1st Edition

Islamic Culture Through Jewish Eyes Al-Andalus from the Tenth to Twelfth Century

By Esperanza Alfonso Copyright 2008
    212 Pages
    by Routledge

    224 Pages
    by Routledge

    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.

    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  Bibliography

    Biography

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

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