Arabs, Jews, and the Critique of Modernity

Starting in the 1830s, Jews in Europe became prominent scholars of the Qur'an and early Islam. Emphasizing parallels between the Qur’an and rabbinic writings, they developed affirmations of Islam that differed considerably from their more negative views of Christianity. Their scholarship continued, albeit with some changes in tone, until the 1930s, and then migrated to other parts of the world. Theirs was a unique Orientalism that is recognized until today with having established the field of Islamic Studies and viewed Islam as a treasury of profound and helpful insights and as a signal of Judaism’s centrality in the construction of the West.
 

“White Jesus, Black Jesus, Christian Jesus, Jewish Jesus”
Sunday, October 30, 2022 at 4:00pm
Sixth Street Community Synagogue, 325 E. 6th Street, New York, New York
 

Was Jesus a Jew or a Christian? Theologians on both sides have depicted Jesus either as a pious Jew seeking to reform Judaism or as the first Christian who introduced unique ideas and a new way of being a religious person. The debate between Jewish and Christian theologians over the religious identity of Jesus grew in intensity throughout the course of the nineteenth century and played an important role in the Nazi period. My lecture will review both sides of the debate and ask where we stand in our contemporary debates, including over Jesus as a person of color. Does Christology change if Jesus was Jewish, Black, or Asian?

Free and open to the public.