Overview

One would think that the space between Islam and Judaism would prove fertile enough to engage in questions of social, religious, cultural, and intellectual interactions. Yet, for a variety of political reasons this is unfortunately rarely the case. In Somewhere Between Islam and Judaism, Hughes reflects on what it means to work in both traditions, but feel at home in neither. The essays collected in this volume provide a set of critical reflections on what it means to study these two religious traditions within the larger context of the academic study of religion. Using case studies that span from the rise of Islam to the current state of Islamic studies and Jewish studies, this work examines the discourses that scholars use to bring Islam and Judaism into what they believe to be sharper focus. In the process, Hughes forces us to confront the countless blindspots, assumptions, and problematic assertions, which structure, frame, and otherwise bring Islamic and Jewish data into focus or, alternatively, obscure it. Somewhere Between Islam and Judaism will be of interest to scholars and students of religion concerned with comparison and those studying Islam, Judaism and Jewish-Muslim relations.

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9781800500563

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Pre-Publication Reviews Aaron W. Hughes emerges as a critic and corrector, alerting scholars of Islam and Judaism to how these two religions should be critically, philologically and historically seen alongside each other...being critical and analytical, Hughes suggests, leads us to be inclusive of other peoples and ideas. Signifying that nothing is marginal and that there is no the other , this monograph dismantles the us versus them that structures the field. Majid Daneshgar, author of Studying the Qur'an in the Muslim Academy Theoretically and methodologically provoking, this book invites us to reflect critically on the lines that separate and connect Islamic Studies, Jewish Studies, and Religious Studies. Hughes' critique is directed to both the researchers and institutions: given the ideological and political currents that have fraught these fields from the very beginning, where do we locate ourselves? Does our work contribute to problematizing these currents, cementing them, or dismantling them? Conceived as a compilation of delivered lectures and essays, the book prompts us to question everything we write - a privileged position that we must not take lightly as we endeavour to expand, revitalize, and in the current climate even defend, the role of research in Humanities and Social Sciences. Professor Amila Buturovic, Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, York University, Canada

Author Information

Aaron W. Hughes is the Philip S. Bernstein Professor in the Department of Religion and Classics at the University of Rochester.

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