Islam’s enduring enmity

Islam has a major problem with the Jews. While all non-Muslims pose a problem for Muslims in general, the Jewish people are at its center. Reading the Quran and examining Muhammad’s teachings makes it clear and unequivocal that they are to be despised—and worse. This reality explains the horrific attack in Australia.

The scene at Bondi Beach on Dec. 14 was one of pure horror—a Hanukkah celebration turned into a bloodbath by Muslim terrorists. As over 1,000 Jewish Australians and their friends gathered for “Hanukkah by the Sea” in Archer Park, gunfire erupted at 6:47 p.m. local time. Father-son duo Sajid Akram, 50, and Naveed Akram, 24, unleashed a seven-minute rampage with a pump-action shotgun and other weapons, methodically targeting the crowd while sparing non-Jews, as witnesses recounted.

Sajid, who immigrated to Australia in 1998 on a student visa—ostensibly to seek education and opportunity—had exploited the nation’s generosity, switching to a partner visa in 2001 seeking to obtain citizenship. Police discovered an ISIS flag in their vehicle and improvised explosive devices, confirming ties to the terrorist organization that has long sought to advance Islam through global jihad. Naveed, Australian-born and now in critical condition under guard, had been flagged in 2019 for associations but deemed no threat until this anti-Semitic slaughter.

The toll so far: 15 innocent lives lost, plus Sajid killed by police, with 27 to 40 hospitalized, including children as young as 10. Among the slain was Holocaust survivor Alexander Kleytman, 87, who died shielding his wife in a final act of heroism echoing the horrors he escaped decades ago. Additional victims included British-born Rabbi Eli Schlanger, 41, assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi and the event’s organizer—a devoted father of five whose light was extinguished mid-celebration. Young Matilda, just 10, perished alongside French citizen Daniel Elkayam, 28, retired police officer Tibor Weitzen, 78, and an unnamed Israeli.

This massacre is textbook anti-Semitic terrorism, driven by explicit Islamic texts and Muhammad’s clear commands—what ISIS states and follows. The Quran is clear that the “strongest in enmity” to the Muslims are “the Jews,” and Muslims are instructed to “take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors.”

In Muhammad’s biography, he fought the three main Jewish tribes of Medina after they rejected his message and vowed, “I will expel the Jews and Christians from the Arabian Peninsula and will not leave any but Muslim.”

There is no way around the truth: Islamic texts contain clear, unambiguous anti-Jewish commands.

For Muslims, these are the holiest teachings. This is why many Muslims would view terrorists as heroes—jihadis for Allah, advancing Islam.

Still, there was a true hero at the scene: Ahmed al-Ahmed, a 43-year-old Muslim fruit shop owner of Syrian descent and father of two, who followed humanity without regard for religion. He has been hailed for tackling and disarming Naveed Akram bare-handed, despite being shot four to five times in the shoulder.

Here the point is simple: Adhering to Muhammad’s commands makes it difficult to accept Jews as simply humans who have dignity and honor. This is evident in Australia, where an Islamic scholar in Sydney stated, “Jihad is definitely part of our religion. Allah prefers and rewards Muslims who directly fight our infidel enemies more than those who do nothing.” When facing this mentality, the West is doomed. This cleric is no exception—another Muslim leader in Canada openly taught in his mosque that “the Jews and the Christians are our enemies.”

While modernist Muslims in the West may declare they do not hate Jews or support killing them, these Islamic texts create a burden of religious guilt in many hearts that feel they break sacred commands by dealing positively with Jews. You don’t need thousands of terrorists to destroy a system—very few suffice to terrorize nations while declaring they follow religious commands or the prophet’s example.

Many Muslims view the West as inferior to Islam and seek to use its system in order to elevate and impose Islamic values they deem superior. This disposition forces Muslims to see the West as the enemy while also benefiting from its resources—considering any gain legitimate.

So, what to do about Islam and its Jewish problem?

We must expose Islamic teachings and texts that despise and stigmatize other religious people, calling for their massacre. There should be sane and rational fear of specific Islamic commands. Our world cannot be safe if these texts and models are promoted as normal. I hope the West wakes up to the dangers of Islamic commands against other religions and stops naively thinking all religions are the same.