Alon Goshen-Gottstein, “Hinduism and Judaism: An Overview,” Contemporary Jewry, vol. 41 (2021): 595-616 (original) (raw)
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E-18 An Overview of the Connection of Hindûism with the Semitic Religions
Al-Aijaz Research Journal of Islamic Studies & Humanities
In this article, it has been endeavoured to analyze the similarities of Hinduism with the Semitic religions i.e Christianity, Islam and Judaism. There are a lot of basic and stem similarities between them which are directly relevent to the society. We have become use to of treating other religions negatively but if we want to create harmony at the international level, there are many dimensions of every religion which have become the embassador to create harmony, peace and love at least in this world. All these things are the part and parcell of this piece of writing.
An historical review of Hindu relations with the religious other engages one with a variety of issues that have both theoretical and theological implications. What are the boundaries of Hinduism? Is this religion only the ideology of a localized, hereditary priesthood that has succeeded in suffusing Indian civilization with its caste-based, fundamentally exclusionary vision of society? That is, is Hinduism identical with Brahmanism? In this case, the other of Hinduism consists of all non-Brahmanic, or non-Vedic, religions. Or is Hinduism a broader concept, with the word Hinduism being an unfortunate geographically and ethnically limiting term for what is really a progressive universalism that aspires to include all otherness in a boundless unity, incorporating all religions and all philosophies-even modern science-into its vast vision of existence? That is, is Hinduism identical with what some call the "perennial philosophy"-or, to use the preferred Hindu term, sanātana dharma? In this case, one might well raise the question of whether Hinduism can truly even have a religious other, at least at the ultimate level of analysis. Or is Hinduism something between these two opposite poles: a civilizational and cultural ethos that aspires to universality while it simultaneously affirms its deep rootedness in a specific geographic space and in a specific historical community?
Review of Der Hinduismus. Geschichte und Gegenwart
This is an important new book about Hinduism, which deals with its various aspects in richly documented fashion. After chapters on theoretical principles and historical bases, it treats in detail the place the "Hindu-religions" occupy in society, the rites of transition that accompany Hindus throughout their lives, conceptions of death and life after death, the so-called caste system and the role of the Brahmin and the gods and goddesses, etc. etc. On each of these topics Michaels has
Towards an Islamic Theology of Hindu-Muslim Relations
The Muslim World, 2017
T he relation between Muslims and Hindus has a very long history that can be traced back to the very first century of Islam. 1 It seems that the interaction between these two communities of faith in the Indian sub-continent, where they happened to co-exist over a millennium, has always been-as long as politics was not involved-quite positive and prospering, as it is today. Until modern times, the Hindu community confined itself to what we know today as the Indian subcontinent with some settlements in the regions of southeast Asia, especially those of Java and Sumatra in present-day Indonesia, where it enjoyed, even before the arrival of Islam, a tremendous influence over the thought patterns and culture of the people and which continues to this day to a considerable extent. 2 It is only with dawn of the modern period, the rise of European colonialism, and the consequent opening up of the Indians towards migration, that the Hindu communities started moving towards the East and the West, leading to the creation of what can be called the Hindu diaspora. Here, there is more than one area where one can discuss the issue of Hindu-Muslim relations. Included in that are the developments that took place around the end of the 19 th century when Hinduism and later Buddhism began to attract followers in the West-Europe and America-and local communities of Hindus emerged altering the demography of the western societies perhaps forever. The consequences of all these changes, coupled with myriad cultural backgrounds turning into a melting pot and diverse geographical settings, lead to a kaleidoscope of different models/paradigms of this relationship. But, the fact remains, that the heart land for studying Hindu-Muslim relations will always be the Indian sub-continent.
Journal of Indo-Judaic Studies, 2020
There are several books on India-Israel relations...There is no scarcity of books on Jews in India...There are also a few books on Indian Jews in Israel...Yet, there was hardly any book to put the relations between the two countries in the historical perspective of ties between ancient civilizations of India and Judea, and later the Jewish Diaspora. Shalom Salomon Wald and Arielle Kandel's INDIA, ISRAEL AND THE JEWISH PEOPLE: LOOKING AHEAD, LOOKING BACK 25 YEARS AFTER NORMALIZATION (2017) not only does this, but also makes policy recommendations to the State of Israel. It is in this respect that it breaks new ground, for which Wald and Kandel are to be commended. [...] The book is a welcome addition to the field of Indo-Judaic Studies for the significant contribution it makes by drawing our attention to all the lacunas in our pursuit for greater Indo-Judaic engagement. It proposes a roadmap for Indo-Israeli relations and Indo-Jewish engagement for the next one decade.