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With Shabbatai Zvi, there was great hope followed by deep disappointment. This in turn lead to a censorship and an attempt to forget events. This appears to be what happened with Nehemiah ben Hushiel and his hopeful conquest of Jerusalem in 614CE, that ended in even greater tragedy. Almost all record has been destroyed or has been censured by the Rabbis. On the one hand this non-political position has allowed the Rabbinic Jews to flourish among their enemies without being perceived as a threat, unlike the Khawarij. On the other hand it has led to a history of Islam that appears to stand isolated, unrelated to outside events, incomprehensible and seemingly contradictory.

The flight of Hussein to Kufa, and his assassination while fasting on Yom Kippur (Ashura) along with his whole family at Karbalā, was not just a tragedy for the Shiites. It was a tragedy for the Jews and Judeo-Islamic relations as well.

For Muslims, we must recognize the debt to the many brave converts from Judaism who fought valiantly, and gave their lives for the cause of the Prophet. It was not just a few Jews (and Judaic peoples) who declared their wholehearted submission to the Prophet. Perhaps at least some of the current antagonism of Islam towards Judaism can be seen as misplaced. Surely, Judaism is not the "enemy" of Islam. Perhaps given the context of the wars between the Rome and the Jews from Hadrian to Heraclius, Jihad can be seen in its original light.

For Jews, we must recognize that Rabbinic Judaism exists today, and flourishes in the study of the Talmudic writings, largely because of the Islamic Caliphate. If Heraclius had succeeded in conquering Persia, it could have been that all the Jews of world would be converted or slaughtered in "one hundred and twenty years." Also, at a time when the Judaic nation was getting swept away in prophetic and Messianic furvor, Islam chose Rabbinic Judaism to lead a way out of the confusion.

It is possible that the future of Islamic-Jewish relations, may be with our past.