The Use of Islamic Materials by Non-Muslim Writers r 95The Non-Muslims’ Reaction
How did the non-Muslim subjects of the caliphate react to the pseudo-
historical traditions and documents presented above? It seems that the
“Protected People” refrained from challenging the accuracy of these texts
or records, let alone commenting on the sacred Islamic historiography,
which reflected the official Islamic ideology. Jews and Christians were im-
mersed in Arabic-Islamic civilization and familiar with its writings. They
chose to take what I would term as “a compromise approach.” Although
openly accepting the sacred historiography produced by the Muslim au-
thors, the “People of the Book” in fact manipulated the dominant Islamic
version of the past and used it to tell a historical story that supported their
own cause.^39
They employed a sophisticated self-definition that made it possible for
them to draw lines of demarcation between the governing religion and
their own enclave communities. Samul ben Nissim Masnuth, for example,
states that “nations differ in three components: tongue, script, and reli-
gion.”^40 Nethanel ben al-Fayyumi (a Yemenite Jew d. c. 1165) asserts that
“every nation should follow the doctrine that reached it, trail its prophets’
path, and pursue its priests and heads. In this way no one remains without
a religious doctrine. Everything is from God (rabb) the One and Unique
and unto Him we are returning.^41 All turn toward Him and pray, and ev-
ery soul to Him points, as is said ‘and the spirit returns to God who gave
it.’“^42 Al-Fayumi then deals with the common Muslim accusation that the
Jews forged the Holy Bible, which the Almighty gave to Moses in Sinai
using inter alia a Quranic verse (14:4): “And We never sent a messenger
save with the language of his folk.”^43
It was stated above that the People of the Book had a good knowledge
of various Arabic literary genres and that, due to interreligious polemics,
they were familiar with the texts used by the Muslims to rationalize their
inferior status.^44 Hence we should not be surprised to discover that Jews
and Christians aspired to take Muslim arguments and turn them in their
favor.^45 This is very common in circumstances such as the long and ongo-
ing interreligious debate. By using different interpretations of a familiar
narrative, it is easier to rebuff the opposite party.^46 Each side draws its own
arguments and uses them against the other party.
We now return to the claim made in Muslim sources that ̔Abd Allah
b. Sallam played a significant role in Muhammad’s story by recognizing