Over the course of the nineteenth century, the German Kulturbereich was a prominent center of Orientalist scholarship. Among the leading figures in this enterprise were Jews. Because of their marginal status in European society and their affinity for Islam, given its similarity in various ways to Judaism, these scholars created a body of work in which the Muslim world, especially that of medieval Spain, was held up as an ideal example of a tolerant society and one that contemporary Germany would do well to emulate. This talk explores the contours of this discourse and how German-Jewish Islamophilia led these men to promote the idea of a genuine Muslim-Jewish symbiosis.
John M. Efron (* 1957 in Melbourne, Australia) is Koret Professor of Jewish History and Director of the Institute of European Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. His main main research topic is the cultural history of modern Judaism, especially in the germanophone countries. Furthermore Professor Efron investigates the role of sciences, particularly medicine, in the modernization of Judaism.
Moderation: Prorektor Professor Dr. Michael North