Rethinking the Role of Religion in Arab Antisemitic Discourses
“The Palestinian cause is not about land and soil, but it is about faith and belief,” insist Islamists in their attempts to Islamize the Arab−Israeli conflict. This paper examines the instrumentalization of religion in the conflict since its early stages, and its impact...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2019-07-01
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| Series: | Religions |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/7/415 |
| _version_ | 1819073027356229632 |
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| author | Esther Webman |
| author_facet | Esther Webman |
| author_sort | Esther Webman |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | “The Palestinian cause is not about land and soil, but it is about faith and belief,” insist Islamists in their attempts to Islamize the Arab−Israeli conflict. This paper examines the instrumentalization of religion in the conflict since its early stages, and its impact on Arab antisemitic discourses. It is based on an ongoing research project exploring references to the Jews in Arab, particularly the Palestinian and Egyptian, Islamist as well as nationalist media, during major landmarks in the conflict’s history, from the Arab Wailing Wall riots in 1929 up to US president Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in December 2017. It contends that despite the intensified exploitation of Islam in the incitement against Israel, Zionism, and the Jews, and despite the traditional enmity towards the Jews as a group deriving from Islam, preliminary findings show that the most common themes in the Arab antisemitic discourse originate from a more modern, exogenous vocabulary and perceptions. Classical Christian−Western tropes, such as conspiracy theories epitomized in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, Nazi terminology, and Holocaust denial, are extensively used and are much more pervasive. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T17:47:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ac79b1b3605f4d269a2fceb60a0b476a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1444 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T17:47:05Z |
| publishDate | 2019-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Religions |
| spelling | doaj.art-ac79b1b3605f4d269a2fceb60a0b476a2022-12-21T18:55:28ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442019-07-0110741510.3390/rel10070415rel10070415Rethinking the Role of Religion in Arab Antisemitic DiscoursesEsther Webman0The Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel“The Palestinian cause is not about land and soil, but it is about faith and belief,” insist Islamists in their attempts to Islamize the Arab−Israeli conflict. This paper examines the instrumentalization of religion in the conflict since its early stages, and its impact on Arab antisemitic discourses. It is based on an ongoing research project exploring references to the Jews in Arab, particularly the Palestinian and Egyptian, Islamist as well as nationalist media, during major landmarks in the conflict’s history, from the Arab Wailing Wall riots in 1929 up to US president Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in December 2017. It contends that despite the intensified exploitation of Islam in the incitement against Israel, Zionism, and the Jews, and despite the traditional enmity towards the Jews as a group deriving from Islam, preliminary findings show that the most common themes in the Arab antisemitic discourse originate from a more modern, exogenous vocabulary and perceptions. Classical Christian−Western tropes, such as conspiracy theories epitomized in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, Nazi terminology, and Holocaust denial, are extensively used and are much more pervasive.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/7/415AntisemitismIslamArab–Israeli conflictanti-ZionismJudeophobiaanti-Judaism |
| spellingShingle | Esther Webman Rethinking the Role of Religion in Arab Antisemitic Discourses Religions Antisemitism Islam Arab–Israeli conflict anti-Zionism Judeophobia anti-Judaism |
| title | Rethinking the Role of Religion in Arab Antisemitic Discourses |
| title_full | Rethinking the Role of Religion in Arab Antisemitic Discourses |
| title_fullStr | Rethinking the Role of Religion in Arab Antisemitic Discourses |
| title_full_unstemmed | Rethinking the Role of Religion in Arab Antisemitic Discourses |
| title_short | Rethinking the Role of Religion in Arab Antisemitic Discourses |
| title_sort | rethinking the role of religion in arab antisemitic discourses |
| topic | Antisemitism Islam Arab–Israeli conflict anti-Zionism Judeophobia anti-Judaism |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/7/415 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT estherwebman rethinkingtheroleofreligioninarabantisemiticdiscourses |