Antisemitism (prejudice against and hatred of Jews) has increased greatly in the Arab world since the beginning of the 20th century, for several reasons: the dissolution and breakdown of the Ottoman Empire and traditional Islamic society; European influence, brought about by Western imperialism and Arab Christians; Nazi propaganda and relations between Nazi Germany and the Arab world; resentment over Zionism and the experience of the Nakba; the rise of Arab nationalism; and the widespread proliferation of anti-Jewish and anti-Zionist conspiracy theories.

Traditionally, Jews in the Muslim world were considered to be People of the Book and were subjected to dhimmi status. They were afforded relative security against persecution, provided they did not contest the varying inferior social and legal status imposed on them under Islamic rule.

While there were antisemitic incidents before the 20th century, the tensions surrounding Zionism and the intercommunal conflicts in Mandatory Palestine led to growing antisemitism in the Arab world. During the 1930s and the 1940s several Jewish communities in the Arab world suffered from pogroms. The status of Jews in Arab countries deteriorated further at the onset of the Arab–Israeli conflict, and following the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the forced expulsion of Palestinian Arabs, and the creation of the State of Israel. Israeli victories during the wars of 1956 and 1967 further increased tensions between Israel and its opponents—primarily Egypt, Syria, and Iraq. However, by the mid-1970s the vast majority of Jews had left Arab and Muslim countries, moving primarily to Israel, France, and the United States. The reason for the exodus is considered to be primarily due to prolonged violence against Jews.

By the 1980s, according to historian Bernard Lewis, the volume of antisemitic literature published in the Arab world, and the authority of its sponsors, seemed to suggest that classical antisemitism had become an essential part of Arab intellectual life, considerably more than in late 19th- and early 20th-century France and to a degree that has been compared to Nazi Germany. The rise of political Islam during the 1980s and afterwards provided a new mutation of Islamic antisemitism, giving the hatred of Jews a religious component.

In their 2008 report on contemporary Arab-Muslim antisemitism, the Israeli Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center dates the beginning of this phenomenon to the spread of classic European Christian antisemitism into the Arab world starting in the late 19th century. In 2014, the Anti-Defamation League published a global survey of worldwide antisemitic attitudes, reporting that in the Middle East, 74% of adults agreed with a majority of the survey's eleven antisemitic propositions, including that "Jews have too much power in international financial markets" and that "Jews are responsible for most of the world's wars."

Jews, along with Christians, Sabians, and Zoroastrians living under early and medieval Muslim rule were known as "People of the Book" to Muslims and subjected to the status of dhimmi ("protected" minority) in the lands conquered by Muslim Arabs, a status generally applied to non-Muslim minorities that was later also extended to other Non-Muslims like Sikhs, Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists. Jews were generally seen as a religious group (not a separate race), thus being a part of the "Arab family".

Dhimmi were subjected to a number of restrictions, the application and severity of which varied with time and place. Restrictions included residency in segregated quarters, obligation to wear distinctive clothing, public subservience to Muslims, prohibitions against proselytizing and against marrying Muslim women, and limited access to the legal system (the testimony of a Jew did not count if contradicted by that of a Muslim). Dhimmi had to pay a special poll tax (the jizya), which exempted them from military service, and also from payment of the zakat alms tax required of Muslims. In return, dhimmi were granted limited rights, including a degree of tolerance, community autonomy in personal matters, and protection from being killed outright. Jewish communities, like Christian ones, were typically constituted as semi-autonomous entities managed by their own laws and leadership, who carried the responsibility for the community towards the Muslim rulers.

The situation of Jews was comparatively better than their European counterparts, though they still suffered persecution. Between the years of death of Idris I of Morocco in 793 and beginning of Almohad rule in 1130, Jews mostly led a peaceful existence in North Africa. The Almohads started forcing Jews and Christians to convert to Islam or be killed after conquering the region. There were also numerous massacres at other times in Morocco, Libya, and Algeria.