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| Some views of Jerusalem (Image from Wikipedia) |
I do not have Jewish friends but many of my friends consider themselves Christians. So how?
My problem often is trying to understand specific verses independently of other verses, forgetting that the Quran should be taken as a whole and that should form the basis of guidance for Muslims. It's like taking only the beginning portion of the Muslim's Attestation of Faith (Kalimah Shahadah) i.e. "I believe that there is no god" and then going on to claim that Muslims are closet atheists. (Richard Dawkins should be pleased.)
Earlier this year I performed my Umrah/Ziarah (Lesser Pilgrimage to the Grand Masjid in Makkah and Visitation to the Prophet's Masjid in Madinah) which included a stop-over in Jordan and a visit to Jerusalem. Talking to our guide in Amman, I could see that he was proud of the fact that his family had fought for independence from the Turks.
The Arabs wanted to free themselves from the 'yoke' of the Turks so they befriended the British and the French and sought their help and protection. To honor the now independent Arab States, their new-found friends bestowed upon them Israel.
Today, almost every 'Muslim' State still looks up to Israel's foremost backer and protecter to make that problem go away. I, for one, won't hold my breath waiting for that to happen.
In the meantime I'll still love all of my friends and remember them in my prayers, and Allah is my Guide.
