A Kuwaiti poet and writer stunningly was written a column warning Muslims that they cannot actually be following the Quran if they are anti-Semitic.
It’s because “the Quran preaches diversity and refers to the Torah as a sacred book and to the Jews as People of the Book.”
In a report from the Middle East Media Research Instituate, that means “Muslims who harbor resentment towards them [the Jews] cannot pretend to be following the principles of their faith.”
The report explains the comments are from Kuwaiti poet Neioud Al-Yagout and appeared in the Jan. 17 edition of the English-language website Fanack.com.
The comments came in response to a situation last December when the U.S. embassy in Kuwait wished the local Jews a happy Hanukkah. Because of that, “many Kuwaitis responded with fury. They used the incident not just to troll the ambassador, but to express hatred for any and all Jews,” the report said.
She wondered, “What is this cringe-worthy fear we have toward Jews? We cannot use the excuse that we don’t celebrate the festivities of other religions, because many Kuwaitis love to celebrate Christmas, and a few celebrate Diwali with Hindus. We cannot say we are protecting Islamic principles, because Kuwait is filled with people of all faiths and no faiths. As such, is this who we have become in a country whose heritage prides itself on coexistence? What a pity. What a loss for us. How heartbreaking for our forefathers, a few of whom were Jews who lived here alongside us.”
She said the hate campaign has caused some Jews to move away from Kuwait, and those who remain, “do not announce their religion for fear of being ostracized or offending the ‘sensitivities’ of their cousins in religion.”
She suggested, “If we do not want to partake in the religious holidays of Jews, because some of us are, sadly, not ready or have been conditioned to harbor resentment toward them, what is our excuse for the absence of synagogues in our country? Again, if the argument is a religious one, aren’t Jews mentioned throughout the Quran as People of the Book? Don’t many of the narratives in the Quran stem from the Old Testament and even the Talmud? Don’t we share most of the same prophets? If this country claims to follow Islamic principles, what justifies this blatant discrimination?”
She continued, “What if Moses, who Muslims consider a prophet, lived in our country today? Would we permit him to teach the principles of the Torah? Would we allow him to speak of his religion or publicly announce his beliefs? Most of us would say, of course, we would, because we hold him in high esteem. Then why are we not respecting his followers or the descendants of Abraham, for that matter?”
Even without a religious reason, many in Kuwait, she said, “still hold a caustic hatred for Jews.”
“All in all, the time has come to set aside fear. One can continue to support Palestine without hating Jews. Many Palestinians themselves coexist with Jews. And many Jews support Palestine,” she explained. “One can embrace Jews without having a political agenda. This can arise when we are no longer proud of wearing hatred as a badge of honor.”
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