Who killed Jesus (as)? A response to a Newsweek article.

The below letter was written in response to an article in Newsweek, which followed the general release of the film "Passion of Christ". The article asked the question of culpability, and I answered from the Muslim point of view. My letter remains un-published...

Dear Editor,
"Who killed Jesus?" gave a comparative view between the two great monotheistic religions Judaism and Christianity, whilst leaving out the third- Islam.
That the Quran was revealed to the Prophet Mohammed 600 years after Jesus should not lead us to conclude that it has nothing to say on this matter.In fact Muslims, unlike Jews, believe in the virgin birth of Jesus and affirm him to be the Messiah, where they differ from Christianity is in their not accepting that her ever claimed to be the Son of God, nor in his death on the Crucifix.

The Plot
The Quran clearly mentions a plot to kill Jesus. It mentions an accusation that was directed at Jesus and is refuted in the Quran by God, as false. Furthermore the Quran informs us that Jesus was raised, body and soul, to God and was not crucified on the cross. God gave the likeness of Jesus to another person who was then crucified in his place. Bearing this in mind, no Muslim can doubt that the Jewish High Priests were complicit in the attempted murder of Jesus (pbuh).

The Accusation
From your narrative it is clear that the accusation referred to in the Quran is their claim that Jesus blasphemed through his profession to be the Son of God. To which he replied that he was the son of Man, affirming his humanity. In the Quran it is clear that Jesus at or just before the accusation knows his accusers to be non-believers, and they are furthermore declared as such by God in the Qur'an (even though hey may still have professed a belief in HIM).

A Show Trial
This and the fact that he did not present arguments to Pontas Pilot would obviously indicate that he knew that he was subject to a show trial where his judges had a priori determined his fate and were bent on killing him.

Some Questions?
Could then the words "Forgive them, for they know not what they do?" really fit into Jesus's mouth when he knew, that they knew what they were doing.
Or could the reference really be to the fact that he thought that they were unaware that he was a Prophet of God, even though God had supported him with clear proofs including great miracles?

Would those words not better fit another man who had not been tried correctly (but was nonetheless guilty of a severe crime of not believing in a Prophet)?

Nor do the words "My Lord why have you forsaken?" fit into the mouth of a man who came to preach about faith and the necessity of it. Who told his disciplies not to worry and gave them the example of the Ravens, that do not sow and do not reap.

Another Man?
But, they do fit into the mouth of a man who believed erreonously in his own piety, after his rejection of Jesus (pbuh). For sometimes piety can blind you to reality as you wallow in your own sense of superiority. And this was one of the lessons that Jesus ((pbuh) came to teach the Jews, that "everyone who sets himself up as somebody will become nobody ...".

Who is Culpable? Who will be held responsible for that Crime, the crime of attempted murder?
Hence for Muslims both the Jewish High Priests and Pontias Pilot were responsible for the attempted murder of Jesus, and it is clear that they believed that they had accomplished their crime.

Jewish people in general nor the whole worlds people can bear responsibility for that crime, for Muslims believe that you will be asked concerning only what you did and what you did not do.

Muhammad (saw) and his message>
As to the historical veracity of the Quran, it would seem more politically expedient for Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) to placate the three powerful Jewish tribes that lived on the doorstep of his city, especially so whilst the whole of Arabia sought to destroy him and his nascent Islamic call to the One God.

As with all the great Abrahamic Prophets his mission, like that of Moses and Jesus (pbut), was to confront the established status quo whether they be the most powerful man on Earth or the High Priesthood of the Jews or the Guardians of the Holy Sanctuary (Mecca).

The Irony of it All !
The irony of it all, from the standpoint of Muslims, is the fact that the accusation that the Jewish High Priests falsely laid on Jesus in order for them to crucify him, is now accepted as true by the majority of his followers.

Shafi
1st Published MySpace 21st Oct 2007.
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