I'm not going to dispute anything you've written. Quite honestly, I do not know that Allah is a "moon god." But this I do know. Moses commanded that the Israelite will know the Almighty from the false gods the nations worshipped by means of His laws, His judgments and His statutes. I have read and am reading the Qur'an. I have read the Torah and the prophets. The commandments Allah gave to Muhammad are very different from the commandments God (YHWH) gave to Moses. These are two very different Gods. If Islam worships the YHWH, the God of Israel, why is much of the Muslim world at war with Israel and Israel's God?

Elohim (אֱלהִים) is singular or plural noun for "god" or "gods." Elohim 'can' be Israel's God or it can be any number of pagan gods. Shama reads, "Hear O Israel, the LORD (YHWH) our god (elohim) the LORD (YHWH) is one." Israel's God is YHWH; not el or elohim. Allah is not YHWH.

That was BEFORE Islam, not during Islam. Regardless, you got a number of thing wrong. Mohammed is one of the prophets of God, but is his messanger and Allahu Akbar does mean God is Great because Allah means God. It's simple as that.

Steve ! It's possible that the origin of the word alla is a pagan deity in the arabian peninsula,called alla,but today the muslims use the term,"Inshalla" God willing,the dispute between Mohamed and Jews,Christians, was not over who is the right God,but over who is the right prophet,Mohamed allowed Jews and Christians to hold on to their God and prophets,but he is the only and the last prophet,and over rules the prophets of Israel and Christianity,Mohamed,in order to give validity to his new religion,placed prominent Jews on the board of directors,Abraham,Mozes,Jesus,but Mohamed had the last word.

See my post @ #61

Actually, I had in mind that Islam would change by confrontation with the rest of the world. Push back hard enough against the Islamic drive to convert forcably the rest of the world, and it may all the sudden "discover" an alternative expression; i.e., Islam without the arrogant drive to convert forcably the rest of the world.

Cutting off your nose to spite your face, eh Yossef? You forgot to chastise us by reminding us that Arabic was once known as the Half-Holy Tongue. Why not regale us with how great the Golden Age of Muslim Spain was? 21st century America doesn't come close in your mind to pre-16th century Spain, right? Islam is the only gentile faith that promotes True Monotheism, most like Judaism, correct? I suppose it must disturb you how poor the relationship between Judaism and Islam has become in the past century or so, and how in America the relationship between Jews and Christians has improved. This must be the source of bitterness that caused you to write your blind celebration of supposed Muslim/Jewish unity. While we're having Fun With Monotheism, let's don't forget to discuss Kabbalah. Yes, that "dirty" part of Judaism. The part that declares that the Shekhinah of the Lower World can rest on holy people, such as King David. Could that be anything like the Holy Spirit resting on Jesus' shoulder? No!!!!! Never mind that Kabbalah is obsessed with 10 Sephirot of God. Wow, a 10-fold Kabbalistic God sure beats a 3-fold Trinitarian God in the non-True-Monotheism contest! I bet you find disturbing that the Dead Sea Scrolls note that the Essene Jews of the 1st century BCE believed in the Holy Spirit. Wonder where the Christians got their idea of the Holy Spirit? :::Must clearly delineate between Judaism and Christianity, is very disturbing if cannot::: Be sure not to forget to tell me (with gusto!) not to speak regarding matters of which I don't know anything. Please don't try to gussy up your disgust with Christianity as something holy and enlightened.

That verse refers to a very specific incident where a single group of Jewish people (and not even all of them in that place and time) broke the Jewish sabbath by casting their fishing nets on Friday so they could catch fish without "working" on Saturday. They are used as an example of violating the spirit of God's Law.

Hello Steve, I don't think differences in commandments is enough to make a distinction between Gods. For example, we believe that Allah is also the God of Jesus, Abraham, and Noah. Allah commanded Abraham to slaughter his son, but didn't do the same for the other prophets. Allah commanded Noah to build an ark, which he didn't for the other prophets. The core of the message of Moses and Mohammad is the same: warn the people of the oneness of God, give glad tidings of Heaven to the believers and righteous and of a terrible punishment to those who sin. The Muslim world is not a war with Israel's God. We simply believe that Palestine belongs to its native Palestinians, just as Syria belongs to Syrians and Iraq to Iraqis etc... And our faith obligates us to help our brothers and sisters who are in distress, wherever they may be. Unfortunately, the Modern Arabs have become the weakest and most despisable examples of human beings, a laughingstock for all the world to see.

but you're wrong. I will not lecture you, and I don't need to be lectured in hebrew ;-) But did you noticed what I said: "has the same generic name El, Eloha/im, Allah" GENERIC name, I wasn't talking about a proper name. The tetragram is an attribute of god (El, Allah or whatever), the attribute of "to be". OK, fine. Let's stop it now. But finally, like it or hate it, but Jews have more in common with muslims than with christians. A proof between many others would be that it is allowed to pray in a mosque (what I did already) and it's absolutely forbidden to pray in a church.

what does that mean?

2000 years ago, roughly, the one who wanted to become something else than Jews became christians (or new Jews), the rest of us stayed jewish. I'm from the last ones (or from some Berber tribes converted to judaism). I have no sympathy for christianity, I cannot forget the history of my people, never again. I believe in the social values of Judaism, to abide by the jewish law. What I think, what are my beliefs, that is not rabbi's business. They are judges, not priests. We are not a church, we have no priests anymore, we are a people. Judaism is not an "orthodoxy", but an "orthopraxy". On this level too, we are also closer to the muslims. And it is not a question of mysticism or kabalah (On that question I follow Rambam). Christians are no more than Greeks who want to be Jews. And YES, our neighbors are Arabs, more or less Muslims, and if we are not able to live with that, with them, it's better to stay in Boston or San-Francisco, or wherever else..

No. Only a Jew that doesn't practice Torah, which should be oxymoronic, could pray in a mosque. Any rabbi saying other wise is a feckless shepherd.

It's not so long ago that this ideology was as likely to be called Mohammedism as be called Islam. This had the advantage of placing the blame for it where it really belonged rather than on the All Mighty. THREE CHEERS FOR ISRAEL!!!

Your history and Torah knowledge are superbly incorrect. There was never a connection between Judaism (and by that I mean an halakhic Israel that strives to keep Torah) and Christianity. The real man was a Jew that kept Torah but you keep painting him as a Christian. You haven't studied, you "on that question follow" the church. Not good Judaism. You are following the majority to do evil which is forbidden in Torah, Shemote 23:2. The most eminent scholars such as James Parkes, "The Conflict of the Church and Synagogue," and Joseph Klausner, "From Jxsus to Paul," have demonstrated that Yehoshua the actual man was completely devoted to Torah. Read R Skobacs, commentary on "The Davinci Code."

The Qur'an uses the word "awliya" which means protectors, not friends. The use of "friends" is a mistranslation designed to mislead.

It is for that very reason that they (muslims) abhor the Christians. It all boils down to jealousy. The muslims see the freedom we have in all we do and say. A muslim cannot speak against the Qu'ran or even one of their preachers who rave and rant constantly. I hope you muslims have your own 'heaven' when your time comes. And, p.s. what will you say when you have to face the Lord Jesus Christ?

Many of our fellow Jews think like you, Muslims are our cousins; because Isaac and Ishmael have the same father. My response is the following. If you strap bombs on your children in order to kill as many innocent Jews as possible, or if you celebrate those who do, don't tell me you are my brother or my cousin. You are neither. You mention the Tetragrammaton as an "attribute" of God. That is the point I made to GUH, #61. Please read my post to GUH. Our God's attributes are very different from the attributes of Allah as he is described in the Qur'an. Our God is merciful and compassionate even to the non-Jew; unlike Allah toward the non-Muslim. That is the critical point I am making. (By the way Yossef, for centuries our fathers used God's name. Doesn't it show how far from God we are that we no longer use His name?) You say our rabbis allow us to pray in a mosque and it is absolutely forbidden to pray in a church. Indeed you are right. I would not feel comfortable praying in either a mosque or a church, much less listen to a sermon in a mosque or a church.

You know as well as I do that your god lives on the moon. I see his two eyes peeping at me clearly on a starry night. That's why I'm quite taken aback when the Astronouts don't even mention his name when they return from space. Think about it #42!

I read the Qur'an. I have much of the Qur'an on audio as I have the Bible on audio. Christians say Jesus is God in the flesh. Jews do not believe Jesus fulfilled the requirements of messiah some 2000 years back. Nor do Jews believe messiah is or will be God Almighty in the flesh on the earth. Messiah is God's servant, like Moses and David were God's servant. Jesus' "voice" in the gospels is very different from the voice of the Almighty. who spoke to Moses and the other prophets. The same holds true for the voice of Allah to Muhammad in the Qur'an. Allah's voice is a very different voice from the voice of YHWH. You say Allah commanded Abraham to slaughter his son. Herein lies part of the problem. Muslims are taught from (the word of Allah) in the Qur'an that the Jews changed words in the Torah, "from their [right] places." In other words, you believe we perverted our scriptures. Thus Allah commanded Abraham to sacrifice Ishmael according to your narrative; not Isaac as it reads in the Torah. Is it any wonder then, you do not accept God's covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob concerning the land of Israel? If you believe we perverted the Torah, why would you honor God's eternal covenant with Abraham and Jacob? Because you say Palestine belongs to the Palestinians (the Muslims), not to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their descendants; the Jewish people. Qur'an says: "For the earth is God's (Allah's), To give as a heritage To such of His servants As He pleaseth; and the end Is (best) for the righteous. (Qur'an 7:128, Yusuf Ali) You do not believe I am God's servant. You do not believe I or any other Jew is righteous because we are not Muslims; we do not serve Allah. In your view, we have no right to our land even though God gave it to us and made a covenant with us because. You believe God broke His part of the covenant because we were disobedient. You say the core message of Moses and Mohammad is the same: warn the people of the oneness of God and give glad tidings of Heaven to the believers and righteous and of a terrible punishment to those who sin. I respond to you this way. The "one" God that Moses served is a very different God from the one Muhammad served. Furthermore, Moses gave us commandments to observe "here on the earth." Heaven or the afterlife will take care of itself. Your focus is on the hereafter. You long for heaven. You believe in a terrible punishment (that is, hell-fire) for those who sin - for those who do not believe Allah is God and Muhammad is His prophet. Jews do not believe in a hell fire. Our God is not like this.

I prayed in a mosque, never listen to a sermon. There was muslims inside too who prayed too. I never prayed and will never pray in a church, it's just "avoda zara". Christian churches are pagan temples full of idols, even some Jew on a cross!! I used to work with a palestinian Hassan, in some garden, it happened that we prayed side by side. I never felt bad, may be the opposite. What I feel in this discussion is the shift between the ashkenazim (who lived in the middle of the christians for centuries and became contaminated) and the sephardim who lived in the middle of the muslims and stayed closer to the original judaism. BTW I never listen to sermons, even in synagogues. In my synagogue (The sephardi synagogue, Yemin-Moshe) we have no rabbi, no sermon. Only a Dvar-Torah given by a former Harvard professor of jewish history. And that is much better. And btw, I agree 10% with D in comment #13 who said things better than I can.

Very thoughtful and well-put. Particularly agree with your comment that muslims have replaced jews as the target for fascist-style propoganda. Unfortunately, much if not most of this propoganda seems to emanate from organizations that describe themselves as jewish, or are broadly pro-zionist, pro-Israel.

You worked and prayed with Hassan in some garden. That is my work; horticulture. Unlike you, I have no Muslim friends or acquaintances. You might say, "Steve, you are ignorant because you've not known any Muslims one on one. True, but I talk to Muslims on the Internet as I am doing here. I always ask them about Israel and the Jews. Why shouldn't I? GUH (above) says Palestine belongs to the Palestinians. Presumably the Jews need to live under Palestinian rule or if we do not like it, move to Germany or Poland like Helen Thomas said. To your point about D #13: D wrote: "...radicals could be better called fundamentalists. This is in fact an aspect of all fundamentalist movements.....who consider their definition of faith to be the only true one. But historically speaking, that is inaccurate because the fundamentalist movements are in fact relatively modern and have added onto past concepts some of their own (including the fact that their view is the only correct one)." Let's talk about Jewish "fundamentalists." Religious Jews who live in the territories (Judea, Samaria, formerly Gush Katif, Gaza) are often called "fundamentalists" because they are dedicated Zionists who believe they are fulfilling the commandment to "settle the land." While I am not an observant Jew, these dedicated Zionists are my friends and my allies. I believe they are living in faith. Yet these fine Jews (most are fine people; I know some of these Jews) are demonized not only by their fellow Jews in the US and Israel but by Muslims who believe (or many believe) Zionism is the root of evil. Zionism is simply the view that the land of Israel is the Jewish national homeland. Then let us talk about the late Osama bin Laden who is / was no doubt a "fundamentalist." Former President Bush (who I voted for in 2000) assured the American people that bin Laden and those like him are "traitors to their faith." Bush said bin Laden and other Muslims who believe as he believes "blaspheme the name of Allah...they "pervert the peaceful teachings of Islam," etc. I would like to ask Bush, "Who are you to explain Islam?" Who is Bush that he is an expert on Islam and what it teaches? Bin Laden was and is a Muslim in good standing. No Muslim scholar of any repute in the Middle East (at Al Azhar University in Egypt, in Saudi Arabia, in Gaza, Yemen, etc.) read Osama bin Laden out of Islam. There are repubtable scholars who argue that Osama bin Laden followed the teachings and the life of the prophet (Muhammad) yet D says fundamentalism is a modern innovation. It is nothing of the sort, either in Islam or (with regard to Zionism; settling our land) in Judaism.

Where are all the Hindu, Buddhist, and Christian terrorists?

What you are saying is that "our" fundamentalists are dedicated and sincere folk who hold true to their values, whereas "their" fundamentalists are blood-thirsty maniacs who stop at nothing to achieve what they consider to be the ordained will of God. Seeing this from the other side of the fence, the view is identical, except it's the mirror opposite of what you see.

Hindu terror groups: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), the Bajrang Dal.... There aren't really any Christian groups (other then KKK) but there are many individual Christian terrorist (such as Breivik for a recent example). As for Buddhist terrorist, I don't even think this is possible. But what this has to do with Islamic terrorists, or even the article?

I'm not saying "our fundamentalists" are always good and right. No doubt "our fundamentalists" do things I believe are not helpful to our cause. Sometimes our "fundamentalists" take the law into their own hands. I supported some of "our fundamentalists" who were living in Gush Katif, Gaza prior to August 2005 disengagement. I helped them financially, hoping Ariel Sharon would back down. I visited these fine people, in the early nineteen eighties. I marveled how they built up a barren land; the beautiful produce they grew in their greenhouses, etc. You could not find a more peace-loving and kindly people. They were so peaceful they did not even resist the forcible expulsion and demolition of their homes, synagogues and property; not to any great extent. They went peacefully by and large and then Israel's government abandoned and betrayed them. And what did we get in return from your "fundamentalists" for all our good will? We got thousands of rockets on our southern cities. We got kidnappings and attempted kidnappings for ransom. We got the election of Hamas, etc. If you told me where you lived Kalamati, you would probably have nothing to fear from our fundamentalists. If I (a Jew) told you where I lived, I might wake up one night to what the Fogel family awoke to in Itmar, Israel, March 2011. If I were lucky, I would be butchered in my sleep. I will let you and the reader be the judge Kalamati.

I didn't waste my strength going to the dustbin. I took a match to mine and ---- poof, up it went in flames... and what a relief I got! WOW, that was a very good accomplishment!

Not all faiths are the same stupid fundamentalist ideologies as some of the talkbackers suggest. If you go to the founders of the various faiths you can see clearly what the foundation of each of them is or how "radical" it is and what makes them different. Gautama was kind of a peaceful thinker striving for enlightenment. The more radical you get - the more ascended into the Nirvana you are or sth. to that effect.. Abraham, Isaak and Jakob who are the "founding fathers" of the Jews and their faith are kind of simple farmers who showed that there is one G-d they can trust, you can go anywhere with him and he gives you purpose. When I look at those guys I can't see any radicalism; maybe talking back and forth about sth. with G-d. The more radical you get - the more discussions you have about one topic. If you look at Yeshuah you might see what love can do - the more radical you get the more Bonnhoeffers you have. The other bunch (crusaders) didn't get it and served their own egos. As for Mohammad, well he killed an awful lot of Infidels and committed a lot of other heinous acts. If I look at all the names of Allah I get names like "The most arrogant" or "The great deceiver" or "The death-bringing" - I can see where this is leading... Maybe it's also important to look at how G-d is revealing himself.. Also faith is, what connects you to G-d, but religion puts it all in a box by it's doctrines and kills the faith. Well, like MLK said "it's not the question whether you are an extremist or not, but if you are an extremist of love or of hate."

As Rambam (could have) said: הדרך הנכונה זה הדרך באמצע - the right path is the path in the middle. Forget about fundamentalist or extremists, nothing good can come from there. Shabbat Shalom ;-)