A History of the Jews of Arabia
From Ancient Times to Their Eclipse Under Islam
Format:Paperback
Publisher:University of South Carolina Press
Published:17th Oct '09
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
This is a reconstructed history of a complex Jewish community in Arabia at a critical juncture in world history. The Jewish communities of Arabia had a great influence on the attitudes that Muslims hold toward Jews, and yet relatively little has been written about their history. Through techniques borrowed from anthropology, literary criticism, sociology, and comparative religion, Gordon Darnell Newby reconstructs the understanding of Jewish life in Arabia before and during the time of Muhammad. In addition, this material is used to develop a perspective on the interconfessional relations between Judaism and Islam during an era when the latter was at one of its most dynamic stages of growth.
A daring venture... because of its attempt at reconstructing the history of a once-important but little-known group based on very sparse data. - Religious Studies Review ""The Jews of Arabia maintained a thriving, vital Diaspora community for centuries. While Muhammad was spreading Islam around Medina in the seventh century, there were Arabian Jewish merchants, poets, pastoral nomads, farmers, sculptors, and warriors. One of the findings of this scholarly synthesis is that Arabian Jewry influenced Muhammad's developing vision of his prophetic mission.... By identifying a body of shared experiences of Jews and Muslims, Newby's study gives hope for peaceful coexistence in the Middle East."" - Publishers Weekly
ISBN: 9781570038853
Dimensions: 228mm x 152mm x 11mm
Weight: 299g
192 pages