The Jews of Islam [Paperback]

Bernard Lewis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1987

Probing the Muslims' attitude toward Judaism as a special case of their view of other religious minorities in Islamic countries, Bernard Lewis demolishes two competing stereotypes: the fanatical warrior, sword in one hand and Qur' an in the other, and the Muslim designer of an interfaith utopia. Available for the first time in paperback, his portrayal of the Judaeo-Islamic tradition is set against a vivid background of Jewish and Islamic history.

Editorial Reviews

Review

An elegant and masterly survey. It is a measure of Mr. Lewis's gift for synthesis that all the many findings of recent sholarship, including his own in the Turkish archives, are made to fit into a coherent and plausible pattern. -- New York Times Book Review



Lewis refuses . . . simplistic approaches and tries to explain the complex and often contradictory history of Jewish-Muslim relations over fourteen hundred years. He does this in prose that combines eloquence, dispassion, and wit. -- Norman A. Stillman, New York Review of Books



[A] pioneering and masterful primer. -- Jacob Neusner, Boston Globe

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press; First Edition edition (June 1, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691008078
• ISBN-13: 978-0691008073
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #400,244 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

77 of 84 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Jews of Islam, Bernard Lewis, April 9, 2000

By 

Ali Abbas "Ali Abbas Q" (Highland Park, NJ, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Jews of Islam (Paperback)

This book examines the presence and role of the Jews in Islam, with a treatment that spans not only through the text of the Quran, but also an application of the laws and injunctions contained in the the practice of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, by the Islamic jurists.

While the book attempts to dispel the notion of muslims as being intolerant, it does not shy away to bring about a factual realization embodied in texts, particularly historical texts, that formed the basis of records maintained by the islamic governments, particularly during the Ottoman regime.

The role of the Jews, not only as a presence among the muslim communities, but also a treatment of the various traditions that served to be shared and transmitted in both the religions, is treated at length.

While the discussion of Jews as a religious minority forms the basis of the book, it is nevertheless impossible to treat them alone, since Christians and their attitude towards the Jews as well as Muslims, served to demonstrate the intricacy of the social fabric existent between them, interwoven with the many realities that spanned beyond the frontiers of the Islamic state. Growing tensions between Islam and Christianity and the relation and influence it exercised on the treatment of the Jews would amply support the later statement.

Over all, it is a book that offers a much needed outlook on Islam's position on minorities, with ample bibiliography for further research.

A must read!

-- Ali Abbbas

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars generally well done, January 23, 2005

By 

Michael Lewyn (Forest Hills, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Jews of Islam (Paperback)

I was always vaguely aware that Jews sometimes got better treatment from Muslims than from Christians. But this book explains the roots in Muslim theology of Muslim/Jewish relations (under which non-Muslim monotheists were tolerated as second-class citizens), and shows how large some Jewish communities were.

I was surprised to learn that in the 15th century, Turkey was so attractive for Jews that Jewish writers wrote about Turkey as glowingly as later writers wrote about America. For example, Isaac Zarfati, a refugee from Germany, wrote: "I proclaim to you that Turkey is a land wherein nothing is lacking, and where, if you will, all shall yet be well with you . . . Here every man may dwell at peace under his own vine and fig tree. Here you are allowed to wear the most precious garments. In Christendom, on the contrary, you dare not even venture to clothe your children in red or in blue, according to our taste, without exposing them to the insult of beaten black and blue, or kicked green and red . . . O Israel, wherefore sleepest though? Arise! And leave this accursed land forever!" (p. 136)

Similarly, in the 16th century Portuguese refugee Samuel Usque described Turkey as "a broad and spacious sea which God opened with the rod of His mercy as He opened the Red Sea at the time of the exodus . .. here the gates of liberty are always open for the observance of Judaism" (Id.)

But the situation deteriorated in the last several centuries: it is not altogether clear why, and maybe Lewis isn't completely sure himself. Lewis speculates that Jews lost contact with Europe, and thus (unlike Christians in Islamic lands) no longer had trade connections or language skills to offer to the national economy, and were thus more easily persecuted because of their poverty and uselessness. But why did the Jews lose touch with the rest of the world? What went wrong? It is not quite clear.

A side note: the unfavorable reviews of this book attack Lewis for being too pro-Muslim, while the unfavorable reviews of "Semites and Anti-Semites" attack him for being insufficiently pro-Muslim and anti-Israel. If Lewis is getting shot at from both sides, he must be doing something right.

15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Jews of Islam, February 18, 2002

By 

Moris Senegor (Stockton, Ca USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Jews of Islam (Paperback)

A very enlightening account of not only the Jewish experience in Islamic lands, but also of the overall treatment of non-Muslim subjects within Muslim territories. This historical background is essential to the understanding of present relations between Islam and the West, as well as Israel and its surrounding Muslim neighbours. Lewis writes in a style easy to read, and yet still academically rigorous. I would highly recommend this book to anyone wishing to get beyond current media headlines and dwelve deeper into the roots of contemporary unease between the West and Islam. As for Jews like myself who grew up in Muslim countries, it is essential reading.