Quran Says, Take Not Jews as Friends

Summary

This rhetoric has often been directed at Jews by Muslims worldwide, who cite Quranic verses to justify it and advance political or religious aims within Muslim communities. Throughout history, religion has often been used to advance political goals, as religious authority is less likely to be challenged. As political Islam became increasingly intertwined with mainstream classical Islam, religion’s role in politics expanded rapidly, reshaping its peaceful image into a more militant form and undermining its core principles.

Islamist clerics often cite Islamic texts, including Quranic verses and Hadiths to influence Muslim youth and promote hostility toward those they portray as enemies, including non-Muslim communities such as Jews, Christians, Hindus, and others. They distort Quranic verses and misinterpret Islamic teachings to support political agendas. Their aim is to widen political, social, and religious divisions between Muslim and Jewish communities by presenting Islamic texts in a distorted way.

The following Quranic verse is frequently cited to reinforce this divide.

Quran says:

“يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تَتَّخِذُوا۟ ٱلْيَهُودَ وَٱلنَّصَـٰرَىٰٓ أَوْلِيَآءَ ۘ”

“O believers! Take neither Jews nor Christians as guardians….” (Quran – 5: 51)

In South Asian countries, particularly Pakistan, Muslim scholars interpret the word “أَوْلِيَآءَ” (awliya) as “friends.” Viewed through this Pakistani interpretive lens, the verse would read as follows:

“O believers! Take neither Jews nor Christians as friends….” (Quran – 5:51)