Theological Views on Normalization with Jews

Abstract

This paper discusses the issue of normalization with the Jews in Islam from a doctrinal point of view, to explain the stance of Islamic creed through analyzing relevant Quranic verses, Prophetic guidance, and scholarly views. The issue of normalization is discussed herein, though it is a modern issue neither mentioned in the Quran nor in Sunnah, due to its importance to the creed and identity of the Muslim Ummah. Through an inductive, descriptive, and analytic approach, the paper concludes that normalization means rendering states and their relations unusual and passing them as normal. It states that normalization, by analogy, falls under the Quranic rules of loyalty and disavowal (al-wala wa al-bara) because it shares with them one cause. Thus, normalization with the Jews is divided into two kinds: permissible normalization, which is with the non-hostile who do not fight Muslims or support others against them, and impermissible normalization, which is with those who initiate enmity, harm, and war, like the current Zionist enemy. Modern scholars unanimously agree on this ruling; however, their discussion is basically about the normalization with the Zionist entity rather than the Jews. In the light of the Quranic and Prophetic guidance and the general view of the modern Muslim scholars, normalization with the Zionist entity is haram; funeral prayer should not be performed for its practitioners, and they should not be buried in the Muslim cemeteries; rather, it has to be rejected, boycotted, and no love has to be shown towards them.