Over at veiled4allah, there is an excerpt from the 10 Commandments case being argued in front of the Supreme Court. The question is about whether Muslims believe in the 10 Commandments. Al-Muhajabah’s comments are spot on, but I have an issue with CAIR’s response. CAIR argues that there are many things in the Qur’an that agree with the big 10, a statement I agree with. However, the way it is worded implies that Muslims view the Hebrew Bible as outside of the Muslim tradition. Traditionally, the Torah (Torah), Zabur (Psalms), and Injil (Gospels) are considered revelation – hence the term ahl al-kitâb, people of the book, for Jews and Christians – but revelation that has been corrupted or misinterpreted over time. It is not surprising that there is sympathy amongst the books because they are part of the same revelation, and in the early period of Islam the three books were used to help determine universal history and help fill in legislative gaps (of which there were many) when those texts did not conflict with the Qur’an. Remember that the three traditions are part of the larger Abrahamic tradition; there is more commonality than we tend to think of, and part of that is due to the loss of tradition. CAIR should know better.
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