Free A Convenient Hatred: The History of Antisemitism by Phyllis Goldstein Page B

Judaism.
    Like other groups in Arabia, Jews settled in places in the desert that were watered by natural springs. In these oases, they grew dates and other crops and traded with their fellow townspeople and the Bedouin nomads of the desert. Over time, they organized themselves into tribes and clans much like those of their Arab neighbors.
    To survive in a place with little or no government, a group needs allies. Jewish tribes formed alliances with Arab tribes and participated in the frequent raids and feuds among tribes. By the sixth century, Jews were so well established on the peninsula that the king of Yemen converted to Judaism.
    Despite their integration into Arabian society, Jews for the most part remained distinct: they worshipped one God, observed the Sabbath on Saturday, followed Jewish dietary laws, and prayed three times a day. Some Christians—particularly those who were considered heretics by church leaders in Rome and/or Constantinople—also settled in Arabia. Like Jews, they too formed distinct communities, even though they were also well integrated into the local culture.
    In the seventh century, around the time the Byzantines regained control of Jerusalem, a new religion called Islam developed in Arabia. It was influenced by both Judaism and Christianity, and it profoundly altered life throughout the Arabian Peninsula.
THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD
    Islam began with the teachings of Muhammad, an Arab who was born around 570 CE and who made his home in Mecca in southwestern Arabia. An orphan, he was a poor member of the Quraysh, a wealthy tribe in Mecca. Like other tribes in that area, the Quraysh had grown rich from the caravan routes that crisscrossed the desert. Camel trains loaded with goods of all kinds made regular stops in Mecca. The city was also an important religious center. People from all parts of Arabia came there to worship the hundreds of stone idols kept in a temple known as the Kaaba.
    Muhammad earned his living by managing a camel caravan for a wealthy widow, whom he later married. When he was in his forties, he began to travel into the desert to meditate. While there, Muhammad had a revelation that changed not only his own life but also the lives of many people worldwide over the past 1,300 years. The revelation that Muhammad shared with his family and friends was that Allah (the Arabicword for God) was the one, only, and almighty God, full of compassion and kindness; that he, Muhammad, had been called to spread God’s message; and that the Day of Judgment was coming, and when it arrived, those who did not serve God faithfully would be engulfed in flames.
    To his followers, Muhammad was a prophet sent by God. They saw him as the last in a long line of prophets that included Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. Like earlier prophets, Muhammad preached that there is but one God, whose commandments must be obeyed. For this reason, a follower of Muhammad is known as a
Muslim
: in Arabic, the word means “one who submits to God.” The religion a Muslim follows is called
Islam
, which means “surrender or submission to the will of God.”
    Muhammad preached to anyone in Mecca who would listen. Although he had some success, many people mocked him, including some members of his own tribe. They feared that if Muhammad’s message gained wide acceptance, people would stop coming to Mecca to worship at the Kaaba and to trade in the markets; this would mean a loss of income and economic power.
    Eventually, Muhammad decided to leave Mecca because so many people there were opposed to his teachings. The Islamic calendar begins in 622, the year Muhammad and his followers left Mecca for the city of Medina, located at an oasis about 280 miles to the north.
JEWISH TRIBES IN MEDINA
    In Muhammad’s day, Jews made up about half of Medina’s population. Most were farmers or jewelers. Some also made weapons and armor for a living. Although Jews had probably lived in Medina longer than the Arabs, they did not control the city;