See Table Of Contents (Here)
While Christianity can often be considered "idolatry" under Jewish Noahide Law (here), the question of the idolatrous status of Islam is more unclear. We will be getting into the ecumenical movements going on to bring together Sharia Law and Noahide Law under the same banner on this website, the agenda to induct Islam under the umbrella of Jewish Noahidism, however, attempts to recognize Islam as a Noahide compliant religion could be partially insincere. While legal scholar Maimonides did state that Islam is not idolatry, he also stated that it is still forbidden for a non-Jew to practice Islam. In addition, many other Jewish legal scholars have disagreed with Maimonides and have stated that Islam is idolatry. Muslims should consider where they might stand under the Noahide Laws.
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Non-Jews are forbidden from practicing Islam
After all this has been said, one should not conclude that, with regard to Islam, Maimonides was expressing any real tolerance, in the modern sense of the term. All of his positive statements were intended simply to clarify the nature of the Islamic religion, statements which, in turn, will have numerous halakhic consequences. To show that Maimonides was anything but an adherent of religious tolerance, it is sufficient to note that, in his opinion, not only is it impossible for a Muslim to be a pious Gentile, but it is even forbidden for a Gentile to follow the dictates of Islam [Mishneh Torah, Laws of Kings 8:11].
SOURCE: MARC B. SHAPIRO. 'Jewish Views on Islam'. My Jewish Learning. Retrieved 10/01/2020 from: https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/jewish-views-on-islam/
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Jewish Legal Scholars Who Considered Islam Idolatry
Compiled by Rabbi Asher Meza
from the video above
Let it be known that the faith of the muslims, even though they unify G-d is considered complete avodah zarah, the law is to be killed and not convert because he that admits to their faith denies the Torah of Moshe, that it is not true in what we have in our hands and anything similiar to this is complete avodah zarah. - Ritva - Yomtov Ben Ashbili 1250-1330
The Satmer Rav states that what occurs on the Temple mount (by Muslims) is pure Avodah Zarah. —Al Ha-Geula ve 'al ha-Temurah
Where one is forced to convert to the religion of Islam, is he obligated to give up his life or not? Teshuva the Answer is, I want to go into this at length because I saw the generation was "breeched more than it was left standing" because taught themselves a leniency in this matter when they have nothing to rely on... I exerted myself and I found that the what the Ritva z'l wrote was preferable.. ....So it is better to die than to be forced to break a principle of our faith —Radbaz - -Teshuva chelek 4 siman 92R' Moshe Sternbuch held that if a Jew converts to Islam he is converting to an Avodah Zarah - Teshuvos V'Hanhagos chelek 4 orach chaim chaim siman 38
So we see that the Muslim today is an Idol worshiper even though he does not realize that he worships as our Rabbis say there are five fixed places and one of them is nishra (mecca) in Arabia.. - Ray Nachshon Gaon
The leader of the Muslims, even though their followers (muslims) DO NOT consider them (muhammed) gods themselves, nevertheless, since they bow to them to acknowledge that they are human incarnation of their divinities will, they all have the halachic status of avodah zarah... -The Ran on Sanhedrin 60b
Ibn Ezra in Daniel 11:30 states And behold to Markolis all the Arabs from east to west celebrate by throwing stones there, the men of mecca did not turn to Muhammeds Islamic religion, until he swore to them that he would not remove the Markolis worship from that location.
There are three individuals who are considered as one "who denies the Torah"' (They are called Kofrim) ... one who says that though the Torah came from G-d, the Creator has replaced one mitzvah with another one and nullified the original Torah, like the [Christians} and muslims. —Mishneh Torah Hilchot Teshuva 3rd Perek
It is permissible to teach the commandments to Christians and to draw them close to our religion. This is prohibited regarding Muslims, because, as you know they, reject the divine origin of Torah and if they are taught scripture it would contradict the version of events that they have either invented or confused... Christians, on the other hand, believe the text of the Torah is immutable although they interpret it improperly in their commentaries. If they were presented with the correct interpretation, however, it is conceivable that they would recant; and even if they don't recant, it will cause us no harm since their scriptures are the same as our own. - Maimonides, Responsa, 149
Also R. Hayyim Benveniste, points out that Rambam's view of Islam also allowed him to act as a physician in Egypt. Had Islam he considered Islam idolatrous al pi halacha as he even brings down in Mishneh Torah he would not have been permitted to give medical aid to an idolater even for hire" - Hilchot AZ 10:2
Regarding Christians and Muslims: they "praise the place of prophecy in words, but they turn in praying to places of Idolatry... They retain the relics of ancient worship and feast days, changing nothing but this, that they have demolished the idols, without doing away with the rites connected with them, it states "you will serve wood and stone. Deut 28:36, 64, alludes to those who worship the wood (Christians) and the stone (Muslims) towards which we incline daily more and more because of our sins. —Kuzari 4:11
And the wood is the wood of the hanged person and the stone is the stone that is thrown in their (Islamic) festival as the Kuzari explained. - The Tashbatz 1361 -1444
Birkei Yosef and the Tashbetz ruled that the practice was not to receive any benefit from wine handled by a Muslim. -R. Hayyim Joseph David Azulai, Birkei Yosef: Shiyure Berachah (Jerusalem, no date), Yoreh Deah 122: 1 - . Simeon ben Zemah Duran, She'elot u-Teshuvot Tashbez (Lemb 1891), vol. 2, no. 48
R. Menahem Meiri, R. Abraham Sofer (son of the Hatam Sofer) and Sefer ha-Eshkol rule that it was forbidden to drink or even obtain benefit from wine handled by a Muslim.
Simhah Assaf rules that wine handled by a Muslim is forbidden for use as if it was touched by a Christian - Simhah Assaf, ed., Teshuvot ha-Geonim (Jerusalem, 1929), no. 266,
R. Joseph Hayyim, tried to show that Islamic monotheism was far removed from the monotheism of Judaism. - R. Joseph Hayyim, Da'at u-Tevunah (Jerusalem, 1996), pp. 26b-26a
Rabbi Y.Z. Soloveitchik regards Islam as idolatry by arguing that, since Maimonides identifies the denial of prophecy with idolatry, "why should the Shadadah, with its assertion of primacy of Mohammed's prophecy, not be on similar footing?"
And these Muslims are not distant from idol worship... and the ultimate purpose in that all the Geonim were lenient regarding benefiting from their wine and more so, but regarding the permission to drink (wine they touched) we have not heard from any posek. - Rambam Teshuva 269
The Chidah writes that when he was in Israel the practice was to forbid the benefits of Muslim wine as mentioned by the Rivta because of idolatry. - The Knesset haGedolahg (R'Chaim Benveniste) held the same.
"Although the Rambam classifies Muslims as non-idolaters however the sages in Spain disagree and classified them as idolaters" - (Meiri)
"Islam is worse than other religions because they know that G-d is one but reject them and their place of worship and the law regarding them is one of idolaters" - R'Yekusiel Yehuda Halberstam, Divrei Yatsiv
Abraham ben Isaac of Narbonne - Sefer haEshkol brings down in the name of Rav Nashon haGaon that Islam is idolatry. And Muslims have a din of ovdei avodah zarah
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