because stupid antisemites treat them horribly. We'll treat them well and then they'll join us naturally."
When that doesn't work...
"The Jews aren't converting! They must be evil. Kill the unbelievers!"

Martin Luther went through the same process.

[HansMustermann]

Except, as I was saying, the thing isn't chronologically sorted or anything. It's not as much an evolution as mood swings back and forth :P

[HansMustermann]

It's a classic development of antisemitism.

"The Jews don't join our religion because stupid antisemites treat them horribly. We'll treat them well and then they'll join us naturally."
When that doesn't work...
"The Jews aren't converting! They must be evil. Kill the unbelievers!"

Martin Luther went through the same process.

Actually, upon further study, it appears to be exactly the other way around.

While it is _not_ a hard rule, the general consensus is that the earlier Meccan suras tend to be shorter than the later Medinan suras. I.e., generally speaking, as times passed, Muhammad (err, I mean the Archangel Gabriel;)) tended to get more and more verbose.

But the Quran is sorted exactly the other way around, with the longer suras first and the shortest at the end. I.e., as a general trend (but again, not as a hard rule) the thing is pretty much sorted in reverse chronological order, starting with the latest and ending with the earliest.

So if Parky's assessment is correct -- it's been over a decade since I've read it myself -- it would indicate an evolution exactly the other way around than you think: he started more anti-semitic and grew somewhat _less_ anti-semitic over time.

[FireGarden]

While it is _not_ a hard rule, the general consensus is that the earlier Meccan suras tend to be shorter than the later Medinan suras. I.e., generally speaking, as times passed, Muhammad (err, I mean the Archangel Gabriel;)) tended to get more and more verbose.

Even the chapters weren't revealed in one go. The last verse revealed is commonly believed to be 5:3, Sura 5 having 120 verses.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ma'ida

5:3 certainly sounds like it should be one of the last, anyway!

So if Parky's assessment is correct -- it's been over a decade since I've read it myself -- it would indicate an evolution exactly the other way around than you think: he started more anti-semitic and grew somewhat _less_ anti-semitic over time.

Even within a Sura, and within a particular train of thought, you can pick out verses which seem to swing back and forth if you treat them in isolation.

Here's some from Sura2:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/isl/quran/00206.htm

[2:47] O Children of Israel! call to mind
The (special) favour which I bestowed
Upon you, and that I preferred you
To all other (for My Message).

[Stuff about the Golden Calf and being forgiven; other trangressions which may well be mentioned in the Bible/Torah. Of course, Exodus merely praises the great artistry of the craftsmen who made the Golden Calf, their imagination -- their sheer audacity!]

http://www.sacred-texts.com/isl/quran/00208.htm

[2:62] Those who believe (in the Qur'an), and those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Christians and the Sabians,--any who believe in God and the Last Day, and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.

63. And remember We took your covenant and We raised above you (The towering height) of Mount (Sinai) : (Saying): "Hold firmly to what We have given you and bring (ever) to remembrance what is therein: Perchance ye may fear God."

64. But ye turned back thereafter: Had it not been for the Grace and Mercy of God to you, ye had surely been among the lost.

65. And well ye knew those amongst you who transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath: We said to them: "Be ye apes, despised and rejected."

The last is often quoted as an example of anti-Semitism. But it reads to me as God punishing particular people who broke the rules. There doesn't seem any need to blame mood swings for anything.

How does it compare to this?:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=exodus%2032&version=NIV

9 "I have seen these people," the LORD said to Moses, "and they are a stiff-necked people. 10 Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation."

11 But Moses sought the favor of the LORD his God. "O LORD," he said, [...] "Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. 13 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: 'I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.' " 14 Then the LORD relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.

[...] 22 "Do not be angry, my lord," Aaron answered. "You know how prone these people are to evil. 23 They said to me, 'Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him.'

[...] 27 Then he said to them, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.' " 28 The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died.

[...] 35 And the LORD struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made

Seems I earlier misremembered the bit about the Golden Calf...