Social groups: religious groups and communities Books

Book SynopsisThroughout the Middle East, and in the west as well, there has been much discussion concerning the notion of Islamic rule and the application of shari‘ah by the state. Central to these debates are the three key themes that Mohammad Abed al-Jabri looks at in this book: democracy, human rights and law. Jabri, one of the most influential political philosophers in the contemporary Middle East, examines how these three concepts have been applied in the history of the Arab world, and shows that they are determined by political and social context, not by Islamic doctrine. Jabri argues that in order to develop democratic societies in which human rights are respected, the Arab world cannot simply rely on old texts and traditions. Nor can it import democratic models from the West. Instead, he says, a new tradition will have to be forged by today's Arabs themselves, on their own terms. Through analysis of contemporary Arab ideology, its doubts about democracy, whether human rights are universal and the role of women and minorities in Islamic society, he expounds on the most pertinent issues in modern political philosophy. This lively interrogation of the building blocs of western conceptions of a modern state is a classic text and is vital for all students of modern Islamic political thought. Mohammed Abed al-Jabri (1936-2010) was Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Rabat. As one of the most influential political philosophers in the contemporary Arab world, he authored many acclaimed books including, in Arabic: The Structure of Arab Reason, Arab Political Reason' and Arab Ethical Reason, and in English: The Formation of Arab Reason: Text, Tradition and the Construction of Modernity in the Arab World (I.B.Tauris, 2011).Table of ContentsVOLUME I: Religion, State and the Application of Islamic Shari‘ah Part One: The Question of Religion and the State Chapter 1: Religion and the State in the Authoritative Cultural Referent Chapter 2: Religion and State in the Renaissance Authoritative Referent Chapter 3: Religion, Politics and Civil War Part Two: The Question of Applying al-Shari‘ah Chapter 4: Awakening and Renewal Chapter 5: Traditionalism (al-salafiyah)… or The Historical Experience of the Nation? Chapter 6: Extremism: Right and Left Chapter 7: Extremism Between Creed and al-Shari‘ah Chapter 8: For the Procession of Ijtihad Chapter 9: The Rationality of the Rulings of al-Shari‘ah Chapter 10: Rulings and Dependence Chapter 11: Every Age has its Special Needs Chapter 12: ‘Avoid the Hudud Penalties when in Doubt’ Chapter 13: Concerning ‘Complete Application of al-Shari‘ah’ VOLUME II: Democracy and Human Rights Part One: Democracy: Its Historical Role in the Arab World Chapter 1: A Demands in the Arab World Chapter 2: Al-Shura and Democracy are not One and the Same Chapter 3: The Difficult Birth Chapter 4: Partnership in Human Governance Chapter 5: Democracy and the Right to Speak Chapter 6: No Way Out Except Through a Historical Bloc Part Two: Democracy and the Current Arab Reality Chapter 7: The Problem of the Transition to Democracy Chapter 8: Objective Situations Conducive to Democracy Chapter 9: Contemporary Arab Ideology and its Doubts about Democracy Chapter 10: Dispersing the Doubts about Democracy Chapter 11: The State that Swallows up Society Chapter 12: Civil Society and the Elites in the Arab Nation Chapter 13: Elites Fear Democracy Chapter 14: Democracy, a Necessity Part Three: Cultural Implantation of Human Rights in the Contemporary Arab Conscience Chapter 15: Human Rights: Particularity and Universality Chapter 16: Universality of Human Rights in the European Point of Reference Chapter 17: Universality of Human Rights in the Islamic Authoritative Point of Reference: Reason and Innate Nature Chapter 18: Universality of Human Rights in the Islamic Authoritative Point of Reference: Covenant and al-Shura Chapter 19: Philosophy of Human Rights and Religion Chapter 20: Freedom is One Things, Apostasy Another Chapter 21: Women’s Rights in Islam: Between the Fundamental Principles of al-Shari‘ah and its Particular Rulings Part Four: Enhancing Awareness of Human Rights in Islam Chapter 22: The Concept of the Human Being in Modern Though Chapter 23: The Concept of the Human Being in the Qur’an Chapter 24: The Right to Life and its Enjoyment Chapter 25: The Right to Freedom of Belief, Knowledge and Difference Chapter 26: Al-Shura between the Qur’an and the Circumstantial Interpretations Chapter 27: The Right to Equality and the Question of ‘Preference’ Chapter 28: Slavery and the Rights of Women Chapter 29: The Right to Justice: The Strength of the Qur’anic Text and the Vacillation of the ‘Advisory Discourse’ Chapter 30: The Rights of the Weak Oppressed: The Right of the Poor to the Wealth of the Rich Chapter 31: Social Security in Islam: Necessity of Development Chapter 32: The Rights of God, the Rights of People: Application of al-Shari‘ah

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Book SynopsisAli Shariati is, for many, the ideological father of the Iranian revolution. A charismatic leader and teacher, his radical blend of Islam and Marxism mobilized a whole generation of young Iranians. Now available in paperback, this full-length political biography looks at Ali Shariati's life and thought in the context of the complex and contradictory cultural, social and political conditions of the Iranian society that shaped him.Trade ReviewThis is an outstanding book for its erudition, balance and perception, and a worthy study of an outstanding intellectual figure. Professor Vanessa Martin, Bulletin of SOAS - Rahnema's excellent study deserves the attention of every student of modern Iran. Professor Ali. M. Ansari, The University of St Andrews 'Ali Rahnema's excellent political biography of the radical Iranian intellectual Ali .Shari 'ati...follows the development of his thought skillfully - Rahnema is to be thanked for providing such a readable account of this complex and important man.' Charles Tripp, Times Literary Supplement Ali Rahnema balances sympathy for his subject with scholarly objectivity. He writes with a fluency and charm rare in academic books, sweeping the reader along with his enthusiasm and energy.' Shusha Guppy, Times Higher Educational SupplementTable of ContentsPreface Acknowledgments The Political and Religious setting The Tudeh Party The Kasravi Tendency 2.Mohammad Taqi Shari’ati: Father and Teacher The Centre for the Propagation of Islamic Truths The Centre and the Oil Nationalization Movement The Influence of the Centre 3.The Movement of God-Worshipping Socialists The Split The Homespun Ideology 4.From Child to Adult Ali’s Primary School Secondary School The Adult Child Contradictory Moods Ali and his Books 5.The Young Intellectual and Political Activitst The League for the Freedom of Iranian People The Political Agitator Translations The Median Schools of Islam Khorasan 6.The University Years Political Discontent New Sparks, Friends, Teachers A Patron of Modern Poetry Imprisonment, Marriage and Graduation 7.Paris Observation, Introspection and Adjustment Political Revival and Radicalization (1960-1964) Discrete Presence Penmanship The Congress of the World Federation of Iranian Students 8.Looking to the Future The Pen Socio-political activities The death of Ali’s mother Beyond the National Front Iran-e-Azad The Lausanne Congress 9.Schooling in Paris A Classical Education The Genuine Foundation of Knowledge Massignon Gurvitch Berque Fanon Sartre Theoretical Bridge-building The Islamic Alternative 10.Homeward Bound Salman-e-Pak A Guide to Khorasan Applying to Mashhad University 11.Mystical Murmers Shari’ati’s retreat The Need for God Shari’ati’s Gnosticism Mystical Experiences Annihilation and Assimilation of God Gnosticism and Politics 12.Fictive Mind Shari’ati, Sham, Chandel Chandel and Chapelle Shari’ati and Solange Solange’s death and resurrection Three epids of the fictive mind 13.At Mashhad University The Jacobins The Medium A Patron of Cultural Activities The Relief Worker A Diversion : Shari’ati and Jalal-e Al-e Ahmad 14.Shari’ati’s Audience and Discourse at the University of Masshad Eslamshenasi The intellectual left and Shari’ati The revolutionary left and Shari’ati The religious establishment reacts 15.A Cat and Mouse Game Interrogations The ban on public lectures A mind under pressure 16.Hosseiniyeh Ershad The First Phase The Second Phase The Hejazi Affair Shari’ati’s first taste of Ershad The return to Ershad 17.Ershad A Disturbing Iconoclast The Backlash The struggle for Ershad An unexpected reinstatement 18.Restoration The Nascent Iranian Guerrilla Movement Shari’ati’s Ershad The clerical opposition to Shari’ati Mosaddeqist Criticism The challenges of the revolutionaries 19.The Word Educational lectures: The History and Mastery of Religions A Radical Islamic Ideology 20.Insurrectionary Discourse Religious subversion Political subversion The complete Shi’i party 21.Cultivating Martyrs Ershad: the revolutionary beehive The closer of Ershad 22.Imprisonment The Komiteh Prison A New Day Freedom and Confusion Revisionism: by choice or freedom? 23.The Curtain Falls Rationalization or radicalization? Hejira and Death Epiloguse Notes Select Bibliograhy Index

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Book SynopsisArguably, trade is the engine of history, and the acceleration in what you mightcall ‘globalism’ from the beginning of the last millennium has been driven by communities interacting with each other through commerce and exchange. The Ottoman empire was a trading partner for the rest of the world, and therefore the key link between the west and the middle east in the fifteenth to nineteenth centuries. much academic attention has been given to the east india Company, but less well known is the Levant Company, which had the exclusive right to trade with the Ottoman empire from 1581 to 1825. The Levant Company exported British manufacturing, colonial goods and raw materials, and imported silk, cotton, spices, currants and other Levantine goods. it set up ‘factories’ (trading establishments) across Ottoman lands and hired consuls, company employees and agents from among its members, as well as foreign tradesmen and locals. here, despina vlami outlines the relationship between the Ottoman empire and the Levant Company, and traces the company’s last glimpses of prosperity combined with slump periods and tension, as both the Ottoman and the British empire faced significant change and war. she points out that the growth of ‘free’ trade and the end of protectionism coincided with modernisation and reforms, and while doing so, provides a new lens through which to view the decline of the Ottoman world.Trade ReviewDrawing on a careful and systematic analysis of the english Levant Company's substantial archive, vlami underscores the increasing demand for the abandonment of protective measures under which British trade had operated in the eighteenth century. This is a work that will surely interest economic and cultural historians, and specialists in the Ottoman empire and the eastern mediterranean - in short, this is a book that, thanks to its author's intelligence and sensitivity, makes an excellent scholarly contribution to our understanding of an important moment in the history of the european economy when Britain emerged as the world's dominant economic force.' Anthony Molho Emeritus Professor of History, The European University institute and Brown University' Despina Vlami dresses scholarship in enjoyable style. she shows well how the transition from monopoly to free trade marks the destiny of the Levant Company. its structure, interwoven with the people working for or against it, comes out in the text as an intricate web of human relations, of ambition and action, of success or failure. entrepreneurial strategies blend with lively descriptions of the actors' social identity and everyday life. a good piece of historical writing. Georges Dertilis, Directeur d'etudes, Ecole des hautes Etudes en sciences socialesTable of ContentsList of Tables Acknowledgements Introduction Part 1 Foundation- Organisation-Dissolution Part 2 Corporate and Individual Strategies: The Transition from Monopoly to Free Trade Part3 Entrepreneurial form and Strategy Part 4 Business, Social Identity and Everyday Life Epilogue Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThe story of Anglo-American relations in Saudi Arabia during the Second World War has generally been viewed as one of discord and hegemonic rivalry, a perspective reinforced by a tendency to consider Britain's decline and the ascent of US power as inevitable. In this engaging and timely study, Matthew Hinds calls into question such assumptions and reveals a relationship that, though hard-nosed, functioned through interdependence and strategic parity. Drawing upon an array of archives from both sides of the Atlantic, Hinds traces the flow of key events and policies as well as the leading figures who shaped events to show why, how and to what extent the allies and Saudi Arabia became 'mixed up together', in the words of Winston Churchill. Perhaps most fundamentally, Britain and the United States were enthralled by the promise of Saudi Arabia serving as an auxiliary to Allied strategy. Obtaining King Ibn Saud's tacit support or more specifically, his 'benevolent neutrality', meant having vital access, not only to the country's prospective oil reserves, but to its prized geographic location, its centrality within Islam and, as international politics increasingly followed an anti-colonial path, to its credentials as a sovereign and independent Arab state. Given what was at stake, London and Washington saw their engagement in Saudi Arabia as seminal; a genuine blueprint for how to forge a lasting 'Special Relationship' throughout the Middle East. Hinds' bold new interpretation is a vital work that enlarges our understanding of the Anglo-American wartime alliance.Trade ReviewHinds has produced a readable account that makes a convincing case for revising notions of wartime Anglo American rivalry in Saudi Arabia ... A stimulating reinterpretation of Anglo-American relations in Saudi Arabia that deserves to be a central point of reference in any analysis of the evolution of the “special relationship” in the Middle East. * Bustan: The Middle East Book Review *

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Book SynopsisIn 1923, when the pioneer of feminist activism, Huda Shaarawi, removed her veil in Cairo's train station, she created what became a landmark (and much-copied) gesture for feminists throughout Egypt and the Middle East and cemented her status as one of the most important feminists in twentieth-century Egypt. In Casting off the Veil, her granddaughter Sania Sharawi Lanfranchi uses never-before seen letters and photographs to explore the life and thought of Egypt's first feminist, as she campaigned against British occupation, as well as striving to improve conditions for women throughout the country. From her birth into a wealthy and powerful family, her early years spent in a harem, to her iconic status as one of the most influential feminists in Middle Eastern history, this is a fascinating portrait of a determined and ground-breaking woman, a rich and important story which will captivate everyone with an interest in Egyptian, feminist or colonial history.Trade Review""Huda Shaarawi an icon. A wealthy woman who dedicated her life and her financial resources to the betterment of Egypt. She set up a number of charitable works that also educated and trained women so they could earn a living. She was the first feminist in the country and Egyptian women all owe her a debt for her indefatigable work on their behalf, and thus this book, which deals with the history of this remarkable woman, will appeal to a very wide audience in Egypt of both sexes. Interweaving Shaarawi's life with the history of Egypt, and bringing in new material from private papers, this book is highly recommended for all interested in the history of women in Egypt and the wider Middle East."" Afaf Lutfi al-Sayyid Marsot, Professor Emerita, UCLA" "Huda Shaarawi was one of the truly heroic figures of the modern Middle East. And this book will not only provide a wealth of new information, but may also change the unconscious views of many readers, especially Western ones, about the nature of the Middle-Eastern family and Middle-Eastern society in general."" John Rodenbeck, Professor Emeritus, The American University in Cairo""A very unique account."" - Al-Ahram Online" "By tracing the life of Huda Shaarawi with depth, honesty and completeness, Sharawi Lanfranchi not only takes us back to a journey in the past, but to a journey in the mind, heart and soul of one of the greatest women of all times."" Midan MasrTable of Contents1: Childhood in a conservative home 2: First steps in social work 3: International feminism and the EFU 4: Against the occupation 5: A Wafdist ministry 6: A lesson in diplomacy 7: The game of politics 8: The question of Greater Syria 9: The natural enemies of war 10: Turning points 11: Peace and justice 12: The Second World War 13: The UNGA divides Palestine

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Book SynopsisOne of the most significant works on Anglican and Women's history to be published in recent years. Includes a foreword by the Archbishop of Canterbury. This book tells the story of how a parish women's meeting started in 1876 by a Victorian vicar's wife is now the most authentic and powerful organization of women in the new global Christianity. Its cross-disciplinary approach examines how religious faith and shifting ideologies of womanhood and motherhood in the imperial and post colonial worlds acted as a source of empowerment for conservative women in their homes, communities and churches. In contrast to much of feminist history, A History of the Mothers' Union 1876-2008: Women, Anglicanism and Globalisation shows how the beliefs of ordinary women led them to become advocates and activists long before women had the vote or could be ordained priests. Having survived an identity crisis over social and theological liberalism in the 1960s, the Mothers' Union provides a model of unity and reconciled diversity for a divided world wide church. Today it is hailed by the Archbishop of Canterbury and international development practitioners as an outstanding example of global Christian engagement with poverty and social transformation issues at the grass roots. The material is arranged both thematically and chronologically. Case studies of Australia, Ghana and South Africa trace how the Mothers' Union arrived with white British women but evolved into indigenous organizations. CORDELIA MOYSE is Adjunct Professor of Church History at Lancaster Theological Seminary, Lancaster, PA, USA.Trade ReviewA fine contribution to British women's and British religious history. * JOURNAL OF BRITISH STUDIES *At last a careful study of the Mothers' Union based on the wonderful archives created at Mary Sumner House and now in the Lambeth Palace Library. [...] A thoughtful and carefully prepared book. * THE MAGAZINE OF MU AUSTRALIA *This important book is in some sense an untold history of the Anglican Communion itself, charting the globalization and development of Anglican faith and cultures. * LIVING CHURCH *

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Book SynopsisThe west's Orientalism - its construction of an Arab or Islamic 'Other' - has been exposed and examined under the critical theory microscope and thoroughly expelled, it seems, from academic thought. At the same time postmodern thinkers from Nietzsche onwards have employed the motifs and symbols of the Islamic Orient within an ongoing critique of western modernity, an appropriation which, this hugely controversial book argues, runs every risk of becoming a new and more insidious Orientalist strain.Ian Almond sensitively yet rigorously examines the work of Nietzsche, Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, Jean Baudrillard, Julia Kristeva and Slavoj Zizek, as well as that of postmodern writers Jorge Luis Borges, Salman Rushdie and Orhan Pamuk. In doing so he exposes the implications of this 'use' of Islam for both the postmodern project and for Islam itself. Taking apart the assumptions, omissions and contradictions inherent in these thinkers' approaches to Islam and to the Arab world, and drawing on the work of prominent Muslim thinkers including Ziauddin Sardar, Aziz Al-Azmeh and Bobby S. Sayyid, "The New Orientalists" highlights the difficulty of ever speaking truly about the 'Other'. In light of the current Western climate of fear and hysteria surrounding the Islamic world, this groundbreaking project could hardly be more timely.

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Book SynopsisIn this magisterial work, Sami Zubaida draws on a distinguished career's worth of experience trying to understand the region to address the fundamental question in Middle East studies: what is the Middle East? He argues, controversially, that to see it through the prism of Islam, as it is conventionally viewed, is to completely misunderstand it. Many of what we think of as the 'Islamic' characteristics of the region are products of culture and society, not religion.To think of Islam itself as an essential, anti-modern force in the region rather than something shaped by specific historical-economic processes is, Zubaida argues, a mistake. Instead, he offers us an alternative view of the region, its historic cosmpolitanism, its religious and cultural diversity, its rapid adoption of new media cultures, which reveals a multi-faceted and complex region teeming with multiple identities. Wide-ranging, erudite and powerfully argued, Zubaida's work will be essential reading for future generations of students of this fascinating region.Table of ContentsIntroduction * 1. Is There a Muslim Society? * 2. Political Modernity in the Middle East * 3. Shifting Social Boundaries and Identities in the Modern Middle East * 5. Islam and Nationalism: Continuities and Contradictions * 6. The Public and the Private in Middle Eastern History and Society

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Book SynopsisFor centuries the Islamic world has, by turns, been both reviled and admired in the West. Since the time of the Crusades, Europeans have viewed Muslim culture and religion through the unique distorting lens of Orientalism, colouring all aspects of their perception and generating a curious blend of fascination and distrust. Historian, sociologist and Middle East specialist Maxime Rodinson presents an account of this relationship, in a history that is balanced and concise yet insightful.Trade Review'sure to become a favourite of American scholars of the Middle East. It is short, succinct, erudite, and greatly reassuring' -Richard W. Bulliet 'Is the history of Islam and the West... merely a record of battles and bigotry? This book makes clear that the relationship has been much subtler. By chronicling, succinctly and elegantly, the West's changing images of Islam, Rodinson - one of the leading French scholars of Islam and the Middle East - demolishes the notion of two monolithic blocs frozen in eternal hostility' -London Review of Books 'Rodinson's serious work is an analytical history of Europe's varying attitudes, positive and negative, towards Islam and the Middle East... Deserves reading.' -The EconomistTable of ContentsPart 1 Western views of the Muslim world: the Middle Ages; toward a less polemical image; coexistence and reconciliation; from coexistence to objectivity; the birth of Orientalism; the enlightenment; the 19th century; challenges to Eurocentrism. Part 2 Toward a new approach to Arab and Islamic studies: traditional Orientalism in the past; the present crisis and current problems; the present state of the craft - the continuance of the past impetus; theologocentrism in scholarship; new fields and disciplines; regional influences in Islamic studies; the modalities of future progress; proposals for future study.

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Book SynopsisThe revival and power of religious feelings among Muslims since the Iranian revolution presents a complicated and often perplexing picture of the politics of modern Islam. What are the ideas which have influenced the direction of these trends? Here, Hamis Enayat provides an answer by describing and interpreting some of the major Islamic political ideas, especially those expressed by Iranians and Egyptians, as well as thinkers from Pakistan, India, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. He examines the political differences between the two main schools in Islam - Shi'ism and Sunnism. Also covered in the book is: the concept of the Islamic state; and the Muslim response to the challenge of alien and modern ideologies such as nationalism, democracy and socialism - as well as notions of Shi'i modernism.Trade Review'Enayat's book makes a significant contribution to understanding the complexities of a situation involving the two most important Muslim communities as they are forced to share a single political space.'- Asian AffairsJOURNAL OF ORIENTAL AND AFRICAN STUDIES'...this title will for long remain a classic and redoubtable piece of scholarship...an essential reading for all those interested in and "insider's" analysis of the Islamic political thought and indeed for all students of political history.- Amidu Olalekan Sanni, Lagos State University

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Book SynopsisThe family tomb as a physical claim to the patrimony, the attributed powers of the dead and the prospect of post-mortem veneration made the cult of the dead an integral aspect of the Judahite and Israelite society. Over 850 burials from throughout the southern Levant are examined to illustrate the Judahite form of burial and its development. Vessels for foods and liquids were of paramount importance in the afterlife, followed by jewellery with its protective powers. The cult of the dead began to be an unacceptable feature of the Jerusalem Yahwistic cult in the late eighth to seventh century BCE. This change of attitude was precipitated by the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel and the consequent theological response.

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Book SynopsisThis clearly written text explores the rational theology of Islam, the conflict between the "defenders of God" and the "defenders of reason", and the controversy's historical roots.Table of ContentsIntroduction - a tale of two texts; the rise and fall of the Mu'tazila in premodern Islam; the life and works of Qadi' abd Al-Jabbar; a "thick description" of the five Usul; Kiab Al-Usul Al-Khamsa (book of the five fundamentals) - a translation; the persistance of traditionalism and rationalism; the significance of Mu'tazilism in Indonesia; Harun Naustion's defense of Mu'tazilism; Kaum Mu'tazilah dan Pandangan Rasionalanya (the Mu'Tazila and rational philosophy) - a translation; modern and postmodern glosses of Mu'tazilism; the implication of modernity - deconstructing the argument.

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Book SynopsisThis text gives a formative account of the development of Islamic thought from the death of Muhammad in 632, to 950. It demonstrates how various religions and political movements within Islam contributed to what has become standard form, including the positive contribution of sects later regarded as heretical, and the key interaction of religion and politics. Drawing on many previously unresearched Arabic sources, it presents a comprehensive, balanced and clear picture of the main lines of philosophical development in this important period.Table of ContentsPart 1 The beginnings: the Kharaijites; Proto-Shi'ite phenomena under the Umayyads; the general religious movement; God's determination of events; faith and community. Part 2 The century of struggle (750-850): the establishment of the 'Abbasids; the attraction of reasoning; the great Mu'tazilites. Part 3 The triumph of Sunnism; the political background; the maturing of Sunnite theology.

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Book SynopsisA fresh look at the origins and development of Islam, this is a fascinating reconstruction of the era of the first three generations of Muslims. Using a wealth of classical Arabic sources, it chronicles the lives of the Prophet Muhammad, his Companions, and the subsequent two generations of Muslims, together known as the "the Pious Forebears". Examining the adoption in contemporary times of these early Muslims as legitimizing figureheads for a variety of causes, both religious and political, Afsaruddin tries to establish where their sympathies really lay. Essential reading for anyone interested in the inception of the Islam, this important book will captivate the general reader and student alike.Trade Review"Well-researched and measured. An eloquent and cogent explanation of the historical roots and meanings of many key concepts relevant to today's discussion of contemporary Islam, including the role of jihad in the Islamic tradition. Her book should be required reading for any Muslim or non-Muslim who mistakenly believes the faith is immutable." * Washington Post *"Well-researched and measured. An eloquent and cogent explanation of the historical roots and meanings of many key concepts relevant to today's discussion of contemporary Islam, including the role of jihad in the Islamic tradition. Her book should be required reading for any Muslim or non-Muslim who mistakenly believes the faith is immutable." * Washington Post *"A nuanced and erudite portrait of early Muslim lives and ideas. This is a rich and much-needed text. Its range of scholarship, balanced statements and acute sense of the past and the present makes it required reading for both specialists and non-specialists." * The Times Higher Educational Supplement *"A nuanced and erudite portrait of early Muslim lives and ideas. This is a rich and much-needed text. Its range of scholarship, balanced statements and acute sense of the past and the present makes it required reading for both specialists and non-specialists." * The Times Higher Educational Supplement *"A thoughtful, critically informed reading of Islam's early history from a modernist perspective." * Choice *"A thoughtful, critically informed reading of Islam's early history from a modernist perspective." * Choice *"This attractive and readable book", "Afsaruddin has a clear argument, and her passion and commitment to the modernist position shine through" * Speculum - A Journal of Medieval Studies *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Writing about the "First Muslims" Chapter One: The Rise of Islam and Life of the Prophet Muhammad Chapter Two: The Issue of Succession to the Prophet Chapter Three: The Age of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs Chapter Four: the End of Rightly-Guided Leadership Chapter Five: The Age of the Companions Chapter Six: The Age of the Successors Chapter Seven: The Successors to the Successors I: Administration, Leadership, and Jihad Chapter Eight: The Successors to the Successors II: Education, Humanism, and Mystical Spirituality Chapter Nine: Constructing the Pious Forbears: Historical Memory and the Present. Part One: The Islamist Construction Chapter Ten: Constructing the Pious Forbears: Historical Memory and the Present. Part Two: The Significance of the Salaf al-Salih for the Modernists Chapter Eleven: Assessment of Islamist and Modernist Views Conclusion

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Book SynopsisWhile many in the West regard feminism and Islam as a contradiction in terms, many Muslims in the East have perceived Western feminist forces in their midst as an assault upon their culture. In this career-spanning collection of influential essays, Margot Badran presents the feminisms that Muslim women have created, and examines Islamic and secular feminist ideologies side by side. Borne out of over two decades of work, this important volume combines essays from a variety of sources, ranging from those which originated as conference papers to those published in the popular press. Also including original material written specifically for this book, Feminism and Islam provides a unique and wide-ranging contribution to the field of Islam and gender studies.Trade ReviewHumanities \ Religion Badran, Margot. Feminism in Islam: secular and religious convergences. Oneworld, 2009. 349p bibl index; ISBN 9781851685561 pbk, $29.95. Reviewed in 2010may CHOICE. Written by Badran (Georgetown Univ.), this collection of essays based on fieldwork, conference presentations, and literary historical analysis ranks among the best works investigating feminism and Islam. The first part is devoted to feminism in Egypt, and the second traces the spread of feminism in the broader Muslim world. Badran carefully balances attention to major thinkers and writers with her grasp of the issues feminists faced and addressed, along with the opponents and obstacles in their paths. She demonstrates points of divergence and convergence in her historical portrayal of the rise and growth of Islamic feminism with the two foundational methodologies of ijtihad (independent reasoning into religious texts) and tafsir (interpretation of the Qur'an). Running throughout her analysis are many crucial issues: political Islam, nationalism, education, the modernity and secularism introduced by the West, and an excellent discussion of female genital mutilation. Her discussion of "gender activism" and "Islamic feminism" (p. 219: " . . . a middle space . . . between secular feminism and masculinist Islam") is particularly helpful. The scope, clarity of argument, depth of analysis, and wealth of new information make this a very useful work. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-level undergraduates and above; general readers. -- L. J. Alderink, emeritus, Concordia College More than 35,000 academic librarians, faculty, and key decision makers rely on the reviews in Choice magazine and Choice Reviews Online for collection development and scholarly research. Choice reaches almost every undergraduate college and university library in the United States. http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/publications/choice/index.cfm * Choice *"this book excels and is bound to create more than just a splash in the midst of ongoing debates about the vexed ‘Muslim woman question’ " * Muslim World Book Review *

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Book SynopsisAlthough a large body of the great poetry of the Islamic world has been translated into English, except for a few fragments, the poetry of the Isma'ilis is still only accessible in the original. This anthology should enable lovers of devotional and mystical poetry to sample the great range and depth of Isma'ili poetry. The selection spans 1000 years of Isma'ili history, from the time of the Fatimid caliphate to the present day. It includes both sophisticated and popular verses from the Isma'ili poets of Arabia, Africa, Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia, China, India and Pakistan composed in Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Burushaski and Urdu. In addition to the theme of divine love and the virtues of the prophet and the Immans, the poems present some of the central ideas of the Isma'ilis and their esoteric interpretation of Islam.Table of ContentsAl-Qadi al-Nu'man; Ibn Hani al-Andalusi; Amir Tamim al-Fatimi; Al-Mu'ayyad fi'l-Din al-Shirazi; Nasir-i Khusraw; Hasan-i Sabbah; Ra'is Hasan; Nizari Quhistani; 'Abd Allah Ansari; Khayrkhwah-i Harati; Khaki Khurasani; Shaykh Khudr; Fida'i Khurasani; 'Allama Nasir Hunzai; Isma'il Adra; 'Ali Kasm.

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Book SynopsisThis is the first English translation of Joseph Roth's portrayal of the Jews of Eastern Europe: their poverty, their towns and trades, their feast days and the mysticism of their rabbis. Roth was conscious that this was a community living under the threat of extermination.Trade ReviewThis [is a] rich little book ... Roth's gift of phrasing, which can switch without warning from lyrical sentiment to irony, never deserts him * Observer *Almost every page has flashes of the novelist's descriptive wit and the trained journalist's eye for a story * Sunday Telegraph *It shows some prophetic insights, and some illusions * Evening Standard *The Wandering Jews reconnects with the rich complexities of European Jewish culture before it was swallowed up by the Holocaust. Roth's brilliant and penetrating analysis proved tragically prophetic. At this distance, it gives a timeless perspective on the vulnerability of dispossessed people everywhere * The Times *Of the many books written about the Jewish people few have approached the clarity and exactness achieved in this short, astonishing study. Roth's reportage remains vivid and pertinent. As a cultural study of a homeless, persecuted race it is as perceptive as it is practical. His lightness of touch always prevails. Above all the fiction is unforgettable, the prose fluid and beautiful. It must also be said he is a forgotten master - the fiction is evocative, atmospheric and accessible. Read everything he has written - and wonder at one of literature's most enduring, beguiling and deserving voices -- Eileen Battersby * Irish Times *Roth ... is one of the greatest. Why he was forgotten, I have no idea ... In The Wandering Jews, a book dozens of times larger than itself in love and argument and stern sympathy ... [Roth] also demonstrates that war is not necessary to break our faith. Only civilisation is. Only a writer who had chosen to live with that sound of shattering could do that * New Statesman *This new book contains superb reportage * Irish Times *

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Book SynopsisThe latter part of the thirteenth century is regarded as a key period in the history of Italian Jewry. During that time many Jewish communities sprang up in the regions of central and northern Italy. Their appearance marked a turning-point in the history of Jews in the Italian peninsula as the Jewish presence had previously been focused on Rome and the south. In this much-acclaimed study, originally published in Italian, Ariel Toaff captures all the intricacies of everyday life in the medieval Jewish communities of Umbria. A thorough examination of Hebrew and Italian archival sources enables him to characterize in detail the defining features of Jewish life in the region at that time and to show clearly how the common stereotype of a single, undifferentiated Jewish community does not reflect the reality. Instead, he presents a picture of a complex society that—far from being a ‘mere’ minority and somewhat isolated—actually contributed greatly to contemporary society and played a significant role in shaping it, while at the same time also being influenced by the surrounding Christian society. Professor Toaff elaborates contemporary Jewish traditions and practices associated with love, marriage, food, work, sickness, and death in the context of everyday social relations between Christians and Jews. In so doing he presents a full and fascinating reconstruction of the Jewish life of the period that faithfully reflects the links and divides between the two communities. Engagingly written, Love, Work, and Death: Jewish Life in Medieval Umbria will be of interest to the general reader, while its detailed references to archival documentation make it a particularly valuable source for students of medieval Jewish history and specialists in the social history of medieval and Renaissance Italy.Trade Review‘Fascinating and erudite . . . The fruit of detailed and extensive research, it succeeds in combining scholarly rigour with vivid readability: the result is a compelling picture of daily life in all its dimensions. . . . Toaff's sympathetic study, by setting the Umbrian Jews of an earlier period in the appropriate social context, allows us to view the more tolerant and complex world which existed . . . There is, perhaps, a lesson here for the Jewish historiography of our own time too.’ - Mark Mazower, Jewish Book News & Reviews‘A very thoroughly documented and most readable presentation . . . The Jews of Umbria and Love, Work, and Death constitute two very important and complementary contributions to the reconstruction of a significant and interesting chapter in the history of Jewish life in the pre-modern Diaspora by a scholar thoroughly at home in the relevant languages, literatures, and methodologies. Moreover, the English translation of Love, Work, and Death further opens up the history of the Jews of the Italian peninsula to the reader without Italian. Finally, while most welcome for its own sake, in a wider context, Professor Toaff's work marks an important contribution to the comparative analysis of different Jewish societies over the ages.’ - Benjamin Ravid, Jewish Quarterly Review‘Professor Toaff is the acknowledged master of the social history of Umbrian Jewry. . . . It is to be hoped that the new ideas interspersed in Toaff's presentation will stimulate further research and yield fresh perspectives on medieval Jewish society and culture.’- David Malkiel, Journal of Jewish Studies‘The book has much improved in its English translation: including an index (mandatory item) and a rich bibliography, both lacking in the original edition . . . Toaff is well versed in both Latin and Hebrew sources, and is able to present an impressive picture of the Jewish minority.’ - Alessandra Veronese, Mediterranean Historical ReviewTable of ContentsList of figures List of tables Abbreviations Note on Currency, Weights, and Measures Map showing Jewish settlements in Umbria Introduction 1 Sex, Love, and Marriage 2 Love of Life and Intimations of Mortality 3 Meat and Wine 4 The House of Prayer 5 Outcasts from Society 6 Witchcraft, Black Magic, and Ritual Murder 7 Converts and Apostates 8 The Pattern of Discrimination 9 Merchants and Craftsmen 10 Doctors and Surgeons 11 Banks and Bankers Bibliography Index

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Book Synopsis The two volumes of this work comprise the first comprehensive history of the kibbutz movement in any language. Origins and Growth covers the first thirty years of this fascinating story, from the formation of the kibbutz in the opening years of the twentieth century to the eve of the Second World War. It is a masterly analysis of the genesis and expansion of the kibbutzim and their relations with the world around them. It considers not only the various components of the kibbutz movement but also the pioneering youth movements from which their members came. Henry Near’s analysis of the ideological, political, economic, and social development of the kibbutz movement is illustrated throughout by excerpts from historical sources, affording a wealth of colourful insights into the changing quality of kibbutz life as experienced by its members. The second volume, Crisis and Achievement, 1939-1995 extends the detailed historical analysis to 1977 and gives a comprehensive overview of subsequent developments.Trade Review'Long and scholarly volume ... Near brings us every primary source on the topic, making this material available to the non-Hebrew reader for the first time ... a treasure trove of information.'Sara Reguer, AJS Review'The most systematic and comprehensive book ever written on the first three decades of kibbutz history ... the abundant statistical data and tables convey the realities beyond the aspirations, and there are descriptions of everyday life and of developments in kibbutz society and education.'Yuval Dror, Catedra'Pays special attention to the kibbutz movement as such and has added excerpts from historical sources to give an insight into the changing quality of kibbutz life as experienced by its members.'International Review of Social History'There has been no systematic survey of its historical development until Henry Near's fascinating and detailed account ... The story is told in meticulous detail.'Leon Sheleff, Jerusalem Post'This is an excellent and well researched book that is well written, with illuminating recollections and quotations from memoirs. It is a pleasure to read and its sequel will be well worth waiting for.'Hugh Courts, Jewish Book News & Reviews'Excellent ... the first comprehensive history of the Kibbutz movement in any language.'Barry Shenker, Jewish Chronicle'Henry Near has pioneered the history of the Kibbutz movement for the English reader.'Noah Lucas, Journal of Jewish Studies'Notably thoughtful and scholarly ... he has succeeded in putting together an admirably coherent and clearly written account of the kibbutz movement's history, an authoritative narrative account of which has long been needed. When completed by a second volume, The Kibbutz Movement: A History is sure to serve as the standard text on the subject for years to come.'David Vital, Times Literary SupplementTable of ContentsList of tablesList of illustrations and mapsNote on Translation, Transliteration, Annotation, and ReferencesIntroduction1 Backgrounds and Beginnings, 1904–1920Zionist Settlements and the Second Aliya • Communes and Kvutzot • The Spread of Kvutzot • Historical Dimensions in the Creation of the Kvutza2 Expansion and Consolidation, 1918–1923The Third Aliya and the ‘Fellowship of the Roads’ • Gedud Ha’avoda and Hashomer Hatzair • The Kibbutz Movement in 19233 The Pioneering Youth Movements: Origins and Growth, 1900–1935Hechalutz • The ‘Classic’ Youth Movements • The Smaller Youth Movements • The Youth Movements in the Early 1930s4 The Fourth Aliya and the Creation of the Kibbutz Movements, 1924–1930The Fourth Aliya: Patterns of Settlement • Gedud Ha’avoda and Ein Harod • The Foundation of the Kibbutz Movements • Unity and Variety5 After the Crisis: Recovery and Growth, 1927–1935The World in Transition • Economics and Settlement • Development of the Kibbutz Movements6 Politics and Youth, 1927–1935The Politicization of the Kibbutz Movement • The Expansion of the Youth Movements • Historical Influences on the Development of the Youth Movements7 Glimpses of Social History: The Kibbutz Community, 1925–1935Patterns of Education: The 1920s and 1930s • Community and Culture • Ways of Life: Three Kibbutzim, 19358 Diversity and Unity: The Smaller Movements, 1930–1939Pioneering Youth Movements in the Diaspora • Pioneering Youth Movements in the Yishuv • The Religious Kibbutz Movements • Youth Movements and Kibbutz Movements9 The Heroic Period, 1936–1939The Arab Revolt • The Kibbutz Movement and the Defence of the Yishuv • Tower and Stockade • Hechalutz and Illegal Immigration10 Economics, Politics, and Society, 1936–1939The Kibbutz Economy • Demographic Developments • The Kibbutz in Politics • Social Developments11 Comments and ConclusionsEconomics • Social Developments • The Kibbutz and the Outside World: Ideological Variants • Politics • Reflections • Achievements and ApprehensionsAppendix 1: The kibbutz movement in 1939Appendix 2: Guide to other settlements mentionedGlossaryReferencesIndexMap: The kibbutz movement in context, 1939

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Book SynopsisFrom 1772-1918 Jews were concentrated more densely in Galicia than in any other area in Europe. Bartal (modern Jewish history, Hebrew University of Jerusalem) and Polonsky (Judaic and social studies, Brandeis University) are joined by a number of other scholars of Judaism to explore the Jewish community in Galicia and its relationship with the Poles, Ukranians, and other ethnic groups. Essays include discuss of the consequences of Galician autonomy; Galician Jewish migration to Vienna; the reforms of Maria Theresa and Joseph II in the 18th century, the assimilation of the Jewish elite; and levels of literacy among Poles and Jews.Table of ContentsNote on Names and Place-Names Table of Major Place-Names Note on Transliteration Part I Focusing on Galicia: Jews, Poles, and Ukrainians in Galicia, 1772-1918 Introduction: The Jews of Galicia under the Habsburgs ISRAEL BARTAL and ANTONY POLONSKY Dimensions of a Triangle: Polish-Ukrainian-Jewish Relations in Austrian Galicia JOHN-PAUL HIMKA Austrian First Impressions of Ethnic Relations in Galicia: The Case of Governor Anton von Pergen FRANZ A. J. SZABO The Jewish Question in Galicia: The Reforms of Maria Theresa and Joseph II, 1772-1790 STANISLAW GRODZISKI Ludwig Gumplowicz's Programme for the Improvement of the Jewish Situation HANNA KOZINSKA-WITT Enlightenment, Assimilation, and Modern Identity: The Jewish Elite in Galicia JERZY HOLZER The Consequences of Galician Autonomy after 1867 JOZEF BUSZKO Politics, Religion, and National Identity: The Galician Jewish Vote in the 1873 Parliamentary Elections RACHEL MANEKIN From Austeria to the Manor: Jewish Landowners in Autonomous Galicia TOMASZ GASOWSKI A Ukrainian Answer to the Galician Ethnic Triangle: The Case of Ivan Franko YAROSLAV HRYTSAK Galician Jewish Migration to Vienna KLAUS HA-DL Yiddish as an Expression of Jewish Cultural Identity in Galicia and Vienna GABRIELE KOHLBAUER-FRITZ Part II New Views Benard Singer, the Forgotten 'Most Popular Jewish Reporter of the Inter-War Years in Poland' JANINA KATARZYNA ROGOZIK Johann Anton Krieger, Printer of Jewish Books in Nowy Dwor EMANUEL RINGELBLUM The Alphabetical List of Payers of the Communal Tax in Warsaw for 1912 JOANNA HENSEL-LIWSZICOWA 'The City of Illiterates'? Levels of Literacy among Poles and Jews in Warsaw, 1882-1914 STEPHEN D. CORRSIN Poles, Jews, and Russians, 1863-1914: The Death of the Ideal of Assimilation in the Kingdom of Poland THEODORE R. WEEKS Kazimierz Kelles-Krauz, 1872-1905: A Polish Socialist for Jewish Nationality TIMOTHY SNYDER The Endecja and the Jewish Question ROMAN WAPINSKI The Return of the Troublesome Bird: Jerzy Kosinski and Polish-Jewish Relations MONIKA ADAMCZYK-GARBOWSKA Part III Reviews REVIEW ESSAYS The Historical Besht: Reconstruction of Deconstruction? IMMANUEL ETKES Four Days in Atlantis: Jozef Lewandowski's Complex Vision of the Polish Jewish Past JANUSZ KOREK On the Bowdlerization of a Holocaust Testimony: The Wartime Journal of Calek Perechodnik DAVID ENGEL Judaica in Slovakia ADAM BARTOSZ BOOK REVIEWS OBITUARY Note on Contributors Glossary Index

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Book SynopsisIsaac Mayer Wise (1819–1900), founder of the major institutions of Reform Judaism in America, was a man of his time—a pioneer in a pioneer’s world. When he came to America from his childhood Bohemia in 1846, he found fewer than 50,000 Jews and only two ordained rabbis. With his sense of mission and tireless energy, he set himself to tailoring the vehicle of Reform Judaism to meet the needs of the growing Jewish community. Wise strove for unity among American Jews, and for a college to train rabbis to serve them. The establishment of Hebrew Union College (1875) was the crowning achievement of his life. His quest for unity also led him to draw up an American Jewish prayer-book, Minhag America, to found the Central Conference of American Rabbis, and to edit two weeklies; their editorials, breathing fire and energy, were no less important in his quest for leadership. Here as elsewhere, it was his persistence that won him the war where his impetuosity lost him many battles. Professor Temkin’s writing captures the vigour of Wise’s personality and the politics and concerns of contemporary Jewish life and leadership in America. Based primarily on material in the American Jewish Archives of the Hebrew Union College, this biography is a lively portrait of a rabbi whose singular efforts in many fields made him a pivotal figure in the naturalization of the Jew and Judaism in the New World. The book was first published in hardback in 1992 under the title Isaac Mayer Wise: Shaping American Judaism.Trade Review'Sefton Temkin has provided us with a much-needed critical and balanced portrayal of Wise ... The best scholarly work on Wise to date. It presents an admiring yet critical picture of Wise's achievements and personality ... Temkin's nuanced portrayal is a welcome contribution to our understanding of the man and his times.'- George L. Berlin, AJS Review'Thorough and extremely competent ... Temkin contributes a great deal through his careful use of materials ... The book will be of interest to general readers ... who wish not only to understand Isaac Mayer Wise but, moreover, to comprehend the attitudes and events that led to the formation of a truly American form of Judaism.' - A. J. Avery-Peck, Choice'This new study, which becomes the authoritative work on Wise, is the product of decades of research.'- Geoffrey Wigoder, Jerusalem Post'Sefton Temkin has outdone himself in this excellent critical biography ... Dr Temkin has performed a great service with this highly readable and insightful book.'- Allen Howard Podet, MannaTable of ContentsPrefatory NoteAbbreviationsNote on Transliteration1 Bohemia (1819–1849)Metternich’s Europe • Jewish Life in an Age of Reaction • Early Years • Departure2 New Beginning (1846–1854)Young America • Jewish Life • Rabbi in Albany • Organizing American Jewry • Early Writings • Sortie in Charleston: Backlash in Albany • Anshe Emeth • Formulating his Beliefs • The Asmonean • A Bible History • Heading West3 Cincinnati (1854–1900)Queen City of the West • Congregation B’nai Jeshurun • The Israelite • Zion College • Conference—Union—Synod • David Einhorn • Cleveland Platform: Quick Victory—Lengthy War • Minhag America • The Essence of Judaism • Fighting for Jewish Rights • Political Dimensions • The Civil War • At North College Hill • First Fruits in Cincinnati • Wider Ambitions • Among the Gentiles (1867–1878) • Years of Sorrow and Strife (1869–1874) • Flirting with the Orthodox • Reformers in Conflict: East versus West (1869) • Establishing the Union (1871–1873) • Call to New York (1873) • ‘We Must have “Union in Israel”’ • President of Hebrew Union College • Appendix: The Principal Changes Introduced in Minhag America4 Fulfilment: Years of HarvestDuties Old and New • Remarriage (1876) • Sustaining the College (1875–1883) • Reform Moves On: The Pittsburgh Platform • A New American Jewish World • Seventieth Birthday: Central Conference of American Rabbis • Sunset • The LegacyBibliographical noteGlossaryIndex

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Book SynopsisIn Broadening Jewish History Todd Endelman seeks to expand the horizons of modern Jewish historiography by focusing on ‘ordinary’ rather than exceptional Jews, arguing that what ordinary people did or felt can do more to deepen our understanding of Jewish history than what a few exceptional individuals thought and wrote. He also makes a strong case for comparative history, showing convincingly that only a comparison across national borders can identify the Germanness of German Jewish history or the Englishness of English Jewish history, and thereby reveal what is unique about each. This innovative collection of historiographical essays and case studies redefines the area under consideration and deftly restates the need for Jewish social history to counterbalance the current focus on cultural studies. The essays offer an important examination of the major trends in the writing of modern Jewish history and the assumptions that have guided historians in their narration of the Jewish past. Professor Endelman shows in particular how the two watershed events of twentieth-century Jewish history—the Holocaust and the establishment of the State of Israel—influenced Jewish historiography for decades thereafter. He also demonstrates how progressive integration into the scholarly framework of American academia has shaped both the form and the content of Jewish historical research. Each of the case studies focuses on a largely unknown figure whose career illustrates the often tortuous paths of integration and acceptance that Jews faced. Some achieved fleeting fame but many of the people who populate the volume remain altogether unknown, their histories recoverable only as statistics. In its wide-ranging analysis of trends in recent historical writing and its treatment of key themes and issues, this book is essential reading for professional historians, students, and indeed all those with an interest in Jewish history.Trade ReviewReviews'One of the world's leading authorities on the history of European and specifically of British Jewry . . . This volume is subtitled Towards a Social History of Ordinary Jews thereby charting directions others must take if such social histories are ever to be written. The raw material is there, but discovering its location and divining its meaning are no easy tasks. Endelman has provided a guidebook and a manual.'Geoffrey Alderman, Jewish ChronicleTable of ContentsNote on TransliterationIntroductionPART I: METHODS AND PERSPECTIVES1 Making Jews Modern: Jewish Self-Identification and West European Categories of Belonging2 The Legitimization of the Diaspora Experience3 The Englishness of Jewish Modernity in England4 Welcoming Ex-Jews into the Jewish Historiographical FoldPART II: COMPARISONS5 The Social and Political Context of Conversion in Germany and England6 Jewish Self-Hatred in Germany and England7 German Jews in Victorian EnglandPART III: MARGINAL JEWS8 The Chequered Career of ‘Jew’ King9 The Emergence of Disraeli’s Jewishness10 Disraeli and the Myth of Sephardi Superiority11 The Impact of the Converso Experience on English Sephardim12 The Frankaus of London13 Jewish Converts in Nineteenth-Century Warsaw14 Memories of JewishnessBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisShmuel Feiner's innovative book recreates the historical consciousness that fired the Haskalah—the Jewish Enlightenment movement. The proponents of this movement advocated that Jews should capture the spirit of the future and take their place in wider society, but as Jews—without denying their collective identity and without denying their past. Claiming historical legitimacy for their ideology and their vision of the future, they formulated an ethos of modernity that they projected on to the universal and the Jewish past alike. What was the image of the past that the maskilim shaped? What tactics underpinned their use of history? How did their historical awareness change and develop—from the inception of the Haskalah in Germany at the time of Mendelssohn and Wessely, through the centres of Haskalah in Austria, Galicia, and Russia, to the emergence of modern nationalism in the maskilic circles in eastern Europe in the last third of the nineteenth century? These are some of the questions raised in this fascinating exploration of an ideological approach to history which throws a searching new light on the Jewish Enlightenment movement and the emergence of Jewish historical consciousness more generally.Trade ReviewFOR HEBREW EDITION:'This excellent and learned book makes an important contribution to the on-going debate over the origins of modern historical thinking among the Jews [...] the first detailed analysis of the use and abuse of history in the Haskalah [...] It is Feiner's great merit that he is able to take a fresh and lively look at materials previously studied for their ideological and cultural content or literary style, dissecting their often disjointed and even parenthetical comments on and about history, and reassembling them into a coherent and compelling narrative about the ways in which Jews since the Enlightenment have thought or, more properly, written abut their past [...] wonderfully erudite book, at once impassioned and dispassionate.' - Michael Stanislawski, AJS Review 'Feiner's monumental work is undoubtedly one of the most important to be published in this area, and it will become a bench-mark in the research of modern Jewish history [...] a pleasure to read [...] essential for understanding the modernization of Jewish society in Europe and the emergence of Jewish nationalism, it also makes a significant contribution to the study of the nature of history and historiography and the uses to which they are put [...] the enormous breadth of this work, covering almost a century of the Jewish Enlightenment in Europe, the clarity of its conceptual framework, and its balance between fine detail and the broad overall picture combine to make it an outstanding example of innovative research and exemplary writing on historiography and the representation of the past.' - Zohar Shavit, Ha'aretz 'Insightful [...] Feiner's approach is highly ambitious in its scope [...] his account is always solidly based on little-know primary material, meticulously analysed; as a whole it adds up to a highly innovative picture of nineteenth-century Jewish historiography [...] This unpretentiously written study provides a wealth of new material and a fresh perspective on Jewish historiography. It will undoubtedly become a standard work on the desk of every serious Jewish historian.' - Michael Brenner, Journal of Jewish Studies'This excellent and learned book makes an important contribution to the ongoing debate over the origins of modern historical thinking among the Jews [...] the first detailed analysis of the use and abuse of history in the Haskalah [...] Feiner has performed a crucial service in retrieving, documenting, and explicating the reams of historical claims and commentary on the part of the maskilim from eighteenth-century Berlin to nineteenth-century Berdichev [...] wonderfully erudite book, at once impassioned and dispassionate.'- Michael Stanislawski, Polin'Meticulously researched [...] a definitive account of the Haskalah in its different manifestations.'- David Biale, American Historical Review'Shmuel Feiner's work becomes part of the mainstream of contemporary scholarship examining this aspect of European society and utilizing the paradigms of contemporary research [...] This text is essential to the scholar, particularly those dealing with Jewish thought after the Enlightenment. It is also totally relevant to our time.' - Uri Ben Alexander, European Judaism 'Makes an important and lasting contribution to the study of modern Jewish history and culture [...] excellent.' - Edward Breuer, Jewish Quarterly Review 'A pathbreaking book which surveys a key aspect of Hebrew-language Jewish enlightenment (haskalahA) thought in the modern period with authority, broad scope as well as with a deep and perceptive understanding of the leading and not-so-leading thinkers in the movement [...] breaks new ground by giving serious attention to 'middle level' enlightenment writers as a means of penetrating the mind of the less sophisticated individuals who made up the bulk of the movement [...] offers clear presentations of the thought of almost all the important ideologues of the movement and gives full bibliographical references. This will be a standard reference text for many years [...] should be a basic book in any collection that deals seriously with modern Jewish thought as well as collections interested in religious modernizations in various cultures.' - Shaul Stampfer, Religious Studies Review 'Not only does this work successfully recapture a long-forgotten mental universe of maskilic historical writings, it also demonstrates the author's conviction that the Haskalah cannot be displaced from its central, if not exclusive, position in the narrative of Jewish modernization in Europe. Feiner deserves to be regarded as the leading historian of the Haskalah movement considered in its entirety. His mastery of the relevant sources and the scholarly literature on Enlightenment is phenomenal, as is the quality and quantity of his meticulous studies of key Haskalah phenomena and figures [...] a deeply rewarding book. Its very expansiveness suits its author's ambition to understand the Haskalah in its entirety, a task to which Feiner, as much as anyone, is equal [...] a work the reader can luxuriate in [...] this study, in its highly readable translation, now provides the best single-volume treatment in English of the broad (and yes, revolutionary) ideology of the Haskalah.' - Jonathan Karp, Studies in Contemporary JewryTable of ContentsNote on transliteration and conventions used in the textIntroduction: ‘Haskalah’ and ‘History’1. From Traditional History to Maskilic History in Late Eighteenth-Century GermanyAn Enlightened Avant-Garde • The Legitimization of Traditional History • The ‘Judgement of Reason’: Legitimizations for a New History • Rationalistic, Realistic, and Moralistic History • The Modern Period in the Maskilic Picture of the Past • The Pantheon of Historical Heroes • The Dissemination of Maskilic History in the Early Nineteenth Century2. The Manipulation of History in Nineteenth-Century GaliciaThe Galician Maskilim • The Unfolding of Maskilic History • A Natural History of Hasidism • Nahman Krochmal: The Middle-f-the-Road Maskil • Wissenschaft des Judentums in Galicia • The Struggle for Freedom of Thought • Iconoclasm: Attitudes to Religious Reform3. Optimism under Oppression: Maskilic History in Russia, 1825–1855The Idea Yearned to be Realized • A universal History for a Modern Era • The Maskilic Chain of Tradition • The Use of History in Maskilic Propaganda • Political History and Moral History4. Reaching the Masses: The Dissemination of Maskilic HistoryThe Channels of Distribution • Optimistic and Patriotic History • Scientifc Knowledge of the Past • The Autobiography of the Haskalah Movement • Abraham Mapu and the Popularization of Maskilic History • Heroics and Sacred memories in Popular Historical Fiction • Improvement of the Masses: History in Yiddish • Kalman Schulman: The First Professional Popularizer5. Maskilic History in CrisisThe Radical Haskalah: A Loss of Optimism • The Anticlerical Struggle • The Historical Vindication of Hasidism • From ‘Maskilic History” to ‘National History’Conclusion: New DirectionsGlossaryBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisWhen The Hope of Israel was translated into English in 1652, its argument from Scripture that messianic redemption would not come to the Jewish people until they were scattered in all the corners of the Earth aroused great interest and played an instrumental part in the discussions in the Commonwealth under Cromwell which eventually led to the readmission of the Jews in 1656. This edition of that English text includes an introduction and notes which place the work in the intellectual context of its time.Trade Review'The editors are to be commended not merely for their editions of the text, but more specifically for their most informative and detailed introduction. Its ninety-five pages provide a scholarly but immensely readable background to Menasseh's life and times.' Jewish Chronicle 'Doubly welcome. The editors' introduction is admirable in its elucidation of Menasseh's life and times, the Marrano background and the messianic atmosphere of the mid-seventeenth century.'L. K., PolinTable of ContentsForewordAbbreviationsEditions and translationsIntroductionAmsterdam: From the Marranos to a Portuguese Jewish Community Menasseh ben Israel: A New Look at his Life and Work, 1604-1657 Esperanca de Israel, 1650Wall's English Translation of the Latin TextA Note on the English TranslationFacsimile of the Title PageThe Epistle DedicatoryMenasseh ben Israel to the Courteous ReaderThe Authors of Other Nations, which are Quoted in this TreatiseThe Hebrew Books, and Authors The Relation of Antonio MontezinosThe Hope of Israel A Note on Moses Wall by Richard H. PopkinBibliographyIndex of Place and Proper Names

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