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The eschatological conflict between Judaism and Islam.

Article Excerpt
Despite their manifest differences in belief and practice, a degree of commonality exists within the three major monotheistic faiths. Hence, when Judaism began to actualize its redemptive and messianic aspirations, this would have significant implications for Islam and Christianity. In this essay, I advance the notion that political Zionism has contributed to eschatological expectations in the two other major monotheistic faiths, resulting in an eschatological conflict between Judaism and Islam.

It could be argued that political Zionism was never a redemptive or messianic movement. Theodor Herzl would doubtless turn in his grave at the very notion that he had initiated an eschatological venture. However, even at its initiation, many religious Jews viewed the return to Zion from a redemptive perspective, and the subsequent capture of the Temple Mount during the Six-Day War would have profound messianic implications.

Eschatological conflict is of course no stranger to Jewish history. That the Jewish people could walk erect through history and refuse to place their faith in Jesus as the messiah was a constant irritant to Christianity. It was Augustine in the 4th century who developed the paradigm subsequently adopted by the Catholic Church that the Jewish people were in exile because of their non-belief in Jesus and that they should be kept in a state of permanent degradation until their witnessing of the Second Coming.

"Do not slay them!" he was to write, ".. .. for if they lived with that testimony of the Scriptures only in their own land..... the Church, which is everywhere, would not have them available among all nations as witnesses to the prophecies which were given beforehand concerning Christ." (1)

With the advent of Jewish independence, this paradigm would need revision. The most significant shift has come about in the Protestant Evangelical movement that holds, based on their revelatory texts, that the rebuilding of the Temple is a prerequisite for the Second Coming of Jesus. To expedite this process, some Evangelical Christians have become involved in right-wing Israeli causes and Temple Mount activism. (2) About 40% of Americans identify themselves as Evangelical, so that a wellspring of goodwill and support for the Jewish state exists in the United States. It is of interest that a recent informal poll found 42% of Americans accepting the proposition that the world was heading towards the End of Days and this opinion would accord with that figure. (3)

Christian friendship does of course come with a price tag. Before the Second Coming, there will be an Armageddon, a final battle between good and evil that will take place in Israel. The Jews will convert to Christianity, and Jesus will rule over everyone, thus bringing the world as we know it to a close. (4) Despite this, we now find ourselves in a much different relationship with Christianity than in the past, at least in this country, as a result of converging eschatology.

If our relationship with Christianity is one of tentative rapprochement, the same cannot be said of our relationship with the Muslim world. Prior to the establishment of the Jewish State, Jews fared relatively well in the Islamic world compared to Christendom. The Koran recognized Moses and Jesus as genuine prophets, although their transmissions were regarded as faulty. While pagans were offered the choice of conversion or death, Jews were permitted to practice their faith, albeit as second class citizens. In countries such as Spain, Jews positively flourished. However, the advent of Zionism has resulted in a complete turn about in our relations with Islam, since Zionism presents a direct challenge to Islamic eschatological beliefs.

ISLAM AND ITS VISION FOR THE END OF DAYS

Islam was founded by Muhammad in the 7th century. He began experiencing visions and announced that he was the savior of the Arab world. Initially regarded as a trouble maker, he was persecuted by the pagan oligarchy in his home town of Mecca, and he moved therefore to Medina where he was invited to become the city's religious and political leader. Mecca was subsequently conquered, submitting to his rule without resistance, and he became the most powerful leader in Arabia. When it became apparent to Muhammad that Jews were unwilling to convert to his new faith, he adopted an extremely anti-Jewish pose....

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