Islamic Culture Through Jewish Eyes

Description

Islamic Culture Through Jewish Eyes analyzes the attitude towards Muslims, Islam, and Islamic culture as presented in sources written by Jewish authors in the Iberian Peninsula between the tenth and the twelfth centuries. By bringing the Jewish attitude towards the "other" into sharper focus, this book sets out to explore a largely overlooked and neglected question – the shifting ways in which Jewish authors constructed communal identity of Muslims and Islamic culture, and how these views changed overtime.

The book’s methodological sophistication and wide range of sources make it a valuable resource for scholars and researchers of comparative literature and cultural studies.

Reviews

'A brief, but dense and exciting book…' -Cyrille Aillet, Al-Qantara Revista de Estudios Arabes, December 2008

Contents

Introduction 1. Attitudes toward Language: Hebrew vis-à-vis Arabic 2. Transmitting and Producing Knowledge: Jewish and Muslim Intellectuals 3. Living in the Present: The Concept of Exile and Domicile 4. Waiting for the Messiah: Self and Other in the Journey toward the End of Time. Afterword. Glossary

Author Bio

Esperanza Alfonso, Ph D. (1998) in Hebrew Studies, Universidad Complutense, is currently a Research Fellow at the Universidad Complutense, Spain.

Related Subjects

1. Medieval History 400-1500
2. Religious History
3. History of Islam
4. Jewish Studies
5. Middle East Studies
6. Middle East History
7. Middle East Literature
8. Literature