This is Yossi’s reply to Sam Mina from Jordan. To read Sam’s full response check this link
Dear Sam,
Thanks very much for writing. I appreciate the care with which you read my book, and I’m grateful to you for reaching out.
I’m aware of the quotes you mention and they are troubling. At the same time, there are morally troubling verses in the Hebrew Bible (slavery, for example) and in the New Testament (“His blood be on our heads and on our children,” which was used as a pretext to murder Jews in the name of Christ). The question is, are we able to contextualize and re-interpret?
I know Muslim theologians who are doing precisely that. A religion — any religion — is capable of the worst in human behavior but also the best.
I believe that the Muslim world is at a crossroads. The question facing Muslims today isn’t that different from the questions that faced Christians five hundred years ago and Jews two hundred years ago: how to reconcile tradition with modernity. It’s too soon to know how Muslims will answer that question.
I pray for their success.
Warm regards,
Yossi
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