A Sociological Look at the Jewish Community in the Qur'an

Accurate cognition of the Jewish community, particularly its major symbol, "Zionism", is of utmost necessity in the present circumstances due to the hazards it has posed toward Islam and the Muslims. On the other hand, its various cultural, social and racial complexities have made its fundamental cognition possible only through revealed verses of the Qur'an. Studies show that the historical periods of Jewish community, particularly the era of Moses (A.S.) and the Pharaoh, are viewed as among the main discourses brought up in the Holy Qur'an. In this article, over 370 verses from the Holy Qur'an are examined and with reference to the three dignified tafsīrs of Al-Mīzān, Nimūna, and Majma‘ al-Bayān, fifteen exclusive cultural, social, and ethnical characteristics or indexes are extracted and presented in a sociological perspective, which can specify Muslims' strategy in their encounter with the Jewish community at the present era.