Judaism > Christianity > Islam > Hinduism…

I was talking today to a friend who is considering converting to Islam (from Hinduism). I was positively surprised by this development as I could sense his present course was really the first time he considered actively believing in God. When I told this to my parents they were first a bit taken aback but they agreed when I said, “in any case Islam is better than Hinduism”.

I think from a Jewish perspective where non-Jews are bound by the 7 laws of the sons of Noah this development in my friend’s life is a positive one. One of the laws is the prohibition of idolatry and Hinduism is for all I know considered idolatry while Islam is according to the Rambam (responsa no. 369) not idolatrous at all.  I dont think its an optimal development as Islam has some beliefs concerning the Torah which are hard to square with Judaism as well the chosenness of the Jewish people but a simple understanding of the Noachide laws does to my mind not yield an obligation of believing the text of the Torah to be unchanged.

The Rambam in the Laws of Repentance 3:8 does consider Muslims to be heretics precisely because they say “that the Creator exchanged this commandment for another commandment”. But its only through a very comprehensive understanding, which can be found among others in an article by R. Twersky’s, that one can suggest there is an obligation to have certain positive beliefs about the Torah.

At any rate its not idolatrous and since Hinduism is,  on this account, I would consider Islam to be preferable.

As for the title of this post, this reflects my own understanding and is not really based on any specific texts. I actually think its possible that from a halachic point of view Islam would be preferable to Christianity since idolatry is a clear commandment and the obligatory nature of views about the wholeness of the texts and/or Israel’s choseness are less easily classified halachically. It might be objected that Christianity is shituf which according to some opinions is allowed for sons of Noah but this would still be a blemish that Islam does not share, who are, according to the great halachist ascribing proper unity to God.

Its perhaps my own background in Christianity which makes me think the shared basis of the Tanach puts Christianity a bit closer to the ideal than Islam. But perhaps its better to make comparisons like this per domain; in which case halachically Islam would preferable but when it comes to an outlook on the preservation of the texts Christianity would seem to be closer.

How Hinduism features into this comparison I dont really know, what is common and distinctive w.r.t. the Jewish faith… It would appear to me that in most domains the other two faiths would be closer, but perhaps there are commonalities that the other two faiths dont share of which I am not aware.

Allah Akbar

I have always been taught that its not proper for a Christian to say Allah when referring to God because Allah was really the God of the Muslims and not the same God as ours. It was only when I learned that the word Allah is likely to be related etymologically to Eloka (the Hebrew for God) that I started to doubt this.

I asked a Jewish friend in Turkey whether they ever refer to God as Allah and she told me she does but not in prayers.

Another Jewish friend showed me this incredible response by Rav Kook:

[...] in the matter that Muslims are particular (require), the slaughterer to say “Allah Akbar”  before the slaugthering. The poskim have already written, in the case that its impossible in another way, and there is a loss for Jews, because they [muslims] wont buy certain non-kosher animals, that there is no particularity in this, to say this before the blessing, or to make effort that one blesses over chicken first, if they are particular that it should be specifically after the blessing, in order that there will be no interruption between the blessing and the slaughtering. Daat Cohen 10:1

So for those who didnt follow, the case is a Jewish butcher who has Islamic customers, these customers will only purchase the meat if the phrase ‘Allah Akbar’ is pronounced before slaughtering. From a Jewish perspective an appropriate blessing must also be said before slaughtering the animal and preferably there should be no interruption between the blessing and the deed. The Muslims however also prefer there to be no interruption so the poskim have suggested that in order to appease the Muslims, one slaughters another animal before the animal that the Muslim wants to buy so that there wont be an interruption and everyone is happy. The amazing thing however in this response is that R. Kook and other halachic decisors have ruled that a Jew can say ‘Allah Akbar’ before slaughtering if that is the only way that the meat will be bought. Clearly then Allah is appropriate to be used when referring to God.

This is furthermore confirmed in the Ben Ish Chai who was a major decisor in Jewish Law as well. In relating what one may not think about or speak about when in the bathroom he says that its not allowed to say ‘Allah’ when in the bathroom because it is the name for God in Arabic (שהוא שם שמים בלשון ערבי, see here, no.16).

An Ottoman Tallit

In the Jewish museum in Istanbul I saw a very interesting picture of a  Tallit (prayer shawl) including the star and crescent associated with Islam.

The relations between the Jews and the Ottoman rulers were so good that they included their symbols in for example the Tallit below, and I also saw a Menorah (seven-branched candelabrum) which had on top of the middle branch a crescent and star.

Quite different from today’s situation I would say.

For those who are not familiar with the history, in short;

Queen Isabella and King Fernando signed  in 1492 an edict commanding the Jews to convert to Catholicism or to leave the country (present day Spain) under the threat they dare not to return.

Most European countries were reluctant to accept the refugees, but the Ottoman ruler, Sultan Beyazid II extended an immediate welcome.

He ordered the governors of the provinces of the Ottoman Empire not to refuse the Jews entry or cause them difficulties, but to receive them cordially.

There were Jews residing in the Ottoman Empire before that, but due to this warm welcome, the numbers signficantly increased (reportedly, 250,000 Jews fled to the Ottoman Empire).

At one point, there was a Talmudic academy in Edirne and Istanbul was one of the centers of Jewish learning.

It is even reported that the first printed book in the Ottoman Empire was the Arba’ah Turim by R. Jacob ben Asher.

Quite interesting I would say. I wasnt aware of any of this before visiting the museum.

In our world it looks like Muslims are the arch-enemies of Jews but thats a wild generalization, even if politically the relationships are very bad. Anti-semitism isnt reserved to Islam and in fact its present in Christianity as well. For a very long time the Jews have been living in peace with their Islamic neighbours. I would even say much more so than their Christian neighbours.

A welcome reminder, for both sides, of course.

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Most info I took from the booklet: N. A. Guleryuz, The Turkish Jews (Istanbul: Gozlem Gazetecilik Basin ve Yayin AS, 2009)

Following a Discussion

Today the Ramadan has started and as I am in Turkey and most of my friends are Muslim I went to an Iftar (meal after the sun goes down).

While on our way back we passed a stand with religious books and as I am always interested in books like that I asked one of my friends for the meaning of Tasavvuf which was written on many books.

It turned out to be a book by Mevlana whose very popular in Turkey but I didnt really get what the book is about.

In any case I brought with me my Jordanian roommate and he got into a discussion with my Turkish neighbour about whether its ok to pray to travel to the grave of Mevlana and pray to/through him.

My Jordanian roommate was sure it wasnt allowed while the Turkish thought it was OK.

I heard about debates like this in Judaism and Christianity as well and personally tend to side with the rationalist tradition that forbids this. And apparently in Islam there is also a more rationalist tradition as opposed to more mystical traditions (Sufism).

The discussion was interesting to hear, especially to hear the different arguments that were brought to the table. The ones that allowed prayer to/through Mevlana tried to find analogies to this in the Quran or in the stories about Muhammed while my friend was constantly just saying its not allowed, when a person dies he is dead (makes sense:P) and has therefore no power anymore.

I didnt join the discussion as I dont share the same conviction about the Quran or the Islam and as such have very different arguments that they probably wont accept. And in addition to that I didnt feel like explaining how its possible in Christianity to have Jesus as intermediary to the Father or among some Christians Mary.

Furthermore quoting the Rambam in this context didnt seem like a wise idea:)

But as this is my blog I can quote it freely. I know I quoted this passage before but I really like it. Its a quote on the issue of intermediaries from Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik’s Halakhic Man:

No person, according to the Halakhah (Jewish Law), needs the aid of others in order to approach God. A person needs no advocates or special pleaders. Every individual is assured by the Halakhah that whenever he will knock on the gates of heaven, they will be opened before him. And just as the Halakhah rejects the notion of human intercessors, so, too, it rejects the notion of transcendental intercessors such as angels and seraphim. One of the thirteen principles of faith, formulated by Maimonides, is “that to Him alone it is fitting to pray, and it is not fitting to pray to any being besides Him.” (Halakhic Man, p. 43)

In my opinion this is a very strong passage and it encourages me; the idea that God opens the door to anyone that knocks on it, noone is refused, no matter how far you have gone away from Him.

While for Muslims this month is one of fasting and introspection, for Jews this is also a special month, the month of Elul that leads up to the end of the year with Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. A time of introspection, repentance and [re-]dedication to God.

This is also a time where according to the Alter Rebbe (whose tradition is much less strict about intermediaries) the King is not in the palace but in the field, close to us, so we can approach Him directly and at any time we desire.

Constructing your own religion

I was talking to someone in my family and asked him whether Alevi’s are bound to keep the Ramadan, as I didnt know anyone in my family that kept it. He told me Alevi’s don’t keep the Ramadan, he said Alevism could be considered a sort of light-Islam, as they dont have to keep the Ramadan and wine is allowed, he told me Haci Bektas was a modern person.

As I had read the Qur’an it was kind of strange to hear this as the Qur’an was after all their book as well. Somehow it felt as illegimate. But while thinking about this it struck me that my own religious pursuit shows similarities. I too am deviating from the norm.

I remember a discussion I once had with a friend. He told me he only wanted to follow the Qur’an and not the Hadith. İn my opinion he didnt have a choice as a Muslim, but in his view he had. But while saying that, I thought to myself, who am I to say this, I dont feel bound to traditional Christian exegesis either. Actually most post-New Testament writings and opinions care little authority in my life. And when looking at the input of Judaism in my life, as much as I attach value to the Sages z”l, they dont have real authority either. As when both of these parties would have full authority one would of necessity be excluded.

Is this fair? When I look at other religions I say no, if you say you are Muslim you should be following the ideology and not make up your own stuff. But when I look at my own situation I seem to have no other choice.

I once heard a shiur in which a Rabbi explained that both the Rambam and the Meiri did not want a non-Jew to be studying Torah on his own as they feared he might create his own religion. And in my case it looks like they are right.

Dont get me wrong Im not talking about personalization overhere, that I think sounds quite reasonable, and I dont think neither Christianity nor Judaism has a problem with a person that puts a little of his own sauce to the mix, as long as the basic elements are the same. But when one alters the basic elements it seems only natural to ask whether one has not in fact created something new.

And this sounds negative; something new, a deviation from the original, however Christianity is in a sense also a deviation from Judaism and there are differences between today’s Judaism and Ancient Israel’s religion as well (albeit less fundamental than Christianity’s). So “philosophically” this may not be a problem after all. But when looking for a practical concept there is a problem. These two religions are a given, whilst mine is clearly not.

So would time be the remedy? And eventually a sort of hybrid will develop? Or should I be going for a full embrace of one of the two, knowing that I am compromising and as an economist would say not attain the highest indifference curve (and thus not be able to maximise my utility)…