The Epistle to Yemen: The National and Religious Propensity of Maimonides

Volume 5|Issue 21| Summer 2017 |Articles

Abstract

This paper attempts to expound the national and religious propensity of Rabbi Maimonides, which, to some extent, conflicts with what is known of him as an open and tolerant medieval philosopher. In addition, it aims to discuss whether he can be regarded as an Islamic thinker or philosopher – as claimed by many Arabic and Islamic scholars. The paper highlights some of his controversial opinions and statements which appeared in his letter to the Jewish community in Yemen, known as the "Epistle to Yemen". Despite being greatly influenced by Arabic and Islamic culture and philosophy, in this letter Maimonides revealed a strong political and religious orientation against Arabs and Islam, something worth underlining in order to allow a better understanding of the historical and political context of his thoughts and writings.      

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​Yemeni writer and academic, he holds a PhD in Computational Mathematics from Reading University, UK (2005). Currently the Deputy Director of the Center for Yemeni Studies and researcher and editor of the literary magazine Ghaiman. He has a number of research and literary publications and won the Sharjah Award for Arab Creativity for the novel in 2015. He currently lives in Britain.

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