Yohanan Friedmann (born 1936) is an Israeli scholar of

Islamic studies Islamic studies refers to the academic study of Islam, and generally to academic multidisciplinary "studies" programs—programs similar to others that focus on the history, texts and theologies of other religious traditions, such as Easter ...

Biography

Friedmann was born in Zákamenné, Czechoslovakia and immigrated to Israel with his parents in 1949. He attended high school at the

Reali School , motto_translation = ''Walk Humbly'' , address = Hertzel 16 , city = Haifa , zipcode = 3312103 , country = Israel , coordinates = , other_name ...

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

(1945-1950). In 1956 he began his undergraduate studies at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

, Department of Arabic Language and Literature, receiving his

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in 1959. In 1962 he finished a master's degree in Arabic literature; his thesis was on the Arab poet

Al-Ma'arri Abū al-ʿAlāʾ al-Maʿarrī ( ar, أبو العلاء المعري, full name , also known under his Latin name Abulola Moarrensis; December 973 – May 1057) was an Arab philosopher, poet, and writer. Despite holding a controversially irreli ...

. After this, Friedman went to

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Univer ...

in Montreal to study for his doctorate. He learned

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Sheikh Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...

Ahmad Sirhindi Aḥmad al-Fārūqī as-Sirhindī (1564-1624) was a South Asian Islamic scholar from Punjab, Hanafi jurist, and member of the Naqshbandī Sufi order. He has been described by some followers as a Mujaddid, meaning a “reviver", for his work i ...

was approved in 1966. In the same year, Friedman joined the Hebrew University and was appointed lecturer in Islamic studies. He is now Max Schloessinger Professor Emeritus of Islamic Studies at the

and, since 1999, a member of the

Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, based in Jerusalem, was established in 1961 by the State of Israel to foster contact between Israeli scholars in the sciences and humanities and create a think tank for advising the government on re ...

.Full Staff Member's Information
Hebrew University of Jerusalem He held several offices with the university: Chair of the Institute of

Asian Studies Asian studies is the term used usually in North America and Australia for what in Europe is known as Oriental studies. The field is concerned with the Asian people, their cultures, languages, history and politics. Within the Asian sphere, Asia ...

and

African Studies African studies is the study of Africa, especially the continent's cultures and societies (as opposed to its geology, geography, zoology, etc.). The field includes the study of Africa's history (pre-colonial, colonial, post-colonial), demography ...

from 1975 to 1978; Chair of the Graduate School from 1980 to 1983;

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of Humanities from 1985 to 1988; Chair of the Department of

Arabic language Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to ...

from 2002 to 2004. In 2003 he was the Sternberg Distinguished Lecturer. In 2007 he has been elected Chair of the Humanities Division of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. In 2002 Friedmann was member at the

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent schola ...

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nin ...

.Announcement

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...

, Y. Friedman lectures at the Boniuk Center for Religious Tolerance In 2003 he received the Landau Prize in the Humanities. Since 1993, he has been the editor of ''

Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam ''Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering the study of classical Islam, Islamic religious thought, Arabic language and literature, the origins of Islamic institutions, and the interaction between Islam ...

''. Friedmann served several times as visiting Professor at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

and the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...

. In 1997 he was scholar in residence with the

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropy, philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, aft ...

Research interests

Friedmann's studies center on Islamic religious thought, mainly in the Indian subcontinent. He assays the historical record for evidence of both tolerance and intolerance of other religious faiths in the Islamic tradition in his most recent work, "Tolerance and Coercion in Islam: Interfaith Relations in the Muslim Tradition".Boniuk Center announces new series on Muslim world
, Rice University, January 19, 2006

Works

* "Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi. An outline of his thought and a study of his image in the eyes of posterity." McGill-Queens University Press, 1971. Reprint Oxford University Press, 2000. * ''Prophecy Continuous. Aspects of Ahmadi Religious Thought and Its Medieval Background'', Berkeley, University of California Press, 1989 * ''The Naqshbandis and Awrangzeb: A reconsideration'' in: Naqshbandis: Historical Developments And Present Situation, 1990 * ''Husain Ahmad Madani'' in: Dictionnaire biographique des savants et grandes figures du monde musulman périphérique, 1992 * ''The History of al-Tabari: The Battle of al-Qadisiyyah and the Conquest of Syria and Palestine (The History of Messengers and Kings)'', 1992 * ''Jam`iyyat al-`ulama-'i Hind'', in: The Oxford Encyclopaedia Of The Modern Islamic World, 1995 * ''Ahmadiyya'', in: The Oxford Encyclopaedia Of The Modern Islamic World, 1995 * ''The messianic claim of Ghulam Ahmad'', in: Messianism, eds. M.R. Cohen and P. Schaefer, Leiden, E.J., 1998 * ''Classification of unbelievers in Sunni Muslim law and tradition'' in: Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam, 1998 * ''Conditions of conversion in early Islam. In: Ritual and Ethics: Patterns of Repentance, eds. A. Destro, 2000 * ''Dissension'' in: Encyclopedia of the Qur'an, vol. 1, p. 538-540, 2001 * ''Ahmadiyya'' in: Encyclopedia of the Qur'an, vol. 1, p. 50-51, 2001 * ''Messianismus im Islam'' in: Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart, vol. 5, 2003 * ''Chiliasmus im Islam'' in: Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart, vol. 2, 2003 * ''Ahmadiyya'' in: Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart, vol. 1, 2003 * ''Tolerance and Coercion in Islam: Interfaith Relations in the Muslim Tradition'', Cambridge University Press, 2003

Notes

External links

Speech
held in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

by Y. Friedmann, June 20, 2005 (.rtf) {{DEFAULTSORT:Friedmann, Yohanan 1936 births Living people Members of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni Czechoslovak emigrants to Israel People from Námestovo District Jewish scholars of Islam Historians of Kerala Hebrew University of Jerusalem faculty