Professor Khaleel Muhammad is a devout Muslim. But he is not always a welcome figure at his local mosque.
That’s because he refuses to buy into what some see as Muslim disdain for Israel and Jews. Muhammad is one of the few Islamic scholars who can claim expertise on — and affection for — Judaism.
He will bring his insights to Stanford University on Sunday, April 10, in an address titled “The Quran, Militant Islam and Israel.” It’s part of a one-day conference sponsored by the Peninsula Jewish Community Relations Council, Hillel and Stanford called “Israel 2005: Looking Ahead.”
Muhammad is a professor of religion at San Diego State University and on the faculty of the university’s Center for Islamic and Arabic Studies. He is also an imam, or Muslim cleric.
But his inquiries into Jewish influence on Islamic scripture have alienated him from many in his religious community.
“Muslims who agree with me are a miniscule few,” he said by phone this week. “Most have decided that no matter what I say, they must maintain institutional opposition to Israel and anything Jewish. I am a loner.”
Muhammad is an expert on Islamic law,
including the hadith, or the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad. His credentials are impeccable. Born in Guyana, he studied at Islamic institutions and Western universities. After earning a B.A. in religion, he studied at Muhammad bin Saud University, in Riyadh. He completed an M.A. in religion (majoring in Judaism and Islam) and then a Ph.D. in Islamic law at McGill University.
He contends that true Islam has respect for Jews and Judaism, despite what he sees as historical misinterpretation of various koranic passages. But Muhammad says Muslim clerics have long misunderstood these verses.
“Once I studied Judaism,” he said, “I found out several parts of the Koran that had not made sense now did make sense. The Koran presupposes the reader is familiar with Jewish traditions.”
Since most Muslims do not have that familiarity, the door opened to entrenched Muslim anti-Semitism, according to Muhammad. But misunderstandings run both ways, he said, citing as an example Western obsession with Saudi Arabia’s Wahhabi sect as the root of all Islamic extremism.
“I agree [Wahhabism] has radical elements and a xenophobic attitude,” he said, “but I do not agree it is the center of the problem. In Syria the extremist faction is not Wahhabi. In Pakistan, in Iran, each country has its own extremism expressed often in opposition to Wahhabism.”
Because he has condemned extremism and anti-Semitism, Muhammad has been ostracized, even by relatively liberal Muslim communities. He said when he tries speak at mosques, officials require that he be paired with a Muslim cleric or scholar of identical academic standing to represent an opposing view. Because such speakers aren’t easy to come by in any given community, Muhammad said he rarely gets to address Muslim audiences.
“I desire to see my religion become more humane in its practice, more pluralistic,” he said, “but the authorities seem bent on ensuring that Islam does not become part of the world community at large. We teach our children that Christians and Jews are wrong, that Israel is part of Islam and that the Jews have usurped it.”
Muhammad said it is the Muslim religious hierarchy that seeks to maintain any bigotry, and not necessarily the average Muslim. But group pressure plays a role in keeping up the status quo.
“Who runs the mosques in the U.S.? Not people who represent the majority Muslim voice. The administration is very centralized and can usurp authority within the mosque to spread a minority viewpoint. Most Muslims come from countries where community means a lot. So when anyone speaks up, that person becomes effectively ostracized. Fear of ostracism conquers the desire to say what is true.”
Not in his own case. He has spoken out for years, fighting an uphill battle to reform his faith and its adherents. But he does see some progress, especially with the recent changes in the Middle East — from Beirut to Jerusalem, from Tripoli to Baghdad.
“The seeds of reform have been planted in Islam,” he said. “Scholars are questioning several things. It’s time for Muslims to stop having others do their thinking for them.”
Khaleel Muhammad will speak at “Israel 2005: Looking Ahead” 11:15 a.m Sunday, April 10, at the Stanford Graduate School of Business South, Stanford University. Registration required. Admission: $25. Information: (650) 961-1922.