Editing Antisemitism in Islam (section)

===Literature===
According to Lewis, the outstanding characteristic of the classical Islamic view of Jews is their unimportance. The religious, philosophical, and literary Islamic writings tended to ignore Jews and focused more on Christianity. Although the Jews received little praise or even respect and were sometimes blamed for various misdeeds, there were no fears of Jewish conspiracy and domination, nor any charges of diabolic evil, nor accusations of poisoning the wells nor spreading the plague nor were they even accused of engaging in [[blood libels]] until Ottomans adopted the concept from their Greek subjects in the 15th century.<ref>Lewis (1999), pp. 122, 123, 126, 127</ref>

Poliakov writes that various examples of medieval Muslim literature portray Judaism as an exemplary pinnacle of faith, and Israel being destined by this virtue. He quotes stories from ''[[The Book of One Thousand and One Nights]]'' that portray Jews as pious, virtuous and devoted to God, and seem to borrow plots from [[midrashim]]. However, Poliakov writes that treatment of Jews in Muslim literature varies, and the tales are meant for pure entertainment, with no didactic aim.<ref>Poliakov (1974) pp. 77–8.</ref> 

After Ibn Nagraela, a Jew, attacked the Quran by alleging various contradictions in it, Ibn Hazm, a Moor, criticized him furiously. Ibn Hazm wrote that Ibn Nagraela was "filled with hatred" and "conceited in his vile soul".<ref>Poliakov (1974) pp. 92–3.</ref>

According to Schweitzer and Perry, some literature during the 10th and 11th century "made Jews out to be untrustworthy, treacherous oppressors, and exploiters of Muslims". This propaganda sometimes even resulted in outbreaks of violence against the Jews. An 11th-century Moorish poem describes Jews as "a criminal people" and blames them for causing social decay, betraying Muslims and poisoning food and water.<ref name="Schweitzer267-268" />
[[File:Alfred Dehodencq - Execution of a Jewess in Tangiers c1861.jpg|thumb|''Execution of a Jewess in Morocco'' ([[Sol Hachuel]]), {{Circa|1861}}; painting by [[Alfred Dehodencq]].]]
Martin Kramer writes that in Islamic tradition, in striking contrast with the Christian concept of the eternal Jew, the contemporary Jews were not presented as archetypes—as the embodiment of Jews in all times and places.<ref name=kramer/>