Eigentlich gehört zu dem Trotzdem aus der Überschrift noch eine lange Nase. In meinem Beitrag Das Kreuz mit dem Halbmond? habe ich mich nochmal mit Ralph Giordanos Position dem Islam gegenüber beschäftigt. Zeit Autor Jörg Lau hat das in seinem Blog aufgegriffen und zusammenfassend geschrieben, in dem Artikel stünde alles Wesentliche zur Phoenix-Sendung Das Kreuz mit dem Halbmond?. Die Kommentare zu diesem blog-Eintrag hatten es in sich. Selbsternannte Judentumsexperten wünschten sich eine größere Nähe vom Judentum zum Christentum herbei, andere brachten Lau in die Nähe des Antisemitismus, für viele Islam-Kritiker (so würden sich die Personen wohl nennen) scheint jedoch eines festzustehen: Der Islam gehört nicht nach Deutschland und das Judentum sei aus (irgendeinem Grunde) der natürliche Antagonist dazu. Vielleicht ist das auch der Grund, warum viele Islam-Hasser eine übersteigerte Israel-Solidarität haben. Obwohl die Vermischung der beiden Inhalte dem Judentum eher schadet, weil dadurch der Eindruck gestärkt wird, das Judentum stünde dem Islam feindlich gegenüber. So ist es natürlich nicht. Rabbiner David Rosen:
Few religions have as much in common as Islam and Judaism. As opposed to Christianity which is very much the product of an interaction between Greek and Hebrew culture, Judaism has historically remained overwhelmingly rooted in its Semitic world view and is extremely similar to Islam in its fundamental religious outlook, structure, jurisprudence and practice. At the heart of the two Faiths is an ethical-monotheistic vision which determinedly resists any compromise on the idea of the transcendence and unity of God who is envisaged as just and merciful and who has revealed a way of life in accordance with these values for the benefit of human society. Rabbi David Rosen Jewish-Muslim Relations, Past & Present
Nicht zufällig habe ich diesen Absatz der jüdisch-muslimischen Mailingliste (zur Entstehung hier) vorangestellt. Aber nicht nur hier, sondern auch bei der großen Versammlung des US-amerikanischen Reformjudentum passierte einiges: Dr. Ingrid Mattson, Präsidentin der Islamic Society of North America sprach zu den angereisten Reformjuden aus der ganzen Welt (die komplette Rede hier):
At the same time, I believe that the Jewish community will also benefit from having Muslim partners in the struggle to uphold the Constitutional separation of church and state, to promote civil liberties, to extend religious accommodation to minorities, and to counter prejudice and hatred. In his speech at our convention, Rabbi Yoffie discussed the increasing hatred and intolerance that is being expressed in public forums, in the media, and even by politicians towards Muslims. When Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to congress chose to have his ceremonial swearing of office using a Quran, he was attacked as un-American and a terrorist sympathizer. Now, during the presidential primaries, we see candidates being asked to prove that they comply with an ever narrower definition of what is means to be a Christian forget about being a Muslim or a Jew. Alarmingly, many Americans implicitly or even explicitly are using a religious test for who should be President of the United States. This and other issues involving the separation of church and state and religious freedom are important areas of cooperation between American Jews and Muslims.
Sie stellt übrigens auch fest, dass beide aus den gleichen Motiven gehasst werden:
I will never forget my visit to the Cathedral of Zaragoza a few years ago, where I was confronted with an image of a Muslim literally being crushed under the feet of Santiago. And on the other side of the Cathedral was a statue of Saint Dominguito the patron saint of choir boys, who, according to our tour guide, the Jews of Zaragossa conspired to murder; all the alleged conspirators all falsely accused were executed. This story and these images are still being told and seen in this European church today. We all know, of course, what happened to the Muslims and Jews of medieval Spain.
Zugleich nennt sie auch einige Knackpunkte und fasst sie ganz gut zusammen:
I am not naïve about the challenges we face as we undertake this project. Certainly my Muslim community will need to draw upon the skills we have developed to distinguish true Islam from cultural biases and medieval accretions to our religion when it comes to the Jewish community. Muslim anti-Semitism was never like European Christian anti-Semitism, but it existed in any case. And unfortunately, there are ambitious political rulers in the Muslim world who manipulate religious sentiment against the Jewish people to extend their authoritarian rule.
Jedenfalls weise hier nachdrücklich auf die die Rede hin!