Judaism and Persecution by Christians and Muslims

Judaism is mainly focused on religion as a community affair. This is why in their religious activities like prayers, they use, “We,” as opposed to other religions which use, “I.” It is for this reason that Judaism is widely considered as a community faith. People practising it must always work as a community and not individually. The relationship of Jews and God, according to them, is direct and they believe that they can easily connect with God without having to use other channels. In the opinion of Jews, they are a chosen people. They believe that they are special to God. As a result, they uphold all the Laws of God that is the Ten Commandments and other laws that are documented in the Bible (Rich, 2011). The Jews strive to achieve and maintain holiness in their lives according to the guidelines of the scriptures. The family is also an important aspect of this faith. Many events begin in this faith are done within the family. This includes the circumcision on the boys at the age of eight days and the celebration of the Sabbath meal where the whole family is expected to be present and united. According to Jews, Judaism is a faith that should be seen in everything that they embark on. This means that the Jews ensure that everything they do is consistent with their faith. They ensure that it is always an act of praise even when it is a job they have been employed to do. They turn all situations into acts of worship.

The seclusion of Jews began in the first century where the infighting among them was recorded in the Bible, the New Testament. The Christians were later to use these writings to profile the Jews as being bad people when they were just the incidents that the Bible authors got to witness in their time, rather than what all the Jews practiced (Pawlkowski). By the second century, the Jews had already started being treated as a rejected faith by Christians. This was the case all the way up to the time when the Christian churches took charge of the situation led by the Catholic Church and decided to create good relationships with the Jews. The persecution of Jews was about to end when Germany revived the anti-Semitism sentiments. They did this in order to protect the purity of the Aryans according to Hitler and his Nazi army. 

The Muslim states do not have clear documentation on brutality against Jews out of their own free will. This is because, during the times when the Jews were being persecuted, the Muslims had war to deal with. At the same time, their collaboration with Germany gave them little choice in the persecution of Jews (Afridi, 2014). It is important to understand that Jews and Muslims do not have a documented feud that would have escalated to a holocaust. However, in the African Muslim states, the Jews were widely persecuted and killed in large numbers. Unlike the Nazis, the Muslims have refused to acknowledge their hand in the Jewish persecution over the years. This means that they do not have a united view against the Jews like the Christians had. The Jews who live in countries outside Israel survive by faith because the persecution is targeted and they cannot single out who will turn against them.

References

Afridi, M. M. (2014, August). The Role of Muslims and the Holocaust. Retrieved from Religion, Religion and Violence: www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199935420.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199935420-e-005

Pawlkowski, R. J. (n.d.). Christian Persecution of Jews over the Centuries. Retrieved from Introductionn to Gerald S Sloyan’s Article on Christian Persecution of Jews Over the Centuries: www.ushmm.org/reserch/the-centre-for-advanced-holocaust-studies/programs-ethics-religion-the-holocaust/articles-and-resources/christian-persecution-of-jews-over-the-centuries/christians-persectuion-of-jews-over-the-centuries

Rich, T. R. (2011). What Do Jews Believe. Retrieved from Judaism 101: www.jewfaq.org/beliefes.htm