Critique of Orientalists’ Accusations of Violence and Intolerance toward Followers of other Religions (People of the Book) in Islam with Reference to the Concept of Jihad

Violence against and intolerance of followers of other religions or disregard for ideological and religious pluralism is one of the accusations made by a large number of Orientalists against the Qur'an, the Prophet of Islam (PBUH) and Muslims throughout history. The emergence of these accusations in the minds of Orientalists mainly stems from issues such as jihad and the Prophet's treatment of his opponents in Medina and the three Jewish tribes of the Bani Qinqa, the Bani Al-Nadhir and the Bani Al-Qurayzah and the Jews of Khyber and Fadak and especially the Prophet's confrontation with the Jews of Bani Qurayzah after his prophetic mission. Some orientalists have qualified these wars in which the Holy Prophet (PBUH) was involved with worldly desires such as colonization and political, social, cultural and economic domination. In fact, a lot of Islamologists, in their definition of the concept of jihad, have considered it as devoid of divine motives and in this way made it difficult for non-Muslims to understand. They have evaluated the verses of the Qur'an and the behavior of the Prophet (PBUH) contradictory and without rational thought. They are of the view that contradictions which are due to the difference in behavior at times of weakness compared with times of strength are the root cause of the spread of violence. The accusations made by the Orientalists are not in line with the philosophy of the prophetic missions of the divine prophets because the prophets’ mission is to determine human rights and establish justice, equality and lasting peace among people. The basic principle of Islam is to respect the rights of all human beings and to communicate with all based on peace and peaceful life. Jihad has always been defensive in Islam and all the wars in which the Prophet (PBUH) was involved in the early days of Islam were fought to defend the territorial lands of Islam and to protect Muslims. The study of the legislative course of jihad in Islam shows the Prophet’s logical stance regarding the interaction or confrontation of Jews and Christians with Islam and Muslims. What is certain is that at the beginning of his arrival in Medina, the Messenger of God signed a covenant of peaceful concord with the Jewish tribes living in Medina, respecting their material and spiritual rights, and asking them to refrain from cooperating with the enemies of the Muslims, but unfortunately all the three aforementioned tribes broke their promise. The Jews broke the treaty one after another and betrayed Muslims, so the expulsion of the two Jewish tribes of the Bani Qinqa and the Bani Nadir from Medina was a measure commensurate with their betrayal. The accusations of some sources on the history of Islam and some Orientalists regarding the Bani Qurayzah and the massacre of the male slaves and accusing the Holy Prophet of extreme violence is consistent with the Torah selected by the Jews regarding violators. However, they are not consistent with the clear stance of the Holy Prophet and Ali (PBUT) and the content of verse 26 of Surah Al-Ahzab about the story of the Bani Qurayzah.