Jewish Literature under Muslim Rule
Textual Transformations and Inter-Religious Encounters
Participation
External participation is possible. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Ali B. Langroudi by email: balaeilangroudi(at)dubnow.de
The conference is a collaboration between the Leibniz Institute for Jewish History and Culture – Simon Dubnow, Leipzig, and the Unit of Judaic Studies / Munich Research Centre of Jewish Arabic Cultures at the University of Munich. It examines the influence of Muslim rule on Jewish and, by extension, Samaritan literature, with a specific focus on religious texts, including translations of the Bible.
Although Jewish and Samaritan literary production under Islamic rule has received considerable scholarly attention, this conference aims to deepen understanding by analyzing how the realities of Muslim political authority and Islamic intellectual traditions affected or shaped Jewish and Samaritan religious writings. Instead of concentrating only on coexistence or cultural flourishing, the conference explores how Jewish and Samaritan authors responded – textually, linguistically, and theologically – to the Islamic environment in which they lived. This includes how Islamic models of thought, language, and literary forms left their mark on Jewish and Samaritan religious expression.
The conference’s scope covers Al-Andalus, the Middle East, Iran, and the Ottoman Empire, from the early Islamic period to the late modern era (roughly 900–1900).
Speaker
Roza Ashkenazi, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg | Ravza Aydın, LMU Munich / Sakarya University | Şeyma Benli, Istanbul Medeniyet University | Jasper Bernhofer, LMU Munich | Reuven Firestone, Hebrew Union College, Los Angeles | Jan Gerber, Dubnow Institute, Leipzig | Mohammad Golshan, University of Göttingen | Kübra Güneş, Ankara University | Joshua Krug, Heschel Rabbinical School, Potsdam | Haitham Ismaeil, University of Halle | Ali B. Langroudi, Dubnow Institute, Leipzig | Gavin McDowell, École Pratique des Hautes Études, Paris | Avner Ofrath, LMU Munich | Julia Rubanovich, Hebrew University of Jerusalem | Ariane Sadjed, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna | Gregor Schwarb, LMU Munich | Dan Shapira, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan | Hanna Trauer, LMU Munich | Ronny Vollandt, LMU Munich | Shlomo Zuckier, University of Toronto
14 to 16 April 2026
LMU Munich
The conference is a collaboration between the Leibniz Institute for Jewish History and Culture – Simon Dubnow, Leipzig, and the Unit of Judaic Studies / Munich Research Centre of Jewish Arabic Cultures at the University of Munich.
The conference is part of the »Ignaz Goldziher Program for Jewish-Muslim Studies«, which is funded by the Hans Böckler Foundation.