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To: SampleMan
Sorry, but you have little understanding of the history here.

For most of the middle ages and early modern period Jews were much safer in Muslim than Christian lands. When they were expelled from Spain and Portugal, most went to the Ottoman Empire and other Muslim territories and were able to go on with their lives, often thriving.

Which is not to say that Jews in Muslim lands were equal citizens or always treated well, only that they were generally treated by "Christians."

This of course reached its peak in the 20th century, when a country claiming to be Christian killed a great many more Jews than those killed by Muslims in that century, and probably more than killed by Muslims in all history.

There were still a great many Jews in Muslim countries in the 1940s. After the establishment of Israel most of them were forced out.

10 posted on 05/10/2013 10:45:35 AM PDT by Sherman Logan
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To: Sherman Logan
Meant to say:

only that they were generally treated even worse by "Christians."

14 posted on 05/10/2013 10:53:15 AM PDT by Sherman Logan
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To: Sherman Logan
For most of the middle ages and early modern period Jews were much safer in Muslim than Christian lands.

Wrong. That is the recent PC history. You might not want to believe everything you see on TV, nor much of what is spewed by American academia.

Starting with Mohamed, Jews were systematically murdered, until their population was minute and limited to a few who had hard to replace skill sets. The "great many" you cite was about 1%.

Were they treated better than in Europe? Not really, at most you could say that the worst treatments in Europe were worse than the average treatments by Muslims.

The huge difference is that you actually find the mistreatment of Jews in Europe in Western histories. Such episodes are not so recorded in common Eastern histories, where it it is not found to be convenient. There was no Golden Period of equality for Jews under Islam.

16 posted on 05/10/2013 10:58:55 AM PDT by SampleMan (Feral Humans are the refuse of socialism.)
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To: Sherman Logan
... when a country claiming to be Christian killed a great many more Jews than those killed by Muslims in that century, and probably more than killed by Muslims in all history.

I take it that you are referring to Germany. It was not a "Christian" country at that time; its leadership had reverted to nationalist paganism, pseudo-scientific materialism and eugenics. It also allied itself with Muslims in Palestine and Eastern Europe in its attempt to destroy Jews.

17 posted on 05/10/2013 11:03:07 AM PDT by tsomer
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To: Sherman Logan

That isn’t true.

I recommend “In Ishmael’s House: A History of Jews in Muslim Lands” which documents the sorry state of Jewry living in Muslim lands - pretty much any muslim land - from 1200 AD onwards

Or the first half of “From Time Immemorial” by Joan Peters. In the early chapters she details the treatment of Jews in Muslim lands from 1000 AD up to the rebirth of Israel.

(Scholars frequently find fault with Peters’ demographic analyses of Palestine and Israel - but there are no issues with her meticulous historical treatment of Jews living under the ‘protection’ of Islam.)

These authors do not paint a pretty picture.

With temporary respites under enlightened single rulers, in all Muslim-controlled lands Jews were horrendously oppressed. They were subject to arbitrary murder and confiscation. They were not allowed to witness against Muslims in court. They were subject to heavy tax burdens to support their muslim masters.

The Jews were considered living chattel by the Muslims. If today they could bring them back from Israel, I don’t doubt that they would gleefully ‘protect’ them for as long as they could.


19 posted on 05/10/2013 11:19:00 AM PDT by agere_contra (I once saw a movie where only the police and military had guns. It was called 'Schindler's List'.)
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