Morsi's anti-semitism: he's just quoting the Qur'an ...

The BBC reports: The US has strongly criticised Egypt's Mohammed Morsi for anti-Semitic remarks he apparently made before being elected president.

TV footage shows Mr Morsi in 2010 referring to Zionists as "bloodsuckers" and "descendants of apes and pigs".

Where on earth might Morsi have got such hate-filled ideas? Where else but the Qur'an, wherein God (apparently) instructs his Creation in the finer points of discrimination so effectively that down the ages small-minded bigots such as President Morsi, have used the Almighty's words to excuse and justify their spleen.

Those of us who don't for one moment believe that an omniscient Creator wrote an instruction manual which includes such spiteful nonsense, look instead at WHEN these verses were written. Such an examination reveals that ALL these surahs come from the period when Muhammad had ceased trying to be a prophet to the Christians and Jews (who had rejected him) and instead was focusing on winning over the Arabs. 

When Muhammad started out on his prophetic career in Mecca he was in a weak position and hoped for the support of those who already followed a monotheistic tradition: the Jews and Christians. Thus he adopted the same fast days as the Jews and instructed his followers to pray towards Jerusalem.

However, once he was in Medina and his following had grown, it became clear that the Jews in particular did not believe he was a genuine prophet (largely because his plagiarism - as they saw it - of their religious texts was inconsistent and contained many contradictions and mistakes) To compound their heinous crime of rejection, they mocked him and broke treaties and alliances with the Muslims. 

Muhammad thus decided to cut his losses. He focused instead on winning over the pagan Arabs who worshiped the desert gods in the shrine of the Kaaba. He changed the direction of prayer to Mecca, instigated new fast days and started preaching hatred and revenge at the Jews.

Thus it is we see, if we study the chronology of the surahs rather than reading the them in size order (as they are in the Qur'an - for reasons that have never been fully explained to me), that all the anti-Jewish verses come from this later period - from Medina - even though many of them appear near the beginning of the Qur'an.

Shall I tell thee of a worse (case) than theirs for retribution with Allah? Worse (is the case of him) whom Allah hath cursed, him on whom His wrath hath fallen! Worse is he of whose sort Allah hath turned some to apes and swine, and who serveth idols. Such are in worse plight and further astray from the plain road. 5:60 IslamCity search engine helpfully explains: "Topics discussed in this Verse: 
[Jews:became apes and swine] [Kabah] [Taghuut (Evil)]" MEDINA

[..] And humiliation and wretchedness were stamped upon them (the Jews) and they were visited with wrath from Allah. That was because they disbelieved in Allah's revelations and slew the prophets wrongfully. That was for their disobedience and transgression. 2:61 MEDINA

Seest thou not those unto whom a portion of the Scripture hath been given, how they purchase error, and seek to make you (Muslims) err from the right way? 4:44 MEDINA

O ye unto whom the Scripture hath been given! Believe in what We have revealed concerning that which ye possess, before We destroy countenances so as to confound them, or curse them as We cursed the Sabbath breakers (of old time). The commandment of Allah is always executed. 4:47  (Note the utterly confusing change in object pronoun here. No doubt revered as the stylistic device known as IIltifat by apologists...) MEDINA

Because of the wrongdoing of the Jews We forbade them good things which were (before) made lawful unto them, and because of their much hindering from Allah's way, 4:160 MEDINA

Say: "Shall I point out to you something much worse than this, (as judged) by the treatment it received from Allah. those who incurred the curse of Allah and His wrath, those of whom some He transformed into apes and swine, those who worshipped evil;- these are (many times) worse in rank, and far more astray from the even path!" 5:60 MEDINA

And ye know of those of you who broke the Sabbath, bow We said unto them: Be ye apes, despised and hated! 2:65 MEDINA

And He brought those of the People of the Scripture who supported them down from their strongholds, and cast panic into their hearts. Some ye slew, and ye made captive some.

And He caused you to inherit their land and their houses and their wealth, and land ye have not trodden. Allah is Able to do all things.33:26-27 MEDINA

And because of their breaking their covenant, We have cursed them and made hard their hearts. They change words from their context and forget a part of that whereof they were admonished. Thou wilt not cease to discover treachery from all save a few of them. But bear with them and pardon them. Lo! Allah loveth the kindly. 5:13 (Here God tells the Muslims that He has cursed the Jews and hardened their hearts and made them treacherous BUT that the Muslims should pardon them. Hmm....) MEDINA

Listeners for the sake of falsehood! Greedy for illicit gain! [...] 5:42 (Just in case we didn't realise, IslamCity Qur'an search engine kindly explains the topic of this verse: Topics discussed in this Verse: [Jews:work iniquity] [Kabah] MEDINA

The Jews say: Allah's hand is fettered. Their hands are fettered and they are accursed for saying so. Nay, but both His hands are spread out wide in bounty. He bestoweth as He will. That which hath been revealed unto thee from thy Lord is certain to increase the contumacy and disbelief of many of them, and We have cast among them enmity and hatred till the Day of Resurrection. As often as they light a fire for war, Allah extinguisheth it. Their effort is for corruption in the land, and Allah loveth not corrupters. 5:64 MEDINA

I have omitted the many, many reports of Muhammad's anti-semitic behaviour and words as reported in the hadith as I wanted to focus readers' attention on the idea that God himself should have thought it prudent to refer to a minority race/religion using such intemperate language - knowing as he did (being omniscient an' all) that his words would be used over the centuries to foment hatred and division and thus encourage the continuation of the intractable problems we see in the Middle east to this day.

Thus if you are a Muslim, you are faced with a dilemma: either you accept that (to misquote Not The Nine O'clock News) God's just like that. He hates Jews, and thus to follow his guidance you should hate Jews as well. Or you tell yourself that much of the Qur'an was written in response to particular circumstances and that the Jew-bashing in the Qur'an is purely metaphorical or an historical anomaly. 

Or you might, of course, regard these verses of the Qur'an as the obvious product of a rejected and angry man determined to wreak his revenge.