From its inception Islam was heavily influenced by Judaism. The degree and sources of this influence on Muhammad are sometimes debated. But Muhammad's own words made it clear that he believed that his revelation came as the confirmation of the revelations claimed by both the Jews and Christians. As a result of this and as a result of Muhammad's decisions regarding the Jews during his lifetime, Judaism and Jews occupied a special position in Islamic law. From the beginning the two faiths had a number of shared premises and, as Islam developed, various aspects of its doctrine and lore reflected those of Judaism. But, due to the presence of the great majority of the Jews and their important centers of learning in Muslim lands, Islam also had significant effects on Jews and Judaism. In the beginning this influence was mainly a matter of tolerance or persecution on the part of the Muslims, but in time there was considerable mutual cultural influence as well.
Muhammad called the Jews the "People of the Book" or the "Protected People" and the influence of Jewish scripture on his formulation of the precepts of Islam was profound (Lazarus-Yafeh 74). Muhammad was born in Mecca in western Arabia. Throughout his early life Muhammad seems to have been motivated by a search for religious truth. In that time he certainly came in contact with numerous Jews, Christians, and members of other sects. Impressed by the basic concept of the monotheistic religions Muhammad apparently absorbed a great deal of Jewish teaching and lore. When he finally received his own revelation he began the work of converting his wife, family, and some citizens of Mecca. He was driven out of Mecca by the pagan Arabs who were suspicious of his teaching and he took refuge in Medina where he achieved great success in converting many Arabs. The subsequent spread of Islam was amazingly rapid.
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