The Abrahamic Movement in Iraq
Words by scholar Abu Musa al-Iraqi, with the participation of teacher Tom Wegner
Research: October 7 — A Stain of Shame on Humanity
October 7, 2023, will remain a dark day in human memory. The friendly State of Israel was subjected to a large-scale attack carried out by Hamas and other criminal terrorist armed groups, in which civilians were killed and others abducted, in flagrant violation of the sanctity of human life. From an ethical and religious perspective, neither killing nor kidnapping can be a legitimate means of achieving any political end. In this view, defending Israel’s security and protecting its citizens from terrorism means defending the fundamental human right to life and safety.
To seek an Islamic religious foundation for understanding the relationship between the Jewish people and this land, we should begin with the Qur’an itself rather than later political rhetoric. Moses addresses the Children of Israel: “O my people, enter the Holy Land which Allah has assigned to you” (Al-Ma’idah 5:21). This is one of the clearest verses about the Holy Land and the Children of Israel’s relationship with it. The Children of Israel are present in the Qur’anic account not as transient strangers but as part of a continuous religious narrative.
The Qur’an further states: “And We said after him to the Children of Israel: Dwell in the land. Then, when the promise of the Hereafter comes, We shall bring you together as a mixed assembly” (Al-Isra 17:104). This verse is significant in contemporary discussions because it speaks directly of the Children of Israel dwelling in the land, within a Qur’anic context of divine promise and history.
The Qur’an also recalls God’s favor to the Children of Israel: “O Children of Israel, remember My favor which I bestowed upon you and that I preferred you over the worlds” (Al-Baqarah 2:47); and “O Children of Israel, remember My favor which I bestowed upon you, and fulfill My covenant, and I will fulfill your covenant, and fear Me alone” (2:40). These passages place them within the history of revelation, covenant, and prophecy, not outside it.
Another powerful passage combines prophecy, sovereignty, and the Holy Land. Moses says: “O my people, remember Allah’s favor upon you when He appointed prophets among you, made you kings, and gave you what He had not given anyone among the worlds. O my people, enter the Holy Land which Allah has assigned to you” (Al-Ma’idah 5:20–21). The Children of Israel are integral to the Qur’anic account of this land.
Elsewhere, the Qur’an speaks of a blessed land: “And We delivered him and Lot to the land which We had blessed for the worlds” (Al-Anbiya 21:71). Concerning Solomon, it says: “And to Solomon [We subjected] the strong wind, blowing by his command toward the land which We had blessed” (21:81). Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, and Solomon all belong to an intertwined sacred memory.
Of some among the People of the Book, the Qur’an says: “Among the People of the Book is an upright community, reciting Allah’s verses during the hours of the night while they prostrate” (Al Imran 3:113).
These verses allow a contemporary Islamic reading that acknowledges the Jewish people’s deep religious and historical roots in the Land of Israel and the Holy Land, and rejects the idea that the existence of the contemporary friendly State of Israel should automatically occasion religious hatred.
This calls for reconsidering religious discourses that have constructed hostile images of Jews, particularly when texts have been used for struggles for power or rulers’ interests. Criticism should be directed toward ideological interpretations rather than toward religion itself, distinguishing the Qur’anic text from accumulated human interpretations. A scripture calling for justice must not be transformed into an instrument of hatred; neither should one verse about the Children of Israel be isolated while many others are ignored.
Confronting ideological extremism is therefore a shared responsibility of scholars, religious teachers, and intellectuals, especially when armed groups such as Hamas use religious language to justify violence. The problem is not Islam as a religion but its exploitation to justify actions incompatible with the sanctity of blood, justice, and mercy.
Here the Abrahamic Movement in Iraq assumes particular significance. Iraq is closely connected to the story of Abraham. An Iraqi Abrahamic discourse can recover what Jews and Muslims share, opening a different relationship with the friendly State of Israel based on dialogue, peace, and acknowledgment rather than permanent hostility. Remembering Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael, Jacob, Moses, David, and Solomon can situate Jewish–Muslim relations within a wider history.
October 7 should compel a fundamental reconsideration of rhetoric that justifies terrorism in the name of religion, and reaffirm the right of Israel and its people to security and life. The targeting of civilians cannot be made a legitimate path to any goal. At the same time, acknowledging Jewish roots in the Holy Land as reflected in the Qur’anic narrative can lay foundations for a fairer Islamic dialogue concerning Israel and Judaism.
A careful reading of the Qur’an does not require erasing Jews or denying their history to remain Islamic. Nor must the Qur’an be recast as a modern political document in order to defend Israel’s right to existence and security. It is enough to read its themes: a Holy Land; the Children of Israel as part of its story; shared prophets; a command to justice; prohibition of oppression; and rejection of terrorism, extremism, and hatred. These principles can sustain a new Abrahamic Islamic discourse that treats the friendly State of Israel as a potential partner for dialogue and peace, turning shared religious memory from a source of conflict into a bridge of coexistence.
Abrahamic peace unites us.
Peace for the Middle East.
Peace for all humanity.
The Abrahamic Movement in Iraq
Abu Musa al-Iraqi