Workshop: Jewish Literature under Muslim Rule

A cooperation between the Simon Dubnow Institute, Leipzig, and the Unit of Judaic Studies/ Munich Research Centre of Jewish Arabic Cultures at the University of Munich

We are pleased to announce an international workshop exploring the impact of Muslim rule on Jewish literature, with a particular focus on religious texts—including translations of the Bible, commentaries, and philosophical and legal writings.

The workshop will examine how Jewish authors responded—textually, linguistically, and theologically—to the Islamic environment in which they lived, and how Islamic models of thought, language, and literary form left their imprint on Jewish religious expression.

Contributions will address the multilingual dimension of Jewish literary production in (Judeo-)Arabic, (Judeo-)Persian, and (Judeo-)Turkish, exploring how local linguistic ecologies intersect with the production of religious texts across Al-Andalus, the Maghreb, the Middle East, the Ottoman Empire, and Central Asia, spanning approximately 900–1900 CE.

Topics will include Bible translations, the influence of Qur’anic language on Jewish exegesis, adaptation of Islamic exegetical and theological models, Jewish-Muslim philosophical dialogue, mysticism shaped by Sufi traditions, and multilingual manuscript practices.

Selected contributions from the workshop will be published in a peer-reviewed edited volume.

Workshop Program

Tuesday, April 14th, 2026

Venue: LMU Main Building, Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1, 80539 München, Room M110

Opening
18:15-18:30
Jan Gerber, Ronny Vollandt

KEYNOTE LECTURE: Hinting What May Not Be Declared and Inferring What May Not Be Said: Decoding Jewish Anti-Muslim Polemics Written under Muslim Rule
18:30-19:30
Reuven Firestone

Reception
19:30

Wednesday, April 15th, 2026

Venue: Seidlvilla, Nikolaiplatz 1B, 80802 Munich

Registration
09:00-09:30

NEGOTIATING INTERRELIGIOSITY
Chair: Gregor Schwarb

Elements of Arabic Psychology and Philosophy of Mind in Samaritan-Arabic Polemics against Judaism
09:30-10:00
Jasper Bernhofer

An 18th-Century Samaritan Theological Defense Against the Accusation of Worshipping the Golden Calf
10:00-10:30
Haitham Ismaeil

Maimonides on Treatment of Non-Jews in the Context of the Commandments of Kings and Wars and Its Roots in Islamic Tradition
10:30-11:00
Kübra Güneş

11:00-11:30 – Coffee Break

IDENTITY AS REFLECTED IN LITERATURE
Chair: will be announced shortly

Judeo-Persian and the Hebrew “Revival”: Religious Canonization in the Writings of Haim Moreh
11:30-12:00
Ariane Sadjed

The Defence of the Other: Perceptions of Identity and Homeland in Avram Galante’s Article “Why I Defend Islam?”
12:00-12:30
Ravza Aydın

12:30-13:30 – Lunch

CONCEPTUAL ENGAGEMENTS
Chair: Ali Langroudi

Rethinking the Concept of Qadīm: Reading Burhān-i Ḥudūth and Qidam in Two Judeo-Persian Keter Malkuth Commentaries
13:30-14:00
Mohammad Golshan (Göttingen)

I Firk 143: One of the Oldest Qipčaq Texts (Composed after 1340, Copied after 1470s) from the Islamicate and Persianate World
14:00-14:30
Dan Shapira

Religious Terms and Jewish Personal Sacral Names in Judeo-Persian Literature and Judeo-Persian Transliterations of Classic Persian Poetry
14:30-15:00
Roza Ashkenazi

15:00-16:00 – Pause

Opening of the Exhibition “Jewish Life in the Arab World: Photographic Memories of Times Past”
Venue: Institute of the Near and Middle East LMU, Veterinärstraße 1, 80539 München
16:00-17:00

KEYNOTE LECTURE: Epic Voices: Medieval Judeo-Persian Biblical Poetry in Context
Venue: LMU Main Building, Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1, 80539 München, Room M110
18:15-19:15
Julia Rubanovich

Reception
19:15

Thursday, April 16th, 2026

Venue: Seidlvilla, Nikolaiplatz 1B, 80802 Munich

LITERARY ADOPTIONS I
Chair: Avner Ofrath

‘Oral Torah’ between Late Talmudic and Early Islamic Discourse
10:00-10:30
Shlomo Zuckier

Sefer ha-Yashar: A Persianate Tales of the Prophets
10:30-11:00
Gavin McDowell (Paris)

11:00-11:30 – Coffee Break

LITERARY ADOPTIONS II
Chair: Ronny Vollandt

Voluntary Conversion and Identity Formation in the Medieval Islamic World: Maimonides’ “Letter to Ovadiah the Convert” in Context
11:30-12:00
Joshua Krug

Two Jewish Brothers, Two Separate Translations: A Comparative Study of the First Ottoman Turkish Renditions of the Psalms
12:00-12:30
Şeyma Benli

Concluding Remarks
12:30-13:00

13:00-14:00 – Lunch