Many of us may already know this, but just intended as a refresher; from The Prophet of Islam and the Jews, by Faysal S. Burhan (Michael D. Berdine, ed.)
Historians (see Sahih Bukhari, Tradition Number 1311) report that as a funeral of a Jew passed before Prophet Muhammad [peace and blessings be upon him], as a sign of respect he stood up. In doing this, he showed respect and shared in the feeling of sorrow with Jewish family and community. “Why did you stand up for a Jewish funeral?” he was asked. The Prophet replied: “Is it not a human soul?”
Upon learning of the sickness of his Jewish neighbor, Prophet Muhammad [peace and blessings be upon him] paid him a visit. During the visit the Prophet [peace and blessings be upon him] asked the young man to accept Islam. The young man looked at his father for a permission. The father assented and the young man accepted Islam. (See Sahih Bukhari, Tradition Number 1356).
Getting closer to others, and making your enemy your friend is the way of Prophet Muhammad [peace and blessings be upon him]. To accomplish this, Prophet Muhammad [peace and blessings be upon him] utilized the traditional Arabian way of making alliance through marriage. Any time a person marries from a clan outside of his own, he becomes honored by every member of the clan, and protected by the entire tribe of the bride. To show his nearness and trustworthiness to the Jews, he married one of their own. Her name was Sufiah Bint Alnudair, the daughter of the leader of the Nudair tribe.
For several days, at the outskirts of Medina, awaiting eagerly the arrival of Prophet Muhammad [peace and blessings be upon him] and his companion from Makkah, was a small group of Muslims. Also near by was a Jew, Abdullah Bin Salaam, picking dates off a palm tree with his aunt on the ground assisting him. Abdullah was in a better position to spot the incoming from a far distance. Therefore, he was the first to see the Prophet [peace and blessings be upon him] and his companion coming. Upon this, he became overwhelmed with excitement, calling loudly, “Muhammad has arrived, God is great!” Upon this, his aunt told him to quiet down saying, “If he was Moses son of Imran, you would not have shouted as loud.” Abdullah responded, “Oh my aunt by Allah, he is (only) the brother of Moses, son of Imran and is on his faith.” She asked, "Is he the expected Prophet we have been told about (in the Torah)? He said, “Yes”.
This historical event is only a natural reflection of what is in the inner-hearts of many of the true believers in God. Abdullah and other Jewish leaders and individuals accepted Islam along with many Arabian tribes resident in the city of Medina. (See A. Alhalabi, Alsirah Alhalabiyah, Volume 2, page 121.)
Jewish communities in Anatolia flourished and continued to prosper throughout the Ottomans anconquest. When the Ottomans captured Busra in 1324 and made it their capital, they found a Jewish community oppressed under Byzantine rule. The Jews welcomed the ottomans as saviors. Sultan Orhan gave them permission to build the Etz ha-Hayyim (Tree of Life) synagogue which remained in service until 50 years ago.
Early in the 14th century, when the Ottomans had established their capital at Edirne, Jews from Europe, including Karaites, migrated there.-(Mark Allen Epstein, The Ottoman Jewish Communities and their Role in the 15th and 16th Centuries.) Similarly, Jews expelled from Hungary in 1376, from France by Charles VI in September 1394, and from Sicily early in the 15th century found refuge in the Ottoman Empire. In the 1420s, Jews from Salonika then under Venetian control fled to Edirne. -(Josef Nehama, Histoire des Israeliies de Salonique.)
Ottoman rule was much kinder than Byzantine rule had been. In fact, from the early 15th century on, the Ottomans actively encouraged Jewish immigration. A letter sent by Rabbi Yitzhak Safati (from Edirne) to Jewish communities in Europe in the first part of the century “invited his coreligionists to leave the torments they were enduring in Christendom and to seek safety and prosperity in Turkey.” -(Bernard Lewis, The Jews of Islam.)
When Mehmet II “the Conqueror” took Constantinople in 1453, he encountered an oppressed Romaniot (Byzantine) Jewish community which welcomed him with enthusiasm. Sultan Mehmet II issued a proclamation to all Jews “to ascend the site of the Imperial Throne, to dwell in the best of the land, each beneath his Dine and his fig tree, with silver and with gold, with wealth” -(Encyclopedia Judaica, Volume 16, page 1532). In 1470, Jews expelled from Bavaria by Ludvig X found refuge in the Ottoman Empire -(Avram Galante, Histiore des Juifs d’Istanbul, Volume 2).
On the midnight of August 2nd 1492, when Columbus embarked on what would become his most famous expedition to the New World, his fleet departed from the relatively unknown seaport of Palos because the shipping lanes of Cadiz and Seville were clogged with Sephardic Jews expelled from Spain by the Edict of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain.
Sultan Bayazid II’s offer of refuge gave new hope to the persecuted Sephardim. In 1492, the Sultan ordered the governors of the provinces of the Ottoman Empire “not to refuse the Jews entry or cause them difficulties, but to receive them cordially” -(Abraham Danon, in the Review Yossef Daath No.4). According to Bernard Lewis, “the Jews were not just permitted to settle in the Ottoman lands, but were encouraged, assisted and sometimes even compelled.”
Immanual Abobab attributes to Bayazid II the famous remark that “the Catholic monarch Ferdinand was wrongly considered as wise, since he impoverished Spain by the expulsion of the Jews, and enriched Turkey” -(Immanual Abobab, A Consolacam as Tribulacoes de Israel, III Israel).
Over the centuries an increasing number of European Jews, escaping persecution in their native countries, settled in the Ottoman Empire. In 1537 the Jews expelled from Apulia (Italy) after the city fell under Papal control and, in 1542 those expelled from Bohemia by King Ferdinand found a safe haven in the Ottoman Empire -(H. Graetz, History of the Jews). In March of 1556, Sultan Sulayman “the Magnificent” wrote a letter to Pope Paul IV asking for immediate release of the Acona Marranos, whom he declared to be Ottoman citizens. The Pope had no alternative but to release them, the Ottoman Empire being the “Superpower” of that time.
In his book, More in Common than you Think, Bridge Between Islam and Christianity, Dr. William Baker elaborates about the fact that Muslims view the Torah and the New Testament as inspired revelations of God and that Islam neither targeted the Jews nor Judaism. He said, "It is a fact of history that when the Jews were being persecuted in Europe during the middle ages they found peace, harmony, and acceptance among the Muslim people of Spain. In fact, this was the era of Jewish history that they themselves refer to as “the golden age.” In the famous treaties by Rabbi Minken, he says of this era: “It was Muslim Spain, the only land the Jew knew in nearly a thousand years of the dispersion, which made the genius of physician Moses Maimonides possible.”
In conclusion, The Muslims and Jews co-existed in harmony during the rise of Islam and beyond. Islam is a friendly religion to all “It was Muslim Spain, the only land the Jew knew in nearly a thousand years of the dispersion, which made the genius of physician Moses Maimonides possible”. Tolerance and virtue are indivisible parts of the Muslim’s faith. “The Jews of Banu 'Awf are one nation with the Muslims; the Jews have their religion and the Muslims have theirs”. These principles and historical events should draw the pace for better relations and more peaceful future for both Jewish and Muslim Communities.
Verily in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest ~ XIII.28