Jewish Muslims
How Christians Imagined Islam as the Enemy
Format:Hardback
Publisher:University of California Press
Published:28th Feb '23
Should be back in stock very soon
Uncovering the hidden history of Islamophobia and its surprising connections to the long-standing hatred of Jews.
Hatred of Jews and hatred of Muslims have been intertwined in Christian thought since the rise of Islam. In Jewish Muslims, David M. Freidenreich explores the history of this complex, perplexing, and emotionally fraught phenomenon. He makes the compelling case that, then and now, hate-mongers target "them" in an effort to define "us."
Analyzing anti-Muslim sentiment in texts and images produced across Europe and the Middle East over a thousand years, the author shows how Christians intentionally distorted reality by alleging that Muslims were just like Jews. They did so not only to justify assaults against Muslims on theological grounds but also to motivate fellow believers to live as "good" Christians. The disdain premodern polemicists expressed for Islam and Judaism was never really about these religions. Rather, they sought to promote their own visions of Christianity—a dynamic that similarly animates portrayals of Muslims and Jews today.
"Instructive for combatting present-day prejudices."
* The Journal of Religious History *
"David Freidenreich’s Jewish Muslims is an extremely well researched and well written book that should make the short list of all students of medieval history as it offers a definitive treatment of its subject while stimulating further research." * International Journal of Middle East Studies *
“While obviously impossible from a historical standpoint, the very contention speaks to Freidenreich’s larger message: anachronisms to the contrary, the law of transitive property makes clear that if Jews were hostile by nature, their views, behaviors, and values antithetical to the Christian ideal, then anyone else who was deemed similarly “anti-Christian” (namely the Muslims) were also, ipso facto, “Jew-ish.” It is a remarkable argument, but one that is discussed here in a straightforward and convincing manner.” * Religious Studies Review *
"While Jewish Muslims spans over sixteen centuries, it is more than a work of history. One of Freidenreich’s most important contributions, which first appears in the book’s introduction, is his analysis of antisemitism and anti-Judaism, and the ways in which Christian communities have leveraged them against Jews and Muslims." * Antisemitism Studies *
ISBN: 9780520344716
Dimensions: 229mm x 152mm x 25mm
Weight: 590g
314 pages