Reply #43: Nice Strawman Argument [View All]

[durutti]

Hamas wants a state exclusively for Muslims. They don't want secularism, democracy, or equality. That's the crucial difference.

This state wouldn't resemble any current Arab state. In a way, that's the point. Fatah has always been devoted to a secular, democratic Palestine. Because Arafat and his compatriots knew that these goals were incompatible with the interests of the other Arab states, the cornerstone of Fatah's agenda has been non-reliance on other Arab states.

And believe it or not, many Arab states have and do allow Jews to practice their religion.

In Islamic teachings, Jews and Christians in an Islamic state are to be a protected class, or dhimmi. They must pay a special tax, which is used to build their temples and churches. It's illegal to discriminate against them in any way. They don't have to serve in the military.

Thus, in the Middle Ages, the lot of Jews in Arab states was infinitely preferable to that which they suffered under Christian regimes. The renaissance in Jewish cultural life in Muslim-ruled Spain is referred to as the Golden Age of Judaism.

Anti-Jewish sentiment in the Muslim world developed primarily as a reaction to Zionism. Thus, Jews in many Muslim countries do suffer discrimination. Yet, in many cases, they are still permitted to practice their religion freely.

Jews are legally permitted to practice their faith in Iran. In Egypt, synagogues are built with tax dollars. In Syria, there are small Jewish communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo.