Jewish-Muslim relations

‘ Holy Scriptures’ workshop: Jewish approaches to the Qur’an and Islam in the light of modernity

05/04/2025 Aucun commentaire

I will deliver a course to international students at NYU Abu Dhabi, as part of the workshop « Holy Scriptures » (April 7–9, 2025). This event explores the history, religious significance, and cultural impact of scripture in the three Abrahamic traditions. Beyond providing instruction, it encourages students to develop their own research projects, examining the connections between these texts and their mutual influence across different traditions.

My teaching session will be devoted to the evolution of the Jewish engagement with the Qur’an and Islam by focusing on modern Jewish translations of the Islamic Scriptures (19th-20th centuries). I will discuss the many dimensions through which Islam and the Qur’an were approached by the Jewish translators (theological, literary, historical-critical, political), and highlight the role of the Qur’anic translations in shaping the modern Jewish identity, often in a wider relationship between Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Conference organisation

‘The Nahda and the Wissenschaft des Judentums: Arabs, Jews and the Critique of European Modernity’, Keynote lecture by Susannah Heschel

15/01/2023 Aucun commentaire

We are honored to host Susannah Heschel, Eli M. Black Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies, Chair of the Jewish Studies Program, and faculty member in the Department of Religion at Dartmouth College. Professor Heschel will deliver a lecture on how nineteenth-century Arab and Jewish intellectuals approached the question of modernity through their respective cultural movements, the Nahda and the Haskalah. She will explore how, in the early twentieth century, new forms of collaboration emerged between Arabs and Jews, as well as among Christian, Muslim, and Jewish Nahdawis, as they developed counter-modern religious and political ideals. Through these encounters and exchanges, Arabs and Jews came to understand themselves and each other in new ways.

Organized by Naima Afif, University of Copenhagen. Join the event.

Conference organisation

‘Jews, the Qur’an and Islam: Contacts and Influences’, International workshop, 1-2 February 2023

15/01/2023 Aucun commentaire

I am delighted to announce the forthcoming international workshop, ‘Jews, the Qur’an and Islam: Contacts and Influences’ which will take place on 1-2 February 2023 in Copenhagen under the auspices of the EuQu project.

The workshop aims to explore how Jews approached the Qur’an and Islam from the Middle Age to the early modern period both in the lands of Islam and in Europe. Through various sources and textual genres ranging from polemics, exegesis to Qur’anic translations, we will discuss how Islam was perceived, how the Qur’an was used and how the Jews in some contexts were influenced by the material, textual and theological aspects of the Islamic tradition.

Online participation is possible via Zoom. You can learn more about the event here or contact me: naima.afif@teol.ku.dk