Interesting Reading by Laura Navajas Espinal

An article we encourage you to read has a daunting name and a daunting description, but it is actually very interesting information.

Titled FROM THE QUMRAN MIQDAŠ ‘ADAM TO THE ISMAILI TEMPLE OF LIGHT (HAYKAL NURANI), its author, Laura Navajas Espinal, writes:

The purpose of this paper is to present the Qumran conception of temple (eschatological temple and miqdaš ’adam) as an intermediate stage between the understanding of temple in Jewish eschatology and the Ismaili innerness of the “temple of light.” All of it in the frame of the conception of temple as Garden of Eden based in the “alternative memory” yielded by parabiblical priestly traditions.

Keywords:
Qumran; Ismailism; Judaism; Temple; Mysticism; Gnosi

Creating Frankenstein: Saudi Arabia’s Ultra-conservative Footprint in Africa by James M. Dorsey

Terrorism in Africa

There is much debate about what spurs political violence. The explanations are multi-fold. There is one aspect that I’d like to discuss tonight as it relates to Africa and that is the role of Saudi Arabia. Let me be clear: With the exception of a handful of countries, none of which are in Africa, Saudi Arabia, that is to say the government, the religious establishment and members of the ruling family and business community, does not fund violence. It has however over the last half century launched the single largest public diplomacy campaign in history, pumping up to $100 billion dollars…

Creating Frankenstein: Saudi Arabia’s Ultra-conservative Footprint in Africa by author James M. Dorsey, faculty member at Nanyang Technological University, S Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

Jamatkhanas: Spaces of Community Places of Belonging

The IADC Inc staff often encounter interesting articles that we would like to recommend to all of our readers.

Today’s Staff Recommends is an article uploaded to academia.edu titled Jamatkhanas: Spaces of Community, Places of Belonging by author Rizwan Mawani.

“This short article looks at the Ismaili jamatkhana’s role in creating and building community in the contemporary era. It explores the space’s first appearance asking questions of its history and pre-history in South Asia as well as in other” 

Great Rabbis of the Muslim Empire

Published for The Jewish Virtual Library, a project of American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE), the article Modern Jewish History: Great Rabbis of the Muslim Empire by Dr. Ezra Chwat is a proof of the existence of the Ismaili faith

“In 657, when Ali ibn Abu Talib — the fourth Caliph to rule after the death of Mohammed — extended the Muslim conquest into Iraq, he was greeted wholeheartedly by the Jews there, then the most important of the world’s Jewish communities. Ali saw the Jews of Iraq as a natural ally and granted them autonomy. This was the dawn of a new era of Jewish cultural creativity, one that lasted almost 600 years and was central in the development of Judaism.”

“The Lasting Contribution of the Jews of the Muslim Empire

For over 500 years, the Jews of the Muslim Empire enjoyed stability, prosperity and religious autonomy. As opposed to the oppressive atmosphere in Northern Europe, the Jews lived, for the most part, in a tolerant civilization, one that valued excellence in the arts, the sciences and trade. In these fields the Jews were welcome participants. Thus Judaism developed as part of society, not as a secluded ghetto-culture as was the case in Christian Europe. The cultural cross-pollination benefitted both sides. Because of the dialogue with Islam, the Jews became more aware of their philosophic and linguistic heritage. The new methods that developed in the vast Muslim Empire for the communication of knowledge and the codification of law were employed by the Rabbis in order to keep in contact with the ever-expanding Jewish Diaspora. Thus, they could preserve and sustain Talmudic Law, while creating new vistas of Jewish literature and thought which were instrumental in forming the structure of Judaism as it is today.”

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/great-rabbis-of-the-muslim-empire