Reflections by a nineteenth-century convert to Islam on Judaism and Christianity in Ottoman Jerusalem
The Khalidi Library in Jerusalem contains a number of valuable works pertaining to Muslim-Christian relations during the Ottoman period, and in this paper an effort is made to elucidate one such text, a unique anonymous essay entitled Al-risala al-sabiciyya fi ibtal al-diyana al-yahūdiyya. As the ti...
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| Format: | Electronic/Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Routledge
[1996]
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| In: |
Islam and Christian-Muslim relations
Year: 1996, Volume: 7, Issue: 1, Pages: 63-73 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | The Khalidi Library in Jerusalem contains a number of valuable works pertaining to Muslim-Christian relations during the Ottoman period, and in this paper an effort is made to elucidate one such text, a unique anonymous essay entitled Al-risala al-sabiciyya fi ibtal al-diyana al-yahūdiyya. As the title suggests, the essay presents itself as a work of a Jewish convert to Islam; pressed to justify what he has done, he gives seven reasons for his conversion, and then lists two sets of seven similarities and differences between Islam and Judaism that have also served to encourage his conversion. In this paper it is argued that the essay is actually the work of a Christian convert, probably one who wrote in Jerusalem in the late nineteenth century. Seeking to justify his conversion, but hesitant to reject openly the central doctrines of Christianity, he pretends to be a Jewish convert and argues for the superior position of Islam among the three monotheistic faiths. This tactic, while uncommon, is known from other parts of the Near East, and a convert in Jerusalem would have been in an excellent position to become aware of such writings. While most of his arguments are familiar from the arsenal deployed in disputations of the past, this author's essay is valuable for its illustration of the hesitation and doubt that must have accompanied most acts of conversion, and for the way in which it draws attention to the fact that ChristianMuslim relationsespecially in Jerusalemhave always proceeded within the broader context of relations. among the three great monotheistic religions in general. |
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| ISSN: | 0959-6410 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Islam and Christian-Muslim relations
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/09596419608721068 |