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What has become clear is that Hamas is not the greatest threat to the nation of Israel, but all devout followers of Islam. Just take, for example, the recent events in Russia — yes, in the former Soviet Union! — where Russian Muslims have been videoed searching for Israeli Jews, after a flight landed at the airport from Israel.

The current conflict in Israel, though, has also exposed the growing ideological divide which also exists in Australia. For example, Dr Nicholas Riener, the University of Sydney’s branch president for the National Tertiary Education Union, recently tweeted on October 7, the exact same day Hamas attacked innocent Israeli civilians:

This is not the first time that Riemer has made such a controversial post. Even more recently, Riemer reposted the following artwork paralleling the indigenous land rights in Australia with that of those in Palestine.

However, the logic of Dr Riemer’s argument falters at one crucial point. And that is, the people of Israel pre-dated those of the Muslim faith. So, when it comes to resisting occupation, it is those of the Jewish faith who have the higher ground.

In an excellent three-part series of lectures, Dr. Mark Durie outlines the religious dimension of the conflict. Dr Durie is one of Australia’s leading experts on the religion of Islam and has published numerous books on the topic. Significantly, Durie points out that the official constitution — based on the Traditions of Muhammad — of Hamas states:

The Day of Judgement will not come about until Muslims fight the Jews, when the Jews will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Muslims, O Abdullah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him.

No amount of nuance can avoid the conclusion that the stated goal of Hamas is the destruction of the nation of Israel. Maybe that also explains why none of the surrounding Islamic nations have offered asylum to any Palestinians.

Muslims would quickly object that the above quote is not from the actual Qu’ran and hence doesn’t carry divine authority. However, Dr. Durie helpfully observes that the Qu’ran is even more expansive, and he provides the following twelve-point summary. [1]

1. The Jews are Deceivers (Q2:77)

2. The Jews have falsified the Scriptures (Q2:75; also Q5:13)

3. The Jews are cursed by God for their unbelief (Q4:46 as well as Q5:64)

4. The Jews are cursed by David and Jesus (Q5:78)

5. The Jews will be turned into apes and pigs (Q5:60; see also Q7:166; Q2:65)

6. The Jews only care about this life and not the next (Q2:96)

7. The Jews are treacherous (Q5:13)

8. The Jews are the greatest enemies of Islam (Q5:82)

9. The Jews will not love Muslims (Q2:120)

10. The Jews start wars and cause trouble (Q5:64)

11. The Jews ‘claim’ they killed Jesus (Q4:157)

12. The Jews are ‘losers’ (Q2:27)

To be fair, there are some nice words about Jews in the Quran, such as:

• The Jews are Allah’s only chosen people (Q2:47,122)
• Allah protected the Jews when they were living as strangers in a foreign land (Q28:46)
• Allah chose all his prophets from the Jewish people (Q5:20)
• Allah would be kind to Jews (and Christians) who believed in one God and performed good works. (Q2:62)
• Allah would bless Jews (and Christians) who practised the teachings of their holy books. (Q5:44, 66)

However, according to Muslim scholarship, Allah revealed these in the early days of Islam. When Muhammad’s claims and revelations were contrary to the Bible, and he realised that the Jews would not accept him as the final prophet, he began punishing them and dictated new revelations. Muslims deal with the contradictions by this doctrine of abrogation, and accept the latter words as the final word to be obeyed. Hence, the huge number of Muslims who rejoice to see fighting against the Jews.

Clearly, the content of the Qur’an itself reveals a deep antipathy towards the people of Israel. This is not to say that the Jewish nation is, by comparison, perfect, but simply to point out that the present conflict is profoundly religious in nature. As many people on social media have pointed out, the word ‘Hamas’ is translated as ‘violence’ in Hebrew.

In a pluralistic society, we must understand and appreciate the fact that people of faith are profoundly shaped by their religious texts. Too many politicians and secular journalists minimise their significance. But for Muslims in particular, the Qur’an is an extremely important document. As such, it is not just Hamas that is opposed to the nation of Israel, but the religion of Islam itself.

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[1] Note, I have also included the original Arabic because Muslims believe that that is the only inspired version of the Qu’ran.

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Photo: Charles Edward Miller/Wikimedia Commons