How Jews live in Muslim land?

Question

To be exact, how do they live in Iran whose president is an Holocoust denier(not entirely but believes it's exaggerated) and whose foreign policy doesn't recognise the State of Israel.
Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBq7Z9AtoCw
Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAo5XLHomkw

This might really surprise you. Pls leave a comment. Peace.

Answer 1

It does not surprise me. I have often answered to other questioners that there is a large Jewish community in Iran(I would say about 25,000 ),just as there has always been one in Morrocco and Turkey and in almost all of the Muslim countries of the Middle East.These are the descendants of the Sephardic Jews who were expelled from Spain at the end of the 15th century.

However,the good relations between Jews and the people of the Prophet goes back a long time before the 15th century. In fact,historians point out that it was the Jewish communities living in the cities of the Iberian Peninsula which facilitated information and lent money to the invading Muslim armies,making the invasion of Al Andalus possible.A sort of 5th column. The Jews preferred to deal with the more tolerant Muslims than with the intransigent Christian Visigothic Kingdoms of the north of Spain.

In Turkey,in the first part of the XX century,Atatürk,a determined athiest mason,commited genocide against the Christian Armenians,Chaldeans,Greek Orthodox,Lebanese and Syrians and treated Turkey's own Muslims with no respect, often very harshly,stopping just short of massacring them. However,he always left the Sephardic Jewish community alone. They were never seen as a threat.

Jews have been able to live relatively undisturbed in Muslim societies because it is known that Jews do not proselytize. They do not seek converts and keep themselves racially apart from others. Therefore they are not seen as a threat to the Muslim faith.

Answer 2

I enjoyed gabriela's history lesson(above). It makes sense and it checks out.

It seems that Jews and Muslims had an entente or understanding and were able to live together in that part of the world for centuries. Seems like it was Zionism that stirred up the hornet's nest.

Remember when Arafat died in Paris? There were some Jewish rabis there at the hospital praying for him
because ,as they explained to the TV cameras, not all Jews were Zionists and many believed that the creation of Israel was against God's will.

Yes,Jews must keep a low profile in Iran but then some Muslims feel they must keep a low profile in the U.S.
Christians have an extremely low profile in Turkey.

Answer 3

Well, it's good to see that people of the Jewish faith are not experiencing undue difficulty in Iran. I would like to point out, however, some things that I noticed in the first video:

1. The synagogue is described as "unmarked and nondescript", which certainly implies that the Jewish congregation doesn't want to call attention to it (and to themselves.)

2. The spokesperson who was so generous in praising the attitude of the government was also described as "one of the few people who offered to appear" in the video. One has to wonder why that was the case.

3. The video also describes Jewish people in Iran as "wanting to keep a low profile." Again, one has to wonder why.

Now I'll look at the 2nd video and perhaps add some further comments.

In the second video, the Jewish community wanted to stop the filing - "Please stop. We have problems.
If one of our congregation says the wrong thing by mistake . . ."
That sounds ominous,

Then, there are the "glaring differences in treatment" mentioned by the only Jewish member of Parliment there.

And the use of the word "Zionism" as a code word for "Jewish." In ALL the Muslim countries of the Middle East, you will hear something like this:

" We do not hate the Jews, only the Zionists."

In actuality, what is left unsaid is "But all/most Jews ARE Zionists."

Don't get me wrong - I think the Jewish people in Iran are relatively well-treated, considering the neighborhood (i.e. the Middle East) they live in. And the Iranian people, by and large, are far too intelligent to indulge in blind prejudice.
But let's face it - Jewish people in Iran live under constraints and discrimination that are simply not right.

Answer 4

Thank you very much for your question Mr POP. I really cant comment but I really learn.
Gabriella and Johnslat answers give me some knowledge, I never pay attention before. Thaks again to you for posting the Q.

Answer 5

Jews have been living in lands which have been dangerous or wanting to exhile them for centuries. Jews are wellpracticed at this. it is nothing new.
There are plenty of Persian Jews. Jews seem to be able to have been able to practice their religion in every place until the Holocoust. And now that its not taking place after 1949, Jews have thier own country Thanks to Ben Gurion, and they are free to live and practice where they please. Why live in Iran, i dont know. But its only half as difficult as it had been in earlier times.

Answer 6

It is no surprise at all to see that the 15 percent of remaining Jews who haven't fled Iran are trying to live as low profile as they can to avoid persecution.
No surprises at all.

Answer 7

Just like blacks have lived in the south for over a hundred years in slavery and under racist leadership.....

Answer 8

I think johnslat's answer is brilliant.

Answer 9

They live in Muslim land just fine, hence why they occupy Palestine.

Answer 10

Muslim land or their land???