Somewhere Between Islam and Judaism: Critical Reflections

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, Aaron W. 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 blind spots, assumptions, and problematic assertions responsible for structuring and framing Islamic and Jewish data.

Somewhere Between Islam and Judaism will be of interest to scholars and students of religion concerned with comparison, and to those studying Islam, Judaism, and Jewish-Muslim relations.

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