A Kaleidoscopic View of History

Al-Masʿūdī on Jewish-Christian Interaction

Bibliographic Data

ID21655165
AuthorsBarbara Roggema (0000-0001-7623-6667, Ruhr University Bochum, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume16
Issue1-2
Pages98-124
Publication date2021-12-23
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueQuaderni di Studi Arabi (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1121-2306 • E-ISSN: 2667-016X
PublisherWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1163/2667016x-16010006
OpenAlexW4200559957
LanguageEN
References cited14

This article investigates the attitude of al-Masʿūdī to the world around him by focusing on a minor theme in his works: the interaction between Jews and Christians throughout history. The hypothesis of the article is that this theme, which also plays a role in the foundational texts of Islam, would provoke al-Masʿūdī to express some of his views on these religious communities, rather than merely describing their doctrines and customs in his usual non-committal way. This hypothesis turns out to be correct: al-Masʿūdī engages with the tensions between the two communities and seems to subscribe to the Christian anti-Jewish clichés that he integrates. At the same time, he uses more subtle ways to criticize Christians too. In other instances, he takes on a rather traditional supersessionist tone, with which he dismisses both communities. One has to conclude that al-Masʿūdī did not feel the need to press one specific viewpoint on these issues, which as such is telling for his historiographical style

Aesthetics · Archaeology · Art · Epistemology · Historiography · Islam · Judaism · Literature · Sociology · Theology · Computer Science · Historical and Linguistic Studies · History · Islamic Studies and History · Medieval and Classical Philosophy · Philosophy · Religious studies

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