Brann Power in the Portrayal

Representations of Jews and Muslims in Eleventh- and Twelfth-Century Islamic Spain
Course Book
ISBN: 978-1-4008-2524-0
Verlag: De Gruyter
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 208 Seiten

Reihe: Jews, Christians, and Muslims from the Ancient to the Modern World

Power in the Portrayal unveils a fresh and vital perspective on power relations in eleventh- and twelfth-century Muslim Spain as reflected in historical and literary texts of the period. Employing the methods of the new historical literary study in looking at a range of texts, Ross Brann reveals the paradoxical relations between the Andalusi Muslim and Jewish elites in an era when long periods of tolerance and respect were punctuated by outbreaks of tension and hostility.

The examined Arabic texts reveal a fragmented perception of the Jew in eleventh-century al-Andalus. They depict seemingly contradictory figures at whose poles are an intelligent, skilled, and noble Jew deserving of homage and a vile, stupid, and fiendish enemy of God and Islam. For their part, the Hebrew and Judeo-Arabic texts display a deep-seated reluctance to portray Muslims in any light at all. Brann cogently demonstrates that these representations of Jews and Muslims--each of which is concerned with issues of sovereignty and the exercise of power--reflect the shifting, fluctuating, and ambivalent relations between elite members of two of the ethno-religious communities of al-Andalus.

Brann's accessible prose is enriched by his splendid translations; the original texts are also included. This book is the first to study the construction of social meaning in Andalusi Arabic, Judeo-Arabic, and Hebrew literary texts and historical chronicles. The novel approach illuminates nuances of respect, disinterest, contempt, and hatred reflected in the relationship between Muslims and Jews in medieval Spain.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Brann, Ross

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religionsgeschichte
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Systeme Wahlen und Volksabstimmungen
• Geisteswissenschaften Jüdische Studien Geschichte des Judentums
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Kultur Politische Propaganda & Kampagnen, Politik & Medien

Inhaltsverzeichnis

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix

ABBREVIATIONS xi

INTRODUCTION: Power in the Portrayal 1

CHAPTER ONE: Force of Character 24

CHAPTER TWO: An Andalusi-Muslim Literary Typology of Jewish Heresy and Sedition 54

CHAPTER THREE: Textualizing Ambivalence 91

CHAPTER FOUR: Muslim Counterparts, Rivals, Mentors, and Foes--A Trope of Andalusi-Jewish Identity? 119

CHAPTER FIVE: The Silence of the Jews 140

BIBLIOGRAPHY 161

INDEX 185

Über Autor(innen)

Ross Brann is the Milton R. Konvitz Professor of Judeo-Islamic Studies and the Chair of Near-Eastern Studies at Cornell University. His books include The Compunctious Poet, recipient of the 1992 National Jewish Book Award in Sephardic Studies. He wrote Power in the Portrayal with the support of the Guggenheim Foundation.