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Since Abdul El-Sayedu2019s election to the Senate, friends and colleagues have asked me the same question u2014 partly because Iu2019m a Muslim journalist and author, partly because I have been to Mecca.nIt concerns a distinction he has drawn more than once, here in his words on NBCu2019s @MeetThePress: u201cI love and revere Judaism and the Jewish people. I believe they are a light unto the worldu2026 But they are not the same as AIPAC and Israel.u201dnTheir question to me: nif someone said, u201cI love and revere Islam and the Muslim people, but they are not the same as Mecca and Medina,u201d would I accept it? I would not. Having been to Mecca, I cannot imagine my faith without the pilgrimage, the qibla, the Prophetu2019s city.nA fair comparison? He said u201cIsrael,u201d a state, and I do not answer for what Riyadh does. Yet Islamu2019s holiest sites are on Saudi soil, and I would not accept hearing my faith is u201cnot the sameu201d as the ground beneath them.nSo when he said Judaism and the Jewish people are u201cnot the sameu201d as Israel, what exactly did he mean?
Since Abdul El-Sayed’s election to the Senate, friends and colleagues have asked me the same question — partly because I’m a Muslim journalist and author, partly because I have been to Mecca.
It concerns a distinction he has drawn more than once, here in his words on NBC’s @MeetThePress: “I love and revere Judaism and the Jewish people. I believe they are a light unto the world… But they are not the same as AIPAC and Israel.”
Their question to me:
if someone said, “I love and revere Islam and the Muslim people, but they are not the same as Mecca and Medina,” would I accept it? I would not. Having been to Mecca, I cannot imagine my faith without the pilgrimage, the qibla, the Prophet’s city.
A fair comparison? He said “Israel,” a state, and I do not answer for what Riyadh does. Yet Islam’s holiest sites are on Saudi soil, and I would not accept hearing my faith is “not the same” as the ground beneath them.
So when he said Judaism and the Jewish people are “not the same” as Israel, what exactly did he mean?