Criticism of the Quran Wikipedia pages

Anti-Christian sentiment

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

"Discrimination against Christians" redirects here. For religious persecution of Christians, see Persecution of Christians.



 Demonstrators in Chicago, 2008
Freedom of religion


Concepts[show]





Status by country[show]













































































































Religious persecution[show]


























Religion portal
v ·
 t ·
 e
   
Anti-Christian sentiment is sometimes referred to as Christophobia or Christianophobia, although these terms actually encompass every form of discrimination and intolerance against Christians, according to Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE).[1] The Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe publishes a report every year on the situation of Christians in Europe.


Contents  [hide]
1 Anti-Christian expressions 1.1 Vandalism
1.2 Arson
1.3 Music
2 Examples of anti-Christian sentiment in politics and culture 2.1 Middle East 2.1.1 Egypt
2.1.2 Iraq
2.1.3 Israel
2.1.4 Palestine 2.1.4.1 West Bank
2.1.4.2 Gaza
2.1.5 Saudi Arabia
2.1.6 Syria
2.2 Europe 2.2.1 Norway
2.2.2 Russia
2.2.3 Sweden
2.2.4 United Kingdom
2.3 Africa 2.3.1 Somalia
2.3.2 Nigeria
2.3.3 Zanzibar
2.3.4 Mali
2.3.5 Senegal
2.3.6 Sudan
2.4 Americas 2.4.1 Bolivia
2.4.2 Cuba
2.4.3 Chile
2.4.4 United States of America
2.5 Asia 2.5.1 China
2.5.2 Pakistan

3 See also
4 References
5 Further reading
6 External links

Anti-Christian expressions[edit]
Vandalism[edit]
The vandalism or defacement of Christian symbols or property is one form of the expression of anti-Christian sentiment.[citation needed] If the defaced or vandalized object is seen as holy by Christians, such as a Bible, a cross, or an image of Jesus or a saint, the case becomes one of desecration.[citation needed] Such destruction may also be found to be in violation of various criminal laws.[citation needed]
Arson[edit]
Main article: Church arson
Arson attacks on churches have been seen in Norway and the United States. Some arson attacks are considered hate crimes perpetrated for racial reasons by people inspired by racial hate groups.[2][3]
Music[edit]
Musicians and followers of black metal music often declare open hatred of Christianity. Headliners of the black metal genre have claimed responsibility for inspiring (and sometimes perpetrating) over fifty Norwegian church burnings from 1992 to 1996 alone.[4] Among the most notable was Fantoft Stave Church, which the police believed was destroyed by the one-man band Burzum, Varg Vikernes, also known as 'Count Grishnackh'.[4] The burnt-out shell of the building is featured on the cover of his 1993 EP Aske (Norwegian for 'ashes').
Examples of anti-Christian sentiment in politics and culture[edit]
Middle East[edit]
See also: Christianity in the Middle East
Fiorello Provera of the European Parliament called the Middle East "the most dangerous place for Christians to live" and cited Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who blamed the international community for failing to deal with what she considers a war against Christians in the Muslim world.[5]
Former Lebanese president Amine Gemayel stated in 2011 that Christians had become the target of genocide after dozens of Christians were killed in deadly attacks in Egypt and Iraq.[6]
According Israeli ambassador to the United States Michael Oren, in the hundred years leading up to 2010 the Middle East's Christian population dwindled from 20% to less than 5%. Oren argues that with the exception of Israel, Christians in the Middle East have endured severe political and cultural hardships: in Egypt, Muslim extremists have subjected Coptic Christians to beatings and massacres, resulting in the exodus of 200,000 Copts from their homes; in Iraq, 1,000 Christians were killed in Baghdad between the years 2003 and 2012 and 70 churches in the country were burned; in Iran, converts to Christianity face the death penalty and in 2012 Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani was sentenced to death; in Saudi Arabia, private Christian prayer is against the law; in the Gaza Strip, half of the Palestinian Christian population has fled since Hamas seized power in 2007 and Gazan law forbids public displays of crucifixes; in the West Bank, the Christian population has been reduced from 15% to less than 2%.[7]
Egypt[edit]
See also: Maspero demonstrations
In Egypt, the government does not recognize religious conversions from Islam to Christianity.[8] Since the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak in 2011, Egypt's Coptic Christians have been the target of increasing opposition and discrimination. In 2011, anti-Christian activity in Egypt included church burnings, protests against the appointment of a Coptic Christian governor in Qena, and deadly confrontations with the Egyptian army. On television Islamists referred to Christians as heretics and said they should be made to pay the jizya tax. A Coptic priest accused Islamists in the country of massacring uninfected pigs predominantly owned by Copts during a swine flu scare: "They killed these innocent pigs just because they thought they violated their religion in some way." In October 2011 a draft resolution passed by the European Parliament accused Egypt of persecuting the country's Christian population. By mid-2012 10,000 Christians had fled the country.[9][10][11]
Iraq[edit]
The consolidation of power in the hands of Shiite Islamists in Iraq since the overthrow of the Saddam Hussein regime has been to the detriment of Iraq's Christian communities. Friction between rival sects in Iraq has frequently resulted in violence being directed against Christians in the country. Consequently, there has been a flight of Christians from some areas to Europe and to the United States. Since 2003, hundreds of thousands of Christians have fled Iraq, such that the Christian population, which may have been as high as 1.4 million prior to the Iraq War, has dropped to 500,000, with numbers continuing to decline. Between 2003 and 2012 more than 70 churches were bombed. In 2007 Al Qaeda militants killed a young priest in Mosul, and in 2010 terrorists massacred 53 Assyrian Christians in a Baghdad church.[11][12][13][14]
Israel[edit]
In Jerusalem, there have been instances of Christian churches being vandalized with spray-painted offensive remarks against Christianity including death threats. These are believed to be price tag attacks by extremist settlers.[15][16] In Tel Aviv in 2008, three teenagers burned hundreds of Christian Bibles.[17][18]
A number of Ultra-Orthodox/Haredi youth have reportedly spat at Christian clergymen. Archbishop Aris Shirvanian, of Jerusalem's Armenian Patriarchate, says he personally has been spat at about 50 times in the past 12 years.[19][20] The Anti-Defamation League has called on the chief Rabbis to speak out against the interfaith assaults.[21] Father Goosan, Chief Dragoman of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, stated that, "I know there are fanatical Haredi groups that don't represent the general public but it's still enraging. It all begins with education. It's the responsibility of these men's yeshiva heads to teach them not to behave this way".[22] In January 2010, Christian leaders, Israeli Foreign ministry staff, representatives of the Jerusalem municipality and the Haredi community met to discuss inter-faith tolerance. The Haredi Community Tribunal of Justice published a statement condemning harassment of Christians, stating that it was a "desecration of God's name." Several events were planned in 2010 by the Orthodox Yedidya congregation to show solidarity with Christians and improve relations between the Haredi and Christian communities of Jerusalem.[23][24]
In July 2012, a former member of the Knesset, Michael Ben-Ari, who supports Kahanism, videotaped himself tearing up a copy of the New Testament and throwing it in the trash. Ben-Ari referred to it as a "despicable book" that should be "in the dustbin of history".[25] In response, the American Jewish Committee urged the Knesset to censure Ben-Ari, while a spokesman for Benjamin Netanyahu also condemned Ben-Ari's actions.[26]
Palestine[edit]
Further information: Islamization of the Gaza Strip and The Teacher's Bookshop
According to the organization Palestinian Media Watch (PMW), state-controlled Palestinian media frequently demonize religions like Judaism and Christianity. PMW translated into English a children's television program aired twice in 2012 it said featured a young girl saying Jews and Christians are "cowardly and despised."[27]
West Bank[edit]
In 2002, a mob of Palestinian Muslims burned Christian property in Ramallah.[28] A dossier submitted in 2005 to Church leaders in Jerusalem listed 93 incidents of abuse alleged to have been committed against Palestinian Christians by Muslim extremists and 140 cases of gangs allegedly stealing Christian land in the West Bank.[29] In May 2012 a group of 100 Muslims attacked Taybeh, a Christian village in the West Bank.[30]
Gaza[edit]
In 2007, the Gaza Strip had a tiny Christian minority of 2,500–3,000. The Hamas overthrow of the Palestinian Authority in Gaza during that year was accompanied by violent attacks against Christians and Christian holy sites by Islamic militants. A Catholic convent and Rosary Sisters school were ransacked, with some Christians blaming Hamas for the attack. In September 2007 Christian anxiety grew after an 80-year-old Christian woman was attacked in her Gaza home by a masked man who robbed her and called her an infidel.[31][32] That attack was followed less than a month later by a deadly assault on the owner of the only Christian bookstore in Gaza City. Muslim extremists were implicated as being behind the incident.[33] The library of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) was bombed in 2008 by gunmen who, according to guards at the site, asked why the guards worked for "infidels."[34]
In 2011, the Christian population of Gaza Strip was less than 1,400. A member of the Catholic faith told The Guardian he was stopped by a Hamas official and told to remove a wooden crucifix he was wearing.[35]
Saudi Arabia[edit]
The human rights advocacy group International Christian Concern (ICC) told the Christian Post that 35 Christian Ethiopians – men and women – were violently arrested in Jeddah in December 2011 while holding a prayer meeting in their home. The prisoners complained of being persecuted on account of their faith and of being pressured to convert to Islam, and the women reported undergoing a humiliating strip search. According to the ICC, one prisoner said, "The Muslim preacher [that was sent by officials to speak to the prisoners] vilified Christianity, denigrated the Bible and told us that Islam is the only true religion."[36][unreliable source]
Syria[edit]
In October 2011, a draft resolution passed by the European Parliament accused rebel groups of persecuting the Syrian Christian population.[10] In March 2012 reports circulated indicating that Christians were expelled from parts of Homs by an anti-Assad militant group with ties to al-Qaeda.[11] In June a report in Agenzia Fides indicated that most of Qusair's Christian inhabitants had abandoned the town in the wake of an ultimatum from a local rebel leader.[37]
Europe[edit]
Norway[edit]



 Anti-Christian graffiti in Tampere, Finland
On 6 June 1992, the Fantoft Stave Church, a wooden structure originally built in 1150 in Fortun, when the Vikings converted to Christianity, and moved to Bergen in 1883, was burnt down.[38] At first the fire was attributed to lightning and electrical failure. In January 1993 Varg Vikernes, also known as "Count Grishnackh", was interviewed by a local journalist in his apartment decorated with 'Nazi paraphernalia, weapons and Satanic symbols'. Vikernes, a proponent of White nationalism, social conservatism, survivalism and his Neo-völkisch ideology, has declared that he wants to blow up Blitz House and Nidaros Cathedral. He has publicly supported black metal fans burning down eight churches in Norway. He used a photo of the charred remnants of one church taken soon after the fire on his band Burzum's album entitled Aske (Norwegian for ashes). Following his statement the Norwegian authorities began to clamp down on black metal fanatics.[39]
In 1994, Vikernes was found guilty of murder, arson and possession of illegal weapons (including explosives) and given the maximum sentence under Norwegian law of 21 years in prison.[39] He was released in 2009.[40]
The following is a partial list of Norwegian Christian church arsons in 1992 by anti-Christian groups reported by English-language media sources:
23 May: Storetveit Church in Bergen.[41]
6 June: Fantoft Stave Church in Bergen.[42] Varg Vikernes was suspected of the crime, but denied this;[39] he was not convicted.[42]
1 August: Revheim Church in Stavanger.[42]
21 August: Holmenkollen Chapel in Oslo.[43]
1 September: Ormøya Church in Oslo.[43]
13 September: Skjold Church in Vindafjord.[43] Varg Vikernes and Samoth were convicted for this.
October: Hauketo Church in Oslo.[43]
24 December: Åsane Church in Bergen.[44] Varg Vikernes and musician Jørn Inge Tunsberg were convicted for this.[45]
25 December: a Methodist church in Sarpsborg.[44] A firefighter was killed while fighting this fire.[44]
Russia[edit]
Many attacks, arsons and acts of vandalism against churches in Russia are reported each year.[46][47] The acts of vandalism, are often accompanied by Satanic symbolism and graffiti.[48] In many instances, icons and crosses are burned and vandalized, and Swastikas and Satanic symbols are painted on the walls of the churches (while in other attacks on churches in Russia they can be understood as more simple robberies).[47] Some of the attacks on the churches, such as the cutting down of crosses, appear to be conducted by groups organized online and by local youth.[49]
Sweden[edit]
On 7 February 1993, the Lundby New Church in Gothenburg, Sweden was burnt down.[50]
United Kingdom[edit]
Mark Pritchard, the Member of Parliament representing the English constituency of The Wrekin, instigated a debate in the House of Commons on 5 December 2007 on the issue of Anti-Christian sentiment, describing the phenomenon as "Christianophobia".[51] An example was when a church building was wrecked by squatters, including anti-Christian graffiti.[52]
Africa[edit]
Somalia[edit]
In September 2011 militants sworn to eradicate Christianity from Somalia beheaded two Christian converts. A third Christian convert was beheaded in Mogadishu in early 2012.[53]
Nigeria[edit]
The Boko Haram Islamist group has bombed churches and killed numerous Christians who they regard as kafirs (infidels).[54][55]
Zanzibar[edit]
In Muslim majority Zanzibar, there have been numerous attacks on churches. A bishop condemned the lack of action by the government.[56]
Mali[edit]
The Islamist group Ansar Dine has led to Christians fleeing their cities to avoid being put under sharia law.[57]
Senegal[edit]
During government protests, some crowds turned their violence against Christian churches. Some of the infrastructure was destroyed.[58]
Sudan[edit]
The Foreign Missionary Society Act of 1962 put a limit on the number of churches constructed. In 1992 there were mass arrests and torture of local priests. Students in military training were forbidden from praying unlike Muslims.[59] Prior to partition, southern Sudan which had a number of Christian villages; these were subsequently wiped out by Janjaweed militias.[60]
Americas[edit]
Bolivia[edit]
An angry mob of Indigenous peoples destroyed the only evangelical church in the remote village of Chucarasi in the Bolivian Andes after beating a congregational elder unconscious. Villagers apparently attacked their Christian neighbors because they blamed them for a hail storm that damaged local crops.[61]
Cuba[edit]
Government regulations aimed at curbing the growth of Christian house churches in Cuba[62]
Chile[edit]
The killing of the priest Faustino Gazziero in 2004.[63] CNTV program The Comedy Club parodies of Jesus,[64] the burning of the image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (national Patroness),[65] and the subsequent mock of the faithful's grief in a nation wide newspaper.[66]
United States of America[edit]
Jay Scott Ballinger, a self-described Satanist, admitted to setting fire to 30 to 50 churches in eleven states between 1994 and 1998. Ballinger and two others spray-painted an inverted cross on the steps of one church they burned as part of a satanic ritual.[67][68]
In 2012, American Atheists ran a billboard campaign in New York City telling viewers to "Keep the merry! Dump the myth!" Its communications Director was quoted as saying, "The true beauty of the season – family, friends, and love – have nothing to do with the gods of yesteryear. Indeed, the season is far more enjoyable without the religious baggage of guilt and judgmentalism."[69] American Atheists' (AA) Nov/Dec 2013 billboard ads proclaim "Who needs Christ during Christmas? Nobody.".[70]
Asia[edit]
China[edit]
Christians in China have been detained, denied the protection of the laws, and ordered to refrain from religious activities outside of China's single official Protestant church.[71]
Pakistan[edit]
In Pakistan, 2.5% of the population are Christian. Pakistani law mandates that "blasphemies" of the Qur'an are to be met with punishment. At least a dozen Christians have been given death sentences,[72] and half a dozen murdered after being accused of violating blasphemy laws. In 2005, 80 Christians were behind bars due to these laws.[73]
Christians in Pakistan are reportedly being subjected to a genocide by Pakistani Taliban.[74][75][76]
A pattern of attacks on Christian children shows the "Pakistani police either failed to act or sided with the rapists and murderers."[77]
See also[edit]

Portal icon Christianity portal
Portal icon Human Rights portal
Portal icon Discrimination portal
Anti-clericalism
Christmas controversy
 
Related topics
Antireligion
Antitheism
Civil and political rights
Antisemitism
Islamophobia

References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "Bishops condemn Christianphobia" Religious Intelligence; October 1, 2008[dead link]
2.Jump up ^ Fulton, Greg (2006-03-08). "Time Magazine". Time.com. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
3.Jump up ^ "Washington Post article". Washington Post article. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
4.^ Jump up to: a b Grude, Torstein (Director) (1 January 1998). Satan rir Media (motion picture). Norway: Grude, Torstein.
5.Jump up ^ Provera, Fiorello (9 April 2012). "Fiorello Provera: Christianity's Via Dolorosa". The Straits Times. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
6.Jump up ^ "Ex-Lebanon Leader: Christians Target of Genocide". CBS News. 3 January 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
7.Jump up ^ Oren, Michael (9 March 2012). "Israel and the Plight of Mideast Christians". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
8.Jump up ^ Fowler, Lilly (18 June 2012). "Coptic Christian ex-patriots keep a wary eye on Egyptian elections". The Washington Post. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
9.Jump up ^ Fathi, Yasmine (4 December 2011). "Egypt Copts react to Islamist electoral win". Ahram Online. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
10.^ Jump up to: a b Mostafa, Abdallah (28 October 2011). "EU parliament accuses Egypt of persecuting Christian minority". Egypt Independent. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
11.^ Jump up to: a b c Tevrov, Daniel (16 June 2012). "Syrian Christian Support For Assad Regime May Turn Out To Be A Losing Strategy". International Business Times. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
12.Jump up ^ "Pope marks Easter with call for end to violence in Syria". Fox News. Associated Press. 8 April 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
13.Jump up ^ "Christians fleeing Iraq". Watertown Daily Times. 14 March 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
14.Jump up ^ Arraf, Jane (8 April 2012). "A northern Iraqi Easter". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
15.Jump up ^ Zaimov, Stoyan (21 February 2012). "Christianity in Jerusalem Under Attack? Extremists Hit Another Church". The Christian Post. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
16.Jump up ^ Elgot, Jessica. "Rabbis condemn attacks on Israel's Christian sites". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
17.Jump up ^ In a 2008 Tel Aviv incident, hundreds of copies of the New Testament, which had been handed out in the city (allegedly by Messianic Jews in order to convert Ethiopian Jews), were burned by three teenaged Orthodox students of Judaism. Uzi Aharon, the town’s deputy mayor, told CNN he had collected the New Testaments but that he did not plan for them to be burned. The youths had done so while he was not present. Once he found out that the fire was going, he put it out.
18.Jump up ^ Bixler, Mark (28 March 2008). "Hundreds of New Testaments torched in Israel". CNN. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
19.Jump up ^ Barkat, Amiram (27 June 2009). "Christians in Jerusalem want Jews to stop spitting on them". Haaretz.
20.Jump up ^ Rosenberg, Oz (4 November 2011). "Ultra-Orthodox spitting attacks on Old City clergymen becoming daily". Haaretz. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
21.Jump up ^ "ADL Calls On Chief Rabbis to Speak Out Against Interfaith Assaults In Old City". 17 October 2004.
22.Jump up ^ Oz Rosenberg (15 November 2011). "Ultra-Orthodox spitting attacks on Old City clergymen becoming daily". Haaretz.
23.Jump up ^ Ahren, Rachel (5 March 2010). "Capital Anglos mobilize against practice of spitting at Christians". Haaretz.
24.Jump up ^ Ahren, Raphael. "Capital Anglos mobilize against practice of spitting at Christians". Haaretz. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
25.Jump up ^ "MP tears up copy of New Testament". The Australian. 18 July 2012.
26.Jump up ^ "AJC Urges Knesset to Censure MK Ben-Ari for New Testament Desecration".
27.Jump up ^ Zaimov, Stoyan (20 June 2012). "Palestinian TV Criticized for Using Young Girl to 'Promote Hate' Toward Christians, Jews". The Christian Post. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
28.Jump up ^ Radin, Charles A. (6 February 2002). "Defendants killed in court; mob fears grow in West Bank". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
29.Jump up ^ de Quetteville, Harry (9 September 2005). "'Islamic mafia' accused of persecuting Holy Land Christians". The Daily Telegraph (London). Retrieved 23 June 2012.
30.Jump up ^ "Muslim attacks against Christians on the rise in West Bank". World Tribune. 28 May 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
31.Jump up ^ Hadid, Diaa (27 June 2007). "For Gaza's Christians, new reality unsettling". The Houston Chronicle. Associated Press. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
32.Jump up ^ Abu Toameh, Khaled (25 April 2007). "Christian-Muslim tensions heat up". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
33.Jump up ^ Silver, Eric (8 October 2007). "Gaza's Christian bookseller killed". The Independent (London). Retrieved 7 June 2012.
34.Jump up ^ "Militants bomb Gaza YMCA library". BBC News. 15 February 2008. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
35.Jump up ^ Greenwood, Phoebe (23 December 2011). "Gaza Christians long for days before Hamas cancelled Christmas". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 17 June 2012.
36.Jump up ^ Oleszczuk, Luiza (9 February 2012). "Christians Imprisoned in Saudi Arabia Pressured to Convert to Islam". The Christian Post. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
37.Jump up ^ "Syrian Christians flee city as rebel 'ultimatum' expires". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The Los Angeles Times. 11 June 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
38.Jump up ^ In Cod We Trust, By Eric Dregni. p.185. Books.google.com. 2008-09-22. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
39.^ Jump up to: a b c Chris Campion (21 February 2005). "In the face of death". London: Guardian. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
40.Jump up ^ "Ute av fengsel". Dagbladet.no (in Norwegian). 22 May 2009. Archived from the original on 25 May 2009. Retrieved 23 May 2009.
41.Jump up ^ Lords of Chaos (1998): Hellhammer interview
42.^ Jump up to: a b c Lords of Chaos (1998): 78
43.^ Jump up to: a b c d Lords of Chaos (1998): 79
44.^ Jump up to: a b c Satan rides the Media (1998)
45.Jump up ^ Satan rides the Media
46.Jump up ^ Pope Supports Russian Church’s Position on Vandalism MOSCOW, October 18 (RIA Novosti)
47.^ Jump up to: a b Acts of vandalism against Orthodox churches in Russia, 1998-2008 RIA Novosti, 14:46 01.12.2008
48.Jump up ^ ПО РОССИИ КАТИТСЯ ВОЛНА ВАНДАЛИЗМА: В ГОРОДАХ ОСКВЕРНЯЮТСЯ ЦЕРКВИ И ХРАМЫ http://tbn-tv.ru/
49.Jump up ^ Антирелигиозные вандалы нашлись в Интернете 28 августа 2012, Russia Today
50.Jump up ^ Lords of Chaos (1998): 113, 269
51.Jump up ^ Christianophobia warning from MP BBC News 4 December 2007
52.Jump up ^ Anger as squatters wreck church BBC News, 31 May 2007
53.Jump up ^ "Islamic Extremists Behead Another Convert in Somalia". The Christian Post. Compass Direct News. 9 February 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
54.Jump up ^ Manhunt: From 9/11 to Abbottabad – the Ten-Year Search for Osama, Peter Bergen – 2012
55.Jump up ^ Comparative Politics: Domestic Responses to Global Challenges – Page 457, Charles Hauss, Melissa Haussman – 2012
56.Jump up ^ Tanzanian church leaders demand action retrieved 17 August 2012
57.Jump up ^ Christians flee from Islamists in northern Mali retrieved 17 August 2012
58.Jump up ^ "Dakar Churches Attacked Amid Anti-Gov't Protests | CBN.com". M.cbn.com. 2011-07-01. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
59.Jump up ^ Human rights and religion – Page 257 Liam Gearon – 2002
60.Jump up ^ Contemporary Auditing: Real Issues and Cases – Page 527, Michael C. Knapp – 2010
61.Jump up ^ [1][dead link]
62.Jump up ^ [2][dead link]
63.Jump up ^ "Estupor en Chile por sacerdote asesinado, El Nuevo Diario, Nicaragua". Archivo.elnuevodiario.com.ni. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
64.Jump up ^ "Sigue la disputa por parodia del Club de la Comedia, Observatorio de Medios FUCATEL, 11/10/10". Observatoriofucatel.cl. 1999-02-22. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
65.Jump up ^ Chilean bishops deplore attack against Our Lady of Carmel at Cathedral of Santiago
66.Jump up ^ December 3, 2012 (2012-12-03). "No permitas que The Clinic ofenda a la Virgen del Carmen, Muévete Chile, 12/05/08". Muevetechile.org. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
67.Jump up ^ "Suspect with satanic impulses confesses to burning churches".
68.Jump up ^ "Unusual Suspects in Church Burnings". Time. 8 March 2006.
69.Jump up ^ Zaimov, Stoyan (December 11, 2012). "American Atheists' NYC Billboard Calls for Christmas Minus 'Myth' of Christ". Christian Post. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
70.Jump up ^ "Atheists' Times Square Billboard: 'Who Needs Christ at Christmas? Nobody'".
71.Jump up ^ Chastain, Mary. "Christian Persecution in China Despite Supposed Religious 'Freedom'". Breitbart.com. 2013-10-14.
72.Jump up ^ "Q&A: Pakistan's controversial blasphemy laws". BBC. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
73.Jump up ^ "Christians often victims under Pakistan's blasphemy law". Retrieved 15 November 2012.
74.Jump up ^ "After the Malala Yousafzai shooting, can shock therapy free Pakistan?". Ibnlive.in.com. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
75.Jump up ^ "The Problem Of Pakistan". Ibtimes.com. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
76.Jump up ^ "Pakistan should be on the genocide watch list: US think tank". Indiatoday.intoday.in. 2012-09-26. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
77.Jump up ^ Raymond Ibrahim (Oct 17, 2012). "The Rape and Murder of Pakistan's Christian Children". Middle East Forum.
Further reading[edit]
Michael Moynihan, Didrik Søderlind. Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground, ISBN 0-922915-48-2.
External links[edit]
 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Anti-Christianity.
Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe
US Commission on International Religious Freedom
National Alliance Against Christian Discrimination
Website about Christianophobia
News article on Bjorn Atldax Anti-Christian logo jeans
News article about Christianophobia
News article about the Vatican's reaction to a "Seven Wonders of the World" contest that 'excluded' Christian monuments
Protecting persecuted Christians
Anti-Christian: a "Socially Acceptable Prejudice"
"The London Institute for Contemporary Christianity - Engaging with Culture - Connecting with Culture - The Excommunication of Rocco Buttiglione". web.archive.org. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
"Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe". IntoleranceAgainstChristians.eu. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
Open Doors USA


[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 

Persecution of Christians ·
 Anti-Christian sentiment
 
































































































































































[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Religious persecution and discrimination





























































































[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
History of Christianity



























The Nicene Creed at the First Council of Nicaea

























































































































































































































[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Theology




































































































































































































































































































































































































































































  


Categories: Anti-Christianity
Prejudice and discrimination
Religion and violence













Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
العربية
Dansk
Español
Esperanto
Français
한국어
Hrvatski
Italiano
Norsk bokmål
Polski
Português
Română
Русский
Српски / srpski
Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски
Svenska
中文
Edit links
This page was last modified on 21 June 2015, at 12:13.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
  

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Christian_sentiment













Anti-Christian sentiment

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

"Discrimination against Christians" redirects here. For religious persecution of Christians, see Persecution of Christians.



 Demonstrators in Chicago, 2008
Freedom of religion


Concepts[show]





Status by country[show]













































































































Religious persecution[show]


























Religion portal
v ·
 t ·
 e
   
Anti-Christian sentiment is sometimes referred to as Christophobia or Christianophobia, although these terms actually encompass every form of discrimination and intolerance against Christians, according to Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE).[1] The Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe publishes a report every year on the situation of Christians in Europe.


Contents  [hide]
1 Anti-Christian expressions 1.1 Vandalism
1.2 Arson
1.3 Music
2 Examples of anti-Christian sentiment in politics and culture 2.1 Middle East 2.1.1 Egypt
2.1.2 Iraq
2.1.3 Israel
2.1.4 Palestine 2.1.4.1 West Bank
2.1.4.2 Gaza
2.1.5 Saudi Arabia
2.1.6 Syria
2.2 Europe 2.2.1 Norway
2.2.2 Russia
2.2.3 Sweden
2.2.4 United Kingdom
2.3 Africa 2.3.1 Somalia
2.3.2 Nigeria
2.3.3 Zanzibar
2.3.4 Mali
2.3.5 Senegal
2.3.6 Sudan
2.4 Americas 2.4.1 Bolivia
2.4.2 Cuba
2.4.3 Chile
2.4.4 United States of America
2.5 Asia 2.5.1 China
2.5.2 Pakistan

3 See also
4 References
5 Further reading
6 External links

Anti-Christian expressions[edit]
Vandalism[edit]
The vandalism or defacement of Christian symbols or property is one form of the expression of anti-Christian sentiment.[citation needed] If the defaced or vandalized object is seen as holy by Christians, such as a Bible, a cross, or an image of Jesus or a saint, the case becomes one of desecration.[citation needed] Such destruction may also be found to be in violation of various criminal laws.[citation needed]
Arson[edit]
Main article: Church arson
Arson attacks on churches have been seen in Norway and the United States. Some arson attacks are considered hate crimes perpetrated for racial reasons by people inspired by racial hate groups.[2][3]
Music[edit]
Musicians and followers of black metal music often declare open hatred of Christianity. Headliners of the black metal genre have claimed responsibility for inspiring (and sometimes perpetrating) over fifty Norwegian church burnings from 1992 to 1996 alone.[4] Among the most notable was Fantoft Stave Church, which the police believed was destroyed by the one-man band Burzum, Varg Vikernes, also known as 'Count Grishnackh'.[4] The burnt-out shell of the building is featured on the cover of his 1993 EP Aske (Norwegian for 'ashes').
Examples of anti-Christian sentiment in politics and culture[edit]
Middle East[edit]
See also: Christianity in the Middle East
Fiorello Provera of the European Parliament called the Middle East "the most dangerous place for Christians to live" and cited Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who blamed the international community for failing to deal with what she considers a war against Christians in the Muslim world.[5]
Former Lebanese president Amine Gemayel stated in 2011 that Christians had become the target of genocide after dozens of Christians were killed in deadly attacks in Egypt and Iraq.[6]
According Israeli ambassador to the United States Michael Oren, in the hundred years leading up to 2010 the Middle East's Christian population dwindled from 20% to less than 5%. Oren argues that with the exception of Israel, Christians in the Middle East have endured severe political and cultural hardships: in Egypt, Muslim extremists have subjected Coptic Christians to beatings and massacres, resulting in the exodus of 200,000 Copts from their homes; in Iraq, 1,000 Christians were killed in Baghdad between the years 2003 and 2012 and 70 churches in the country were burned; in Iran, converts to Christianity face the death penalty and in 2012 Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani was sentenced to death; in Saudi Arabia, private Christian prayer is against the law; in the Gaza Strip, half of the Palestinian Christian population has fled since Hamas seized power in 2007 and Gazan law forbids public displays of crucifixes; in the West Bank, the Christian population has been reduced from 15% to less than 2%.[7]
Egypt[edit]
See also: Maspero demonstrations
In Egypt, the government does not recognize religious conversions from Islam to Christianity.[8] Since the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak in 2011, Egypt's Coptic Christians have been the target of increasing opposition and discrimination. In 2011, anti-Christian activity in Egypt included church burnings, protests against the appointment of a Coptic Christian governor in Qena, and deadly confrontations with the Egyptian army. On television Islamists referred to Christians as heretics and said they should be made to pay the jizya tax. A Coptic priest accused Islamists in the country of massacring uninfected pigs predominantly owned by Copts during a swine flu scare: "They killed these innocent pigs just because they thought they violated their religion in some way." In October 2011 a draft resolution passed by the European Parliament accused Egypt of persecuting the country's Christian population. By mid-2012 10,000 Christians had fled the country.[9][10][11]
Iraq[edit]
The consolidation of power in the hands of Shiite Islamists in Iraq since the overthrow of the Saddam Hussein regime has been to the detriment of Iraq's Christian communities. Friction between rival sects in Iraq has frequently resulted in violence being directed against Christians in the country. Consequently, there has been a flight of Christians from some areas to Europe and to the United States. Since 2003, hundreds of thousands of Christians have fled Iraq, such that the Christian population, which may have been as high as 1.4 million prior to the Iraq War, has dropped to 500,000, with numbers continuing to decline. Between 2003 and 2012 more than 70 churches were bombed. In 2007 Al Qaeda militants killed a young priest in Mosul, and in 2010 terrorists massacred 53 Assyrian Christians in a Baghdad church.[11][12][13][14]
Israel[edit]
In Jerusalem, there have been instances of Christian churches being vandalized with spray-painted offensive remarks against Christianity including death threats. These are believed to be price tag attacks by extremist settlers.[15][16] In Tel Aviv in 2008, three teenagers burned hundreds of Christian Bibles.[17][18]
A number of Ultra-Orthodox/Haredi youth have reportedly spat at Christian clergymen. Archbishop Aris Shirvanian, of Jerusalem's Armenian Patriarchate, says he personally has been spat at about 50 times in the past 12 years.[19][20] The Anti-Defamation League has called on the chief Rabbis to speak out against the interfaith assaults.[21] Father Goosan, Chief Dragoman of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, stated that, "I know there are fanatical Haredi groups that don't represent the general public but it's still enraging. It all begins with education. It's the responsibility of these men's yeshiva heads to teach them not to behave this way".[22] In January 2010, Christian leaders, Israeli Foreign ministry staff, representatives of the Jerusalem municipality and the Haredi community met to discuss inter-faith tolerance. The Haredi Community Tribunal of Justice published a statement condemning harassment of Christians, stating that it was a "desecration of God's name." Several events were planned in 2010 by the Orthodox Yedidya congregation to show solidarity with Christians and improve relations between the Haredi and Christian communities of Jerusalem.[23][24]
In July 2012, a former member of the Knesset, Michael Ben-Ari, who supports Kahanism, videotaped himself tearing up a copy of the New Testament and throwing it in the trash. Ben-Ari referred to it as a "despicable book" that should be "in the dustbin of history".[25] In response, the American Jewish Committee urged the Knesset to censure Ben-Ari, while a spokesman for Benjamin Netanyahu also condemned Ben-Ari's actions.[26]
Palestine[edit]
Further information: Islamization of the Gaza Strip and The Teacher's Bookshop
According to the organization Palestinian Media Watch (PMW), state-controlled Palestinian media frequently demonize religions like Judaism and Christianity. PMW translated into English a children's television program aired twice in 2012 it said featured a young girl saying Jews and Christians are "cowardly and despised."[27]
West Bank[edit]
In 2002, a mob of Palestinian Muslims burned Christian property in Ramallah.[28] A dossier submitted in 2005 to Church leaders in Jerusalem listed 93 incidents of abuse alleged to have been committed against Palestinian Christians by Muslim extremists and 140 cases of gangs allegedly stealing Christian land in the West Bank.[29] In May 2012 a group of 100 Muslims attacked Taybeh, a Christian village in the West Bank.[30]
Gaza[edit]
In 2007, the Gaza Strip had a tiny Christian minority of 2,500–3,000. The Hamas overthrow of the Palestinian Authority in Gaza during that year was accompanied by violent attacks against Christians and Christian holy sites by Islamic militants. A Catholic convent and Rosary Sisters school were ransacked, with some Christians blaming Hamas for the attack. In September 2007 Christian anxiety grew after an 80-year-old Christian woman was attacked in her Gaza home by a masked man who robbed her and called her an infidel.[31][32] That attack was followed less than a month later by a deadly assault on the owner of the only Christian bookstore in Gaza City. Muslim extremists were implicated as being behind the incident.[33] The library of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) was bombed in 2008 by gunmen who, according to guards at the site, asked why the guards worked for "infidels."[34]
In 2011, the Christian population of Gaza Strip was less than 1,400. A member of the Catholic faith told The Guardian he was stopped by a Hamas official and told to remove a wooden crucifix he was wearing.[35]
Saudi Arabia[edit]
The human rights advocacy group International Christian Concern (ICC) told the Christian Post that 35 Christian Ethiopians – men and women – were violently arrested in Jeddah in December 2011 while holding a prayer meeting in their home. The prisoners complained of being persecuted on account of their faith and of being pressured to convert to Islam, and the women reported undergoing a humiliating strip search. According to the ICC, one prisoner said, "The Muslim preacher [that was sent by officials to speak to the prisoners] vilified Christianity, denigrated the Bible and told us that Islam is the only true religion."[36][unreliable source]
Syria[edit]
In October 2011, a draft resolution passed by the European Parliament accused rebel groups of persecuting the Syrian Christian population.[10] In March 2012 reports circulated indicating that Christians were expelled from parts of Homs by an anti-Assad militant group with ties to al-Qaeda.[11] In June a report in Agenzia Fides indicated that most of Qusair's Christian inhabitants had abandoned the town in the wake of an ultimatum from a local rebel leader.[37]
Europe[edit]
Norway[edit]



 Anti-Christian graffiti in Tampere, Finland
On 6 June 1992, the Fantoft Stave Church, a wooden structure originally built in 1150 in Fortun, when the Vikings converted to Christianity, and moved to Bergen in 1883, was burnt down.[38] At first the fire was attributed to lightning and electrical failure. In January 1993 Varg Vikernes, also known as "Count Grishnackh", was interviewed by a local journalist in his apartment decorated with 'Nazi paraphernalia, weapons and Satanic symbols'. Vikernes, a proponent of White nationalism, social conservatism, survivalism and his Neo-völkisch ideology, has declared that he wants to blow up Blitz House and Nidaros Cathedral. He has publicly supported black metal fans burning down eight churches in Norway. He used a photo of the charred remnants of one church taken soon after the fire on his band Burzum's album entitled Aske (Norwegian for ashes). Following his statement the Norwegian authorities began to clamp down on black metal fanatics.[39]
In 1994, Vikernes was found guilty of murder, arson and possession of illegal weapons (including explosives) and given the maximum sentence under Norwegian law of 21 years in prison.[39] He was released in 2009.[40]
The following is a partial list of Norwegian Christian church arsons in 1992 by anti-Christian groups reported by English-language media sources:
23 May: Storetveit Church in Bergen.[41]
6 June: Fantoft Stave Church in Bergen.[42] Varg Vikernes was suspected of the crime, but denied this;[39] he was not convicted.[42]
1 August: Revheim Church in Stavanger.[42]
21 August: Holmenkollen Chapel in Oslo.[43]
1 September: Ormøya Church in Oslo.[43]
13 September: Skjold Church in Vindafjord.[43] Varg Vikernes and Samoth were convicted for this.
October: Hauketo Church in Oslo.[43]
24 December: Åsane Church in Bergen.[44] Varg Vikernes and musician Jørn Inge Tunsberg were convicted for this.[45]
25 December: a Methodist church in Sarpsborg.[44] A firefighter was killed while fighting this fire.[44]
Russia[edit]
Many attacks, arsons and acts of vandalism against churches in Russia are reported each year.[46][47] The acts of vandalism, are often accompanied by Satanic symbolism and graffiti.[48] In many instances, icons and crosses are burned and vandalized, and Swastikas and Satanic symbols are painted on the walls of the churches (while in other attacks on churches in Russia they can be understood as more simple robberies).[47] Some of the attacks on the churches, such as the cutting down of crosses, appear to be conducted by groups organized online and by local youth.[49]
Sweden[edit]
On 7 February 1993, the Lundby New Church in Gothenburg, Sweden was burnt down.[50]
United Kingdom[edit]
Mark Pritchard, the Member of Parliament representing the English constituency of The Wrekin, instigated a debate in the House of Commons on 5 December 2007 on the issue of Anti-Christian sentiment, describing the phenomenon as "Christianophobia".[51] An example was when a church building was wrecked by squatters, including anti-Christian graffiti.[52]
Africa[edit]
Somalia[edit]
In September 2011 militants sworn to eradicate Christianity from Somalia beheaded two Christian converts. A third Christian convert was beheaded in Mogadishu in early 2012.[53]
Nigeria[edit]
The Boko Haram Islamist group has bombed churches and killed numerous Christians who they regard as kafirs (infidels).[54][55]
Zanzibar[edit]
In Muslim majority Zanzibar, there have been numerous attacks on churches. A bishop condemned the lack of action by the government.[56]
Mali[edit]
The Islamist group Ansar Dine has led to Christians fleeing their cities to avoid being put under sharia law.[57]
Senegal[edit]
During government protests, some crowds turned their violence against Christian churches. Some of the infrastructure was destroyed.[58]
Sudan[edit]
The Foreign Missionary Society Act of 1962 put a limit on the number of churches constructed. In 1992 there were mass arrests and torture of local priests. Students in military training were forbidden from praying unlike Muslims.[59] Prior to partition, southern Sudan which had a number of Christian villages; these were subsequently wiped out by Janjaweed militias.[60]
Americas[edit]
Bolivia[edit]
An angry mob of Indigenous peoples destroyed the only evangelical church in the remote village of Chucarasi in the Bolivian Andes after beating a congregational elder unconscious. Villagers apparently attacked their Christian neighbors because they blamed them for a hail storm that damaged local crops.[61]
Cuba[edit]
Government regulations aimed at curbing the growth of Christian house churches in Cuba[62]
Chile[edit]
The killing of the priest Faustino Gazziero in 2004.[63] CNTV program The Comedy Club parodies of Jesus,[64] the burning of the image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (national Patroness),[65] and the subsequent mock of the faithful's grief in a nation wide newspaper.[66]
United States of America[edit]
Jay Scott Ballinger, a self-described Satanist, admitted to setting fire to 30 to 50 churches in eleven states between 1994 and 1998. Ballinger and two others spray-painted an inverted cross on the steps of one church they burned as part of a satanic ritual.[67][68]
In 2012, American Atheists ran a billboard campaign in New York City telling viewers to "Keep the merry! Dump the myth!" Its communications Director was quoted as saying, "The true beauty of the season – family, friends, and love – have nothing to do with the gods of yesteryear. Indeed, the season is far more enjoyable without the religious baggage of guilt and judgmentalism."[69] American Atheists' (AA) Nov/Dec 2013 billboard ads proclaim "Who needs Christ during Christmas? Nobody.".[70]
Asia[edit]
China[edit]
Christians in China have been detained, denied the protection of the laws, and ordered to refrain from religious activities outside of China's single official Protestant church.[71]
Pakistan[edit]
In Pakistan, 2.5% of the population are Christian. Pakistani law mandates that "blasphemies" of the Qur'an are to be met with punishment. At least a dozen Christians have been given death sentences,[72] and half a dozen murdered after being accused of violating blasphemy laws. In 2005, 80 Christians were behind bars due to these laws.[73]
Christians in Pakistan are reportedly being subjected to a genocide by Pakistani Taliban.[74][75][76]
A pattern of attacks on Christian children shows the "Pakistani police either failed to act or sided with the rapists and murderers."[77]
See also[edit]

Portal icon Christianity portal
Portal icon Human Rights portal
Portal icon Discrimination portal
Anti-clericalism
Christmas controversy
 
Related topics
Antireligion
Antitheism
Civil and political rights
Antisemitism
Islamophobia

References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "Bishops condemn Christianphobia" Religious Intelligence; October 1, 2008[dead link]
2.Jump up ^ Fulton, Greg (2006-03-08). "Time Magazine". Time.com. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
3.Jump up ^ "Washington Post article". Washington Post article. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
4.^ Jump up to: a b Grude, Torstein (Director) (1 January 1998). Satan rir Media (motion picture). Norway: Grude, Torstein.
5.Jump up ^ Provera, Fiorello (9 April 2012). "Fiorello Provera: Christianity's Via Dolorosa". The Straits Times. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
6.Jump up ^ "Ex-Lebanon Leader: Christians Target of Genocide". CBS News. 3 January 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
7.Jump up ^ Oren, Michael (9 March 2012). "Israel and the Plight of Mideast Christians". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
8.Jump up ^ Fowler, Lilly (18 June 2012). "Coptic Christian ex-patriots keep a wary eye on Egyptian elections". The Washington Post. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
9.Jump up ^ Fathi, Yasmine (4 December 2011). "Egypt Copts react to Islamist electoral win". Ahram Online. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
10.^ Jump up to: a b Mostafa, Abdallah (28 October 2011). "EU parliament accuses Egypt of persecuting Christian minority". Egypt Independent. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
11.^ Jump up to: a b c Tevrov, Daniel (16 June 2012). "Syrian Christian Support For Assad Regime May Turn Out To Be A Losing Strategy". International Business Times. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
12.Jump up ^ "Pope marks Easter with call for end to violence in Syria". Fox News. Associated Press. 8 April 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
13.Jump up ^ "Christians fleeing Iraq". Watertown Daily Times. 14 March 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
14.Jump up ^ Arraf, Jane (8 April 2012). "A northern Iraqi Easter". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
15.Jump up ^ Zaimov, Stoyan (21 February 2012). "Christianity in Jerusalem Under Attack? Extremists Hit Another Church". The Christian Post. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
16.Jump up ^ Elgot, Jessica. "Rabbis condemn attacks on Israel's Christian sites". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
17.Jump up ^ In a 2008 Tel Aviv incident, hundreds of copies of the New Testament, which had been handed out in the city (allegedly by Messianic Jews in order to convert Ethiopian Jews), were burned by three teenaged Orthodox students of Judaism. Uzi Aharon, the town’s deputy mayor, told CNN he had collected the New Testaments but that he did not plan for them to be burned. The youths had done so while he was not present. Once he found out that the fire was going, he put it out.
18.Jump up ^ Bixler, Mark (28 March 2008). "Hundreds of New Testaments torched in Israel". CNN. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
19.Jump up ^ Barkat, Amiram (27 June 2009). "Christians in Jerusalem want Jews to stop spitting on them". Haaretz.
20.Jump up ^ Rosenberg, Oz (4 November 2011). "Ultra-Orthodox spitting attacks on Old City clergymen becoming daily". Haaretz. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
21.Jump up ^ "ADL Calls On Chief Rabbis to Speak Out Against Interfaith Assaults In Old City". 17 October 2004.
22.Jump up ^ Oz Rosenberg (15 November 2011). "Ultra-Orthodox spitting attacks on Old City clergymen becoming daily". Haaretz.
23.Jump up ^ Ahren, Rachel (5 March 2010). "Capital Anglos mobilize against practice of spitting at Christians". Haaretz.
24.Jump up ^ Ahren, Raphael. "Capital Anglos mobilize against practice of spitting at Christians". Haaretz. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
25.Jump up ^ "MP tears up copy of New Testament". The Australian. 18 July 2012.
26.Jump up ^ "AJC Urges Knesset to Censure MK Ben-Ari for New Testament Desecration".
27.Jump up ^ Zaimov, Stoyan (20 June 2012). "Palestinian TV Criticized for Using Young Girl to 'Promote Hate' Toward Christians, Jews". The Christian Post. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
28.Jump up ^ Radin, Charles A. (6 February 2002). "Defendants killed in court; mob fears grow in West Bank". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
29.Jump up ^ de Quetteville, Harry (9 September 2005). "'Islamic mafia' accused of persecuting Holy Land Christians". The Daily Telegraph (London). Retrieved 23 June 2012.
30.Jump up ^ "Muslim attacks against Christians on the rise in West Bank". World Tribune. 28 May 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
31.Jump up ^ Hadid, Diaa (27 June 2007). "For Gaza's Christians, new reality unsettling". The Houston Chronicle. Associated Press. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
32.Jump up ^ Abu Toameh, Khaled (25 April 2007). "Christian-Muslim tensions heat up". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
33.Jump up ^ Silver, Eric (8 October 2007). "Gaza's Christian bookseller killed". The Independent (London). Retrieved 7 June 2012.
34.Jump up ^ "Militants bomb Gaza YMCA library". BBC News. 15 February 2008. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
35.Jump up ^ Greenwood, Phoebe (23 December 2011). "Gaza Christians long for days before Hamas cancelled Christmas". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 17 June 2012.
36.Jump up ^ Oleszczuk, Luiza (9 February 2012). "Christians Imprisoned in Saudi Arabia Pressured to Convert to Islam". The Christian Post. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
37.Jump up ^ "Syrian Christians flee city as rebel 'ultimatum' expires". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The Los Angeles Times. 11 June 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
38.Jump up ^ In Cod We Trust, By Eric Dregni. p.185. Books.google.com. 2008-09-22. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
39.^ Jump up to: a b c Chris Campion (21 February 2005). "In the face of death". London: Guardian. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
40.Jump up ^ "Ute av fengsel". Dagbladet.no (in Norwegian). 22 May 2009. Archived from the original on 25 May 2009. Retrieved 23 May 2009.
41.Jump up ^ Lords of Chaos (1998): Hellhammer interview
42.^ Jump up to: a b c Lords of Chaos (1998): 78
43.^ Jump up to: a b c d Lords of Chaos (1998): 79
44.^ Jump up to: a b c Satan rides the Media (1998)
45.Jump up ^ Satan rides the Media
46.Jump up ^ Pope Supports Russian Church’s Position on Vandalism MOSCOW, October 18 (RIA Novosti)
47.^ Jump up to: a b Acts of vandalism against Orthodox churches in Russia, 1998-2008 RIA Novosti, 14:46 01.12.2008
48.Jump up ^ ПО РОССИИ КАТИТСЯ ВОЛНА ВАНДАЛИЗМА: В ГОРОДАХ ОСКВЕРНЯЮТСЯ ЦЕРКВИ И ХРАМЫ http://tbn-tv.ru/
49.Jump up ^ Антирелигиозные вандалы нашлись в Интернете 28 августа 2012, Russia Today
50.Jump up ^ Lords of Chaos (1998): 113, 269
51.Jump up ^ Christianophobia warning from MP BBC News 4 December 2007
52.Jump up ^ Anger as squatters wreck church BBC News, 31 May 2007
53.Jump up ^ "Islamic Extremists Behead Another Convert in Somalia". The Christian Post. Compass Direct News. 9 February 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
54.Jump up ^ Manhunt: From 9/11 to Abbottabad – the Ten-Year Search for Osama, Peter Bergen – 2012
55.Jump up ^ Comparative Politics: Domestic Responses to Global Challenges – Page 457, Charles Hauss, Melissa Haussman – 2012
56.Jump up ^ Tanzanian church leaders demand action retrieved 17 August 2012
57.Jump up ^ Christians flee from Islamists in northern Mali retrieved 17 August 2012
58.Jump up ^ "Dakar Churches Attacked Amid Anti-Gov't Protests | CBN.com". M.cbn.com. 2011-07-01. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
59.Jump up ^ Human rights and religion – Page 257 Liam Gearon – 2002
60.Jump up ^ Contemporary Auditing: Real Issues and Cases – Page 527, Michael C. Knapp – 2010
61.Jump up ^ [1][dead link]
62.Jump up ^ [2][dead link]
63.Jump up ^ "Estupor en Chile por sacerdote asesinado, El Nuevo Diario, Nicaragua". Archivo.elnuevodiario.com.ni. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
64.Jump up ^ "Sigue la disputa por parodia del Club de la Comedia, Observatorio de Medios FUCATEL, 11/10/10". Observatoriofucatel.cl. 1999-02-22. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
65.Jump up ^ Chilean bishops deplore attack against Our Lady of Carmel at Cathedral of Santiago
66.Jump up ^ December 3, 2012 (2012-12-03). "No permitas que The Clinic ofenda a la Virgen del Carmen, Muévete Chile, 12/05/08". Muevetechile.org. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
67.Jump up ^ "Suspect with satanic impulses confesses to burning churches".
68.Jump up ^ "Unusual Suspects in Church Burnings". Time. 8 March 2006.
69.Jump up ^ Zaimov, Stoyan (December 11, 2012). "American Atheists' NYC Billboard Calls for Christmas Minus 'Myth' of Christ". Christian Post. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
70.Jump up ^ "Atheists' Times Square Billboard: 'Who Needs Christ at Christmas? Nobody'".
71.Jump up ^ Chastain, Mary. "Christian Persecution in China Despite Supposed Religious 'Freedom'". Breitbart.com. 2013-10-14.
72.Jump up ^ "Q&A: Pakistan's controversial blasphemy laws". BBC. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
73.Jump up ^ "Christians often victims under Pakistan's blasphemy law". Retrieved 15 November 2012.
74.Jump up ^ "After the Malala Yousafzai shooting, can shock therapy free Pakistan?". Ibnlive.in.com. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
75.Jump up ^ "The Problem Of Pakistan". Ibtimes.com. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
76.Jump up ^ "Pakistan should be on the genocide watch list: US think tank". Indiatoday.intoday.in. 2012-09-26. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
77.Jump up ^ Raymond Ibrahim (Oct 17, 2012). "The Rape and Murder of Pakistan's Christian Children". Middle East Forum.
Further reading[edit]
Michael Moynihan, Didrik Søderlind. Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground, ISBN 0-922915-48-2.
External links[edit]
 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Anti-Christianity.
Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe
US Commission on International Religious Freedom
National Alliance Against Christian Discrimination
Website about Christianophobia
News article on Bjorn Atldax Anti-Christian logo jeans
News article about Christianophobia
News article about the Vatican's reaction to a "Seven Wonders of the World" contest that 'excluded' Christian monuments
Protecting persecuted Christians
Anti-Christian: a "Socially Acceptable Prejudice"
"The London Institute for Contemporary Christianity - Engaging with Culture - Connecting with Culture - The Excommunication of Rocco Buttiglione". web.archive.org. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
"Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe". IntoleranceAgainstChristians.eu. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
Open Doors USA


[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 

Persecution of Christians ·
 Anti-Christian sentiment
 
































































































































































[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Religious persecution and discrimination





























































































[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
History of Christianity



























The Nicene Creed at the First Council of Nicaea

























































































































































































































[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Theology




































































































































































































































































































































































































































































  


Categories: Anti-Christianity
Prejudice and discrimination
Religion and violence













Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
العربية
Dansk
Español
Esperanto
Français
한국어
Hrvatski
Italiano
Norsk bokmål
Polski
Português
Română
Русский
Српски / srpski
Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски
Svenska
中文
Edit links
This page was last modified on 21 June 2015, at 12:13.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
  

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Christian_sentiment











Why I Am Not a Muslim

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Why I Am Not a Muslim
IbnWarraqwhyIAmNotMuslim.jpg
Author
Ibn Warraq
Country
United States
Language
English
Subject
Islam
Publisher
Prometheus Books

Publication date
 May 1995
Media type
Print (Hardcover and Paperback)
Pages
294 pp
ISBN
0-87975-984-4
OCLC
32088699

Dewey Decimal
 297 20
LC Class
BP169 .I28 1995
Followed by
The Origins of The Koran: Classic Essays on Islam’s Holy Book
Why I Am Not a Muslim, a book written by Ibn Warraq, is a critique of Islam and the Qur'an. It was first published by Prometheus Books in the United States in 1995. The title of the book is a homage to Bertrand Russell's essay, Why I Am Not a Christian, in which Russell criticizes the religion in which he was raised.
Outraged over the fatwa and death threats against Salman Rushdie, ibn Warraq assumes a pseudonym to pen what one critic calls "serious and thought-provoking book" using a "sledge-hammer" approach to "demolish" Islam.[1] The author's "polemic" criticizes Islam's mythology, theology, historic achievements, and current cultural influence.[1] Warraq, drawing largely on previous research, provides an "invaluable compilation" of Islam's shortcomings. He "makes a compelling case" that Islam is "flatly incompatible" with "individual rights and liberties of a liberal, democratic, secular state."[2]
See also[edit]
Apostasy in Islam
Criticism of Islam
Leaving Islam: Apostates Speak Out
Editions[edit]
Prometheus Books (hardcover), 1995, ISBN 0-87975-984-4
(French) Age d'homme, (1999), ISBN 2-8251-1259-3
(Persian), 2000
Prometheus Books (paperback), 2003, ISBN 1-59102-011-5
(Spanish) Ediciones del Bronce, Barcelona, 2003 ISBN 84-8453-146-5
(Danish) Lindhardt og Ringhof, 2004, ISBN 87-595-2065-5
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b Daniel Pipes (Jan 22, 1996). "Why I Am Not a Muslim". Weekly Standard. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
2.Jump up ^ Antony Flew. "Turning Away From Mecca". The Salisbury Review (Spring 1996).


[hide]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Criticism of religion


By religion
Buddhism ·
 Christianity ·
 Hinduism ·
 Islam ·
 Jainism ·
 Jehovah's Witnesses ·
 Judaism ·
 Latter Day Saint movement ·
 Monotheism ·
 Catholic ·
 Scientology ·
 Seventh-day Adventist ·
 Sikhism ·
 Twelver Shi’ism ·
 Unification Church
 

Religious texts
Bible ·
 Book of Mormon ·
 Quran ·
 Talmud
 

Religious figures
Jesus ·
 Moses ·
 Muhammad ·
 Charles Taze Russell ·
 Ellen White
 

Religion and violence
Violence ·
 Terrorism ·
 Persecution ·
 War ·
 Sectarian violence ·
 Christianity ·
 Mormonism ·
 Judaism ·
 Islam ·
 India
 

Books
Atheist Manifesto ·
 Christianity Unveiled ·
 God in the Age of Science? ·
 God Is Not Great ·
 Letter to a Christian Nation ·
 The Age of Reason ·
 The End of Faith ·
 The God Delusion ·
 The Rage Against God ·
 Why I Am Not a Christian ·
 Why I Am Not a Muslim
 

Movements
Antitheism ·
 Atheism ·
 Criticism of atheism ·
 Cārvāka ·
 Church of the SubGenius ·
 Flying Spaghetti Monster ·
 Invisible Pink Unicorn ·
 Nontheistic religions
 

People
Dan Barker ·
 George Carlin ·
 Pat Condell ·
 Richard Dawkins ·
 Daniel Dennett ·
 Denis Diderot ·
 Epicurus ·
 Ludwig Feuerbach ·
 Sigmund Freud ·
 Annie Laurie Gaylor ·
 Sita Ram Goel ·
 Sam Harris ·
 Ayaan Hirsi Ali ·
 Christopher Hitchens ·
 Baron d'Holbach ·
 David Hume ·
 Walter Kaufman ·
 Bill Maher ·
 Karl Marx ·
 PZ Myers ·
 Taslima Nasrin ·
 Friedrich Nietzsche ·
 Madalyn Murray O'Hair ·
 Michel Onfray ·
 Thomas Paine ·
 Penn & Teller ·
 Periyar E. V. Ramasamy ·
 Herman Philipse ·
 Ayn Rand ·
 James Randi ·
 Bertrand Russell ·
 Carl Sagan ·
 André Servier ·
 Dayananda Saraswati ·
 Michael Shermer ·
 David Silverman ·
 Robert Spencer ·
 Greydon Square ·
 Victor J. Stenger ·
 Max Stirner ·
 Socrates ·
 Mark Twain ·
 Voltaire ·
 Ibn Warraq ·
 Frank Zappa
 



Atheism template.svgAtheism portal
 Nuvola apps bookcase.svgBooks portal
 

  


Categories: Books about atheism
Books critical of Islam
Non-fiction books about jihadism
1995 books
Prometheus Books books


Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Dansk
Deutsch
Español
فارسی
Hrvatski
Bahasa Indonesia
Italiano
Norsk bokmål
Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски
Edit links
This page was last modified on 20 March 2015, at 03:29.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
    
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_I_Am_Not_a_Muslim











Why I Am Not a Muslim

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Why I Am Not a Muslim
IbnWarraqwhyIAmNotMuslim.jpg
Author
Ibn Warraq
Country
United States
Language
English
Subject
Islam
Publisher
Prometheus Books

Publication date
 May 1995
Media type
Print (Hardcover and Paperback)
Pages
294 pp
ISBN
0-87975-984-4
OCLC
32088699

Dewey Decimal
 297 20
LC Class
BP169 .I28 1995
Followed by
The Origins of The Koran: Classic Essays on Islam’s Holy Book
Why I Am Not a Muslim, a book written by Ibn Warraq, is a critique of Islam and the Qur'an. It was first published by Prometheus Books in the United States in 1995. The title of the book is a homage to Bertrand Russell's essay, Why I Am Not a Christian, in which Russell criticizes the religion in which he was raised.
Outraged over the fatwa and death threats against Salman Rushdie, ibn Warraq assumes a pseudonym to pen what one critic calls "serious and thought-provoking book" using a "sledge-hammer" approach to "demolish" Islam.[1] The author's "polemic" criticizes Islam's mythology, theology, historic achievements, and current cultural influence.[1] Warraq, drawing largely on previous research, provides an "invaluable compilation" of Islam's shortcomings. He "makes a compelling case" that Islam is "flatly incompatible" with "individual rights and liberties of a liberal, democratic, secular state."[2]
See also[edit]
Apostasy in Islam
Criticism of Islam
Leaving Islam: Apostates Speak Out
Editions[edit]
Prometheus Books (hardcover), 1995, ISBN 0-87975-984-4
(French) Age d'homme, (1999), ISBN 2-8251-1259-3
(Persian), 2000
Prometheus Books (paperback), 2003, ISBN 1-59102-011-5
(Spanish) Ediciones del Bronce, Barcelona, 2003 ISBN 84-8453-146-5
(Danish) Lindhardt og Ringhof, 2004, ISBN 87-595-2065-5
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b Daniel Pipes (Jan 22, 1996). "Why I Am Not a Muslim". Weekly Standard. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
2.Jump up ^ Antony Flew. "Turning Away From Mecca". The Salisbury Review (Spring 1996).


[hide]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Criticism of religion


By religion
Buddhism ·
 Christianity ·
 Hinduism ·
 Islam ·
 Jainism ·
 Jehovah's Witnesses ·
 Judaism ·
 Latter Day Saint movement ·
 Monotheism ·
 Catholic ·
 Scientology ·
 Seventh-day Adventist ·
 Sikhism ·
 Twelver Shi’ism ·
 Unification Church
 

Religious texts
Bible ·
 Book of Mormon ·
 Quran ·
 Talmud
 

Religious figures
Jesus ·
 Moses ·
 Muhammad ·
 Charles Taze Russell ·
 Ellen White
 

Religion and violence
Violence ·
 Terrorism ·
 Persecution ·
 War ·
 Sectarian violence ·
 Christianity ·
 Mormonism ·
 Judaism ·
 Islam ·
 India
 

Books
Atheist Manifesto ·
 Christianity Unveiled ·
 God in the Age of Science? ·
 God Is Not Great ·
 Letter to a Christian Nation ·
 The Age of Reason ·
 The End of Faith ·
 The God Delusion ·
 The Rage Against God ·
 Why I Am Not a Christian ·
 Why I Am Not a Muslim
 

Movements
Antitheism ·
 Atheism ·
 Criticism of atheism ·
 Cārvāka ·
 Church of the SubGenius ·
 Flying Spaghetti Monster ·
 Invisible Pink Unicorn ·
 Nontheistic religions
 

People
Dan Barker ·
 George Carlin ·
 Pat Condell ·
 Richard Dawkins ·
 Daniel Dennett ·
 Denis Diderot ·
 Epicurus ·
 Ludwig Feuerbach ·
 Sigmund Freud ·
 Annie Laurie Gaylor ·
 Sita Ram Goel ·
 Sam Harris ·
 Ayaan Hirsi Ali ·
 Christopher Hitchens ·
 Baron d'Holbach ·
 David Hume ·
 Walter Kaufman ·
 Bill Maher ·
 Karl Marx ·
 PZ Myers ·
 Taslima Nasrin ·
 Friedrich Nietzsche ·
 Madalyn Murray O'Hair ·
 Michel Onfray ·
 Thomas Paine ·
 Penn & Teller ·
 Periyar E. V. Ramasamy ·
 Herman Philipse ·
 Ayn Rand ·
 James Randi ·
 Bertrand Russell ·
 Carl Sagan ·
 André Servier ·
 Dayananda Saraswati ·
 Michael Shermer ·
 David Silverman ·
 Robert Spencer ·
 Greydon Square ·
 Victor J. Stenger ·
 Max Stirner ·
 Socrates ·
 Mark Twain ·
 Voltaire ·
 Ibn Warraq ·
 Frank Zappa
 



Atheism template.svgAtheism portal
 Nuvola apps bookcase.svgBooks portal
 

  


Categories: Books about atheism
Books critical of Islam
Non-fiction books about jihadism
1995 books
Prometheus Books books


Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Dansk
Deutsch
Español
فارسی
Hrvatski
Bahasa Indonesia
Italiano
Norsk bokmål
Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски
Edit links
This page was last modified on 20 March 2015, at 03:29.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
    
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_I_Am_Not_a_Muslim













Talmud

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  (Redirected from Criticism of the Talmud)
Jump to: navigation, search


Rabbinic literature

Talmudic literature
Mishnah ·
 Tosefta ·
 Gemara ·
 Jerusalem Talmud ·
 Babylonian Talmud ·
 Minor tractates
 
Halakhic Midrash
Mekhilta de-Rabbi Yishmael on Exodus ·
 Mekhilta de-Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai on Exodus ·
 Sifra on Leviticus ·
 Sifre on Numbers and Deuteronomy ·
 Sifre Zutta on Numbers ·
 Mekhilta on Deuteronomy ·
 Baraita of Rabbi Ishmael
 
Aggadic Midrash

—— Tannaitic ——
Seder Olam Rabbah ·
 Alphabet of Akiba ben Joseph ·
 Baraita of the Forty-nine Rules ·
 Baraita on the Thirty-two Rules ·
 Baraita on Tabernacle Construction

—— 400–600 ——
Genesis Rabbah ·
 Eichah Rabbah ·
 Pesikta de-Rav Kahana ·
 Esther Rabbah ·
 Midrash Iyyov ·
 Leviticus Rabbah ·
 Seder Olam Zutta ·
 Midrash Tanhuma ·
 Megillat Antiochus

—— 650–900 ——
Avot of Rabbi Natan ·
 Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer ·
 Tanna Devei Eliyahu ·
 Alphabet of Ben-Sira ·
 Kohelet Rabbah ·
 Canticles Rabbah ·
 Devarim Rabbah ·
 Devarim Zutta ·
 Pesikta Rabbati ·
 Midrash Shmuel ·
 Midrash Proverbs ·
 Ruth Rabbah ·
 Baraita of Samuel ·
 Targum sheni

—— 900–1000 ——
Ruth Zuta ·
 Eichah Zuta ·
 Midrash Tehillim ·
 Midrash Hashkem ·
 Exodus Rabbah ·
 Canticles Zutta

—— 1000–1200 ——
Midrash Tadshe ·
 Sefer haYashar

—— Later ——
Yalkut Shimoni ·
 Yalkut Makiri ·
 Midrash Jonah ·
 Ein Yaakov ·
 Midrash HaGadol ·
 Numbers Rabbah ·
 Smaller midrashim
 
Rabbinic Targum

—— Torah ——
Targum Onkelos ·
 Targum Pseudo-Jonathan ·
 Fragment Targum ·
 Targum Neofiti

—— Nevi'im ——
Targum Jonathan

—— Ketuvim ——
Targum Tehillim ·
 Targum Mishlei ·
 Targum Iyyov ·
 Targum to the Five Megillot ·
 Targum Sheni to Esther ·
 Targum to Chronicles
 
v ·
 t ·
 e
   
The Talmud (/ˈtɑːlmʊd, -məd, ˈtæl-/; Hebrew: תַּלְמוּד talmūd "instruction, learning", from a root lmd "teach, study") is a central text of Rabbinic Judaism. It is also traditionally referred to as Shas (ש״ס), a Hebrew abbreviation of shisha sedarim, the "six orders". The term "Talmud" normally refers to the Babylonian Talmud, though there is also an earlier collection known as the Jerusalem Talmud.
The Talmud has two components. The first part is the Mishnah (Hebrew: משנה, c. 200 CE), the written compendium of Rabbinic Judaism's Oral Torah (Torah meaning "Instruction", "Teaching" in Hebrew). The second part is the Gemara (c. 500 CE), an elucidation of the Mishnah and related Tannaitic writings that often ventures onto other subjects and expounds broadly on the Hebrew Bible. The term Talmud can be used to mean either the Gemara alone, or the Mishnah and Gemara as printed together.
The whole Talmud consists of 63 tractates, and in standard print is over 6,200 pages long. It is written in Tannaitic Hebrew and Aramaic. The Talmud contains the teachings and opinions of thousands of rabbis on a variety of subjects, including Halakha (law), Jewish ethics, philosophy, customs, history, lore and many other topics. The Talmud is the basis for all codes of Jewish law and is much quoted in rabbinic literature.


Contents  [hide]
1 History
2 Structure 2.1 Mishnah
2.2 Baraita
2.3 Gemara
2.4 Halakha and Aggadah
2.5 Minor tractates
3 Bavli and Yerushalmi 3.1 Talmud Yerushalmi (Jerusalem Talmud)
3.2 Talmud Bavli (Babylonian Talmud)
3.3 Comparison of style and subject matter
4 Language
5 Printing 5.1 Bomberg Talmud 1523
5.2 Benveniste Talmud 1645
5.3 Vilna Talmud, 1835
5.4 Goldschmidt Talmud 1897–1909, and German translation
5.5 Critical editions
5.6 Editions for a wider audience
6 Translations 6.1 Talmud Bavli
6.2 Talmud Yerushalmi
7 Talmud scholarship 7.1 Geonim
7.2 Halakhic and Aggadic extractions
7.3 Commentaries
7.4 Pilpul
7.5 Sephardic approaches
7.6 Brisker method
7.7 Critical method 7.7.1 Textual emendations
7.8 Historical analysis, and higher textual criticism
7.9 Contemporary scholarship
8 Role in Judaism 8.1 Sadducees
8.2 Karaism
8.3 Reform Judaism
8.4 Present day
9 Talmud in the visual arts 9.1 In Carl Schleicher's paintings
9.2 Talmud in Jewish art
10 Other contexts
11 Criticism 11.1 Middle Ages
11.2 19th century and after
11.3 Contemporary accusations
12 See also
13 Notes
14 References 14.1 Logic and methodology
14.2 Modern scholarly works 14.2.1 On individual tractates
14.3 Historical study
15 External links 15.1 General
15.2 Refutation of allegations concerning the Talmud
15.3 Full text resources
15.4 Manuscripts and textual variants
15.5 Layout
15.6 "Daf Yomi" program
15.7 Audio


History[edit]
Main article: Oral Torah



 The first page of the Vilna Edition of the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Berachot, folio 2a.
Originally, Jewish scholarship was oral. Rabbis expounded and debated the Torah (the written Torah expressed in the Hebrew Bible) and discussed the Tanakh without the benefit of written works (other than the Biblical books themselves), though some may have made private notes (megillot setarim), for example of court decisions. This situation changed drastically, mainly as the result of the destruction of the Jewish commonwealth and the Second Temple in the year 70 CE and the consequent upheaval of Jewish social and legal norms. As the Rabbis were required to face a new reality—mainly Judaism without a Temple (to serve as the center of teaching and study) and Judea without at least partial autonomy—there was a flurry of legal discourse and the old system of oral scholarship could not be maintained. It is during this period that Rabbinic discourse began to be recorded in writing.[1][2] The earliest recorded oral Torah may have been of the midrashic form, in which halakhic discussion is structured as exegetical commentary on the Pentateuch. But an alternative form, organized by subject matter instead of by biblical verse, became dominant about the year 200 CE, when Rabbi Judah haNasi redacted the Mishnah (משנה).[citation needed]
The Oral Torah was far from monolithic; rather, it varied among various schools. The most famous two were the School of Shammai and the School of Hillel. In general, all valid opinions, even the non-normative ones, were recorded in the Talmud.[citation needed]
The oldest full manuscript of the Talmud is from 1342, known as the Munich Talmud (Cod.hebr. 95), which is available online.
Structure[edit]
The structure of the Talmud follows that of the Mishnah, in which six orders (sedarim; singular: seder) of general subject matter are divided into 60 or 63 tractates (masekhtot; singular: masekhet) of more focused subject compilations, though not all tractates have Gemara. Each tractate is divided into chapters (perakim; singular: perek), 517 in total, that are both numbered according to the Hebrew alphabet and given names, usually using the first one or two words in the first mishnah. A perek may continue over several (up to tens of) pages.[3] Each perek will contain several mishnayot[4] with their accompanying exchanges that form the "building-blocks" of the Gemara; the name for a passage of gemara is a sugya (סוגיא; plural sugyot). A sugya, including baraita or tosefta, will typically comprise a detailed proof-based elaboration of a Mishnaic statement, whether halakhic or aggadic. A sugya may, and often does, range widely off the subject of the mishnah. The sugya is not punctuated in the conventional sense used in the English language, but by using specific expressions that help to divide the sugya into components, usually including a statement, a question on the statement, an answer, a proof for the answer or a refutation of the answer with its own proof.[citation needed]
In a given sugya, scriptural, Tannaic and Amoraic statements are cited to support the various opinions. In so doing, the Gemara will highlight semantic disagreements between Tannaim and Amoraim (often ascribing a view to an earlier authority as to how he may have answered a question), and compare the Mishnaic views with passages from the Baraita. Rarely are debates formally closed; in some instances, the final word determines the practical law, but in many instances the issue is left unresolved. There is a whole literature on the procedural principles to be used in settling the practical law when disagreements exist: see under #Logic and methodology below.
Mishnah[edit]
Main article: Mishnah
The Mishnah is a compilation of legal opinions and debates. Statements in the Mishnah are typically terse, recording brief opinions of the rabbis debating a subject; or recording only an unattributed ruling, apparently representing a consensus view. The rabbis recorded in the Mishnah are known as Tannaim.[5]
Since it sequences its laws by subject matter instead of by biblical context, the Mishnah discusses individual subjects more thoroughly than the Midrash, and it includes a much broader selection of halakhic subjects than the Midrash. The Mishnah's topical organization thus became the framework of the Talmud as a whole. But not every tractate in the Mishnah has a corresponding Gemara. Also, the order of the tractates in the Talmud differs in some cases from that in the Mishnah.


[hide]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
The Six Orders of the Mishnah (ששה סדרי משנה)



Zeraim (Seeds)
 (זרעים) Moed (Festival)
 (מועד) Nashim (Women)
 (נשים) Nezikin (Damages)
 (נזיקין) Kodashim (Holies)
 (קדשים) Tohorot (Purities)
 (טהרות)

Berakhot ·
 Pe'ah ·
 Demai ·
 Kil'ayim ·
 Shevi'it ·
 Terumot ·
 Ma'aserot ·
 Ma'aser Sheni ·
 Hallah ·
 Orlah ·
 Bikkurim
 
Shabbat ·
 Eruvin ·
 Pesahim ·
 Shekalim ·
 Yoma ·
 Sukkah ·
 Beitza ·
 Rosh Hashanah ·
 Ta'anit ·
 Megillah ·
 Mo'ed Katan ·
 Hagigah
 
Yevamot ·
 Ketubot ·
 Nedarim ·
 Nazir ·
 Sotah ·
 Gittin ·
 Kiddushin
 
Bava Kamma ·
 Bava Metzia ·
 Bava Batra ·
 Sanhedrin ·
 Makkot ·
 Shevu'ot ·
 Eduyot ·
 Avodah Zarah ·
 Avot ·
 Horayot
 
Zevahim ·
 Menahot ·
 Hullin ·
 Bekhorot ·
 Arakhin ·
 Temurah ·
 Keritot ·
 Me'ilah ·
 Tamid ·
 Middot ·
 Kinnim
 
Keilim ·
 Oholot ·
 Nega'im ·
 Parah ·
 Tohorot ·
 Mikva'ot ·
 Niddah ·
 Makhshirin ·
 Zavim ·
 Tevul Yom ·
 Yadayim ·
 Uktzim
 


Baraita[edit]
Main article: Baraita
In addition to the Mishnah, other tannaitic teachings were current at about the same time or shortly thereafter. The Gemara frequently refers to these tannaitic statements in order to compare them to those contained in the Mishnah and to support or refute the propositions of Amoraim. All such non-Mishnaic tannaitic sources are termed baraitot (lit. outside material, "works external to the Mishnah"; sing. baraita ברייתא).
The baraitot cited in the Gemara are often quotations from the Tosefta (a tannaitic compendium of halakha parallel to the Mishnah) and the Halakhic Midrashim (specifically Mekhilta, Sifra and Sifre). Some baraitot, however, are known only through traditions cited in the Gemara, and are not part of any other collection.[citation needed]
Gemara[edit]
Main article: Gemara
In the three centuries following the redaction of the Mishnah, rabbis in Palestine and Babylonia analyzed, debated, and discussed that work. These discussions form the Gemara (גמרא). Gemara means “completion” (from the Hebrew gamar גמר: "to complete") or "learning" (from the Aramaic: "study"). The Gemara mainly focuses on elucidating and elaborating the opinions of the Tannaim. The rabbis of the Gemara are known as Amoraim (sing. Amora אמורא).[citation needed]
Much of the Gemara consists of legal analysis. The starting point for the analysis is usually a legal statement found in a Mishnah. The statement is then analyzed and compared with other statements used in different approaches to Biblical exegesis in rabbinic Judaism (or - simpler - interpretation of text in Torah study) exchanges between two (frequently anonymous and sometimes metaphorical) disputants, termed the makshan (questioner) and tartzan (answerer). Another important function of Gemara is to identify the correct Biblical basis for a given law presented in the Mishnah and the logical process connecting one with the other: this activity was known as talmud long before the existence of the "Talmud" as a text.[6]
Halakha and Aggadah[edit]
The Talmud is a wide-ranging document that touches on a great many subjects. Traditionally Talmudic statements are classified into two broad categories, halakhic and aggadic statements. Halakhic statements directly relate to questions of Jewish law and practice (halakha). Aggadic statements are not legally related, but rather are exegetical, homiletical, ethical, or historical in nature.
Minor tractates[edit]
Main article: Minor tractate
In addition to the six Orders, the Talmud contains a series of short treatises of a later date, usually printed at the end of Seder Nezikin. These are not divided into Mishnah and Gemara.
Bavli and Yerushalmi[edit]
The process of "Gemara" proceeded in what were then the two major centers of Jewish scholarship, Galilee and Babylonia. Correspondingly, two bodies of analysis developed, and two works of Talmud were created. The older compilation is called the Jerusalem Talmud or the Talmud Yerushalmi. It was compiled in the 4th century CE in Galilee. The Babylonian Talmud was compiled about the year 500, although it continued to be edited later. The word "Talmud", when used without qualification, usually refers to the Babylonian Talmud.
While the editors of Jerusalem Talmud and Babylonian Talmud each mention the other community, most scholars believe these documents were written independently; Louis Jacobs writes, "If the editors of either had had access to an actual text of the other, it is inconceivable that they would not have mentioned this. Here the argument from silence is very convincing."[7]
Talmud Yerushalmi (Jerusalem Talmud)[edit]
Main article: Jerusalem Talmud



 A page of a medieval Jerusalem Talmud manuscript, from the Cairo Genizah.
The Jerusalem Talmud was one of the two compilations of Jewish religious teachings and commentary that was transmitted orally for centuries prior to its compilation by Jewish scholars in Israel.[8] It is a compilation of teachings of the schools of Tiberias, Sepphoris and Caesarea. It is written largely in a western Aramaic dialect that differs from its Babylonian counterpart.[citation needed]
This Talmud is a synopsis of the analysis of the Mishnah that was developed over the course of nearly 200 years by the Academies in Galilee (principally those of Tiberias and Caesarea.) Because of their location, the sages of these Academies devoted considerable attention to analysis of the agricultural laws of the Land of Israel. Traditionally, this Talmud was thought to have been redacted in about the year 350 by Rav Muna and Rav Yossi in the Land of Israel. It is traditionally known as the Talmud Yerushalmi ("Jerusalem Talmud"), but the name is a misnomer, as it was not prepared in Jerusalem. It has more accurately been called "The Talmud of the Land of Israel".[9]
Its final redaction probably belongs to the end of the 4th century, but the individual scholars who brought it to its present form cannot be fixed with assurance. By this time Christianity had become the state religion of the Roman Empire and Jerusalem the holy city of Christendom. In 325, Constantine I, the first Christian emperor, said "let us then have nothing in common with the detestable Jewish crowd."[10] This policy made a Jew an outcast and pauper. The compilers of the Jerusalem Talmud consequently lacked the time to produce a work of the quality they had intended. The text is evidently incomplete and is not easy to follow. The apparent cessation of work on the Jerusalem Talmud in the 5th century has been associated with the decision of Theodosius II in 425 to suppress the Patriarchate and put an end to the practice of formal scholarly ordination. Some modern scholars have questioned this connection: for more detail see Jerusalem Talmud: Place and date of composition.
Despite its incomplete state, the Jerusalem Talmud remains an indispensable source of knowledge of the development of the Jewish Law in the Holy Land. It was also an important resource in the study of the Babylonian Talmud by the Kairouan school of Hananel ben Hushiel and Nissim Gaon, with the result that opinions ultimately based on the Jerusalem Talmud found their way into both the Tosafot and the Mishneh Torah of Maimonides.
Following the formation of the modern State of Israel there is some interest in restoring Eretz Yisrael traditions. For example, Rabbi David Bar-Hayim of the Makhon Shilo institute has issued a siddur reflecting Eretz Yisrael practice as found in the Jerusalem Talmud and other sources.
Talmud Bavli (Babylonian Talmud)[edit]



 A full set of the Babylonian Talmud.
The Talmud Bavli consists of documents compiled over the period of Late Antiquity (3rd to 5th centuries).[11] During this time the most important of the Jewish centres in Mesopotamia, later known as Iraq, were Nehardea, Nisibis, Mahoza (just to the south of what is now Baghdad), Pumbeditha (near present-day al-Anbar), and the Sura Academy near present-day Falluja.
Talmud Bavli (the "Babylonian Talmud") comprises the Mishnah and the Babylonian Gemara, the latter representing the culmination of more than 300 years of analysis of the Mishnah in the Babylonian Academies. The foundations of this process of analysis were laid by Rab, a disciple of Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi. Tradition ascribes the compilation of the Babylonian Talmud in its present form to two Babylonian sages, Rav Ashi and Ravina. Rav Ashi was president of the Sura Academy from 375 to 427 CE. The work begun by Rav Ashi was completed by Ravina, who is traditionally regarded as the final Amoraic expounder. Accordingly, traditionalists argue that Ravina’s death in 499 CE is the latest possible date for the completion of the redaction of the Talmud. However, even on the most traditional view a few passages are regarded as the work of a group of rabbis who edited the Talmud after the end of the Amoraic period, known as the Saboraim or Rabbanan Savora'e (meaning "reasoners" or "considerers").
The question as to when the Gemara was finally put into its present form is not settled among modern scholars. Some, like Louis Jacobs, argue that the main body of the Gemara is not simple reportage of conversations, as it purports to be, but a highly elaborate structure contrived by the Saboraim, who must therefore be regarded as the real authors. On this view the text did not reach its final form until around 700. Some modern scholars use the term Stammaim (from the Hebrew Stam, meaning "closed", "vague" or "unattributed") for the authors of unattributed statements in the Gemara. (See eras within Jewish law.)
Comparison of style and subject matter[edit]
There are significant differences between the two Talmud compilations. The language of the Jerusalem Talmud is a western Aramaic dialect, which differs from the form of Aramaic in the Babylonian Talmud. The Talmud Yerushalmi is often fragmentary and difficult to read, even for experienced Talmudists. The redaction of the Talmud Bavli, on the other hand, is more careful and precise. The law as laid down in the two compilations is basically similar, except in emphasis and in minor details. The Jerusalem Talmud has not received much attention from commentators, and such traditional commentaries as exist are mostly concerned with comparing its teachings to those of the Talmud Bavli.
Neither the Jerusalem nor the Babylonian Talmud covers the entire Mishnah: for example, a Babylonian Gemara exists only for 37 out of the 63 tractates of the Mishnah. In particular:
The Jerusalem Talmud covers all the tractates of Zeraim, while the Babylonian Talmud covers only tractate Berachot. The reason might be that most laws from the Orders Zeraim (agricultural laws limited to the land of Israel) had little practical relevance in Babylonia and were therefore not included.[12] The Jerusalem Talmud has a greater focus on the Land of Israel and the Torah's agricultural laws pertaining to the land because it was written in the Land of Israel where the laws applied.
The Jerusalem Talmud does not cover the Mishnaic order of Kodashim, which deals with sacrificial rites and laws pertaining to the Temple, while the Babylonian Talmud does cover it. It is not clear why this is, as the laws were not directly applicable in either country following the Temple's 70 CE destruction.
In both Talmuds, only one tractate of Tehorot (ritual purity laws) is examined, that of the menstrual laws, Niddah.
The Babylonian Talmud records the opinions of the rabbis of the Ma'arava (the West, meaning Israel/Palestine) as well as of those of Babylonia, while the Jerusalem Talmud only seldom cites the Babylonian rabbis. The Babylonian version also contains the opinions of more generations because of its later date of completion. For both these reasons it is regarded as a more comprehensive collection of the opinions available. On the other hand, because of the centuries of redaction between the composition of the Jerusalem and the Babylonian Talmud, the opinions of early amoraim might be closer to their original form in the Jerusalem Talmud.
The influence of the Babylonian Talmud has been far greater than that of the Yerushalmi. In the main, this is because the influence and prestige of the Jewish community of Israel steadily declined in contrast with the Babylonian community in the years after the redaction of the Talmud and continuing until the Gaonic era. Furthermore, the editing of the Babylonian Talmud was superior to that of the Jerusalem version, making it more accessible and readily usable. According to Maimonides (whose life began almost a hundred years after the end of the Gaonic era), all Jewish communities during the Gaonic era formally accepted the Babylonian Talmud as binding upon themselves, and modern Jewish practice follows the Babylonian Talmud's conclusions on all areas in which the two Talmuds conflict.
Language[edit]
Of the two main components of the Babylonian Talmud, the Mishnah is written in Mishnaic Hebrew. Within the Gemara, the quotations from the Mishnah and the Baraitas and verses of Tanakh quoted and embedded in the Gemara are in Hebrew. The rest of the Gemara, including the discussions of the Amoraim and the overall framework, is in a characteristic dialect of Jewish Babylonian Aramaic.[13] There are occasional quotations from older works in other dialects of Aramaic, such as Megillat Taanit. Overall, Hebrew constitutes somewhat less than half of the text of the Talmud.
This difference in language is due to the long time period elapsing between the two compilations. During the period of the Tannaim (rabbis cited in the Mishnah), the spoken vernacular of Jews in Judaea was a late form of Hebrew known as Rabbinic or Mishnaic Hebrew, whereas during the period of the Amoraim (rabbis cited in the Gemara), which began around 200 CE, the spoken vernacular was Aramaic. Hebrew continued to be used for the writing of religious texts, poetry, and so forth.[14]
Printing[edit]
Bomberg Talmud 1523[edit]
The first complete edition of the Babylonian Talmud was printed in Venice by Daniel Bomberg 1520–23. In addition to the Mishnah and Gemara, Bomberg's edition contained the commentaries of Rashi and Tosafot. Almost all printings since Bomberg have followed the same pagination. Bomberg's edition was considered relatively free of censorship.[15]
Benveniste Talmud 1645[edit]
Following Ambrosius Frobenius's publication of most of the Talmud in installments in Basel, Immanuel Benveniste published the whole Talmud in installments in Amsterdam 1644–1648,[16] Though according to Raphael Rabbinovicz the Benveniste Talmud may have been based on the Lublin Talmud and included many of the censors' errors.[17]
Vilna Talmud, 1835[edit]
The edition of the Talmud published by the Szapira brothers in Slavuta in 1795 is particularly prized by many hasidic rebbes. In 1835, after an acrimonious dispute with the Szapira family, a new edition of the Talmud was printed by Menachem Romm of Vilna. Known as the Vilna Shas, this edition (and later ones printed by his widow and sons) has been used in the production of more recent editions of Talmud Bavli.
A page number in the Talmud refers to a double-sided page, known as a daf; each daf has two amudim labeled א and ב, sides A and B (Recto and Verso). The referencing by daf is relatively recent and dates from the early Talmud printings of the 17th century. Earlier rabbinic literature generally only refers to the tractate or chapters within a tractate. Nowadays, reference is made in format [Tractate daf a/b] (e.g. Berachot 23b). In the Vilna edition of the Talmud there are 5,894 folio pages.
Goldschmidt Talmud 1897–1909, and German translation[edit]
Lazarus Goldschmidt published an edition from the "uncensored text" of the Babylonian Talmud with a German translation in 9 vols. (commenced Leipzig, 1897–1909, edition completed, following emigration to England in 1933, by 1936).[18]
Critical editions[edit]
The text of the Vilna editions is considered by scholars not to be uniformly reliable, and there have been a number of attempts to collate textual variants.
1.In the early 20th century Nathan Rabinowitz published a series of volumes called Dikduke Soferim showing textual variants from early manuscripts and printings.
2.In 1960 work started on a new edition under the name of Gemara Shelemah (complete Gemara) under the editorship of Menachem Mendel Kasher: only the volume on the first part of tractate Pesachim appeared before the project was interrupted by his death. This edition contained a comprehensive set of textual variants and a few selected commentaries.
3.Some thirteen volumes have been published by the Institute for the Complete Israeli Talmud (a division of Yad Harav Herzog), on lines similar to Rabinowitz, containing the text and a comprehensive set of textual variants (from manuscripts, early prints and citations in secondary literature) but no commentaries.[19]
There have been critical editions of particular tractates (e.g. Henry Malter's edition of Ta'anit), but there is no modern critical edition of the whole Talmud. Modern editions such as those of the Oz ve-Hadar Institute correct misprints and restore passages that in earlier editions were modified or excised by censorship but do not attempt a comprehensive account of textual variants. One edition, by Rabbi Yosef Amar,[20] represents the Yemenite tradition, and takes the form of a photostatic reproduction of a Vilna-based print to which Yemenite vocalization and textual variants have been added by hand, together with printed introductory material. Collations of the Yemenite manuscripts of some tractates have been published by Columbia University.[21]
Editions for a wider audience[edit]
A number of editions have been aimed at bringing the Talmud to a wider audience. The main ones are as follows.
The Steinsaltz Talmud, which contains the text with punctuation, detailed explanations and translation. The Steinsaltz Edition is available in two formats: one with the traditional Vilna page and one without. It is available in modern Hebrew (first volume published 1969), English (first volume published 1989), French, Russian and other languages.
In May 2012, Koren Publishers Jerusalem launched the new Koren Talmud Bavli, a new version of the Steinsaltz Talmud which features a new, modern English translation and the commentary of Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz. This edition won widespread praise as "America's most important Jewish event",[22] and for its "beautiful page" and "clean type".[23] It includes color photos and illustrations, and Steinsaltz's historical, biographical and linguistic notes in modern English translation. Opened as a Hebrew book, this edition preserves the traditional Vilna page layout and includes vowels and punctuation; the Rashi commentary too is punctuated. Opened as an English book, this edition breaks down the Talmud text into small, thematic units and features the supplementary notes along the margins.
The Schottenstein Talmud, published by ArtScroll: the first volume was published in 1990, and the series was completed in 2004. Each page is printed in the traditional Vilna format, and accompanied by an expanded paraphrase in English, in which the translation of the text is shown in bold and explanations are interspersed in normal type.
The Metivta edition, published by the Oz ve-Hadar Institute. This contains the full text in the same format as the Vilna-based editions, with a full explanation in modern Hebrew on facing pages as well as an improved version of the traditional commentaries.[24]
A previous project of the same kind, called Talmud El Am, "Talmud to the people", was published in Israel in the 1960s-80s. The Talmud El Am contains Hebrew text, English translation and commentary by Rabbi Dr A. Ehrman, with short 'realia', marginal notes, often illustrated, written by experts in the field for the whole of Tractate Berakhot, 2 chapters of Bava Mezia and the halachic section of Qiddushin, chapter 1.
See also under Translations, below.
Translations[edit]
Talmud Bavli[edit]
Part of a series of articles on
Editions of the Babylonian Talmud
Talmud

Editions:[hide]
Neusner Translation  · Rodkinson Translation
  · Schottenstein Edition  ·
Soncino Edition  · Steinsaltz Edition

v ·
 t ·
 e
   
There are six contemporary translations of the Talmud into English:
The Noé Edition of the Koren Talmud Bavli, Adin Steinsaltz, Koren Publishers Jerusalem. This work was launched in 2012. Opened from the Hebrew side, this edition features the traditional Vilna page with vowels and punctuation in the original Aramaic text. The Rashi commentary appears in Rashi script with vowels and punctuation. Opened from the English side, the edition features bi-lingual text with side-by-side English/Aramaic translation. The margins include color maps, illustrations and notes based on Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz’s Hebrew language translation and commentary of the Talmud. Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb serves as the Editor-in-Chief. As of July 2014, 12 volumes have been published. The entire set will be 42 volumes.



 Koren Talmud BavliThe Talmud: The Steinsaltz Edition Adin Steinsaltz, Random House. This work is an English edition of Rabbi Steinsaltz' complete Hebrew language translation of and commentary on the entire Talmud. Incomplete—24 volumes and a reference guide.
Schottenstein Edition of the Talmud, Mesorah Publications (73 volumes). In this translation, each English page faces the Aramaic/Hebrew page. The English pages are elucidated and heavily annotated; each Aramaic/Hebrew page of Talmud typically requires three English pages of translation. Complete.
The Soncino Talmud, Isidore Epstein, Soncino Press (26 volumes; also formerly an 18 volume edition was published). Notes on each page provide additional background material. This translation is published both on its own and in a parallel text edition, in which each English page faces the Aramaic/Hebrew page. It is available also on CD-ROM. Complete.
The Talmud of Babylonia. An American Translation, Jacob Neusner, Tzvee Zahavy, others. Atlanta: 1984-1995: Scholars Press for Brown Judaic Studies. Complete.
The Babylonian Talmud, translated by Michael L. Rodkinson. (1903, contains all of the tractates in the Orders of Mo'ed/Festivals and Nezikin/Damages, plus some additional material related to these Orders.) This is inaccurate[citation needed] and was wholly superseded by the Soncino translation: it is sometimes linked to from the internet because, for copyright reasons, it was until recently the only translation freely available on the Web (see below, under Full text resources).
There is one translation of the Talmud into Arabic, published in 2012 in Jordan by the Center for Middle Eastern Studies. The translation was carried out by a group of 90 Muslim and Christian scholars.[25] The introduction was characterized by Dr. Raquel Ukeles, Curator of the Israel National Library's Arabic collection, as "racist", but she considers the translation itself as "not bad".[26]
Talmud Yerushalmi[edit]
Talmud of the Land of Israel: A Preliminary Translation and Explanation Jacob Neusner, Tzvee Zahavy, others. University of Chicago Press. This translation uses a form-analytical presentation that makes the logical units of discourse easier to identify and follow. This work has received many positive reviews. However, some consider Neusner's translation methodology idiosyncratic. One volume was negatively reviewed by Saul Lieberman of the Jewish Theological Seminary.
Schottenstein Edition of the Yerushalmi Talmud Mesorah/Artscroll. This translation is the counterpart to Mesorah/Artscroll's Schottenstein Edition of the Talmud (i.e. Babylonian Talmud).
The Jerusalem Talmud, Edition, Translation and Commentary, ed. Guggenheimer, Heinrich W., Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin, Germany
German Edition, Übersetzung des Talmud Yerushalmi, published by Martin Hengel, Peter Schäfer, Hans-Jürgen Becker, Frowald Gil Hüttenmeister, Mohr&Siebeck, Tübingen, Germany
Modern Elucidated Talmud Yerushalmi, ed. Joshua Buch. Uses the Leiden manuscript as its based text corrected according to manuscripts and Geniza Fragments. Draws upon Traditional and Modern Scholarship - www.talmudyerushalmi.org/talmud-yerushalmi-mevoar/
Talmud scholarship[edit]
From the time of its completion, the Talmud became integral to Jewish scholarship. A maxim in Pirkei Avot advocates its study from the age of 15.[27] This section outlines some of the major areas of Talmudic study.
Geonim[edit]
The earliest Talmud commentaries were written by the Geonim (c. 800 - 1000, CE) in Babylonia. Although some direct commentaries on particular treatises are extant, our main knowledge of Gaonic era Talmud scholarship comes from statements embedded in Geonic responsa that shed light on Talmudic passages: these are arranged in the order of the Talmud in Levin's Otzar ha-Geonim. Also important are practical abridgments of Jewish law such as Yehudai Gaon's Halachot Pesukot, Achai Gaon's Sheeltot and Simeon Kayyara's Halachot Gedolot. After the death of Hai Gaon, however, the center of Talmud scholarship shifts to Europe and North Africa.
Halakhic and Aggadic extractions[edit]
One area of Talmudic scholarship developed out of the need to ascertain the Halakha. Early commentators such as Rabbi Isaac Alfasi (North Africa, 1013–1103) attempted to extract and determine the binding legal opinions from the vast corpus of the Talmud. Alfasi's work was highly influential, attracted several commentaries in its own right and later served as a basis for the creation of halakhic codes. Another influential medieval Halakhic work following the order of the Babylonian Talmud, and to some extent modelled on Alfasi, was "the Mordechai", a compilation by Mordechai ben Hillel (c. 1250 – 1298). A third such work was that of Rabbi Asher ben Yechiel (d. 1327). All these works and their commentaries are printed in the Vilna and many subsequent editions of the Talmud.
A 15th-century Spanish rabbi, Jacob ibn Habib (d. 1516), composed the Ein Yaakov. Ein Yaakov (or En Ya'aqob) extracts nearly all the Aggadic material from the Talmud. It was intended to familiarize the public with the ethical parts of the Talmud and to dispute many of the accusations surrounding its contents.
Commentaries[edit]
Main article: Rabbinic literature
The Talmud is often cryptic and difficult to understand. Its language contains many Greek and Persian words that became obscure over time. A major area of Talmudic scholarship developed to explain these passages and words. Some early commentators such as Rabbenu Gershom of Mainz (10th century) and Rabbenu Ḥananel (early 11th century) produced running commentaries to various tractates. These commentaries could be read with the text of the Talmud and would help explain the meaning of the text. Another important work is the Sefer ha-Mafteaḥ (Book of the Key) by Nissim Gaon, which contains a preface explaining the different forms of Talmudic argumentation and then explains abbreviated passages in the Talmud by cross-referring to parallel passages where the same thought is expressed in full. Commentaries (ḥiddushim) by Joseph ibn Migash on two tractates, Bava Batra and Shevuot, based on Ḥananel and Alfasi, also survive, as does a compilation by Zechariah Aghmati called Sefer ha-Ner.[28] Using a different style, Rabbi Nathan b. Jechiel created a lexicon called the Arukh in the 11th century to help translate difficult words.
By far the best known commentary on the Babylonian Talmud is that of Rashi (Rabbi Solomon ben Isaac, 1040–1105). The commentary is comprehensive, covering almost the entire Talmud. Written as a running commentary, it provides a full explanation of the words, and explains the logical structure of each Talmudic passage. It is considered indispensable to students of the Talmud.
Medieval Ashkenazic Jewry produced another major commentary known as Tosafot ("additions" or "supplements"). The Tosafot are collected commentaries by various medieval Ashkenazic Rabbis on the Talmud (known as Tosafists or Ba'alei Tosafot). One of the main goals of the Tosafot is to explain and interpret contradictory statements in the Talmud. Unlike Rashi, the Tosafot is not a running commentary, but rather comments on selected matters. Often the explanations of Tosafot differ from those of Rashi.
Among the founders of the Tosafist school were Rabbi Jacob ben Meir (known as Rabbeinu Tam), who was a grandson of Rashi, and, Rabbenu Tam's nephew, Rabbi Isaac ben Samuel. The Tosafot commentaries were collected in different editions in the various schools. The benchmark collection of Tosafot for Northern France was that of R. Eliezer of Touques. The standard collection for Spain was that of Rabbenu Asher ("Tosefot Harosh"). The Tosafot that are printed in the standard Vilna edition of the Talmud are an edited version compiled from the various medieval collections, predominantly that of Touques.[29]
Over time, the approach of the Tosafists spread to other Jewish communities, particularly those in Spain. This led to the composition of many other commentaries in similar styles. Among these are the commentaries of Nachmanides (Ramban), Solomon ben Adret (Rashba), Yom Tov of Seville (Ritva) and Nissim of Gerona (Ran). A comprehensive anthology consisting of extracts from all these is the Shittah Mekubbetzet of Bezalel Ashkenazi.
Other commentaries produced in Spain and Provence were not influenced by the Tosafist style. Two of the most significant of these are the Yad Ramah by Rabbi Meir Abulafia and Bet Habechirah by Rabbi Menahem haMeiri, commonly referred to as "Meiri". While the Bet Habechirah is extant for all of Talmud, we only have the Yad Ramah for Tractates Sanhedrin, Baba Batra and Gittin. Like the commentaries of Ramban and the others, these are generally printed as independent works, though some Talmud editions include the Shittah Mekubbetzet in an abbreviated form.
In later centuries, focus partially shifted from direct Talmudic interpretation to the analysis of previously written Talmudic commentaries. These later commentaries include "Maharshal" (Solomon Luria), "Maharam" (Meir Lublin) and "Maharsha" (Samuel Edels), and are generally printed at the back of each tractate.
Another very useful study aid, found in almost all editions of the Talmud, consists of the marginal notes Torah Or, Ein Mishpat Ner Mitzvah and Masoret ha-Shas by the Italian rabbi Joshua Boaz, which give references respectively to the cited Biblical passages, to the relevant halachic codes and to related Talmudic passages.
Most editions of the Talmud include brief marginal notes by Akiva Eger under the name Gilyonot ha-Shas, and textual notes by Joel Sirkes and the Vilna Gaon (see Textual emendations below), on the page together with the text.
Pilpul[edit]
During the 15th and 16th centuries, a new intensive form of Talmud study arose. Complicated logical arguments were used to explain minor points of contradiction within the Talmud. The term pilpul was applied to this type of study. Usage of pilpul in this sense (that of "sharp analysis") harks back to the Talmudic era and refers to the intellectual sharpness this method demanded.
Pilpul practitioners posited that the Talmud could contain no redundancy or contradiction whatsoever. New categories and distinctions (hillukim) were therefore created, resolving seeming contradictions within the Talmud by novel logical means.
In the Ashkenazi world the founders of pilpul are generally considered to be Jacob Pollak (1460–1541) and Shalom Shachna. This kind of study reached its height in the 16th and 17th centuries when expertise in pilpulistic analysis was considered an art form and became a goal in and of itself within the yeshivot of Poland and Lithuania. But the popular new method of Talmud study was not without critics; already in the 15th century, the ethical tract Orhot Zaddikim ("Paths of the Righteous" in Hebrew) criticized pilpul for an overemphasis on intellectual acuity. Many 16th- and 17th-century rabbis were also critical of pilpul. Among them may be noted Judah Loew ben Bezalel (the Maharal of Prague), Isaiah Horowitz, and Yair Bacharach.
By the 18th century, pilpul study waned. Other styles of learning such as that of the school of Elijah b. Solomon, the Vilna Gaon, became popular. The term "pilpul" was increasingly applied derogatorily to novellae deemed casuistic and hairsplitting. Authors referred to their own commentaries as "al derekh ha-peshat" (by the simple method) to contrast them with pilpul.[30]
Sephardic approaches[edit]
Among Sephardi and Italian Jews from the 15th century on, some authorities sought to apply the methods of Aristotelian logic, as reformulated by Averroes.[31] This method was first recorded, though without explicit reference to Aristotle, by Isaac Campanton (d. Spain, 1463) in his Darkhei ha-Talmud ("The Ways of the Talmud"),[32] and is also found in the works of Moses Chaim Luzzatto.[33]
According to the present-day Sephardi scholar José Faur, traditional Sephardic Talmud study could take place on any of three levels.[34]
The most basic level consists of literary analysis of the text without the help of commentaries, designed to bring out the tzurata di-shema'ta, i.e. the logical and narrative structure of the passage.[35]
The intermediate level, 'iyyun (concentration), consists of study with the help of commentaries such as Rashi and the Tosafot, similar to that practised among the Ashkenazim.[36] Historically Sephardim studied the Tosefot ha-Rosh and the commentaries of Nahmanides in preference to the printed Tosafot.[37] A method based on the study of Tosafot, and of Ashkenazi authorities such as Maharsha (Samuel Edels) and Maharshal (Solomon Luria), was introduced in late seventeenth century Tunisia by Rabbis Abraham Hakohen (d. 1715) and Tsemaḥ Tsarfati (d. 1717) and perpetuated by Rabbi Isaac Lumbroso[38] and is sometimes referred to as 'Iyyun Tunisa'i.[39]
The highest level, halachah (Jewish law), consists of collating the opinions set out in the Talmud with those of the halachic codes such as the Mishneh Torah and the Shulchan Aruch, so as to study the Talmud as a source of law. (A project called Halacha Brura,[40] founded by Abraham Isaac Kook, presents the Talmud and a summary of the halachic codes side by side in book form so as to enable this kind of collation.)
Today most Sephardic yeshivot follow Lithuanian approaches such as the Brisker method: the traditional Sephardic methods are perpetuated informally by some individuals. 'Iyyun Tunisa'i is taught at the Kisse Rahamim yeshivah in Bnei Brak.
Brisker method[edit]
In the late 19th century another trend in Talmud study arose. Rabbi Hayyim Soloveitchik (1853–1918) of Brisk (Brest-Litovsk) developed and refined this style of study. Brisker method involves a reductionistic analysis of rabbinic arguments within the Talmud or among the Rishonim, explaining the differing opinions by placing them within a categorical structure. The Brisker method is highly analytical and is often criticized as being a modern-day version of pilpul. Nevertheless, the influence of the Brisker method is great. Most modern day Yeshivot study the Talmud using the Brisker method in some form. One feature of this method is the use of Maimonides' Mishneh Torah as a guide to Talmudic interpretation, as distinct from its use as a source of practical halakha.
Rival methods were those of the Mir and Telz yeshivas.
Critical method[edit]
As a result of Jewish emancipation, Judaism underwent enormous upheaval and transformation during the 19th century. Modern methods of textual and historical analysis were applied to the Talmud.
Textual emendations[edit]
The text of the Talmud has been subject to some level of critical scrutiny throughout its history. Rabbinic tradition holds that the people cited in both Talmuds did not have a hand in its writings; rather, their teachings were edited into a rough form around 450 CE (Talmud Yerushalmi) and 550 CE (Talmud Bavli.) The text of the Bavli especially was not firmly fixed at that time.
The Gaonic responsa literature addresses this issue. Teshuvot Geonim Kadmonim, section 78, deals with mistaken biblical readings in the Talmud. This Gaonic responsum states:

"...But you must examine carefully in every case when you feel uncertainty [as to the credibility of the text] - what is its source? Whether a scribal error? Or the superficiality of a second rate student who was not well versed?....after the manner of many mistakes found among those superficial second-rate students, and certainly among those rural memorizers who were not familiar with the biblical text. And since they erred in the first place....[they compounded the error.]
—Teshuvot Geonim Kadmonim, Ed. Cassel, Berlin 1858, Photographic reprint Tel Aviv 1964, 23b.
In the early medieval era, Rashi concluded that some statements in the extant text of the Talmud were insertions from later editors. On Shevuot 3b Rashi writes "A mistaken student wrote this in the margin of the Talmud, and copyists {subsequently} put it into the Gemara."[41]
The emendations of Yoel Sirkis and the Vilna Gaon are included in all standard editions of the Talmud, in the form of marginal glosses entitled Hagahot ha-Bach and Hagahot ha-Gra respectively; further emendations by Solomon Luria are set out in commentary form at the back of each tractate. The Vilna Gaon's emendations were often based on his quest for internal consistency in the text rather than on manuscript evidence;[42] nevertheless many of the Gaon's emendations were later verified by textual critics, such as Solomon Schechter, who had Cairo Genizah texts with which to compare our standard editions.[43]
In the 19th century Raphael Nathan Nota Rabinovicz published a multi-volume work entitled Dikdukei Soferim, showing textual variants from the Munich and other early manuscripts of the Talmud, and further variants are recorded in the Complete Israeli Talmud and Gemara Shelemah editions (see Printing, above).
Today many more manuscripts have become available, in particular from the Cairo Geniza. The Academy of the Hebrew Language has prepared a text on CD-ROM for lexicographical purposes, containing the text of each tractate according to the manuscript it considers most reliable,[44] and images of some of the older manuscripts may be found on the website of the Jewish National and University Library.[45] The JNUL, the Lieberman Institute (associated with the Jewish Theological Seminary of America) and the Institute for the Complete Israeli Talmud (part of Yad Harav Herzog) all maintain searchable websites on which the viewer can request variant manuscript readings of a given passage.[46]
Further variant readings can often be gleaned from citations in secondary literature such as commentaries, in particular those of Alfasi, Rabbenu Ḥananel and Aghmati, and sometimes the later Spanish commentators such as Nachmanides and Solomon ben Adret.
Historical analysis, and higher textual criticism[edit]
Historical study of the Talmud can be used to investigate a variety of concerns. One can ask questions such as: Do a given section's sources date from its editor's lifetime? To what extent does a section have earlier or later sources? Are Talmudic disputes distinguishable along theological or communal lines? In what ways do different sections derive from different schools of thought within early Judaism? Can these early sources be identified, and if so, how? Investigation of questions such as these are known as higher textual criticism. (The term "criticism", it should be noted, is a technical term denoting academic study.)
Religious scholars still debate the precise method by which the text of the Talmuds reached their final form. Many believe that the text was continuously smoothed over by the savoraim.
In the 1870s and 1880s Rabbi Raphael Natan Nata Rabbinovitz engaged in historical study of Talmud Bavli in his Diqduqei Soferim. Since then many Orthodox rabbis have approved of his work, including Rabbis Shlomo Kluger, Yoseph Shaul Ha-Levi Natanzohn, Yaaqov Ettlinger, Isaac Elhanan Spektor and Shimon Sofer.
During the early 19th century, leaders of the newly evolving Reform movement, such as Abraham Geiger and Samuel Holdheim, subjected the Talmud to severe scrutiny as part of an effort to break with traditional rabbinic Judaism. They insisted that the Talmud was entirely a work of evolution and development. This view was rejected as both academically incorrect, and religiously incorrect, by those who would become known as the Orthodox movement. Some Orthodox leaders such as Moses Sofer (the Chatam Sofer) became exquisitely sensitive to any change and rejected modern critical methods of Talmud study.
Some rabbis advocated a view of Talmudic study that they held to be in-between the Reformers and the Orthodox; these were the adherents of positive-historical Judaism, notably Nachman Krochmal and Zacharias Frankel. They described the Oral Torah as the result of a historical and exegetical process, emerging over time, through the application of authorized exegetical techniques, and more importantly, the subjective dispositions and personalities and current historical conditions, by learned sages. This was later developed more fully in the five volume work Dor Dor ve-Dorshav by Isaac Hirsch Weiss. (See Jay Harris Guiding the Perplexed in the Modern Age Ch. 5) Eventually their work came to be one of the formative parts of Conservative Judaism.
Another aspect of this movement is reflected in Graetz's History of the Jews. Graetz attempts to deduce the personality of the Pharisees based on the laws or aggadot that they cite, and show that their personalities influenced the laws they expounded.
The leader of Orthodox Jewry in Germany Samson Raphael Hirsch, while not rejecting the methods of scholarship in principle, hotly contested the findings of the Historical-Critical method. In a series of articles in his magazine Jeschurun (reprinted in Collected Writings Vol. 5) Hirsch reiterated the traditional view, and pointed out what he saw as numerous errors in the works of Graetz, Frankel and Geiger.
On the other hand, many of the 19th century's strongest critics of Reform, including strictly orthodox Rabbis such as Zvi Hirsch Chajes, utilized this new scientific method. The Orthodox Rabbinical seminary of Azriel Hildesheimer was founded on the idea of creating a "harmony between Judaism and science". Another Orthodox pioneer of scientific Talmud study was David Zvi Hoffman.
The Iraqi rabbi Yaakov Chaim Sofer notes that the text of the Gemara has had changes and additions, and contains statements not of the same origin as the original. See his Yehi Yosef (Jerusalem, 1991) p. 132 "This passage does not bear the signature of the editor of the Talmud!"
Orthodox scholar Daniel Sperber writes in "Legitimacy, of Necessity, of Scientific Disciplines" that many Orthodox sources have engaged in the historical (also called "scientific") study of the Talmud. As such, the divide today between Orthodoxy and Reform is not about whether the Talmud may be subjected to historical study, but rather about the theological and halakhic implications of such study.
Contemporary scholarship[edit]
Some trends within contemporary Talmud scholarship are listed below.
Orthodox Judaism maintains that the oral Torah was revealed, in some form, together with the written Torah. As such, some adherents, most notably Samson Raphael Hirsch and his followers, resisted any effort to apply historical methods that imputed specific motives to the authors of the Talmud. Other major figures in Orthodoxy, however, took issue with Hirsch on this matter, most prominently David Tzvi Hoffmann.[47]
Some scholars hold that there has been extensive editorial reshaping of the stories and statements within the Talmud. Lacking outside confirming texts, they hold that we cannot confirm the origin or date of most statements and laws, and that we can say little for certain about their authorship. In this view, the questions above are impossible to answer. See, for example, the works of Louis Jacobs and Shaye J.D. Cohen.
Some scholars hold that the Talmud has been extensively shaped by later editorial redaction, but that it contains sources we can identify and describe with some level of reliability. In this view, sources can be identified by tracing the history and analyzing the geographical regions of origin. See, for example, the works of Lee I. Levine and David Kraemer.
Some scholars hold that many or most the statements and events described in the Talmud usually occurred more or less as described, and that they can be used as serious sources of historical study. In this view, historians do their best to tease out later editorial additions (itself a very difficult task) and skeptically view accounts of miracles, leaving behind a reliable historical text. See, for example, the works of Saul Lieberman, David Weiss Halivni, and Avraham Goldberg.
Modern academic study attempts to separate the different "strata" within the text, to try to interpret each level on its own, and to identify the correlations between parallel versions of the same tradition. In recent years, the works of R. David Weiss Halivni and Dr. Shamma Friedman have suggested a paradigm shift in the understanding of the Talmud (Encyclopaedia Judaica 2nd ed. entry "Talmud, Babylonian"). The traditional understanding was to view the Talmud as a unified homogeneous work. While other scholars had also treated the Talmud as a multi-layered work, Dr. Halivni's innovation (primarily in the second volume of his Mekorot u-Mesorot) was to differentiate between the Amoraic statements, which are generally brief Halachic decisions or inquiries, and the writings of the later "Stammaitic" (or Saboraic) authors, which are characterised by a much longer analysis that often consists of lengthy dialectic discussion. It has been noted that the Jerusalem Talmud is in fact very similar to the Babylonian Talmud minus Stammaitic activity (Encyclopaedia Judaica (2nd ed.), entry "Jerusalem Talmud"). Shamma Y. Friedman's Talmud Aruch on the sixth chapter of Bava Metzia (1996) is the first example of a complete analysis of a Talmudic text using this method. S. Wald has followed with works on Pesachim ch. 3 (2000) and Shabbat ch. 7 (2006). Further commentaries in this sense are being published by Dr Friedman's "Society for the Interpretation of the Talmud".[48]
Some scholars are indeed using outside sources to help give historical and contextual understanding of certain areas of the Babylonian Talmud. See for example the works of the Prof Yaakov Elman[49] and of his student Dr. Shai Secunda[50]
Role in Judaism[edit]
The Talmud represents the written record of an oral tradition. It became the basis for many rabbinic legal codes and customs, most importantly for the Mishneh Torah and for the Shulchan Aruch. Orthodox and, to a lesser extent, Conservative Judaism accepts the Talmud as authoritative, while Reconstructionist and Reform Judaism do not. This section briefly outlines past and current movements and their view of the Talmud's role.
Sadducees[edit]
The Jewish sect of the Sadducees flourished during the Second Temple period. Principal distinctions between them and the Pharisees (later known as Rabbinic Judaism) involved their rejection of an Oral Torah and their denying a resurrection after death.
Karaism[edit]
Another movement that rejected the oral Torah was Karaism. It arose within two centuries of the completion of the Talmud. Karaism developed as a reaction against the Talmudic Judaism of Babylonia. The central concept of Karaism is the rejection of the Oral Torah, as embodied in the Talmud, in favor of a strict adherence to the Written Torah only. This opposes the fundamental Rabbinic concept that the Oral Torah was given to Moses on Mount Sinai together with the Written Torah. Some later Karaites took a more moderate stance, allowing that some element of tradition (called sevel ha-yerushah, the burden of inheritance) is admissible in interpreting the Torah and that some authentic traditions are contained in the Mishnah and the Talmud, though these can never supersede the plain meaning of the Written Torah.
Reform Judaism[edit]
The rise of Reform Judaism during the 19th century saw more questioning of the authority of the Talmud. Reform Jews saw the Talmud as a product of late antiquity, having relevance merely as a historical document. For example the "Declaration of Principles" issued by the Association of Friends of Reform Frankfurt in August 1843 states among other things that:

The collection of controversies, dissertations, and prescriptions commonly designated by the name Talmud possesses for us no authority, from either the dogmatic or the practical standpoint.
Some took a critical-historical view of the written Torah as well, while others appeared to adopt a neo-Karaite "back to the Bible" approach, though often with greater emphasis on the prophetic than on the legal books.
Present day[edit]
See also Halakha: Views today and Halakha: The sources and process of Halakha.
Orthodox Judaism continues to stress the importance of Talmud study as a central component of Yeshiva curriculum, in particular for those training to become Rabbis. This is so even though Halakha is generally studied from the medieval codes and not directly from the Talmud. Talmudic study amongst the laity is widespread in Orthodox Judaism, with daily or weekly Talmud study particularly common in Haredi Judaism and with Talmud study a central part of the curriculum in Orthodox Yeshivas and day schools. The regular study of Talmud among laymen has been popularized by the Daf Yomi, a daily course of Talmud study initiated by Rabbi Meir Shapiro in 1923; its 13th cycle of study began on August, 2012. The Rohr Jewish Learning Institute has popularized the "MyShiur - Explorations in Talmud" to show how the Talmud is relevant to a wide range of people. [51]
Conservative Judaism similarly emphasizes the study of Talmud within its religious and rabbinic education. Generally, however, Conservative Jews study the Talmud as a historical source-text for Halakha. The Conservative approach to legal decision-making emphasizes placing classic texts and prior decisions in historical and cultural context, and examining the historical development of Halakha. This approach has resulted in greater practical flexibility than that of the Orthodox. Talmud study forms part of the curriculum of Conservative parochial education at many Conservative day-schools, and an increase in Conservative day-school enrollments has resulted in an increase in Talmud study as part of Conservative Jewish education among a minority of Conservative Jews. See also: The Conservative Jewish view of the Halakha.
Reform Judaism does not emphasize the study of Talmud to the same degree in their Hebrew schools, but they do teach it in their rabbinical seminaries; the world view of liberal Judaism rejects the idea of binding Jewish law, and uses the Talmud as a source of inspiration and moral instruction. Ownership and reading of the Talmud is not widespread among Reform and Reconstructionist Jews, who usually place more emphasis on the study of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh.
Talmud in the visual arts[edit]
In Carl Schleicher's paintings[edit]
Rabbies and talmudists studying and debating Talmud abound in the art of Austrian painter Carl Schleicher (1825-1903); active in Vienna, esp. c. 1859–1871.




Jewish Scene II




A Controversy Whatsoever on Talmud.[52]




At the Rabbi's.




Jewish Scene I.

Talmud in Jewish art[edit]




Jews studying Talmud, París, c. 1880-1905




Samuel Hirszenberg, Talmudic School, c. 1895-1908.




Adolf Behrman, Talmudists, c. 1910-1915




Ephraim Moses Lilien, The Talmud Students, engraving, 1915




Maurycy Trębacz, The Dispute, c. 1920-1940




Solomon's Haggadoth, bronze relief from the Knesset Menorah, Jerusalem, by Benno Elkan, 1956.




Hilel's Teachings, bronze relief from the Knesset Menorah




Jewish Mysticism: Jochanan ben Sakkai, bronze relief from the Knesset Menorah

Other contexts[edit]
The study of Talmud is not restricted to those of the Jewish religion and has attracted interest in other cultures.
Christian scholars have long expressed an interest in the study of Talmud which has helped illuminate their own scriptures. Talmud contains biblical exegesis and commentary on Tanakh that will often clarify elliptical and esoteric passages. The Talmud contains possible references to Jesus Christ and his disciples, while the Christian canon makes mention of Talmudic figures and contains teachings that can be paralleled within the Talmud and Midrash. The Talmud provides cultural and historical context to the Gospel and the writings of the Apostles.[53]
South Koreans reportedly hope to emulate Jews' high academic standards by studying Jewish literature. Almost every household has a translated copy of the Talmud, which parents read to their children, and the book is part of the primary-school curriculum.[54][55]
Criticism[edit]
Part of a series on
Criticism of religion

By religion
Buddhism ·
 Christianity  (Catholicism ·
 Jehovah's Witnesses ·
 Seventh-day Adventist)
   ·
 Protestantism ·
 Hinduism ·
 Islam  (Twelver Islam)
   ·
 Jainism ·
 Judaism ·
 Mormonism ·
 Sikhism
 
By religious figure
Jesus ·
 Moses ·
 Muhammad ·
 Ellen G. White
 
By text
Bible ·
 Book of Mormon ·
 Quran ·
 Talmud
 
Critics
Mikhail Bakunin ·
 Giordano Bruno ·
 Richard Dawkins ·
 Denis Diderot ·
 Epicurus ·
 Ludwig Feuerbach ·
 Stephen Fry ·
 Sita Ram Goel ·
 Emma Goldman ·
 Sam Harris ·
 Ayaan Hirsi Ali ·
 Christopher Hitchens ·
 Baron d'Holbach ·
 David Hume ·
 Robert G. Ingersoll ·
 Karl Marx ·
 Friedrich Nietzsche ·
 Michel Onfray ·
 Thomas Paine ·
 Pierre-Joseph Proudhon ·
 Ayn Rand ·
 André Servier ·
 David Silverman ·
 Max Stirner ·
 Bertrand Russell ·
 Dayananda Saraswati ·
 Victor J. Stenger ·
 Voltaire
 
Religious violence
Terrorism ·
 War ·
 Buddhism ·
 Christianity ·
 Islam ·
 Judaism ·
 Mormonism
 
Related topics
Abuse ·
 Apostasy ·
 Crisis of faith ·
 Criticism of atheism ·
 Criticism of monotheism ·
 Persecution ·
 Sexuality ·
 Slavery
 
v ·
 t ·
 e
   
Historian Michael Levi Rodkinson, in his book The History of the Talmud, wrote that detractors of the Talmud, both during and subsequent to its formation, "have varied in their character, objects and actions" and the book documents a number of critics and persecutors, including Nicholas Donin, Johannes Pfefferkorn, Johann Andreas Eisenmenger, the Frankists, and August Rohling.[56] Many attacks come from antisemitic sources, particularly Christians such as Justinas Pranaitis, Elizabeth Dilling or David Duke. Criticisms also arise from Muslim sources,[57][58][59] Jewish sources,[60] and atheists and skeptics.[61] Accusations against the Talmud include alleged:[56][62][63][64][65][66][67]
1.Anti-Christian or anti-Gentile content[68][69][70][71]
2.Absurd or sexually immoral content[72]
3.Falsification of scripture[73][74][75]
Defenders of the Talmud argue that many of these criticisms, particularly those in antisemitic sources, are based on quotations that are taken out of context, and thus misrepresent the meaning of the Talmud's text. Sometimes the misrepresentation is deliberate, and other times simply due to an inability to grasp the subtle and sometimes confusing narratives in the Talmud. Some quotations provided by critics deliberately omit passages in order to generate quotes that appear to be offensive or insulting.[76][77]
Middle Ages[edit]
At the very time that the Babylonian savoraim put the finishing touches to the redaction of the Talmud, the emperor Justinian issued his edict against deuterosis (doubling, repetition) of the Hebrew Bible.[78] It is disputed whether, in this context, deuterosis means "Mishnah" or "Targum": in patristic literature, the word is used in both senses.
Full-scale attacks on the Talmud took place in the 13th century in France, where Talmudic study was then flourishing. In the 1230s, Nicholas Donin, a Jewish convert to Christianity, pressed 35 charges against the Talmud to Pope Gregory IX by translating a series of blasphemous passages about Jesus, Mary or Christianity. There is a quoted Talmudic passage, for example, where Jesus of Nazareth is sent to Hell to be boiled in excrement for eternity. Donin also selected an injunction of the Talmud that permits Jews to kill non-Jews. This led to the Disputation of Paris, which took place in 1240 at the court of Louis IX of France, where four rabbis, including Yechiel of Paris and Moses ben Jacob of Coucy, defended the Talmud against the accusations of Nicholas Donin. The translation of the Talmud from Hebrew to non-Jewish languages stripped Jewish discourse from its covering, something that was resented by Jews as a profound violation.[79] The Disputation of Paris led to the condemnation and the first burning of copies of the Talmud in Paris in 1242.[80][81][82] The burning of copies of the Talmud continued.[83]
The Talmud was likewise the subject of the Disputation of Barcelona in 1263 between Nahmanides (Rabbi Moses ben Nahman) and Christian convert, Pablo Christiani. This same Pablo Christiani made an attack on the Talmud that resulted in a papal bull against the Talmud and in the first censorship, which was undertaken at Barcelona by a commission of Dominicans, who ordered the cancellation of passages deemed objectionable from a Christian perspective (1264).[84][85]
At the Disputation of Tortosa in 1413, Geronimo de Santa Fé brought forward a number of accusations, including the fateful assertion that the condemnations of "pagans," "heathens," and "apostates" found in the Talmud were in reality veiled references to Christians. These assertions were denied by the Jewish community and its scholars, who contended that Judaic thought made a sharp distinction between those classified as heathen or pagan, being polytheistic, and those who acknowledge one true God (such as the Christians) even while worshipping the true monotheistic God incorrectly. Thus, Jews viewed Christians as misguided and in error, but not among the "heathens" or "pagans" discussed in the Talmud.[85]
Both Pablo Christiani and Geronimo de Santa Fé, in addition to criticizing the Talmud, also regarded it as a source of authentic traditions, some of which could be used as arguments in favour of Christianity. Examples of such traditions were statements that the Messiah was born around the time of the destruction of the Temple, and that the Messiah sat at the right hand of God.[86]
In 1415, Antipope Benedict XIII, who had convened the Tortosa disputation, issued a papal bull (which was destined, however, to remain inoperative) forbidding the Jews to read the Talmud, and ordering the destruction of all copies of it. Far more important were the charges made in the early part of the 16th century by the convert Johannes Pfefferkorn, the agent of the Dominicans. The result of these accusations was a struggle in which the emperor and the pope acted as judges, the advocate of the Jews being Johann Reuchlin, who was opposed by the obscurantists; and this controversy, which was carried on for the most part by means of pamphlets, became in the eyes of some a precursor of the Reformation.[85][87]
An unexpected result of this affair was the complete printed edition of the Babylonian Talmud issued in 1520 by Daniel Bomberg at Venice, under the protection of a papal privilege.[88] Three years later, in 1523, Bomberg published the first edition of the Jerusalem Talmud. After thirty years the Vatican, which had first permitted the Talmud to appear in print, undertook a campaign of destruction against it. On the New Year, Rosh Hashanah (September 9, 1553) the copies of the Talmud confiscated in compliance with a decree of the Inquisition were burned at Rome, in Campo dei Fiori (auto de fé). Other burnings took place in other Italian cities, such as the one instigated by Joshua dei Cantori at Cremona in 1559. Censorship of the Talmud and other Hebrew works was introduced by a papal bull issued in 1554; five years later the Talmud was included in the first Index Expurgatorius; and Pope Pius IV commanded, in 1565, that the Talmud be deprived of its very name. The convention of referring to the work as "Shas" (shishah sidre Mishnah) instead of "Talmud" dates from this time.[89]
The first edition of the expurgated Talmud, on which most subsequent editions were based, appeared at Basel (1578–1581) with the omission of the entire treatise of 'Abodah Zarah and of passages considered inimical to Christianity, together with modifications of certain phrases. A fresh attack on the Talmud was decreed by Pope Gregory XIII (1575–85), and in 1593 Clement VIII renewed the old interdiction against reading or owning it.[citation needed] The increasing study of the Talmud in Poland led to the issue of a complete edition (Kraków, 1602-5), with a restoration of the original text; an edition containing, so far as known, only two treatises had previously been published at Lublin (1559–76). In 1707 some copies of the Talmud were confiscated in the province of Brandenburg, but were restored to their owners by command of Frederick, the first king of Prussia.[citation needed] A further attack on the Talmud took place in Poland (in what is now Ukrainian territory) in 1757, when Bishop Dembowski, at the instigation of the Frankists, convened a public disputation at Kamianets-Podilskyi, and ordered all copies of the work found in his bishopric to be confiscated and burned.[90]
The external history of the Talmud includes also the literary attacks made upon it by some Christian theologians after the Reformation, since these onslaughts on Judaism were directed primarily against that work, the leading example being Eisenmenger's Entdecktes Judenthum (Judaism Unmasked) (1700).[91][92][93] In contrast, the Talmud was a subject of rather more sympathetic study by many Christian theologians, jurists and Orientalists from the Renaissance on, including Johann Reuchlin, John Selden, Petrus Cunaeus, John Lightfoot and Johannes Buxtorf father and son.[94]
19th century and after[edit]
The Vilna edition of the Talmud was subject to Russian government censorship, or self-censorship to meet government expectations, though this was less severe than some previous attempts: the title "Talmud" was retained and the tractate Avodah Zarah was included. Most modern editions are either copies of or closely based on the Vilna edition, and therefore still omit most of the disputed passages. Although they were not available for many generations, the removed sections of the Talmud, Rashi, Tosafot and Maharsha were preserved through rare printings of lists of errata, known as Chesronos Hashas ("Omissions of the Talmud").[95] Many of these censored portions were recovered ironically enough from uncensored manuscripts in the Vatican Library. Some modern editions of the Talmud contain some or all of this material, either at the back of the book, in the margin, or in its original location in the text.[96]
In 1830, during a debate in the French Chamber of Peers regarding state recognition of the Jewish faith, Admiral Verhuell declared himself unable to forgive the Jews whom he had met during his travels throughout the world either for their refusal to recognize Jesus as the Messiah or for their possession of the Talmud.[97] In the same year the Abbé Chiarini published at Paris a voluminous work entitled "Théorie du Judaïsme," in which he announced a translation of the Talmud, advocating for the first time a version that would make the work generally accessible, and thus serve for attacks on Judaism: only two out of the projected six volumes of this translation appeared.[98] In a like spirit 19th-century anti-Semitic agitators often urged that a translation be made; and this demand was even brought before legislative bodies, as in Vienna. The Talmud and the "Talmud Jew" thus became objects of anti-Semitic attacks, for example in August Rohling's Der Talmudjude (1871), although, on the other hand, they were defended by many Christian students of the Talmud, notably Hermann Strack.[99]
Further attacks from anti-Semitic sources include Justinas Pranaitis' The Talmud Unmasked: The Secret Rabbinical Teachings Concerning Christians (1892)[100] and Elizabeth Dilling's The Plot against Christianity (1964).[101] The criticisms of the Talmud in many modern pamphlets and websites are often recognisable as verbatim quotes from one or other of these.[citation needed]
Contemporary accusations[edit]
Criticism of the Talmud is widespread, in great part through the internet.[102] The Anti-Defamation League's report on this topic states that antisemitic critics of the Talmud frequently use erroneous translations or selective quotations in order to distort the meaning of the Talmud's text, and sometimes fabricate passages. In addition, the attackers rarely provide full context of the quotations, and fail to provide contextual information about the culture that the Talmud was composed in, nearly 2,000 years ago.[103]
Gil Student, an internet author, states that many attacks on the Talmud are merely recycling discredited material that originated in the 13th-century disputations, particularly from Raymond Marti and Nicholas Donin, and that the criticisms are based on quotations taken out of context, and are sometimes entirely fabricated.[104]
See also[edit]

Portal icon Judaism portal
Baraita
Daf Yomi
Ein Yaakov
Hadran (Talmud)
Jesus in the Talmud
List of logical arguments in the Talmud
Minor Tractates
Rashi
Shas Pollak
Siyum
Siyum HaShas
Talmudical hermeneutics
Notes[edit]
1.Jump up ^ See, Strack, Hermann, Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash, Jewish Publication Society, 1945. pp.11-12. "[The Oral Torah] was handed down by word of mouth during a long period...The first attempts to write down the traditional matter, there is reason to believe, date from the first half of the second post-Christian century." Strack theorizes that the growth of a Christian canon (the New Testament) was a factor that influenced the Rabbis to record the oral Torah in writing.
2.Jump up ^ The theory that the destruction of the Temple and subsequent upheaval led to the committing of Oral Torah into writing was first explained in the Epistle of Sherira Gaon and often repeated. See, for example, Grayzel, A History of the Jews, Penguin Books, 1984, p. 193.
3.Jump up ^ For the meaning of "page" in this context see under #Printing.
4.Jump up ^ Jacobs, Louis, Structure and form in the Babylonian Talmud, Cambridge University Press, 1991, p.2
5.Jump up ^ http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Gemara
6.Jump up ^ e.g. Pirkei Avot 5.21: "five for the Torah, ten for Mishnah, thirteen for the commandments, fifteen for talmud".
7.Jump up ^ "Talmud". A Concise Companion to the Jewish Religion. Louis Jacobs. Oxford University Press, 1999, page 261
8.Jump up ^ "Palestinian Talmud". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica. 2010. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
9.Jump up ^ The Yerushalmi--the Talmud of the land of Israel: an introduction, Jacob Neusner, J. Aronson, 1993
10.Jump up ^ Eusebius (circa 330 CE). "XVIII: He speaks of their Unanimity respecting the Feast of Easter, and against the Practice of the Jews". Vita Constantini III. Retrieved June 21, 2009. Check date values in: |date= (help)
11.Jump up ^ "Talmud and Midrash (Judaism) :: The making of the Talmuds: 3rd-6th century". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2008. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
12.Jump up ^ Steinsaltz, Adin (1976). The Essential Talmud. BasicBooks, A Division of HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 0-465-02063-1.
13.Jump up ^ "Judaic Treasures of the Library of Congress: The Talmud". American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise.
14.Jump up ^ Sáenz-Badillos, Ángel and John Elwolde. 1996. A history of the Hebrew language. P.170-171: "There is general agreement that two main periods of RH (Rabbinical Hebrew) can be distinguished. The first, which lasted until the close of the Tannaitic era (around 200 CE), is characterized by RH as a spoken language gradually developing into a literary medium in which the Mishnah, Tosefta, baraitot, and Tannaitic midrashim would be composed. The second stage begins with the Amoraim, and sees RH being replaced by Aramaic as the spoken vernacular, surviving only as a literary language. Then it continued to be used in later rabbinic writings until the 10th century in, for example, the Hebrew portions of the two Talmuds and in midrashic and haggadic literature."
15.Jump up ^ Amnon Raz-Krakotzkin. The Censor, the Editor, and the Text: The Catholic Church and the Shaping of the Jewish Canon in the Sixteenth Century. Trans. Jackie Feldman. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2007. viii + 314 ISBN 978-0-8122-4011-5. p104
16.Jump up ^ Christiane Berkvens-Stevelinck Le Magasin De L'Univers - The Dutch Republic As the Centre of the European Book Trade (Brill's Studies in Intellectual History)
17.Jump up ^ Printing the Talmud: a history of the individual treatises p239 Marvin J. Heller - 1999 "The Benveniste Talmud, according to Rabbinovicz, was based on the Lublin Talmud which included many of the censors' errors"
18.Jump up ^ The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia Isaac Landman - 1941 "His greatest work was the translation of the entire Babylonian Talmud into German, which, as it was made from the uncensored text and was the only complete translation in a European language, was of great value for students."
19.Jump up ^ Friedman, “Variant Readings in the Babylonian Talmud — A Methodological Study Marking the Appearance of 13 Volumes of the Institute for the Complete Israeli Talmud’s Edition,” Tarbiz 68 (1998).
20.Jump up ^ Amar, Yosef. "Talmud Bavli be-niqqud Temani". Nosachteiman.co.il.
21.Jump up ^ Julius Joseph Price, The Yemenite ms. of Megilla (in the Library of Columbia university), 1916; Pesahim, 1913; Mo'ed Katon, 1920.
22.Jump up ^ Ackerman, Matthew. “America’s Most Important Jewish Event?”, 'Commentary', June 26, 2012.
23.Jump up ^ "Queen for a Day", Tablet Magazine, 5 February 2013
24.Jump up ^ The other Oz ve-Hadar editions are similar but without the explanation in modern Hebrew.
25.Jump up ^ http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4229886,00.html Introducing: Talmud in Arabic
26.Jump up ^ http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4237798,00.html
27.Jump up ^ As Pirkei Avot is a tractate of the Mishnah, and reached its final form centuries before the compilation of either Talmud, this refers to talmud as an activity rather than to any written compilation.
28.Jump up ^ Sefer ha-Ner on Berachot
29.Jump up ^ For a list see Ephraim Urbach, s.v. "Tosafot," in Encyclopedia of Religion.
30.Jump up ^ See Pilpul, Mordechai Breuer, in Encyclopaedia Judaica, Vol. 16, 2nd Ed (2007), Macmillan Reference, USA and H.H. Ben Sasson, A History of the Jewish People, pp. 627, 717.
31.Jump up ^ Kol Melechet Higgayon, the Hebrew translation of Averroes' epitome of Aristotle's logical works, was widely studied in northern Italy, particularly Padua.
32.Jump up ^ Boyarin, Sephardi Speculation (Hebrew) (Jerusalem 1989).
33.Jump up ^ For a comprehensive treatment, see Ravitzky, below.
34.Jump up ^ Faur is here describing the tradition of Damascus, though the approach in other places may have been similar.
35.Jump up ^ Examples of lessons using this approach may be found here.
36.Jump up ^ Cf. the distinction in the Ashkenazi yeshivah curriculum between beki'ut (basic familiarization) and 'iyyun (in-depth study).
37.Jump up ^ David ben Judah Messer Leon, Kevod Ḥakhamim, cited by Zimmels, Ashkenazim and Sephardim, pp. 151 and 154.
38.Jump up ^ Chaim Joseph David Azulai, Shem Gedolim, cited Hirschberg, A History of the Jews in North Africa, pp 125-6.
39.Jump up ^ Joseph Ringel, "A Third Way: Iyyun Tunisai as a Traditional Critical Method of Talmud Study", Tradition 2013 46:3.
40.Jump up ^ Rav Avraham Yitzchok Ha-Cohen Kook, zt"l, Late Chief Rabbi of Israel (February 17, 2008). "A labor of great magnitude stands before us, to repair the break between the Talmudic deliberations and the halachic decisions... to accustom students of the Gemara to correlate knowledge of all the halacha with its source and reason...". Halacha Brura and Birur Halacha Institute. Retrieved 20 September 2010. It should not be confused with the halachic compendium of the same name by Rabbi David Yosef.
41.Jump up ^ As Yonah Fraenkel shows in his book Darko Shel Rashi be-Ferusho la-Talmud ha-Bavli, one of Rashi's major accomplishments was textual emendation. Rabbenu Tam, Rashi's grandson and one of the central figures in the Tosafist academies, polemicizes against textual emendation in his less studied work Sefer ha-Yashar. However, the Tosafists, too, emended the Talmudic text (See e.g. Baba Kamma 83b s.v. af haka'ah ha'amurah or Gittin 32a s.v. mevutelet) as did many other medieval commentators (see e.g. R. Shlomo ben Aderet, Hiddushei ha-Rashb"a al ha-Sha"s to Baba Kamma 83b, or Rabbenu Nissim's commentary to Alfasi on Gittin 32a).
42.Jump up ^ Etkes, Immanuel (2002). The Gaon of Vilna. University of California Press. p. 16. ISBN 0-520-22394-2.
43.Jump up ^ Solomon Schechter, Studies in Judaism p.92.
44.Jump up ^ Introduction to Sokoloff, Dictionary of Jewish Babylonian Aramaic.
45.Jump up ^ Treasury of Talmudic Manuscripts, Jewish National and University Library
46.Jump up ^ See under #Manuscripts and textual variants, below.
47.Jump up ^ See particularly his controversial dissertation, Mar Samuel, available at archive.org (German).
48.Jump up ^ http://www.talmudha-igud.org.il/default.asp?lang=en
49.Jump up ^ Yaacov Elman (November 2012). Steven Fine and Shai Secunda, ed. Shoshannat Yaakov: Jewish and Iranian Studies in Honor of Yaakov Elman. Brill Academic Pub Publishers. ISBN 978-9004235441. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
50.Jump up ^ Shai Secunda (October 2013). The Iranian Talmud: Reading the Bavli in Its Sasanian Context. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0812245707. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
51.Jump up ^ Lakein, Dvora (December 28, 2007). "Chabad Unveils Talmudic Study Program In 15 Cities". New York. Merkos L'inyonei Chinuch.
52.Jump up ^ See Schleicher's paintings at MutualArt.
53.Jump up ^ "Why Christians Should Study Torah and Talmud". Bridges for Peace. Retrieved July 3, 2006.
54.Jump up ^ Hirschfield, Tzofia (2011-05-12). "Why Koreans study Talmud". Jewish World. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
55.Jump up ^ Alper, Tim (2011-05-12). "Why South Koreans are in love with Judaism". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
56.^ Jump up to: a b Rodkinson
57.Jump up ^ Lewis, Bernard, Semites and anti-Semites: an inquiry into conflict and prejudice, W. W. Norton & Company, 1999, p. 134
58.Jump up ^ Johnson, Paul, A history of the Jews, HarperCollins, 1988, p. 577
59.Jump up ^ Arab attitudes to Israel, Yehoshafat Harkabi, p. 248, 272
60.Jump up ^ Such as Uriel da Costa, Israel Shahak and Baruch Kimmerling
61.Jump up ^ Such as Christopher Hitchens and Denis Diderot
62.Jump up ^ Hyam Maccoby, Judaism on Trial
63.Jump up ^ ADL report The Talmud in Anti-Semitic Polemics, Anti-Defamation League
64.Jump up ^ Student, Gil - Rebuttals to criticisms of Talmud
65.Jump up ^ Bacher, Wilhelm, "Talmud", article in Jewish Encyclopedia, Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1901
66.Jump up ^ Article online
67.Jump up ^ See especially sections "Attacks on the Talmud" at
68.Jump up ^ Fraade, pp. 144-146
69.Jump up ^ Kimmerling, Baruch, "Images of Gentiles" (book review), Journal of Palestine Studies, April 1997, Vol. 26, No. 3, pp. 96–98
70.Jump up ^ Siedman, p. 137
71.Jump up ^ Cohn-Sherbok, p. 48
72.Jump up ^ Steinsaltz, pp. 268-270
73.Jump up ^ See, for example, Uriel DaCosta, quoted by Nadler, p. 68
74.Jump up ^ Cohn-Sherbok, p. 47
75.Jump up ^ Wilhelm Bacher, "Talmud", article in Jewish Encyclopedia
76.Jump up ^ ADL report, p. 1-2
77.Jump up ^ For examples of some selective quoting and omissions, see:Responses to criticisms by Gil Student:Responses to criticisms by Michael Gruda
78.Jump up ^ Nov. 146.1.2.
79.Jump up ^ Naomi Seidman, Faithful Renderings: Jewish-Christian Difference and the Politics of Translation, pp. 136-138
80.Jump up ^ Rodkinson, pp 66–69
81.Jump up ^ Levy, p 701
82.Jump up ^ For a Hebrew account of the Paris Disputation, see Jehiel of Paris, "The Disputation of Jehiel of Paris" (Hebrew), in Collected Polemics and Disputations, ed. J. D. Eisenstein, Hebrew Publishing Company, 1922; Translated and reprinted by Hyam Maccoby in Judaism on Trial: Jewish-Christian Disputations in the Middle Ages, 1982
83.Jump up ^ James Carroll Constantine's sword: the church and the Jews : a history
84.Jump up ^ Cohn-Sherbok, pp 50-54
85.^ Jump up to: a b c Maccoby
86.Jump up ^ Hyam Maccoby, op. cit.
87.Jump up ^ Roth, Norman, Medieval Jewish civilization: an encyclopedia, Taylor & Francis, 2003, p. 83
88.Jump up ^ Rodkinson, p 98
89.Jump up ^ Hastings, James. Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics Part 23, p 186
90.Jump up ^ Rodkinson, pp 100-103
91.Jump up ^ Rodkinson, p. 105
92.Jump up ^ Levy, p. 210
93.Jump up ^ Boettcher, Susan R., "Entdecktes Judenthum", article in Levy, p. 210
94.Jump up ^ Berlin, George L., Defending the faith: nineteenth-century American Jewish writings on Christianity and Jesus, SUNY Press, 1989, p 156
95.Jump up ^ Chesronos Hashas
96.Jump up ^ The Talmud: The Steinsaltz Edition, pp. 103-104 Heller, Marvin J. (1999). Printing the Talmud: a history of the individual treatises printed from 1700 to 1750. Basel: Brill Publishers. pp. 17, 166.
97.Jump up ^ Archives Israelites, 1851 vol 12 (French Wikisource)
98.Jump up ^ Jewish Encyclopedia article on Luigi Chiarini
99.Jump up ^ Rodkinson, pp 109-114
100.Jump up ^ Levy, p 564
101.Jump up ^ Jeansonne, Glen, Women of the Far Right: The Mothers' Movement and World War II, University of Chicago Press, 1997, pp 168-169
102.Jump up ^ Jones, Jeremy (June 1999). "Talmudic Terrors". Australia/Israel Review. Retrieved 2008-06-12. "If any reader doubts the maliciousness, virulence and prevalence of such material in cyber-space, it is well worth a visit to the Internet site known as Talmud Exposé (www.geocities.com/Athens/Cyprus/8815 [now at http://www.oocities.org/athens/cyprus/8815/]), in which Melbourne's David Maddison has performed the Herculean task of responding, one by one, to the hundreds of "anti-Talmud" quotes, lies and themes he has encountered on the Internet.".
103.Jump up ^ "The Talmud in Anti-Semitic Polemics" (PDF) (Press release). Anti-Defamation League. February 2003. Retrieved September 16, 2010. "By selectively citing various passages from the Talmud and Midrash, polemicists have sought to demonstrate that Judaism espouses hatred for non-Jews (and specifically for Christians), and promotes obscenity, sexual perversion, and other immoral behavior. To make these passages serve their purposes, these polemicists frequently mistranslate them or cite them out of context (wholesale fabrication of passages is not unknown).…In distorting the normative meanings of rabbinic texts, anti-Talmud writers frequently remove passages from their textual and historical contexts. Even when they present their citations accurately, they judge the passages based on contemporary moral standards, ignoring the fact that the majority of these passages were composed close to two thousand years ago by people living in cultures radically different from our own. They are thus able to ignore Judaism's long history of social progress and paint it instead as a primitive and parochial religion. Those who attack the Talmud frequently cite ancient rabbinic sources without noting subsequent developments in Jewish thought, and without making a good-faith effort to consult with contemporary Jewish authorities who can explain the role of these sources in normative Jewish thought and practice."
104.Jump up ^ Student, Gil (2000). "The Real Truth About The Talmud". Retrieved September 16, 2010. "Anti-Talmud accusations have a long history dating back to the 13th century when the associates of the Inquisition attempted to defame Jews and their religion [see Yitzchak Baer, A History of Jews in Christian Spain, vol. I pp. 150-185]. The early material compiled by hateful preachers like Raymond Martini and Nicholas Donin remain the basis of all subsequent accusations against the Talmud. Some are true, most are false and based on quotations taken out of context, and some are total fabrications [see Baer, ch. 4 f. 54, 82 that it has been proven that Raymond Martini forged quotations]. On the Internet today we can find many of these old accusations being rehashed…"
References[edit]
Nathan T. Lopes Cardozo The Infinite Chain: Torah, Masorah, and Man (Philipp Feldheim, 1989). ISBN 0-944070-15-9
Aryeh Carmell (December 1986). Aiding Talmud study. Feldheim Publishers. ISBN 978-0-87306-428-6. Retrieved 29 August 2011. (includes Samuel ha-Nagid's Mevo ha-Talmud, see next section)
Zvi Hirsch Chajes Mevo Hatalmud, transl. Jacob Shachter: The Students' Guide Through The Talmud (Yashar Books, 2005). ISBN 1-933143-05-3
Dan Cohn-Sherbok (1994). Judaism and other faiths. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-312-10384-2. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
Fraade, Steven D, "Navigating the Anomalous: Non-Jews at the Intersection of Early Rabbinic Law and Narrative", in Laurence Jay Silberstein; Robert L. Cohn (1 August 1994). The Other in Jewish thought and history: constructions of Jewish culture and identity. NYU Press. pp. 145–165. ISBN 978-0-8147-7990-3. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
R. Travers Herford (15 February 2007). Christianity in Talmud and Midrash. KTAV Publishing House, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88125-930-8. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
D. Landesman A Practical Guide to Torah Learning (Jason Aronson, 1995). ISBN 1-56821-320-4
Emmanuel Lévinas; Annette Aronowicz (February 1994). Nine Talmudic readings. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-20876-7. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
Levy, Richard S., Antisemitism: a historical encyclopedia of prejudice and persecution, Volume 2, ABC-CLIO, 2005. See articles: "Talmud Trials", "Entdecktes Judenthum", "The Talmud Jew", "David Duke", "August Rohling", and "Johannes Pfefferkorn".
Hyam Maccoby; Jehiel ben Joseph (of Paris) (1993). Judaism on trial: Jewish-Christian disputations in the Middle Ages. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. ISBN 978-1-874774-16-7. Retrieved 29 August 2011. A compendium of primary source materials, with commentary.
Maimonides Introduction to the Mishneh Torah (English translation)
Maimonides Introduction to the Commentary on the Mishnah (Hebrew Fulltext), transl. Zvi Lampel (Judaica Press, 1998). ISBN 1-880582-28-7
Aaron Parry The Complete Idiot's Guide to The Talmud (Alpha Books, 2004). ISBN 1-59257-202-2
Rodkinson, Michael Levi, The history of the Talmud from the time of its formation, about 200 B.C., up to the present time, The Talmud Society, 1918
Jonathan Rosen (25 October 2001). The Talmud and the Internet: A Journey Between Worlds. Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-8264-5534-5. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
Adin Steinsaltz (11 September 2006). The essential Talmud. Basic Books. ISBN 978-0-465-08273-5. Retrieved 29 August 2011. Read more here. See also here.
Adin Steinsaltz The Talmud: A Reference Guide (Random House, 1996). ISBN 0-679-77367-3
Logic and methodology[edit]
Samuel ha-Nagid, Mevo ha-Talmud
Joseph ben Judah ibn Aknin, Mevo ha-Talmud
Zerachiah Halevi, Sefer ha-Tzava
Samson of Chinon, Sefer ha-Keritut
Jacob Hagiz, Teḥillat Ḥochmah (included in most editions of Keritut)
collective, ed. Abraham ibn Akra, Meharere Nemarim
Joseph ibn Verga, She'erit Yosef
Isaac Campanton, Darche ha-Talmud
David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra, Kelale ha-Gemara
Bezalel Ashkenazi, Kelale ha-Gemara
Yeshu’ah b. Yosef ha-Levi, Halichot Olam Joseph Caro, Kelale ha-Gemara (commentary on Halichot Olam)
Solomon Algazi, Yavin Shemu’ah (commentary on Halichot Olam)
Yisrael Ya'akov Algazi, Ar'a de-Rabbanan
Serillo, Samuel, Kelale Shemuel
Horowitz, Isaiah, Shene Luchot ha-Berit (section on Torah she-be-al-Pe)
Moses Chaim Luzzatto, Derech Tevunot, translated into English as The Ways of Reason, Feldheim 1988, ISBN 978-0-87306-495-8 same, Sefer ha-Higgayon, translated into English as The Book of Logic, Feldheim 1995, ISBN 978-0-87306-707-2
de Oliveira, Solomon, Darche Noam
Malachi ha-Cohen, Yad Malachi
Aryeh Leib HaCohen Heller, Shev Shema'tata
Goitein, B., Kesef Nivhar
Ezechia Bolaffi, Ben Zekunim vol. 1
Moshe Amiel, Ha-Middot le-Ḥeqer ha-Halachah, vol. 1, vol. 2, vol. 3
Modern scholarly works[edit]
Hanoch Albeck, Mavo la-talmudim
Daniel Boyarin, Sephardi Speculation: A Study in Methods of Talmudic Interpretation (Hebrew), Machon Ben Zvi: Jerusalem, 1989
Yaakov Elman, "Order, Sequence, and Selection: The Mishnah’s Anthological Choices,” in David Stern, ed. The Anthology in Jewish Literature (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004) 53-80
Y. N. Epstein, Mevo-ot le-Sifrut haTalmudim
David Weiss Halivni, Mekorot u-Mesorot (Jerusalem: Jewish Theological Seminary, 1982 on)
Louis Jacobs, "How Much of the Babylonian Talmud is Pseudepigraphic?" Journal of Jewish Studies 28, No. 1 (1977), pp. 46–59
Saul Lieberman, Hellenism in Jewish Palestine (New York: Jewish Theological Seminary, 1950)
Moses Mielziner, Introduction to the Talmud: repr. 1997, hardback ISBN 978-0-8197-0156-5, paperback ISBN 978-0-8197-0015-5
Jacob Neusner, Sources and Traditions: Types of Compositions in the Talmud of Babylonia (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1992).
Aviram Ravitzky, Aristotelian Logic and Talmudic Methodology (Hebrew): Jerusalem 2009, ISBN 978-965-493-459-6
Andrew Schumann, Talmudic Logic: (London: College Publications 2012), ISBN 978-1-84890-072-1
Strack, Herman L. and Stemberger, Gunter, Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash, tr. Markus Bockmuehl: repr. 1992, hardback ISBN 978-0-567-09509-1, paperback ISBN 978-0-8006-2524-5
On individual tractates[edit]
Moshe Benovitz, Berakhot chapter 1: Iggud le-Farshanut ha-Talmud (Hebrew, with English summary)
Stephen Wald, Shabbat chapter 7: Iggud le-Farshanut ha-Talmud (Hebrew, with English summary)
Aviad Stollman, Eruvin chapter 10: Iggud le-Farshanut ha-Talmud (Hebrew, with English summary)
Aaron Amit, Pesachim chapter 4: Iggud le-Farshanut ha-Talmud (Hebrew, with English summary)
Netanel Baadani, Sanhedrin chapter 5: Iggud le-Farshanut ha-Talmud (Hebrew, with English summary)
Moshe Benovitz, Sukkah chapters 4-5: Iggud le-Farshanut ha-Talmud (Hebrew, with English summary)
Historical study[edit]
Shalom Carmy (ed.) Modern Scholarship in the Study of Torah: Contributions and Limitations Jason Aronson, Inc.
Richard Kalmin Sages, Stories, Authors and Editors in Rabbinic Babylonia Brown Judaic Studies
David C. Kraemer, On the Reliability of Attributions in the Babylonian Talmud, Hebrew Union College Annual 60 (1989), pp. 175–90
Lee Levine, Ma'amad ha-Hakhamim be-Eretz Yisrael (Jerusalem: Yad Yizhak Ben-Zvi, 1985), (=The Rabbinic Class of Roman Palestine in Late Antiquity)
Saul Lieberman, Hellenism in Jewish Palestine (New York: Jewish Theological Seminary, 1950)
John W. McGinley, 'The Written' as the Vocation of Conceiving Jewishly. ISBN 0-595-40488-X
David Bigman, Finding A Home for Critical Talmud Study
External links[edit]
 Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Talmud

 Wikiquote has quotations related to: Talmud
General[edit]
Talmud, jewishencyclopedia.com
Talmud Commentaries, jewishencyclopedia.com
Jewish History: Talmud, aish.com
Talmud/Mishnah/Gemara, jewishvirtuallibrary.org
Jewish Law Research Guide, University of Miami Law Library
A survey of rabbinic literature, Ohr Somayach
Introduction To The Talmud For The Novice, Rabbi M. Taub
Pshita, Talmud Study 2.0 (Hebrew)
Refutation of allegations concerning the Talmud[edit]
Talmud: The Real Truth About The Talmud, by Gil Student
The Talmud in Anti-Semitic Polemics, Anti-Defamation League.
The Real Truth about the Talmud
Falsifiers of the Talmud
Full text resources[edit]
Talmud Bavli (Soncino translation) (English). The Soncino Press translation of the Talmud Bavli in downloadable PDF format. Everything is present except for the index volume and the minor-tractates volumes.[1] About 63% of the translation is also available in the form of ordinary HTML webpages for those who prefer them.[2]
Mishnah (Hebrew)
Tosefta (Hebrew)
Talmud Yerushalmi (Hebrew)
Talmud Bavli (Hebrew)
Full searchable Talmud on Snunit (Hebrew)
Rodkinson English translation See above, under #Translations of Talmud Bavli.
E-Daf Images of each page of the Babylonian Talmud
Tractate Megillah: .pdf download showing Yemenite vocalization
Shas.org Daf Viewer (Hebrew)
Manuscripts and textual variants[edit]
Treasury of Talmudic Manuscripts, Jewish National and University Library Treasury of Talmudic Manuscripts, search by tractate - search engine for readings in different manuscripts (shows facsimile of individual pages)
The Munich Talmud (Cod.hebr. 95)
The Saul Lieberman Institute - another search engine (shows results in Hebrew text, not as facsimile)
Yad Harav Herzog: manuscript request form - a third search engine
Layout[edit]
"A Page from the Babylonian Talmud" image map from Prof. Eliezer Segal
"Daf Yomi" program[edit]
A general resource for Daf Yomi
Point by point summary and discussion by daf
Calendar for this Daf Yomi cycle
Daf-A-Week: A project to study a daf per week
Daf Yomi in MP3 - by Rabbi Ephraim Schreibman
Audio[edit]
Shiurim on the Talmud, mp3shiur.com
MP3 Talmud Shiurim by Rav Nissan Kaplan of Mir Yeshiva, Jerusalem
Tractate Sukkah by page, showing Yemenite vocalization and recordings of pronunciation
Shas.org


[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Jews and Judaism































































































































































































































































































































































































Category
Portal
WikiProject




Authority control
NDL: 00572715
 

  


Categories: Talmud
Mishnah
Jewish texts
Oral Torah










Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Alemannisch
العربية
Azərbaycanca
বাংলা
Беларуская
Беларуская (тарашкевіца)‎
Български
Bosanski
Català
Čeština
Dansk
Deutsch
Eesti
Ελληνικά
Español
Esperanto
Euskara
فارسی
Français
Frysk
Gaeilge
Gaelg
Gàidhlig
Galego
한국어
Հայերեն
Hrvatski
Bahasa Indonesia
Interlingua
Íslenska
Italiano
עברית
Basa Jawa
ქართული
Қазақша
Kiswahili
Кырык мары
Ladino
Latina
Latviešu
Lietuvių
Magyar
മലയാളം
مصرى
Bahasa Melayu
Nederlands
नेपाल भाषा
日本語
Norsk bokmål
Norsk nynorsk
Occitan
ਪੰਜਾਬੀ
Piemontèis
Polski
Português
Română
Русский
Shqip
Sicilianu
Simple English
Slovenčina
Slovenščina
کوردیی ناوەندی
Српски / srpski
Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски
Suomi
Svenska
Tagalog
தமிழ்
Türkçe
Українська
اردو
Tiếng Việt
ייִדיש
粵語
中文
Edit links
This page was last modified on 6 June 2015, at 07:02.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
    
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talmud#Criticism















Talmud

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  (Redirected from Criticism of the Talmud)
Jump to: navigation, search


Rabbinic literature

Talmudic literature
Mishnah ·
 Tosefta ·
 Gemara ·
 Jerusalem Talmud ·
 Babylonian Talmud ·
 Minor tractates
 
Halakhic Midrash
Mekhilta de-Rabbi Yishmael on Exodus ·
 Mekhilta de-Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai on Exodus ·
 Sifra on Leviticus ·
 Sifre on Numbers and Deuteronomy ·
 Sifre Zutta on Numbers ·
 Mekhilta on Deuteronomy ·
 Baraita of Rabbi Ishmael
 
Aggadic Midrash

—— Tannaitic ——
Seder Olam Rabbah ·
 Alphabet of Akiba ben Joseph ·
 Baraita of the Forty-nine Rules ·
 Baraita on the Thirty-two Rules ·
 Baraita on Tabernacle Construction

—— 400–600 ——
Genesis Rabbah ·
 Eichah Rabbah ·
 Pesikta de-Rav Kahana ·
 Esther Rabbah ·
 Midrash Iyyov ·
 Leviticus Rabbah ·
 Seder Olam Zutta ·
 Midrash Tanhuma ·
 Megillat Antiochus

—— 650–900 ——
Avot of Rabbi Natan ·
 Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer ·
 Tanna Devei Eliyahu ·
 Alphabet of Ben-Sira ·
 Kohelet Rabbah ·
 Canticles Rabbah ·
 Devarim Rabbah ·
 Devarim Zutta ·
 Pesikta Rabbati ·
 Midrash Shmuel ·
 Midrash Proverbs ·
 Ruth Rabbah ·
 Baraita of Samuel ·
 Targum sheni

—— 900–1000 ——
Ruth Zuta ·
 Eichah Zuta ·
 Midrash Tehillim ·
 Midrash Hashkem ·
 Exodus Rabbah ·
 Canticles Zutta

—— 1000–1200 ——
Midrash Tadshe ·
 Sefer haYashar

—— Later ——
Yalkut Shimoni ·
 Yalkut Makiri ·
 Midrash Jonah ·
 Ein Yaakov ·
 Midrash HaGadol ·
 Numbers Rabbah ·
 Smaller midrashim
 
Rabbinic Targum

—— Torah ——
Targum Onkelos ·
 Targum Pseudo-Jonathan ·
 Fragment Targum ·
 Targum Neofiti

—— Nevi'im ——
Targum Jonathan

—— Ketuvim ——
Targum Tehillim ·
 Targum Mishlei ·
 Targum Iyyov ·
 Targum to the Five Megillot ·
 Targum Sheni to Esther ·
 Targum to Chronicles
 
v ·
 t ·
 e
   
The Talmud (/ˈtɑːlmʊd, -məd, ˈtæl-/; Hebrew: תַּלְמוּד talmūd "instruction, learning", from a root lmd "teach, study") is a central text of Rabbinic Judaism. It is also traditionally referred to as Shas (ש״ס), a Hebrew abbreviation of shisha sedarim, the "six orders". The term "Talmud" normally refers to the Babylonian Talmud, though there is also an earlier collection known as the Jerusalem Talmud.
The Talmud has two components. The first part is the Mishnah (Hebrew: משנה, c. 200 CE), the written compendium of Rabbinic Judaism's Oral Torah (Torah meaning "Instruction", "Teaching" in Hebrew). The second part is the Gemara (c. 500 CE), an elucidation of the Mishnah and related Tannaitic writings that often ventures onto other subjects and expounds broadly on the Hebrew Bible. The term Talmud can be used to mean either the Gemara alone, or the Mishnah and Gemara as printed together.
The whole Talmud consists of 63 tractates, and in standard print is over 6,200 pages long. It is written in Tannaitic Hebrew and Aramaic. The Talmud contains the teachings and opinions of thousands of rabbis on a variety of subjects, including Halakha (law), Jewish ethics, philosophy, customs, history, lore and many other topics. The Talmud is the basis for all codes of Jewish law and is much quoted in rabbinic literature.


Contents  [hide]
1 History
2 Structure 2.1 Mishnah
2.2 Baraita
2.3 Gemara
2.4 Halakha and Aggadah
2.5 Minor tractates
3 Bavli and Yerushalmi 3.1 Talmud Yerushalmi (Jerusalem Talmud)
3.2 Talmud Bavli (Babylonian Talmud)
3.3 Comparison of style and subject matter
4 Language
5 Printing 5.1 Bomberg Talmud 1523
5.2 Benveniste Talmud 1645
5.3 Vilna Talmud, 1835
5.4 Goldschmidt Talmud 1897–1909, and German translation
5.5 Critical editions
5.6 Editions for a wider audience
6 Translations 6.1 Talmud Bavli
6.2 Talmud Yerushalmi
7 Talmud scholarship 7.1 Geonim
7.2 Halakhic and Aggadic extractions
7.3 Commentaries
7.4 Pilpul
7.5 Sephardic approaches
7.6 Brisker method
7.7 Critical method 7.7.1 Textual emendations
7.8 Historical analysis, and higher textual criticism
7.9 Contemporary scholarship
8 Role in Judaism 8.1 Sadducees
8.2 Karaism
8.3 Reform Judaism
8.4 Present day
9 Talmud in the visual arts 9.1 In Carl Schleicher's paintings
9.2 Talmud in Jewish art
10 Other contexts
11 Criticism 11.1 Middle Ages
11.2 19th century and after
11.3 Contemporary accusations
12 See also
13 Notes
14 References 14.1 Logic and methodology
14.2 Modern scholarly works 14.2.1 On individual tractates
14.3 Historical study
15 External links 15.1 General
15.2 Refutation of allegations concerning the Talmud
15.3 Full text resources
15.4 Manuscripts and textual variants
15.5 Layout
15.6 "Daf Yomi" program
15.7 Audio


History[edit]
Main article: Oral Torah



 The first page of the Vilna Edition of the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Berachot, folio 2a.
Originally, Jewish scholarship was oral. Rabbis expounded and debated the Torah (the written Torah expressed in the Hebrew Bible) and discussed the Tanakh without the benefit of written works (other than the Biblical books themselves), though some may have made private notes (megillot setarim), for example of court decisions. This situation changed drastically, mainly as the result of the destruction of the Jewish commonwealth and the Second Temple in the year 70 CE and the consequent upheaval of Jewish social and legal norms. As the Rabbis were required to face a new reality—mainly Judaism without a Temple (to serve as the center of teaching and study) and Judea without at least partial autonomy—there was a flurry of legal discourse and the old system of oral scholarship could not be maintained. It is during this period that Rabbinic discourse began to be recorded in writing.[1][2] The earliest recorded oral Torah may have been of the midrashic form, in which halakhic discussion is structured as exegetical commentary on the Pentateuch. But an alternative form, organized by subject matter instead of by biblical verse, became dominant about the year 200 CE, when Rabbi Judah haNasi redacted the Mishnah (משנה).[citation needed]
The Oral Torah was far from monolithic; rather, it varied among various schools. The most famous two were the School of Shammai and the School of Hillel. In general, all valid opinions, even the non-normative ones, were recorded in the Talmud.[citation needed]
The oldest full manuscript of the Talmud is from 1342, known as the Munich Talmud (Cod.hebr. 95), which is available online.
Structure[edit]
The structure of the Talmud follows that of the Mishnah, in which six orders (sedarim; singular: seder) of general subject matter are divided into 60 or 63 tractates (masekhtot; singular: masekhet) of more focused subject compilations, though not all tractates have Gemara. Each tractate is divided into chapters (perakim; singular: perek), 517 in total, that are both numbered according to the Hebrew alphabet and given names, usually using the first one or two words in the first mishnah. A perek may continue over several (up to tens of) pages.[3] Each perek will contain several mishnayot[4] with their accompanying exchanges that form the "building-blocks" of the Gemara; the name for a passage of gemara is a sugya (סוגיא; plural sugyot). A sugya, including baraita or tosefta, will typically comprise a detailed proof-based elaboration of a Mishnaic statement, whether halakhic or aggadic. A sugya may, and often does, range widely off the subject of the mishnah. The sugya is not punctuated in the conventional sense used in the English language, but by using specific expressions that help to divide the sugya into components, usually including a statement, a question on the statement, an answer, a proof for the answer or a refutation of the answer with its own proof.[citation needed]
In a given sugya, scriptural, Tannaic and Amoraic statements are cited to support the various opinions. In so doing, the Gemara will highlight semantic disagreements between Tannaim and Amoraim (often ascribing a view to an earlier authority as to how he may have answered a question), and compare the Mishnaic views with passages from the Baraita. Rarely are debates formally closed; in some instances, the final word determines the practical law, but in many instances the issue is left unresolved. There is a whole literature on the procedural principles to be used in settling the practical law when disagreements exist: see under #Logic and methodology below.
Mishnah[edit]
Main article: Mishnah
The Mishnah is a compilation of legal opinions and debates. Statements in the Mishnah are typically terse, recording brief opinions of the rabbis debating a subject; or recording only an unattributed ruling, apparently representing a consensus view. The rabbis recorded in the Mishnah are known as Tannaim.[5]
Since it sequences its laws by subject matter instead of by biblical context, the Mishnah discusses individual subjects more thoroughly than the Midrash, and it includes a much broader selection of halakhic subjects than the Midrash. The Mishnah's topical organization thus became the framework of the Talmud as a whole. But not every tractate in the Mishnah has a corresponding Gemara. Also, the order of the tractates in the Talmud differs in some cases from that in the Mishnah.


[hide]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
The Six Orders of the Mishnah (ששה סדרי משנה)



Zeraim (Seeds)
 (זרעים) Moed (Festival)
 (מועד) Nashim (Women)
 (נשים) Nezikin (Damages)
 (נזיקין) Kodashim (Holies)
 (קדשים) Tohorot (Purities)
 (טהרות)

Berakhot ·
 Pe'ah ·
 Demai ·
 Kil'ayim ·
 Shevi'it ·
 Terumot ·
 Ma'aserot ·
 Ma'aser Sheni ·
 Hallah ·
 Orlah ·
 Bikkurim
 
Shabbat ·
 Eruvin ·
 Pesahim ·
 Shekalim ·
 Yoma ·
 Sukkah ·
 Beitza ·
 Rosh Hashanah ·
 Ta'anit ·
 Megillah ·
 Mo'ed Katan ·
 Hagigah
 
Yevamot ·
 Ketubot ·
 Nedarim ·
 Nazir ·
 Sotah ·
 Gittin ·
 Kiddushin
 
Bava Kamma ·
 Bava Metzia ·
 Bava Batra ·
 Sanhedrin ·
 Makkot ·
 Shevu'ot ·
 Eduyot ·
 Avodah Zarah ·
 Avot ·
 Horayot
 
Zevahim ·
 Menahot ·
 Hullin ·
 Bekhorot ·
 Arakhin ·
 Temurah ·
 Keritot ·
 Me'ilah ·
 Tamid ·
 Middot ·
 Kinnim
 
Keilim ·
 Oholot ·
 Nega'im ·
 Parah ·
 Tohorot ·
 Mikva'ot ·
 Niddah ·
 Makhshirin ·
 Zavim ·
 Tevul Yom ·
 Yadayim ·
 Uktzim
 


Baraita[edit]
Main article: Baraita
In addition to the Mishnah, other tannaitic teachings were current at about the same time or shortly thereafter. The Gemara frequently refers to these tannaitic statements in order to compare them to those contained in the Mishnah and to support or refute the propositions of Amoraim. All such non-Mishnaic tannaitic sources are termed baraitot (lit. outside material, "works external to the Mishnah"; sing. baraita ברייתא).
The baraitot cited in the Gemara are often quotations from the Tosefta (a tannaitic compendium of halakha parallel to the Mishnah) and the Halakhic Midrashim (specifically Mekhilta, Sifra and Sifre). Some baraitot, however, are known only through traditions cited in the Gemara, and are not part of any other collection.[citation needed]
Gemara[edit]
Main article: Gemara
In the three centuries following the redaction of the Mishnah, rabbis in Palestine and Babylonia analyzed, debated, and discussed that work. These discussions form the Gemara (גמרא). Gemara means “completion” (from the Hebrew gamar גמר: "to complete") or "learning" (from the Aramaic: "study"). The Gemara mainly focuses on elucidating and elaborating the opinions of the Tannaim. The rabbis of the Gemara are known as Amoraim (sing. Amora אמורא).[citation needed]
Much of the Gemara consists of legal analysis. The starting point for the analysis is usually a legal statement found in a Mishnah. The statement is then analyzed and compared with other statements used in different approaches to Biblical exegesis in rabbinic Judaism (or - simpler - interpretation of text in Torah study) exchanges between two (frequently anonymous and sometimes metaphorical) disputants, termed the makshan (questioner) and tartzan (answerer). Another important function of Gemara is to identify the correct Biblical basis for a given law presented in the Mishnah and the logical process connecting one with the other: this activity was known as talmud long before the existence of the "Talmud" as a text.[6]
Halakha and Aggadah[edit]
The Talmud is a wide-ranging document that touches on a great many subjects. Traditionally Talmudic statements are classified into two broad categories, halakhic and aggadic statements. Halakhic statements directly relate to questions of Jewish law and practice (halakha). Aggadic statements are not legally related, but rather are exegetical, homiletical, ethical, or historical in nature.
Minor tractates[edit]
Main article: Minor tractate
In addition to the six Orders, the Talmud contains a series of short treatises of a later date, usually printed at the end of Seder Nezikin. These are not divided into Mishnah and Gemara.
Bavli and Yerushalmi[edit]
The process of "Gemara" proceeded in what were then the two major centers of Jewish scholarship, Galilee and Babylonia. Correspondingly, two bodies of analysis developed, and two works of Talmud were created. The older compilation is called the Jerusalem Talmud or the Talmud Yerushalmi. It was compiled in the 4th century CE in Galilee. The Babylonian Talmud was compiled about the year 500, although it continued to be edited later. The word "Talmud", when used without qualification, usually refers to the Babylonian Talmud.
While the editors of Jerusalem Talmud and Babylonian Talmud each mention the other community, most scholars believe these documents were written independently; Louis Jacobs writes, "If the editors of either had had access to an actual text of the other, it is inconceivable that they would not have mentioned this. Here the argument from silence is very convincing."[7]
Talmud Yerushalmi (Jerusalem Talmud)[edit]
Main article: Jerusalem Talmud



 A page of a medieval Jerusalem Talmud manuscript, from the Cairo Genizah.
The Jerusalem Talmud was one of the two compilations of Jewish religious teachings and commentary that was transmitted orally for centuries prior to its compilation by Jewish scholars in Israel.[8] It is a compilation of teachings of the schools of Tiberias, Sepphoris and Caesarea. It is written largely in a western Aramaic dialect that differs from its Babylonian counterpart.[citation needed]
This Talmud is a synopsis of the analysis of the Mishnah that was developed over the course of nearly 200 years by the Academies in Galilee (principally those of Tiberias and Caesarea.) Because of their location, the sages of these Academies devoted considerable attention to analysis of the agricultural laws of the Land of Israel. Traditionally, this Talmud was thought to have been redacted in about the year 350 by Rav Muna and Rav Yossi in the Land of Israel. It is traditionally known as the Talmud Yerushalmi ("Jerusalem Talmud"), but the name is a misnomer, as it was not prepared in Jerusalem. It has more accurately been called "The Talmud of the Land of Israel".[9]
Its final redaction probably belongs to the end of the 4th century, but the individual scholars who brought it to its present form cannot be fixed with assurance. By this time Christianity had become the state religion of the Roman Empire and Jerusalem the holy city of Christendom. In 325, Constantine I, the first Christian emperor, said "let us then have nothing in common with the detestable Jewish crowd."[10] This policy made a Jew an outcast and pauper. The compilers of the Jerusalem Talmud consequently lacked the time to produce a work of the quality they had intended. The text is evidently incomplete and is not easy to follow. The apparent cessation of work on the Jerusalem Talmud in the 5th century has been associated with the decision of Theodosius II in 425 to suppress the Patriarchate and put an end to the practice of formal scholarly ordination. Some modern scholars have questioned this connection: for more detail see Jerusalem Talmud: Place and date of composition.
Despite its incomplete state, the Jerusalem Talmud remains an indispensable source of knowledge of the development of the Jewish Law in the Holy Land. It was also an important resource in the study of the Babylonian Talmud by the Kairouan school of Hananel ben Hushiel and Nissim Gaon, with the result that opinions ultimately based on the Jerusalem Talmud found their way into both the Tosafot and the Mishneh Torah of Maimonides.
Following the formation of the modern State of Israel there is some interest in restoring Eretz Yisrael traditions. For example, Rabbi David Bar-Hayim of the Makhon Shilo institute has issued a siddur reflecting Eretz Yisrael practice as found in the Jerusalem Talmud and other sources.
Talmud Bavli (Babylonian Talmud)[edit]



 A full set of the Babylonian Talmud.
The Talmud Bavli consists of documents compiled over the period of Late Antiquity (3rd to 5th centuries).[11] During this time the most important of the Jewish centres in Mesopotamia, later known as Iraq, were Nehardea, Nisibis, Mahoza (just to the south of what is now Baghdad), Pumbeditha (near present-day al-Anbar), and the Sura Academy near present-day Falluja.
Talmud Bavli (the "Babylonian Talmud") comprises the Mishnah and the Babylonian Gemara, the latter representing the culmination of more than 300 years of analysis of the Mishnah in the Babylonian Academies. The foundations of this process of analysis were laid by Rab, a disciple of Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi. Tradition ascribes the compilation of the Babylonian Talmud in its present form to two Babylonian sages, Rav Ashi and Ravina. Rav Ashi was president of the Sura Academy from 375 to 427 CE. The work begun by Rav Ashi was completed by Ravina, who is traditionally regarded as the final Amoraic expounder. Accordingly, traditionalists argue that Ravina’s death in 499 CE is the latest possible date for the completion of the redaction of the Talmud. However, even on the most traditional view a few passages are regarded as the work of a group of rabbis who edited the Talmud after the end of the Amoraic period, known as the Saboraim or Rabbanan Savora'e (meaning "reasoners" or "considerers").
The question as to when the Gemara was finally put into its present form is not settled among modern scholars. Some, like Louis Jacobs, argue that the main body of the Gemara is not simple reportage of conversations, as it purports to be, but a highly elaborate structure contrived by the Saboraim, who must therefore be regarded as the real authors. On this view the text did not reach its final form until around 700. Some modern scholars use the term Stammaim (from the Hebrew Stam, meaning "closed", "vague" or "unattributed") for the authors of unattributed statements in the Gemara. (See eras within Jewish law.)
Comparison of style and subject matter[edit]
There are significant differences between the two Talmud compilations. The language of the Jerusalem Talmud is a western Aramaic dialect, which differs from the form of Aramaic in the Babylonian Talmud. The Talmud Yerushalmi is often fragmentary and difficult to read, even for experienced Talmudists. The redaction of the Talmud Bavli, on the other hand, is more careful and precise. The law as laid down in the two compilations is basically similar, except in emphasis and in minor details. The Jerusalem Talmud has not received much attention from commentators, and such traditional commentaries as exist are mostly concerned with comparing its teachings to those of the Talmud Bavli.
Neither the Jerusalem nor the Babylonian Talmud covers the entire Mishnah: for example, a Babylonian Gemara exists only for 37 out of the 63 tractates of the Mishnah. In particular:
The Jerusalem Talmud covers all the tractates of Zeraim, while the Babylonian Talmud covers only tractate Berachot. The reason might be that most laws from the Orders Zeraim (agricultural laws limited to the land of Israel) had little practical relevance in Babylonia and were therefore not included.[12] The Jerusalem Talmud has a greater focus on the Land of Israel and the Torah's agricultural laws pertaining to the land because it was written in the Land of Israel where the laws applied.
The Jerusalem Talmud does not cover the Mishnaic order of Kodashim, which deals with sacrificial rites and laws pertaining to the Temple, while the Babylonian Talmud does cover it. It is not clear why this is, as the laws were not directly applicable in either country following the Temple's 70 CE destruction.
In both Talmuds, only one tractate of Tehorot (ritual purity laws) is examined, that of the menstrual laws, Niddah.
The Babylonian Talmud records the opinions of the rabbis of the Ma'arava (the West, meaning Israel/Palestine) as well as of those of Babylonia, while the Jerusalem Talmud only seldom cites the Babylonian rabbis. The Babylonian version also contains the opinions of more generations because of its later date of completion. For both these reasons it is regarded as a more comprehensive collection of the opinions available. On the other hand, because of the centuries of redaction between the composition of the Jerusalem and the Babylonian Talmud, the opinions of early amoraim might be closer to their original form in the Jerusalem Talmud.
The influence of the Babylonian Talmud has been far greater than that of the Yerushalmi. In the main, this is because the influence and prestige of the Jewish community of Israel steadily declined in contrast with the Babylonian community in the years after the redaction of the Talmud and continuing until the Gaonic era. Furthermore, the editing of the Babylonian Talmud was superior to that of the Jerusalem version, making it more accessible and readily usable. According to Maimonides (whose life began almost a hundred years after the end of the Gaonic era), all Jewish communities during the Gaonic era formally accepted the Babylonian Talmud as binding upon themselves, and modern Jewish practice follows the Babylonian Talmud's conclusions on all areas in which the two Talmuds conflict.
Language[edit]
Of the two main components of the Babylonian Talmud, the Mishnah is written in Mishnaic Hebrew. Within the Gemara, the quotations from the Mishnah and the Baraitas and verses of Tanakh quoted and embedded in the Gemara are in Hebrew. The rest of the Gemara, including the discussions of the Amoraim and the overall framework, is in a characteristic dialect of Jewish Babylonian Aramaic.[13] There are occasional quotations from older works in other dialects of Aramaic, such as Megillat Taanit. Overall, Hebrew constitutes somewhat less than half of the text of the Talmud.
This difference in language is due to the long time period elapsing between the two compilations. During the period of the Tannaim (rabbis cited in the Mishnah), the spoken vernacular of Jews in Judaea was a late form of Hebrew known as Rabbinic or Mishnaic Hebrew, whereas during the period of the Amoraim (rabbis cited in the Gemara), which began around 200 CE, the spoken vernacular was Aramaic. Hebrew continued to be used for the writing of religious texts, poetry, and so forth.[14]
Printing[edit]
Bomberg Talmud 1523[edit]
The first complete edition of the Babylonian Talmud was printed in Venice by Daniel Bomberg 1520–23. In addition to the Mishnah and Gemara, Bomberg's edition contained the commentaries of Rashi and Tosafot. Almost all printings since Bomberg have followed the same pagination. Bomberg's edition was considered relatively free of censorship.[15]
Benveniste Talmud 1645[edit]
Following Ambrosius Frobenius's publication of most of the Talmud in installments in Basel, Immanuel Benveniste published the whole Talmud in installments in Amsterdam 1644–1648,[16] Though according to Raphael Rabbinovicz the Benveniste Talmud may have been based on the Lublin Talmud and included many of the censors' errors.[17]
Vilna Talmud, 1835[edit]
The edition of the Talmud published by the Szapira brothers in Slavuta in 1795 is particularly prized by many hasidic rebbes. In 1835, after an acrimonious dispute with the Szapira family, a new edition of the Talmud was printed by Menachem Romm of Vilna. Known as the Vilna Shas, this edition (and later ones printed by his widow and sons) has been used in the production of more recent editions of Talmud Bavli.
A page number in the Talmud refers to a double-sided page, known as a daf; each daf has two amudim labeled א and ב, sides A and B (Recto and Verso). The referencing by daf is relatively recent and dates from the early Talmud printings of the 17th century. Earlier rabbinic literature generally only refers to the tractate or chapters within a tractate. Nowadays, reference is made in format [Tractate daf a/b] (e.g. Berachot 23b). In the Vilna edition of the Talmud there are 5,894 folio pages.
Goldschmidt Talmud 1897–1909, and German translation[edit]
Lazarus Goldschmidt published an edition from the "uncensored text" of the Babylonian Talmud with a German translation in 9 vols. (commenced Leipzig, 1897–1909, edition completed, following emigration to England in 1933, by 1936).[18]
Critical editions[edit]
The text of the Vilna editions is considered by scholars not to be uniformly reliable, and there have been a number of attempts to collate textual variants.
1.In the early 20th century Nathan Rabinowitz published a series of volumes called Dikduke Soferim showing textual variants from early manuscripts and printings.
2.In 1960 work started on a new edition under the name of Gemara Shelemah (complete Gemara) under the editorship of Menachem Mendel Kasher: only the volume on the first part of tractate Pesachim appeared before the project was interrupted by his death. This edition contained a comprehensive set of textual variants and a few selected commentaries.
3.Some thirteen volumes have been published by the Institute for the Complete Israeli Talmud (a division of Yad Harav Herzog), on lines similar to Rabinowitz, containing the text and a comprehensive set of textual variants (from manuscripts, early prints and citations in secondary literature) but no commentaries.[19]
There have been critical editions of particular tractates (e.g. Henry Malter's edition of Ta'anit), but there is no modern critical edition of the whole Talmud. Modern editions such as those of the Oz ve-Hadar Institute correct misprints and restore passages that in earlier editions were modified or excised by censorship but do not attempt a comprehensive account of textual variants. One edition, by Rabbi Yosef Amar,[20] represents the Yemenite tradition, and takes the form of a photostatic reproduction of a Vilna-based print to which Yemenite vocalization and textual variants have been added by hand, together with printed introductory material. Collations of the Yemenite manuscripts of some tractates have been published by Columbia University.[21]
Editions for a wider audience[edit]
A number of editions have been aimed at bringing the Talmud to a wider audience. The main ones are as follows.
The Steinsaltz Talmud, which contains the text with punctuation, detailed explanations and translation. The Steinsaltz Edition is available in two formats: one with the traditional Vilna page and one without. It is available in modern Hebrew (first volume published 1969), English (first volume published 1989), French, Russian and other languages.
In May 2012, Koren Publishers Jerusalem launched the new Koren Talmud Bavli, a new version of the Steinsaltz Talmud which features a new, modern English translation and the commentary of Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz. This edition won widespread praise as "America's most important Jewish event",[22] and for its "beautiful page" and "clean type".[23] It includes color photos and illustrations, and Steinsaltz's historical, biographical and linguistic notes in modern English translation. Opened as a Hebrew book, this edition preserves the traditional Vilna page layout and includes vowels and punctuation; the Rashi commentary too is punctuated. Opened as an English book, this edition breaks down the Talmud text into small, thematic units and features the supplementary notes along the margins.
The Schottenstein Talmud, published by ArtScroll: the first volume was published in 1990, and the series was completed in 2004. Each page is printed in the traditional Vilna format, and accompanied by an expanded paraphrase in English, in which the translation of the text is shown in bold and explanations are interspersed in normal type.
The Metivta edition, published by the Oz ve-Hadar Institute. This contains the full text in the same format as the Vilna-based editions, with a full explanation in modern Hebrew on facing pages as well as an improved version of the traditional commentaries.[24]
A previous project of the same kind, called Talmud El Am, "Talmud to the people", was published in Israel in the 1960s-80s. The Talmud El Am contains Hebrew text, English translation and commentary by Rabbi Dr A. Ehrman, with short 'realia', marginal notes, often illustrated, written by experts in the field for the whole of Tractate Berakhot, 2 chapters of Bava Mezia and the halachic section of Qiddushin, chapter 1.
See also under Translations, below.
Translations[edit]
Talmud Bavli[edit]
Part of a series of articles on
Editions of the Babylonian Talmud
Talmud

Editions:[hide]
Neusner Translation  · Rodkinson Translation
  · Schottenstein Edition  ·
Soncino Edition  · Steinsaltz Edition

v ·
 t ·
 e
   
There are six contemporary translations of the Talmud into English:
The Noé Edition of the Koren Talmud Bavli, Adin Steinsaltz, Koren Publishers Jerusalem. This work was launched in 2012. Opened from the Hebrew side, this edition features the traditional Vilna page with vowels and punctuation in the original Aramaic text. The Rashi commentary appears in Rashi script with vowels and punctuation. Opened from the English side, the edition features bi-lingual text with side-by-side English/Aramaic translation. The margins include color maps, illustrations and notes based on Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz’s Hebrew language translation and commentary of the Talmud. Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb serves as the Editor-in-Chief. As of July 2014, 12 volumes have been published. The entire set will be 42 volumes.



 Koren Talmud BavliThe Talmud: The Steinsaltz Edition Adin Steinsaltz, Random House. This work is an English edition of Rabbi Steinsaltz' complete Hebrew language translation of and commentary on the entire Talmud. Incomplete—24 volumes and a reference guide.
Schottenstein Edition of the Talmud, Mesorah Publications (73 volumes). In this translation, each English page faces the Aramaic/Hebrew page. The English pages are elucidated and heavily annotated; each Aramaic/Hebrew page of Talmud typically requires three English pages of translation. Complete.
The Soncino Talmud, Isidore Epstein, Soncino Press (26 volumes; also formerly an 18 volume edition was published). Notes on each page provide additional background material. This translation is published both on its own and in a parallel text edition, in which each English page faces the Aramaic/Hebrew page. It is available also on CD-ROM. Complete.
The Talmud of Babylonia. An American Translation, Jacob Neusner, Tzvee Zahavy, others. Atlanta: 1984-1995: Scholars Press for Brown Judaic Studies. Complete.
The Babylonian Talmud, translated by Michael L. Rodkinson. (1903, contains all of the tractates in the Orders of Mo'ed/Festivals and Nezikin/Damages, plus some additional material related to these Orders.) This is inaccurate[citation needed] and was wholly superseded by the Soncino translation: it is sometimes linked to from the internet because, for copyright reasons, it was until recently the only translation freely available on the Web (see below, under Full text resources).
There is one translation of the Talmud into Arabic, published in 2012 in Jordan by the Center for Middle Eastern Studies. The translation was carried out by a group of 90 Muslim and Christian scholars.[25] The introduction was characterized by Dr. Raquel Ukeles, Curator of the Israel National Library's Arabic collection, as "racist", but she considers the translation itself as "not bad".[26]
Talmud Yerushalmi[edit]
Talmud of the Land of Israel: A Preliminary Translation and Explanation Jacob Neusner, Tzvee Zahavy, others. University of Chicago Press. This translation uses a form-analytical presentation that makes the logical units of discourse easier to identify and follow. This work has received many positive reviews. However, some consider Neusner's translation methodology idiosyncratic. One volume was negatively reviewed by Saul Lieberman of the Jewish Theological Seminary.
Schottenstein Edition of the Yerushalmi Talmud Mesorah/Artscroll. This translation is the counterpart to Mesorah/Artscroll's Schottenstein Edition of the Talmud (i.e. Babylonian Talmud).
The Jerusalem Talmud, Edition, Translation and Commentary, ed. Guggenheimer, Heinrich W., Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin, Germany
German Edition, Übersetzung des Talmud Yerushalmi, published by Martin Hengel, Peter Schäfer, Hans-Jürgen Becker, Frowald Gil Hüttenmeister, Mohr&Siebeck, Tübingen, Germany
Modern Elucidated Talmud Yerushalmi, ed. Joshua Buch. Uses the Leiden manuscript as its based text corrected according to manuscripts and Geniza Fragments. Draws upon Traditional and Modern Scholarship - www.talmudyerushalmi.org/talmud-yerushalmi-mevoar/
Talmud scholarship[edit]
From the time of its completion, the Talmud became integral to Jewish scholarship. A maxim in Pirkei Avot advocates its study from the age of 15.[27] This section outlines some of the major areas of Talmudic study.
Geonim[edit]
The earliest Talmud commentaries were written by the Geonim (c. 800 - 1000, CE) in Babylonia. Although some direct commentaries on particular treatises are extant, our main knowledge of Gaonic era Talmud scholarship comes from statements embedded in Geonic responsa that shed light on Talmudic passages: these are arranged in the order of the Talmud in Levin's Otzar ha-Geonim. Also important are practical abridgments of Jewish law such as Yehudai Gaon's Halachot Pesukot, Achai Gaon's Sheeltot and Simeon Kayyara's Halachot Gedolot. After the death of Hai Gaon, however, the center of Talmud scholarship shifts to Europe and North Africa.
Halakhic and Aggadic extractions[edit]
One area of Talmudic scholarship developed out of the need to ascertain the Halakha. Early commentators such as Rabbi Isaac Alfasi (North Africa, 1013–1103) attempted to extract and determine the binding legal opinions from the vast corpus of the Talmud. Alfasi's work was highly influential, attracted several commentaries in its own right and later served as a basis for the creation of halakhic codes. Another influential medieval Halakhic work following the order of the Babylonian Talmud, and to some extent modelled on Alfasi, was "the Mordechai", a compilation by Mordechai ben Hillel (c. 1250 – 1298). A third such work was that of Rabbi Asher ben Yechiel (d. 1327). All these works and their commentaries are printed in the Vilna and many subsequent editions of the Talmud.
A 15th-century Spanish rabbi, Jacob ibn Habib (d. 1516), composed the Ein Yaakov. Ein Yaakov (or En Ya'aqob) extracts nearly all the Aggadic material from the Talmud. It was intended to familiarize the public with the ethical parts of the Talmud and to dispute many of the accusations surrounding its contents.
Commentaries[edit]
Main article: Rabbinic literature
The Talmud is often cryptic and difficult to understand. Its language contains many Greek and Persian words that became obscure over time. A major area of Talmudic scholarship developed to explain these passages and words. Some early commentators such as Rabbenu Gershom of Mainz (10th century) and Rabbenu Ḥananel (early 11th century) produced running commentaries to various tractates. These commentaries could be read with the text of the Talmud and would help explain the meaning of the text. Another important work is the Sefer ha-Mafteaḥ (Book of the Key) by Nissim Gaon, which contains a preface explaining the different forms of Talmudic argumentation and then explains abbreviated passages in the Talmud by cross-referring to parallel passages where the same thought is expressed in full. Commentaries (ḥiddushim) by Joseph ibn Migash on two tractates, Bava Batra and Shevuot, based on Ḥananel and Alfasi, also survive, as does a compilation by Zechariah Aghmati called Sefer ha-Ner.[28] Using a different style, Rabbi Nathan b. Jechiel created a lexicon called the Arukh in the 11th century to help translate difficult words.
By far the best known commentary on the Babylonian Talmud is that of Rashi (Rabbi Solomon ben Isaac, 1040–1105). The commentary is comprehensive, covering almost the entire Talmud. Written as a running commentary, it provides a full explanation of the words, and explains the logical structure of each Talmudic passage. It is considered indispensable to students of the Talmud.
Medieval Ashkenazic Jewry produced another major commentary known as Tosafot ("additions" or "supplements"). The Tosafot are collected commentaries by various medieval Ashkenazic Rabbis on the Talmud (known as Tosafists or Ba'alei Tosafot). One of the main goals of the Tosafot is to explain and interpret contradictory statements in the Talmud. Unlike Rashi, the Tosafot is not a running commentary, but rather comments on selected matters. Often the explanations of Tosafot differ from those of Rashi.
Among the founders of the Tosafist school were Rabbi Jacob ben Meir (known as Rabbeinu Tam), who was a grandson of Rashi, and, Rabbenu Tam's nephew, Rabbi Isaac ben Samuel. The Tosafot commentaries were collected in different editions in the various schools. The benchmark collection of Tosafot for Northern France was that of R. Eliezer of Touques. The standard collection for Spain was that of Rabbenu Asher ("Tosefot Harosh"). The Tosafot that are printed in the standard Vilna edition of the Talmud are an edited version compiled from the various medieval collections, predominantly that of Touques.[29]
Over time, the approach of the Tosafists spread to other Jewish communities, particularly those in Spain. This led to the composition of many other commentaries in similar styles. Among these are the commentaries of Nachmanides (Ramban), Solomon ben Adret (Rashba), Yom Tov of Seville (Ritva) and Nissim of Gerona (Ran). A comprehensive anthology consisting of extracts from all these is the Shittah Mekubbetzet of Bezalel Ashkenazi.
Other commentaries produced in Spain and Provence were not influenced by the Tosafist style. Two of the most significant of these are the Yad Ramah by Rabbi Meir Abulafia and Bet Habechirah by Rabbi Menahem haMeiri, commonly referred to as "Meiri". While the Bet Habechirah is extant for all of Talmud, we only have the Yad Ramah for Tractates Sanhedrin, Baba Batra and Gittin. Like the commentaries of Ramban and the others, these are generally printed as independent works, though some Talmud editions include the Shittah Mekubbetzet in an abbreviated form.
In later centuries, focus partially shifted from direct Talmudic interpretation to the analysis of previously written Talmudic commentaries. These later commentaries include "Maharshal" (Solomon Luria), "Maharam" (Meir Lublin) and "Maharsha" (Samuel Edels), and are generally printed at the back of each tractate.
Another very useful study aid, found in almost all editions of the Talmud, consists of the marginal notes Torah Or, Ein Mishpat Ner Mitzvah and Masoret ha-Shas by the Italian rabbi Joshua Boaz, which give references respectively to the cited Biblical passages, to the relevant halachic codes and to related Talmudic passages.
Most editions of the Talmud include brief marginal notes by Akiva Eger under the name Gilyonot ha-Shas, and textual notes by Joel Sirkes and the Vilna Gaon (see Textual emendations below), on the page together with the text.
Pilpul[edit]
During the 15th and 16th centuries, a new intensive form of Talmud study arose. Complicated logical arguments were used to explain minor points of contradiction within the Talmud. The term pilpul was applied to this type of study. Usage of pilpul in this sense (that of "sharp analysis") harks back to the Talmudic era and refers to the intellectual sharpness this method demanded.
Pilpul practitioners posited that the Talmud could contain no redundancy or contradiction whatsoever. New categories and distinctions (hillukim) were therefore created, resolving seeming contradictions within the Talmud by novel logical means.
In the Ashkenazi world the founders of pilpul are generally considered to be Jacob Pollak (1460–1541) and Shalom Shachna. This kind of study reached its height in the 16th and 17th centuries when expertise in pilpulistic analysis was considered an art form and became a goal in and of itself within the yeshivot of Poland and Lithuania. But the popular new method of Talmud study was not without critics; already in the 15th century, the ethical tract Orhot Zaddikim ("Paths of the Righteous" in Hebrew) criticized pilpul for an overemphasis on intellectual acuity. Many 16th- and 17th-century rabbis were also critical of pilpul. Among them may be noted Judah Loew ben Bezalel (the Maharal of Prague), Isaiah Horowitz, and Yair Bacharach.
By the 18th century, pilpul study waned. Other styles of learning such as that of the school of Elijah b. Solomon, the Vilna Gaon, became popular. The term "pilpul" was increasingly applied derogatorily to novellae deemed casuistic and hairsplitting. Authors referred to their own commentaries as "al derekh ha-peshat" (by the simple method) to contrast them with pilpul.[30]
Sephardic approaches[edit]
Among Sephardi and Italian Jews from the 15th century on, some authorities sought to apply the methods of Aristotelian logic, as reformulated by Averroes.[31] This method was first recorded, though without explicit reference to Aristotle, by Isaac Campanton (d. Spain, 1463) in his Darkhei ha-Talmud ("The Ways of the Talmud"),[32] and is also found in the works of Moses Chaim Luzzatto.[33]
According to the present-day Sephardi scholar José Faur, traditional Sephardic Talmud study could take place on any of three levels.[34]
The most basic level consists of literary analysis of the text without the help of commentaries, designed to bring out the tzurata di-shema'ta, i.e. the logical and narrative structure of the passage.[35]
The intermediate level, 'iyyun (concentration), consists of study with the help of commentaries such as Rashi and the Tosafot, similar to that practised among the Ashkenazim.[36] Historically Sephardim studied the Tosefot ha-Rosh and the commentaries of Nahmanides in preference to the printed Tosafot.[37] A method based on the study of Tosafot, and of Ashkenazi authorities such as Maharsha (Samuel Edels) and Maharshal (Solomon Luria), was introduced in late seventeenth century Tunisia by Rabbis Abraham Hakohen (d. 1715) and Tsemaḥ Tsarfati (d. 1717) and perpetuated by Rabbi Isaac Lumbroso[38] and is sometimes referred to as 'Iyyun Tunisa'i.[39]
The highest level, halachah (Jewish law), consists of collating the opinions set out in the Talmud with those of the halachic codes such as the Mishneh Torah and the Shulchan Aruch, so as to study the Talmud as a source of law. (A project called Halacha Brura,[40] founded by Abraham Isaac Kook, presents the Talmud and a summary of the halachic codes side by side in book form so as to enable this kind of collation.)
Today most Sephardic yeshivot follow Lithuanian approaches such as the Brisker method: the traditional Sephardic methods are perpetuated informally by some individuals. 'Iyyun Tunisa'i is taught at the Kisse Rahamim yeshivah in Bnei Brak.
Brisker method[edit]
In the late 19th century another trend in Talmud study arose. Rabbi Hayyim Soloveitchik (1853–1918) of Brisk (Brest-Litovsk) developed and refined this style of study. Brisker method involves a reductionistic analysis of rabbinic arguments within the Talmud or among the Rishonim, explaining the differing opinions by placing them within a categorical structure. The Brisker method is highly analytical and is often criticized as being a modern-day version of pilpul. Nevertheless, the influence of the Brisker method is great. Most modern day Yeshivot study the Talmud using the Brisker method in some form. One feature of this method is the use of Maimonides' Mishneh Torah as a guide to Talmudic interpretation, as distinct from its use as a source of practical halakha.
Rival methods were those of the Mir and Telz yeshivas.
Critical method[edit]
As a result of Jewish emancipation, Judaism underwent enormous upheaval and transformation during the 19th century. Modern methods of textual and historical analysis were applied to the Talmud.
Textual emendations[edit]
The text of the Talmud has been subject to some level of critical scrutiny throughout its history. Rabbinic tradition holds that the people cited in both Talmuds did not have a hand in its writings; rather, their teachings were edited into a rough form around 450 CE (Talmud Yerushalmi) and 550 CE (Talmud Bavli.) The text of the Bavli especially was not firmly fixed at that time.
The Gaonic responsa literature addresses this issue. Teshuvot Geonim Kadmonim, section 78, deals with mistaken biblical readings in the Talmud. This Gaonic responsum states:

"...But you must examine carefully in every case when you feel uncertainty [as to the credibility of the text] - what is its source? Whether a scribal error? Or the superficiality of a second rate student who was not well versed?....after the manner of many mistakes found among those superficial second-rate students, and certainly among those rural memorizers who were not familiar with the biblical text. And since they erred in the first place....[they compounded the error.]
—Teshuvot Geonim Kadmonim, Ed. Cassel, Berlin 1858, Photographic reprint Tel Aviv 1964, 23b.
In the early medieval era, Rashi concluded that some statements in the extant text of the Talmud were insertions from later editors. On Shevuot 3b Rashi writes "A mistaken student wrote this in the margin of the Talmud, and copyists {subsequently} put it into the Gemara."[41]
The emendations of Yoel Sirkis and the Vilna Gaon are included in all standard editions of the Talmud, in the form of marginal glosses entitled Hagahot ha-Bach and Hagahot ha-Gra respectively; further emendations by Solomon Luria are set out in commentary form at the back of each tractate. The Vilna Gaon's emendations were often based on his quest for internal consistency in the text rather than on manuscript evidence;[42] nevertheless many of the Gaon's emendations were later verified by textual critics, such as Solomon Schechter, who had Cairo Genizah texts with which to compare our standard editions.[43]
In the 19th century Raphael Nathan Nota Rabinovicz published a multi-volume work entitled Dikdukei Soferim, showing textual variants from the Munich and other early manuscripts of the Talmud, and further variants are recorded in the Complete Israeli Talmud and Gemara Shelemah editions (see Printing, above).
Today many more manuscripts have become available, in particular from the Cairo Geniza. The Academy of the Hebrew Language has prepared a text on CD-ROM for lexicographical purposes, containing the text of each tractate according to the manuscript it considers most reliable,[44] and images of some of the older manuscripts may be found on the website of the Jewish National and University Library.[45] The JNUL, the Lieberman Institute (associated with the Jewish Theological Seminary of America) and the Institute for the Complete Israeli Talmud (part of Yad Harav Herzog) all maintain searchable websites on which the viewer can request variant manuscript readings of a given passage.[46]
Further variant readings can often be gleaned from citations in secondary literature such as commentaries, in particular those of Alfasi, Rabbenu Ḥananel and Aghmati, and sometimes the later Spanish commentators such as Nachmanides and Solomon ben Adret.
Historical analysis, and higher textual criticism[edit]
Historical study of the Talmud can be used to investigate a variety of concerns. One can ask questions such as: Do a given section's sources date from its editor's lifetime? To what extent does a section have earlier or later sources? Are Talmudic disputes distinguishable along theological or communal lines? In what ways do different sections derive from different schools of thought within early Judaism? Can these early sources be identified, and if so, how? Investigation of questions such as these are known as higher textual criticism. (The term "criticism", it should be noted, is a technical term denoting academic study.)
Religious scholars still debate the precise method by which the text of the Talmuds reached their final form. Many believe that the text was continuously smoothed over by the savoraim.
In the 1870s and 1880s Rabbi Raphael Natan Nata Rabbinovitz engaged in historical study of Talmud Bavli in his Diqduqei Soferim. Since then many Orthodox rabbis have approved of his work, including Rabbis Shlomo Kluger, Yoseph Shaul Ha-Levi Natanzohn, Yaaqov Ettlinger, Isaac Elhanan Spektor and Shimon Sofer.
During the early 19th century, leaders of the newly evolving Reform movement, such as Abraham Geiger and Samuel Holdheim, subjected the Talmud to severe scrutiny as part of an effort to break with traditional rabbinic Judaism. They insisted that the Talmud was entirely a work of evolution and development. This view was rejected as both academically incorrect, and religiously incorrect, by those who would become known as the Orthodox movement. Some Orthodox leaders such as Moses Sofer (the Chatam Sofer) became exquisitely sensitive to any change and rejected modern critical methods of Talmud study.
Some rabbis advocated a view of Talmudic study that they held to be in-between the Reformers and the Orthodox; these were the adherents of positive-historical Judaism, notably Nachman Krochmal and Zacharias Frankel. They described the Oral Torah as the result of a historical and exegetical process, emerging over time, through the application of authorized exegetical techniques, and more importantly, the subjective dispositions and personalities and current historical conditions, by learned sages. This was later developed more fully in the five volume work Dor Dor ve-Dorshav by Isaac Hirsch Weiss. (See Jay Harris Guiding the Perplexed in the Modern Age Ch. 5) Eventually their work came to be one of the formative parts of Conservative Judaism.
Another aspect of this movement is reflected in Graetz's History of the Jews. Graetz attempts to deduce the personality of the Pharisees based on the laws or aggadot that they cite, and show that their personalities influenced the laws they expounded.
The leader of Orthodox Jewry in Germany Samson Raphael Hirsch, while not rejecting the methods of scholarship in principle, hotly contested the findings of the Historical-Critical method. In a series of articles in his magazine Jeschurun (reprinted in Collected Writings Vol. 5) Hirsch reiterated the traditional view, and pointed out what he saw as numerous errors in the works of Graetz, Frankel and Geiger.
On the other hand, many of the 19th century's strongest critics of Reform, including strictly orthodox Rabbis such as Zvi Hirsch Chajes, utilized this new scientific method. The Orthodox Rabbinical seminary of Azriel Hildesheimer was founded on the idea of creating a "harmony between Judaism and science". Another Orthodox pioneer of scientific Talmud study was David Zvi Hoffman.
The Iraqi rabbi Yaakov Chaim Sofer notes that the text of the Gemara has had changes and additions, and contains statements not of the same origin as the original. See his Yehi Yosef (Jerusalem, 1991) p. 132 "This passage does not bear the signature of the editor of the Talmud!"
Orthodox scholar Daniel Sperber writes in "Legitimacy, of Necessity, of Scientific Disciplines" that many Orthodox sources have engaged in the historical (also called "scientific") study of the Talmud. As such, the divide today between Orthodoxy and Reform is not about whether the Talmud may be subjected to historical study, but rather about the theological and halakhic implications of such study.
Contemporary scholarship[edit]
Some trends within contemporary Talmud scholarship are listed below.
Orthodox Judaism maintains that the oral Torah was revealed, in some form, together with the written Torah. As such, some adherents, most notably Samson Raphael Hirsch and his followers, resisted any effort to apply historical methods that imputed specific motives to the authors of the Talmud. Other major figures in Orthodoxy, however, took issue with Hirsch on this matter, most prominently David Tzvi Hoffmann.[47]
Some scholars hold that there has been extensive editorial reshaping of the stories and statements within the Talmud. Lacking outside confirming texts, they hold that we cannot confirm the origin or date of most statements and laws, and that we can say little for certain about their authorship. In this view, the questions above are impossible to answer. See, for example, the works of Louis Jacobs and Shaye J.D. Cohen.
Some scholars hold that the Talmud has been extensively shaped by later editorial redaction, but that it contains sources we can identify and describe with some level of reliability. In this view, sources can be identified by tracing the history and analyzing the geographical regions of origin. See, for example, the works of Lee I. Levine and David Kraemer.
Some scholars hold that many or most the statements and events described in the Talmud usually occurred more or less as described, and that they can be used as serious sources of historical study. In this view, historians do their best to tease out later editorial additions (itself a very difficult task) and skeptically view accounts of miracles, leaving behind a reliable historical text. See, for example, the works of Saul Lieberman, David Weiss Halivni, and Avraham Goldberg.
Modern academic study attempts to separate the different "strata" within the text, to try to interpret each level on its own, and to identify the correlations between parallel versions of the same tradition. In recent years, the works of R. David Weiss Halivni and Dr. Shamma Friedman have suggested a paradigm shift in the understanding of the Talmud (Encyclopaedia Judaica 2nd ed. entry "Talmud, Babylonian"). The traditional understanding was to view the Talmud as a unified homogeneous work. While other scholars had also treated the Talmud as a multi-layered work, Dr. Halivni's innovation (primarily in the second volume of his Mekorot u-Mesorot) was to differentiate between the Amoraic statements, which are generally brief Halachic decisions or inquiries, and the writings of the later "Stammaitic" (or Saboraic) authors, which are characterised by a much longer analysis that often consists of lengthy dialectic discussion. It has been noted that the Jerusalem Talmud is in fact very similar to the Babylonian Talmud minus Stammaitic activity (Encyclopaedia Judaica (2nd ed.), entry "Jerusalem Talmud"). Shamma Y. Friedman's Talmud Aruch on the sixth chapter of Bava Metzia (1996) is the first example of a complete analysis of a Talmudic text using this method. S. Wald has followed with works on Pesachim ch. 3 (2000) and Shabbat ch. 7 (2006). Further commentaries in this sense are being published by Dr Friedman's "Society for the Interpretation of the Talmud".[48]
Some scholars are indeed using outside sources to help give historical and contextual understanding of certain areas of the Babylonian Talmud. See for example the works of the Prof Yaakov Elman[49] and of his student Dr. Shai Secunda[50]
Role in Judaism[edit]
The Talmud represents the written record of an oral tradition. It became the basis for many rabbinic legal codes and customs, most importantly for the Mishneh Torah and for the Shulchan Aruch. Orthodox and, to a lesser extent, Conservative Judaism accepts the Talmud as authoritative, while Reconstructionist and Reform Judaism do not. This section briefly outlines past and current movements and their view of the Talmud's role.
Sadducees[edit]
The Jewish sect of the Sadducees flourished during the Second Temple period. Principal distinctions between them and the Pharisees (later known as Rabbinic Judaism) involved their rejection of an Oral Torah and their denying a resurrection after death.
Karaism[edit]
Another movement that rejected the oral Torah was Karaism. It arose within two centuries of the completion of the Talmud. Karaism developed as a reaction against the Talmudic Judaism of Babylonia. The central concept of Karaism is the rejection of the Oral Torah, as embodied in the Talmud, in favor of a strict adherence to the Written Torah only. This opposes the fundamental Rabbinic concept that the Oral Torah was given to Moses on Mount Sinai together with the Written Torah. Some later Karaites took a more moderate stance, allowing that some element of tradition (called sevel ha-yerushah, the burden of inheritance) is admissible in interpreting the Torah and that some authentic traditions are contained in the Mishnah and the Talmud, though these can never supersede the plain meaning of the Written Torah.
Reform Judaism[edit]
The rise of Reform Judaism during the 19th century saw more questioning of the authority of the Talmud. Reform Jews saw the Talmud as a product of late antiquity, having relevance merely as a historical document. For example the "Declaration of Principles" issued by the Association of Friends of Reform Frankfurt in August 1843 states among other things that:

The collection of controversies, dissertations, and prescriptions commonly designated by the name Talmud possesses for us no authority, from either the dogmatic or the practical standpoint.
Some took a critical-historical view of the written Torah as well, while others appeared to adopt a neo-Karaite "back to the Bible" approach, though often with greater emphasis on the prophetic than on the legal books.
Present day[edit]
See also Halakha: Views today and Halakha: The sources and process of Halakha.
Orthodox Judaism continues to stress the importance of Talmud study as a central component of Yeshiva curriculum, in particular for those training to become Rabbis. This is so even though Halakha is generally studied from the medieval codes and not directly from the Talmud. Talmudic study amongst the laity is widespread in Orthodox Judaism, with daily or weekly Talmud study particularly common in Haredi Judaism and with Talmud study a central part of the curriculum in Orthodox Yeshivas and day schools. The regular study of Talmud among laymen has been popularized by the Daf Yomi, a daily course of Talmud study initiated by Rabbi Meir Shapiro in 1923; its 13th cycle of study began on August, 2012. The Rohr Jewish Learning Institute has popularized the "MyShiur - Explorations in Talmud" to show how the Talmud is relevant to a wide range of people. [51]
Conservative Judaism similarly emphasizes the study of Talmud within its religious and rabbinic education. Generally, however, Conservative Jews study the Talmud as a historical source-text for Halakha. The Conservative approach to legal decision-making emphasizes placing classic texts and prior decisions in historical and cultural context, and examining the historical development of Halakha. This approach has resulted in greater practical flexibility than that of the Orthodox. Talmud study forms part of the curriculum of Conservative parochial education at many Conservative day-schools, and an increase in Conservative day-school enrollments has resulted in an increase in Talmud study as part of Conservative Jewish education among a minority of Conservative Jews. See also: The Conservative Jewish view of the Halakha.
Reform Judaism does not emphasize the study of Talmud to the same degree in their Hebrew schools, but they do teach it in their rabbinical seminaries; the world view of liberal Judaism rejects the idea of binding Jewish law, and uses the Talmud as a source of inspiration and moral instruction. Ownership and reading of the Talmud is not widespread among Reform and Reconstructionist Jews, who usually place more emphasis on the study of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh.
Talmud in the visual arts[edit]
In Carl Schleicher's paintings[edit]
Rabbies and talmudists studying and debating Talmud abound in the art of Austrian painter Carl Schleicher (1825-1903); active in Vienna, esp. c. 1859–1871.




Jewish Scene II




A Controversy Whatsoever on Talmud.[52]




At the Rabbi's.




Jewish Scene I.

Talmud in Jewish art[edit]




Jews studying Talmud, París, c. 1880-1905




Samuel Hirszenberg, Talmudic School, c. 1895-1908.




Adolf Behrman, Talmudists, c. 1910-1915




Ephraim Moses Lilien, The Talmud Students, engraving, 1915




Maurycy Trębacz, The Dispute, c. 1920-1940




Solomon's Haggadoth, bronze relief from the Knesset Menorah, Jerusalem, by Benno Elkan, 1956.




Hilel's Teachings, bronze relief from the Knesset Menorah




Jewish Mysticism: Jochanan ben Sakkai, bronze relief from the Knesset Menorah

Other contexts[edit]
The study of Talmud is not restricted to those of the Jewish religion and has attracted interest in other cultures.
Christian scholars have long expressed an interest in the study of Talmud which has helped illuminate their own scriptures. Talmud contains biblical exegesis and commentary on Tanakh that will often clarify elliptical and esoteric passages. The Talmud contains possible references to Jesus Christ and his disciples, while the Christian canon makes mention of Talmudic figures and contains teachings that can be paralleled within the Talmud and Midrash. The Talmud provides cultural and historical context to the Gospel and the writings of the Apostles.[53]
South Koreans reportedly hope to emulate Jews' high academic standards by studying Jewish literature. Almost every household has a translated copy of the Talmud, which parents read to their children, and the book is part of the primary-school curriculum.[54][55]
Criticism[edit]
Part of a series on
Criticism of religion

By religion
Buddhism ·
 Christianity  (Catholicism ·
 Jehovah's Witnesses ·
 Seventh-day Adventist)
   ·
 Protestantism ·
 Hinduism ·
 Islam  (Twelver Islam)
   ·
 Jainism ·
 Judaism ·
 Mormonism ·
 Sikhism
 
By religious figure
Jesus ·
 Moses ·
 Muhammad ·
 Ellen G. White
 
By text
Bible ·
 Book of Mormon ·
 Quran ·
 Talmud
 
Critics
Mikhail Bakunin ·
 Giordano Bruno ·
 Richard Dawkins ·
 Denis Diderot ·
 Epicurus ·
 Ludwig Feuerbach ·
 Stephen Fry ·
 Sita Ram Goel ·
 Emma Goldman ·
 Sam Harris ·
 Ayaan Hirsi Ali ·
 Christopher Hitchens ·
 Baron d'Holbach ·
 David Hume ·
 Robert G. Ingersoll ·
 Karl Marx ·
 Friedrich Nietzsche ·
 Michel Onfray ·
 Thomas Paine ·
 Pierre-Joseph Proudhon ·
 Ayn Rand ·
 André Servier ·
 David Silverman ·
 Max Stirner ·
 Bertrand Russell ·
 Dayananda Saraswati ·
 Victor J. Stenger ·
 Voltaire
 
Religious violence
Terrorism ·
 War ·
 Buddhism ·
 Christianity ·
 Islam ·
 Judaism ·
 Mormonism
 
Related topics
Abuse ·
 Apostasy ·
 Crisis of faith ·
 Criticism of atheism ·
 Criticism of monotheism ·
 Persecution ·
 Sexuality ·
 Slavery
 
v ·
 t ·
 e
   
Historian Michael Levi Rodkinson, in his book The History of the Talmud, wrote that detractors of the Talmud, both during and subsequent to its formation, "have varied in their character, objects and actions" and the book documents a number of critics and persecutors, including Nicholas Donin, Johannes Pfefferkorn, Johann Andreas Eisenmenger, the Frankists, and August Rohling.[56] Many attacks come from antisemitic sources, particularly Christians such as Justinas Pranaitis, Elizabeth Dilling or David Duke. Criticisms also arise from Muslim sources,[57][58][59] Jewish sources,[60] and atheists and skeptics.[61] Accusations against the Talmud include alleged:[56][62][63][64][65][66][67]
1.Anti-Christian or anti-Gentile content[68][69][70][71]
2.Absurd or sexually immoral content[72]
3.Falsification of scripture[73][74][75]
Defenders of the Talmud argue that many of these criticisms, particularly those in antisemitic sources, are based on quotations that are taken out of context, and thus misrepresent the meaning of the Talmud's text. Sometimes the misrepresentation is deliberate, and other times simply due to an inability to grasp the subtle and sometimes confusing narratives in the Talmud. Some quotations provided by critics deliberately omit passages in order to generate quotes that appear to be offensive or insulting.[76][77]
Middle Ages[edit]
At the very time that the Babylonian savoraim put the finishing touches to the redaction of the Talmud, the emperor Justinian issued his edict against deuterosis (doubling, repetition) of the Hebrew Bible.[78] It is disputed whether, in this context, deuterosis means "Mishnah" or "Targum": in patristic literature, the word is used in both senses.
Full-scale attacks on the Talmud took place in the 13th century in France, where Talmudic study was then flourishing. In the 1230s, Nicholas Donin, a Jewish convert to Christianity, pressed 35 charges against the Talmud to Pope Gregory IX by translating a series of blasphemous passages about Jesus, Mary or Christianity. There is a quoted Talmudic passage, for example, where Jesus of Nazareth is sent to Hell to be boiled in excrement for eternity. Donin also selected an injunction of the Talmud that permits Jews to kill non-Jews. This led to the Disputation of Paris, which took place in 1240 at the court of Louis IX of France, where four rabbis, including Yechiel of Paris and Moses ben Jacob of Coucy, defended the Talmud against the accusations of Nicholas Donin. The translation of the Talmud from Hebrew to non-Jewish languages stripped Jewish discourse from its covering, something that was resented by Jews as a profound violation.[79] The Disputation of Paris led to the condemnation and the first burning of copies of the Talmud in Paris in 1242.[80][81][82] The burning of copies of the Talmud continued.[83]
The Talmud was likewise the subject of the Disputation of Barcelona in 1263 between Nahmanides (Rabbi Moses ben Nahman) and Christian convert, Pablo Christiani. This same Pablo Christiani made an attack on the Talmud that resulted in a papal bull against the Talmud and in the first censorship, which was undertaken at Barcelona by a commission of Dominicans, who ordered the cancellation of passages deemed objectionable from a Christian perspective (1264).[84][85]
At the Disputation of Tortosa in 1413, Geronimo de Santa Fé brought forward a number of accusations, including the fateful assertion that the condemnations of "pagans," "heathens," and "apostates" found in the Talmud were in reality veiled references to Christians. These assertions were denied by the Jewish community and its scholars, who contended that Judaic thought made a sharp distinction between those classified as heathen or pagan, being polytheistic, and those who acknowledge one true God (such as the Christians) even while worshipping the true monotheistic God incorrectly. Thus, Jews viewed Christians as misguided and in error, but not among the "heathens" or "pagans" discussed in the Talmud.[85]
Both Pablo Christiani and Geronimo de Santa Fé, in addition to criticizing the Talmud, also regarded it as a source of authentic traditions, some of which could be used as arguments in favour of Christianity. Examples of such traditions were statements that the Messiah was born around the time of the destruction of the Temple, and that the Messiah sat at the right hand of God.[86]
In 1415, Antipope Benedict XIII, who had convened the Tortosa disputation, issued a papal bull (which was destined, however, to remain inoperative) forbidding the Jews to read the Talmud, and ordering the destruction of all copies of it. Far more important were the charges made in the early part of the 16th century by the convert Johannes Pfefferkorn, the agent of the Dominicans. The result of these accusations was a struggle in which the emperor and the pope acted as judges, the advocate of the Jews being Johann Reuchlin, who was opposed by the obscurantists; and this controversy, which was carried on for the most part by means of pamphlets, became in the eyes of some a precursor of the Reformation.[85][87]
An unexpected result of this affair was the complete printed edition of the Babylonian Talmud issued in 1520 by Daniel Bomberg at Venice, under the protection of a papal privilege.[88] Three years later, in 1523, Bomberg published the first edition of the Jerusalem Talmud. After thirty years the Vatican, which had first permitted the Talmud to appear in print, undertook a campaign of destruction against it. On the New Year, Rosh Hashanah (September 9, 1553) the copies of the Talmud confiscated in compliance with a decree of the Inquisition were burned at Rome, in Campo dei Fiori (auto de fé). Other burnings took place in other Italian cities, such as the one instigated by Joshua dei Cantori at Cremona in 1559. Censorship of the Talmud and other Hebrew works was introduced by a papal bull issued in 1554; five years later the Talmud was included in the first Index Expurgatorius; and Pope Pius IV commanded, in 1565, that the Talmud be deprived of its very name. The convention of referring to the work as "Shas" (shishah sidre Mishnah) instead of "Talmud" dates from this time.[89]
The first edition of the expurgated Talmud, on which most subsequent editions were based, appeared at Basel (1578–1581) with the omission of the entire treatise of 'Abodah Zarah and of passages considered inimical to Christianity, together with modifications of certain phrases. A fresh attack on the Talmud was decreed by Pope Gregory XIII (1575–85), and in 1593 Clement VIII renewed the old interdiction against reading or owning it.[citation needed] The increasing study of the Talmud in Poland led to the issue of a complete edition (Kraków, 1602-5), with a restoration of the original text; an edition containing, so far as known, only two treatises had previously been published at Lublin (1559–76). In 1707 some copies of the Talmud were confiscated in the province of Brandenburg, but were restored to their owners by command of Frederick, the first king of Prussia.[citation needed] A further attack on the Talmud took place in Poland (in what is now Ukrainian territory) in 1757, when Bishop Dembowski, at the instigation of the Frankists, convened a public disputation at Kamianets-Podilskyi, and ordered all copies of the work found in his bishopric to be confiscated and burned.[90]
The external history of the Talmud includes also the literary attacks made upon it by some Christian theologians after the Reformation, since these onslaughts on Judaism were directed primarily against that work, the leading example being Eisenmenger's Entdecktes Judenthum (Judaism Unmasked) (1700).[91][92][93] In contrast, the Talmud was a subject of rather more sympathetic study by many Christian theologians, jurists and Orientalists from the Renaissance on, including Johann Reuchlin, John Selden, Petrus Cunaeus, John Lightfoot and Johannes Buxtorf father and son.[94]
19th century and after[edit]
The Vilna edition of the Talmud was subject to Russian government censorship, or self-censorship to meet government expectations, though this was less severe than some previous attempts: the title "Talmud" was retained and the tractate Avodah Zarah was included. Most modern editions are either copies of or closely based on the Vilna edition, and therefore still omit most of the disputed passages. Although they were not available for many generations, the removed sections of the Talmud, Rashi, Tosafot and Maharsha were preserved through rare printings of lists of errata, known as Chesronos Hashas ("Omissions of the Talmud").[95] Many of these censored portions were recovered ironically enough from uncensored manuscripts in the Vatican Library. Some modern editions of the Talmud contain some or all of this material, either at the back of the book, in the margin, or in its original location in the text.[96]
In 1830, during a debate in the French Chamber of Peers regarding state recognition of the Jewish faith, Admiral Verhuell declared himself unable to forgive the Jews whom he had met during his travels throughout the world either for their refusal to recognize Jesus as the Messiah or for their possession of the Talmud.[97] In the same year the Abbé Chiarini published at Paris a voluminous work entitled "Théorie du Judaïsme," in which he announced a translation of the Talmud, advocating for the first time a version that would make the work generally accessible, and thus serve for attacks on Judaism: only two out of the projected six volumes of this translation appeared.[98] In a like spirit 19th-century anti-Semitic agitators often urged that a translation be made; and this demand was even brought before legislative bodies, as in Vienna. The Talmud and the "Talmud Jew" thus became objects of anti-Semitic attacks, for example in August Rohling's Der Talmudjude (1871), although, on the other hand, they were defended by many Christian students of the Talmud, notably Hermann Strack.[99]
Further attacks from anti-Semitic sources include Justinas Pranaitis' The Talmud Unmasked: The Secret Rabbinical Teachings Concerning Christians (1892)[100] and Elizabeth Dilling's The Plot against Christianity (1964).[101] The criticisms of the Talmud in many modern pamphlets and websites are often recognisable as verbatim quotes from one or other of these.[citation needed]
Contemporary accusations[edit]
Criticism of the Talmud is widespread, in great part through the internet.[102] The Anti-Defamation League's report on this topic states that antisemitic critics of the Talmud frequently use erroneous translations or selective quotations in order to distort the meaning of the Talmud's text, and sometimes fabricate passages. In addition, the attackers rarely provide full context of the quotations, and fail to provide contextual information about the culture that the Talmud was composed in, nearly 2,000 years ago.[103]
Gil Student, an internet author, states that many attacks on the Talmud are merely recycling discredited material that originated in the 13th-century disputations, particularly from Raymond Marti and Nicholas Donin, and that the criticisms are based on quotations taken out of context, and are sometimes entirely fabricated.[104]
See also[edit]

Portal icon Judaism portal
Baraita
Daf Yomi
Ein Yaakov
Hadran (Talmud)
Jesus in the Talmud
List of logical arguments in the Talmud
Minor Tractates
Rashi
Shas Pollak
Siyum
Siyum HaShas
Talmudical hermeneutics
Notes[edit]
1.Jump up ^ See, Strack, Hermann, Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash, Jewish Publication Society, 1945. pp.11-12. "[The Oral Torah] was handed down by word of mouth during a long period...The first attempts to write down the traditional matter, there is reason to believe, date from the first half of the second post-Christian century." Strack theorizes that the growth of a Christian canon (the New Testament) was a factor that influenced the Rabbis to record the oral Torah in writing.
2.Jump up ^ The theory that the destruction of the Temple and subsequent upheaval led to the committing of Oral Torah into writing was first explained in the Epistle of Sherira Gaon and often repeated. See, for example, Grayzel, A History of the Jews, Penguin Books, 1984, p. 193.
3.Jump up ^ For the meaning of "page" in this context see under #Printing.
4.Jump up ^ Jacobs, Louis, Structure and form in the Babylonian Talmud, Cambridge University Press, 1991, p.2
5.Jump up ^ http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Gemara
6.Jump up ^ e.g. Pirkei Avot 5.21: "five for the Torah, ten for Mishnah, thirteen for the commandments, fifteen for talmud".
7.Jump up ^ "Talmud". A Concise Companion to the Jewish Religion. Louis Jacobs. Oxford University Press, 1999, page 261
8.Jump up ^ "Palestinian Talmud". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica. 2010. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
9.Jump up ^ The Yerushalmi--the Talmud of the land of Israel: an introduction, Jacob Neusner, J. Aronson, 1993
10.Jump up ^ Eusebius (circa 330 CE). "XVIII: He speaks of their Unanimity respecting the Feast of Easter, and against the Practice of the Jews". Vita Constantini III. Retrieved June 21, 2009. Check date values in: |date= (help)
11.Jump up ^ "Talmud and Midrash (Judaism) :: The making of the Talmuds: 3rd-6th century". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2008. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
12.Jump up ^ Steinsaltz, Adin (1976). The Essential Talmud. BasicBooks, A Division of HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 0-465-02063-1.
13.Jump up ^ "Judaic Treasures of the Library of Congress: The Talmud". American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise.
14.Jump up ^ Sáenz-Badillos, Ángel and John Elwolde. 1996. A history of the Hebrew language. P.170-171: "There is general agreement that two main periods of RH (Rabbinical Hebrew) can be distinguished. The first, which lasted until the close of the Tannaitic era (around 200 CE), is characterized by RH as a spoken language gradually developing into a literary medium in which the Mishnah, Tosefta, baraitot, and Tannaitic midrashim would be composed. The second stage begins with the Amoraim, and sees RH being replaced by Aramaic as the spoken vernacular, surviving only as a literary language. Then it continued to be used in later rabbinic writings until the 10th century in, for example, the Hebrew portions of the two Talmuds and in midrashic and haggadic literature."
15.Jump up ^ Amnon Raz-Krakotzkin. The Censor, the Editor, and the Text: The Catholic Church and the Shaping of the Jewish Canon in the Sixteenth Century. Trans. Jackie Feldman. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2007. viii + 314 ISBN 978-0-8122-4011-5. p104
16.Jump up ^ Christiane Berkvens-Stevelinck Le Magasin De L'Univers - The Dutch Republic As the Centre of the European Book Trade (Brill's Studies in Intellectual History)
17.Jump up ^ Printing the Talmud: a history of the individual treatises p239 Marvin J. Heller - 1999 "The Benveniste Talmud, according to Rabbinovicz, was based on the Lublin Talmud which included many of the censors' errors"
18.Jump up ^ The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia Isaac Landman - 1941 "His greatest work was the translation of the entire Babylonian Talmud into German, which, as it was made from the uncensored text and was the only complete translation in a European language, was of great value for students."
19.Jump up ^ Friedman, “Variant Readings in the Babylonian Talmud — A Methodological Study Marking the Appearance of 13 Volumes of the Institute for the Complete Israeli Talmud’s Edition,” Tarbiz 68 (1998).
20.Jump up ^ Amar, Yosef. "Talmud Bavli be-niqqud Temani". Nosachteiman.co.il.
21.Jump up ^ Julius Joseph Price, The Yemenite ms. of Megilla (in the Library of Columbia university), 1916; Pesahim, 1913; Mo'ed Katon, 1920.
22.Jump up ^ Ackerman, Matthew. “America’s Most Important Jewish Event?”, 'Commentary', June 26, 2012.
23.Jump up ^ "Queen for a Day", Tablet Magazine, 5 February 2013
24.Jump up ^ The other Oz ve-Hadar editions are similar but without the explanation in modern Hebrew.
25.Jump up ^ http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4229886,00.html Introducing: Talmud in Arabic
26.Jump up ^ http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4237798,00.html
27.Jump up ^ As Pirkei Avot is a tractate of the Mishnah, and reached its final form centuries before the compilation of either Talmud, this refers to talmud as an activity rather than to any written compilation.
28.Jump up ^ Sefer ha-Ner on Berachot
29.Jump up ^ For a list see Ephraim Urbach, s.v. "Tosafot," in Encyclopedia of Religion.
30.Jump up ^ See Pilpul, Mordechai Breuer, in Encyclopaedia Judaica, Vol. 16, 2nd Ed (2007), Macmillan Reference, USA and H.H. Ben Sasson, A History of the Jewish People, pp. 627, 717.
31.Jump up ^ Kol Melechet Higgayon, the Hebrew translation of Averroes' epitome of Aristotle's logical works, was widely studied in northern Italy, particularly Padua.
32.Jump up ^ Boyarin, Sephardi Speculation (Hebrew) (Jerusalem 1989).
33.Jump up ^ For a comprehensive treatment, see Ravitzky, below.
34.Jump up ^ Faur is here describing the tradition of Damascus, though the approach in other places may have been similar.
35.Jump up ^ Examples of lessons using this approach may be found here.
36.Jump up ^ Cf. the distinction in the Ashkenazi yeshivah curriculum between beki'ut (basic familiarization) and 'iyyun (in-depth study).
37.Jump up ^ David ben Judah Messer Leon, Kevod Ḥakhamim, cited by Zimmels, Ashkenazim and Sephardim, pp. 151 and 154.
38.Jump up ^ Chaim Joseph David Azulai, Shem Gedolim, cited Hirschberg, A History of the Jews in North Africa, pp 125-6.
39.Jump up ^ Joseph Ringel, "A Third Way: Iyyun Tunisai as a Traditional Critical Method of Talmud Study", Tradition 2013 46:3.
40.Jump up ^ Rav Avraham Yitzchok Ha-Cohen Kook, zt"l, Late Chief Rabbi of Israel (February 17, 2008). "A labor of great magnitude stands before us, to repair the break between the Talmudic deliberations and the halachic decisions... to accustom students of the Gemara to correlate knowledge of all the halacha with its source and reason...". Halacha Brura and Birur Halacha Institute. Retrieved 20 September 2010. It should not be confused with the halachic compendium of the same name by Rabbi David Yosef.
41.Jump up ^ As Yonah Fraenkel shows in his book Darko Shel Rashi be-Ferusho la-Talmud ha-Bavli, one of Rashi's major accomplishments was textual emendation. Rabbenu Tam, Rashi's grandson and one of the central figures in the Tosafist academies, polemicizes against textual emendation in his less studied work Sefer ha-Yashar. However, the Tosafists, too, emended the Talmudic text (See e.g. Baba Kamma 83b s.v. af haka'ah ha'amurah or Gittin 32a s.v. mevutelet) as did many other medieval commentators (see e.g. R. Shlomo ben Aderet, Hiddushei ha-Rashb"a al ha-Sha"s to Baba Kamma 83b, or Rabbenu Nissim's commentary to Alfasi on Gittin 32a).
42.Jump up ^ Etkes, Immanuel (2002). The Gaon of Vilna. University of California Press. p. 16. ISBN 0-520-22394-2.
43.Jump up ^ Solomon Schechter, Studies in Judaism p.92.
44.Jump up ^ Introduction to Sokoloff, Dictionary of Jewish Babylonian Aramaic.
45.Jump up ^ Treasury of Talmudic Manuscripts, Jewish National and University Library
46.Jump up ^ See under #Manuscripts and textual variants, below.
47.Jump up ^ See particularly his controversial dissertation, Mar Samuel, available at archive.org (German).
48.Jump up ^ http://www.talmudha-igud.org.il/default.asp?lang=en
49.Jump up ^ Yaacov Elman (November 2012). Steven Fine and Shai Secunda, ed. Shoshannat Yaakov: Jewish and Iranian Studies in Honor of Yaakov Elman. Brill Academic Pub Publishers. ISBN 978-9004235441. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
50.Jump up ^ Shai Secunda (October 2013). The Iranian Talmud: Reading the Bavli in Its Sasanian Context. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0812245707. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
51.Jump up ^ Lakein, Dvora (December 28, 2007). "Chabad Unveils Talmudic Study Program In 15 Cities". New York. Merkos L'inyonei Chinuch.
52.Jump up ^ See Schleicher's paintings at MutualArt.
53.Jump up ^ "Why Christians Should Study Torah and Talmud". Bridges for Peace. Retrieved July 3, 2006.
54.Jump up ^ Hirschfield, Tzofia (2011-05-12). "Why Koreans study Talmud". Jewish World. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
55.Jump up ^ Alper, Tim (2011-05-12). "Why South Koreans are in love with Judaism". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
56.^ Jump up to: a b Rodkinson
57.Jump up ^ Lewis, Bernard, Semites and anti-Semites: an inquiry into conflict and prejudice, W. W. Norton & Company, 1999, p. 134
58.Jump up ^ Johnson, Paul, A history of the Jews, HarperCollins, 1988, p. 577
59.Jump up ^ Arab attitudes to Israel, Yehoshafat Harkabi, p. 248, 272
60.Jump up ^ Such as Uriel da Costa, Israel Shahak and Baruch Kimmerling
61.Jump up ^ Such as Christopher Hitchens and Denis Diderot
62.Jump up ^ Hyam Maccoby, Judaism on Trial
63.Jump up ^ ADL report The Talmud in Anti-Semitic Polemics, Anti-Defamation League
64.Jump up ^ Student, Gil - Rebuttals to criticisms of Talmud
65.Jump up ^ Bacher, Wilhelm, "Talmud", article in Jewish Encyclopedia, Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1901
66.Jump up ^ Article online
67.Jump up ^ See especially sections "Attacks on the Talmud" at
68.Jump up ^ Fraade, pp. 144-146
69.Jump up ^ Kimmerling, Baruch, "Images of Gentiles" (book review), Journal of Palestine Studies, April 1997, Vol. 26, No. 3, pp. 96–98
70.Jump up ^ Siedman, p. 137
71.Jump up ^ Cohn-Sherbok, p. 48
72.Jump up ^ Steinsaltz, pp. 268-270
73.Jump up ^ See, for example, Uriel DaCosta, quoted by Nadler, p. 68
74.Jump up ^ Cohn-Sherbok, p. 47
75.Jump up ^ Wilhelm Bacher, "Talmud", article in Jewish Encyclopedia
76.Jump up ^ ADL report, p. 1-2
77.Jump up ^ For examples of some selective quoting and omissions, see:Responses to criticisms by Gil Student:Responses to criticisms by Michael Gruda
78.Jump up ^ Nov. 146.1.2.
79.Jump up ^ Naomi Seidman, Faithful Renderings: Jewish-Christian Difference and the Politics of Translation, pp. 136-138
80.Jump up ^ Rodkinson, pp 66–69
81.Jump up ^ Levy, p 701
82.Jump up ^ For a Hebrew account of the Paris Disputation, see Jehiel of Paris, "The Disputation of Jehiel of Paris" (Hebrew), in Collected Polemics and Disputations, ed. J. D. Eisenstein, Hebrew Publishing Company, 1922; Translated and reprinted by Hyam Maccoby in Judaism on Trial: Jewish-Christian Disputations in the Middle Ages, 1982
83.Jump up ^ James Carroll Constantine's sword: the church and the Jews : a history
84.Jump up ^ Cohn-Sherbok, pp 50-54
85.^ Jump up to: a b c Maccoby
86.Jump up ^ Hyam Maccoby, op. cit.
87.Jump up ^ Roth, Norman, Medieval Jewish civilization: an encyclopedia, Taylor & Francis, 2003, p. 83
88.Jump up ^ Rodkinson, p 98
89.Jump up ^ Hastings, James. Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics Part 23, p 186
90.Jump up ^ Rodkinson, pp 100-103
91.Jump up ^ Rodkinson, p. 105
92.Jump up ^ Levy, p. 210
93.Jump up ^ Boettcher, Susan R., "Entdecktes Judenthum", article in Levy, p. 210
94.Jump up ^ Berlin, George L., Defending the faith: nineteenth-century American Jewish writings on Christianity and Jesus, SUNY Press, 1989, p 156
95.Jump up ^ Chesronos Hashas
96.Jump up ^ The Talmud: The Steinsaltz Edition, pp. 103-104 Heller, Marvin J. (1999). Printing the Talmud: a history of the individual treatises printed from 1700 to 1750. Basel: Brill Publishers. pp. 17, 166.
97.Jump up ^ Archives Israelites, 1851 vol 12 (French Wikisource)
98.Jump up ^ Jewish Encyclopedia article on Luigi Chiarini
99.Jump up ^ Rodkinson, pp 109-114
100.Jump up ^ Levy, p 564
101.Jump up ^ Jeansonne, Glen, Women of the Far Right: The Mothers' Movement and World War II, University of Chicago Press, 1997, pp 168-169
102.Jump up ^ Jones, Jeremy (June 1999). "Talmudic Terrors". Australia/Israel Review. Retrieved 2008-06-12. "If any reader doubts the maliciousness, virulence and prevalence of such material in cyber-space, it is well worth a visit to the Internet site known as Talmud Exposé (www.geocities.com/Athens/Cyprus/8815 [now at http://www.oocities.org/athens/cyprus/8815/]), in which Melbourne's David Maddison has performed the Herculean task of responding, one by one, to the hundreds of "anti-Talmud" quotes, lies and themes he has encountered on the Internet.".
103.Jump up ^ "The Talmud in Anti-Semitic Polemics" (PDF) (Press release). Anti-Defamation League. February 2003. Retrieved September 16, 2010. "By selectively citing various passages from the Talmud and Midrash, polemicists have sought to demonstrate that Judaism espouses hatred for non-Jews (and specifically for Christians), and promotes obscenity, sexual perversion, and other immoral behavior. To make these passages serve their purposes, these polemicists frequently mistranslate them or cite them out of context (wholesale fabrication of passages is not unknown).…In distorting the normative meanings of rabbinic texts, anti-Talmud writers frequently remove passages from their textual and historical contexts. Even when they present their citations accurately, they judge the passages based on contemporary moral standards, ignoring the fact that the majority of these passages were composed close to two thousand years ago by people living in cultures radically different from our own. They are thus able to ignore Judaism's long history of social progress and paint it instead as a primitive and parochial religion. Those who attack the Talmud frequently cite ancient rabbinic sources without noting subsequent developments in Jewish thought, and without making a good-faith effort to consult with contemporary Jewish authorities who can explain the role of these sources in normative Jewish thought and practice."
104.Jump up ^ Student, Gil (2000). "The Real Truth About The Talmud". Retrieved September 16, 2010. "Anti-Talmud accusations have a long history dating back to the 13th century when the associates of the Inquisition attempted to defame Jews and their religion [see Yitzchak Baer, A History of Jews in Christian Spain, vol. I pp. 150-185]. The early material compiled by hateful preachers like Raymond Martini and Nicholas Donin remain the basis of all subsequent accusations against the Talmud. Some are true, most are false and based on quotations taken out of context, and some are total fabrications [see Baer, ch. 4 f. 54, 82 that it has been proven that Raymond Martini forged quotations]. On the Internet today we can find many of these old accusations being rehashed…"
References[edit]
Nathan T. Lopes Cardozo The Infinite Chain: Torah, Masorah, and Man (Philipp Feldheim, 1989). ISBN 0-944070-15-9
Aryeh Carmell (December 1986). Aiding Talmud study. Feldheim Publishers. ISBN 978-0-87306-428-6. Retrieved 29 August 2011. (includes Samuel ha-Nagid's Mevo ha-Talmud, see next section)
Zvi Hirsch Chajes Mevo Hatalmud, transl. Jacob Shachter: The Students' Guide Through The Talmud (Yashar Books, 2005). ISBN 1-933143-05-3
Dan Cohn-Sherbok (1994). Judaism and other faiths. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-312-10384-2. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
Fraade, Steven D, "Navigating the Anomalous: Non-Jews at the Intersection of Early Rabbinic Law and Narrative", in Laurence Jay Silberstein; Robert L. Cohn (1 August 1994). The Other in Jewish thought and history: constructions of Jewish culture and identity. NYU Press. pp. 145–165. ISBN 978-0-8147-7990-3. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
R. Travers Herford (15 February 2007). Christianity in Talmud and Midrash. KTAV Publishing House, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88125-930-8. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
D. Landesman A Practical Guide to Torah Learning (Jason Aronson, 1995). ISBN 1-56821-320-4
Emmanuel Lévinas; Annette Aronowicz (February 1994). Nine Talmudic readings. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-20876-7. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
Levy, Richard S., Antisemitism: a historical encyclopedia of prejudice and persecution, Volume 2, ABC-CLIO, 2005. See articles: "Talmud Trials", "Entdecktes Judenthum", "The Talmud Jew", "David Duke", "August Rohling", and "Johannes Pfefferkorn".
Hyam Maccoby; Jehiel ben Joseph (of Paris) (1993). Judaism on trial: Jewish-Christian disputations in the Middle Ages. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. ISBN 978-1-874774-16-7. Retrieved 29 August 2011. A compendium of primary source materials, with commentary.
Maimonides Introduction to the Mishneh Torah (English translation)
Maimonides Introduction to the Commentary on the Mishnah (Hebrew Fulltext), transl. Zvi Lampel (Judaica Press, 1998). ISBN 1-880582-28-7
Aaron Parry The Complete Idiot's Guide to The Talmud (Alpha Books, 2004). ISBN 1-59257-202-2
Rodkinson, Michael Levi, The history of the Talmud from the time of its formation, about 200 B.C., up to the present time, The Talmud Society, 1918
Jonathan Rosen (25 October 2001). The Talmud and the Internet: A Journey Between Worlds. Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-8264-5534-5. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
Adin Steinsaltz (11 September 2006). The essential Talmud. Basic Books. ISBN 978-0-465-08273-5. Retrieved 29 August 2011. Read more here. See also here.
Adin Steinsaltz The Talmud: A Reference Guide (Random House, 1996). ISBN 0-679-77367-3
Logic and methodology[edit]
Samuel ha-Nagid, Mevo ha-Talmud
Joseph ben Judah ibn Aknin, Mevo ha-Talmud
Zerachiah Halevi, Sefer ha-Tzava
Samson of Chinon, Sefer ha-Keritut
Jacob Hagiz, Teḥillat Ḥochmah (included in most editions of Keritut)
collective, ed. Abraham ibn Akra, Meharere Nemarim
Joseph ibn Verga, She'erit Yosef
Isaac Campanton, Darche ha-Talmud
David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra, Kelale ha-Gemara
Bezalel Ashkenazi, Kelale ha-Gemara
Yeshu’ah b. Yosef ha-Levi, Halichot Olam Joseph Caro, Kelale ha-Gemara (commentary on Halichot Olam)
Solomon Algazi, Yavin Shemu’ah (commentary on Halichot Olam)
Yisrael Ya'akov Algazi, Ar'a de-Rabbanan
Serillo, Samuel, Kelale Shemuel
Horowitz, Isaiah, Shene Luchot ha-Berit (section on Torah she-be-al-Pe)
Moses Chaim Luzzatto, Derech Tevunot, translated into English as The Ways of Reason, Feldheim 1988, ISBN 978-0-87306-495-8 same, Sefer ha-Higgayon, translated into English as The Book of Logic, Feldheim 1995, ISBN 978-0-87306-707-2
de Oliveira, Solomon, Darche Noam
Malachi ha-Cohen, Yad Malachi
Aryeh Leib HaCohen Heller, Shev Shema'tata
Goitein, B., Kesef Nivhar
Ezechia Bolaffi, Ben Zekunim vol. 1
Moshe Amiel, Ha-Middot le-Ḥeqer ha-Halachah, vol. 1, vol. 2, vol. 3
Modern scholarly works[edit]
Hanoch Albeck, Mavo la-talmudim
Daniel Boyarin, Sephardi Speculation: A Study in Methods of Talmudic Interpretation (Hebrew), Machon Ben Zvi: Jerusalem, 1989
Yaakov Elman, "Order, Sequence, and Selection: The Mishnah’s Anthological Choices,” in David Stern, ed. The Anthology in Jewish Literature (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004) 53-80
Y. N. Epstein, Mevo-ot le-Sifrut haTalmudim
David Weiss Halivni, Mekorot u-Mesorot (Jerusalem: Jewish Theological Seminary, 1982 on)
Louis Jacobs, "How Much of the Babylonian Talmud is Pseudepigraphic?" Journal of Jewish Studies 28, No. 1 (1977), pp. 46–59
Saul Lieberman, Hellenism in Jewish Palestine (New York: Jewish Theological Seminary, 1950)
Moses Mielziner, Introduction to the Talmud: repr. 1997, hardback ISBN 978-0-8197-0156-5, paperback ISBN 978-0-8197-0015-5
Jacob Neusner, Sources and Traditions: Types of Compositions in the Talmud of Babylonia (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1992).
Aviram Ravitzky, Aristotelian Logic and Talmudic Methodology (Hebrew): Jerusalem 2009, ISBN 978-965-493-459-6
Andrew Schumann, Talmudic Logic: (London: College Publications 2012), ISBN 978-1-84890-072-1
Strack, Herman L. and Stemberger, Gunter, Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash, tr. Markus Bockmuehl: repr. 1992, hardback ISBN 978-0-567-09509-1, paperback ISBN 978-0-8006-2524-5
On individual tractates[edit]
Moshe Benovitz, Berakhot chapter 1: Iggud le-Farshanut ha-Talmud (Hebrew, with English summary)
Stephen Wald, Shabbat chapter 7: Iggud le-Farshanut ha-Talmud (Hebrew, with English summary)
Aviad Stollman, Eruvin chapter 10: Iggud le-Farshanut ha-Talmud (Hebrew, with English summary)
Aaron Amit, Pesachim chapter 4: Iggud le-Farshanut ha-Talmud (Hebrew, with English summary)
Netanel Baadani, Sanhedrin chapter 5: Iggud le-Farshanut ha-Talmud (Hebrew, with English summary)
Moshe Benovitz, Sukkah chapters 4-5: Iggud le-Farshanut ha-Talmud (Hebrew, with English summary)
Historical study[edit]
Shalom Carmy (ed.) Modern Scholarship in the Study of Torah: Contributions and Limitations Jason Aronson, Inc.
Richard Kalmin Sages, Stories, Authors and Editors in Rabbinic Babylonia Brown Judaic Studies
David C. Kraemer, On the Reliability of Attributions in the Babylonian Talmud, Hebrew Union College Annual 60 (1989), pp. 175–90
Lee Levine, Ma'amad ha-Hakhamim be-Eretz Yisrael (Jerusalem: Yad Yizhak Ben-Zvi, 1985), (=The Rabbinic Class of Roman Palestine in Late Antiquity)
Saul Lieberman, Hellenism in Jewish Palestine (New York: Jewish Theological Seminary, 1950)
John W. McGinley, 'The Written' as the Vocation of Conceiving Jewishly. ISBN 0-595-40488-X
David Bigman, Finding A Home for Critical Talmud Study
External links[edit]
 Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Talmud

 Wikiquote has quotations related to: Talmud
General[edit]
Talmud, jewishencyclopedia.com
Talmud Commentaries, jewishencyclopedia.com
Jewish History: Talmud, aish.com
Talmud/Mishnah/Gemara, jewishvirtuallibrary.org
Jewish Law Research Guide, University of Miami Law Library
A survey of rabbinic literature, Ohr Somayach
Introduction To The Talmud For The Novice, Rabbi M. Taub
Pshita, Talmud Study 2.0 (Hebrew)
Refutation of allegations concerning the Talmud[edit]
Talmud: The Real Truth About The Talmud, by Gil Student
The Talmud in Anti-Semitic Polemics, Anti-Defamation League.
The Real Truth about the Talmud
Falsifiers of the Talmud
Full text resources[edit]
Talmud Bavli (Soncino translation) (English). The Soncino Press translation of the Talmud Bavli in downloadable PDF format. Everything is present except for the index volume and the minor-tractates volumes.[1] About 63% of the translation is also available in the form of ordinary HTML webpages for those who prefer them.[2]
Mishnah (Hebrew)
Tosefta (Hebrew)
Talmud Yerushalmi (Hebrew)
Talmud Bavli (Hebrew)
Full searchable Talmud on Snunit (Hebrew)
Rodkinson English translation See above, under #Translations of Talmud Bavli.
E-Daf Images of each page of the Babylonian Talmud
Tractate Megillah: .pdf download showing Yemenite vocalization
Shas.org Daf Viewer (Hebrew)
Manuscripts and textual variants[edit]
Treasury of Talmudic Manuscripts, Jewish National and University Library Treasury of Talmudic Manuscripts, search by tractate - search engine for readings in different manuscripts (shows facsimile of individual pages)
The Munich Talmud (Cod.hebr. 95)
The Saul Lieberman Institute - another search engine (shows results in Hebrew text, not as facsimile)
Yad Harav Herzog: manuscript request form - a third search engine
Layout[edit]
"A Page from the Babylonian Talmud" image map from Prof. Eliezer Segal
"Daf Yomi" program[edit]
A general resource for Daf Yomi
Point by point summary and discussion by daf
Calendar for this Daf Yomi cycle
Daf-A-Week: A project to study a daf per week
Daf Yomi in MP3 - by Rabbi Ephraim Schreibman
Audio[edit]
Shiurim on the Talmud, mp3shiur.com
MP3 Talmud Shiurim by Rav Nissan Kaplan of Mir Yeshiva, Jerusalem
Tractate Sukkah by page, showing Yemenite vocalization and recordings of pronunciation
Shas.org


[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Jews and Judaism































































































































































































































































































































































































Category
Portal
WikiProject




Authority control
NDL: 00572715
 

  


Categories: Talmud
Mishnah
Jewish texts
Oral Torah










Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Alemannisch
العربية
Azərbaycanca
বাংলা
Беларуская
Беларуская (тарашкевіца)‎
Български
Bosanski
Català
Čeština
Dansk
Deutsch
Eesti
Ελληνικά
Español
Esperanto
Euskara
فارسی
Français
Frysk
Gaeilge
Gaelg
Gàidhlig
Galego
한국어
Հայերեն
Hrvatski
Bahasa Indonesia
Interlingua
Íslenska
Italiano
עברית
Basa Jawa
ქართული
Қазақша
Kiswahili
Кырык мары
Ladino
Latina
Latviešu
Lietuvių
Magyar
മലയാളം
مصرى
Bahasa Melayu
Nederlands
नेपाल भाषा
日本語
Norsk bokmål
Norsk nynorsk
Occitan
ਪੰਜਾਬੀ
Piemontèis
Polski
Português
Română
Русский
Shqip
Sicilianu
Simple English
Slovenčina
Slovenščina
کوردیی ناوەندی
Српски / srpski
Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски
Suomi
Svenska
Tagalog
தமிழ்
Türkçe
Українська
اردو
Tiếng Việt
ייִדיש
粵語
中文
Edit links
This page was last modified on 6 June 2015, at 07:02.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
    
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talmud#Criticism














Criticism of the Quran

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search


Quran
Quran calligraphy

Text[show]









Content[show]












Reading[show]








Translations[show]





History[show]





Exegesis[show]











Related[show]







Category ·
 Islam portal
 
v ·
 t ·
 e
   
Part of a series on
Criticism of religion

By religion
Buddhism ·
 Christianity  (Catholicism ·
 Jehovah's Witnesses ·
 Seventh-day Adventist)
   ·
 Protestantism ·
 Hinduism ·
 Islam  (Twelver Islam)
   ·
 Jainism ·
 Judaism ·
 Mormonism ·
 Sikhism
 
By religious figure
Jesus ·
 Moses ·
 Muhammad ·
 Ellen G. White
 
By text
Bible ·
 Book of Mormon ·
 Quran ·
 Talmud
 
Critics
Mikhail Bakunin ·
 Giordano Bruno ·
 Richard Dawkins ·
 Denis Diderot ·
 Epicurus ·
 Ludwig Feuerbach ·
 Stephen Fry ·
 Sita Ram Goel ·
 Emma Goldman ·
 Sam Harris ·
 Ayaan Hirsi Ali ·
 Christopher Hitchens ·
 Baron d'Holbach ·
 David Hume ·
 Robert G. Ingersoll ·
 Karl Marx ·
 Friedrich Nietzsche ·
 Michel Onfray ·
 Thomas Paine ·
 Pierre-Joseph Proudhon ·
 Ayn Rand ·
 André Servier ·
 David Silverman ·
 Max Stirner ·
 Bertrand Russell ·
 Dayananda Saraswati ·
 Victor J. Stenger ·
 Voltaire
 
Religious violence
Terrorism ·
 War ·
 Buddhism ·
 Christianity ·
 Islam ·
 Judaism ·
 Mormonism
 
Related topics
Abuse ·
 Apostasy ·
 Crisis of faith ·
 Criticism of atheism ·
 Criticism of monotheism ·
 Persecution ·
 Sexuality ·
 Slavery
 
v ·
 t ·
 e
   
While the Quran is the scriptural foundation of Islam, criticism of the Quran has frequently occurred. Critics have made allegations of scientific and historical errors, claims of contradictions in the Quran and criticisms of the Quran's moral values.


Contents  [hide]
1 Historical authenticity
2 Claim of divine origin 2.1 Possible preexisting sources
2.2 Confusion over speaker of certain verses
2.3 Science in the Quran
2.4 Abrogation
2.5 Satanic verses
2.6 Intended audience
3 Morality 3.1 War and peace
3.2 Violence against women
3.3 Houris
4 Christians and Jews in the Quran
5 See also
6 References
7 External links 7.1 Critical sites
7.2 Muslim responses to criticism


Historical authenticity[edit]
See also: History of the Quran and Historicity of Muhammad
Most Muslims believe that the Quran is the literal word of God as recited to the Islamic prophet Muhammad through the angel Gabriel. Muhammad, according to tradition, recited perfectly what the angel Gabriel revealed to him for his companions to write down and memorize. Muslims hold that the wording of the Quranic text available today corresponds exactly to that revealed to Muhammad in the years 610–632.[1] Maurice Bucaille states in The Bible, The Qur'an and Science that "The Quranic Revelation has a history which is fundamentally different from the other two. It spanned a period of some twenty years and, as soon as it was transmitted to Muhammad by Archangel Gabriel, Believers learned it by heart. It was also written down during Muhammad's life. The last recensions of the Quran were effected under Caliph Uthman starting some twelve years after the Prophet's death and finishing twenty-four years after it. They had the advantage of being checked by people who already knew the text by heart, for they had learned it at the time of the Revelation itself and had subsequently recited it constantly. Since then, we know that the text has been scrupulously preserved. It does not give rise to any problems of authenticity."[2]
In their book Hagarism: The Making of the Islamic World, Patricia Crone and Michael Cook challenge the traditional account of how the Quran was compiled, writing that "there is no hard evidence for the existence of the Koran in any form before the last decade of the seventh century."[3] Crone, Wansbrough, and Nevo argue that all the primary sources which exist are from 150–300 years after the events which they describe, and thus are chronologically far removed from those events[4][5][6]



 Quran from the 9th century. It was alleged to be a 7th-century original from Uthman era
It is generally acknowledged that the work of Crone and Cook was a fresh approach in its reconstruction of early Islamic history, but the theory has been almost universally rejected.[7] Van Ess has dismissed it stating that "a refutation is perhaps unnecessary since the authors make no effort to prove it in detail ... Where they are only giving a new interpretation of well-known facts, this is not decisive. But where the accepted facts are consciously put upside down, their approach is disastrous."[8] R. B. Serjeant states that "[Crone and Cook's thesis]… is not only bitterly anti-Islamic in tone, but anti-Arabian. Its superficial fancies are so ridiculous that at first one wonders if it is just a 'leg pull', pure 'spoof'."[9] Francis Edwards Peters states that "Few have failed to be convinced that what is in our copy of the Quran is, in fact, what Muhammad taught, and is expressed in his own words".[10]
In 2006, legal scholar Liaquat Ali Khan claimed that Crone and Cook later explicitly disavowed their earlier book.[11][12] Patricia Crone in an article published in 2006 provided an update on the evolution of her conceptions since the printing of the thesis in 1976. In the article she acknowledges that Muhammad existed as a historical figure and that the Quran represents "utterances" of his that he believed to be revelations. However she states that the Quran may not be the complete record of the revelations. She also accepts that oral histories and Muslim historical accounts cannot be totally discounted, but remains skeptical about the traditional account of the Hijrah and the standard view that Muhammad and his tribe were based in Mecca. She describes the difficulty in the handling of the hadith because of their "amorphous nature" and purpose as documentary evidence for deriving religious law rather than as historical narratives.[13]
The author of the Apology of al-Kindy Abd al-Masih ibn Ishaq al-Kindi (not the famed philosopher al-Kindi) claimed that the narratives in the Quran were "all jumbled together and intermingled" and that this was "an evidence that many different hands have been at work therein, and caused discrepancies, adding or cutting out whatever they liked or disliked".[14] Bell and Watt suggested that the variation in writing style throughout the Quran, which sometimes involves the use of rhyming, may have indicated revisions to the text during its compilation. They claimed that there were "abrupt changes in the length of verses; sudden changes of the dramatic situation, with changes of pronoun from singular to plural, from second to third person, and so on".[15] At the same time, however, they noted that "[i]f any great changes by way of addition, suppression or alteration had been made, controversy would almost certainly have arisen; but of that there is little trace." They also note that "Modern study of the Quran has not in fact raised any serious question of its authenticity. The style varies, but is almost unmistakable."[16]
Claim of divine origin[edit]
See also: Wahy, Quran and miracles and Legends and the Quran
Critics reject the idea that the Quran is miraculously perfect and impossible to imitate (2:2, 17:88-89, 29:47, 28:49). The Jewish Encyclopedia, for example, writes: "The language of the Koran is held by the Mohammedans to be a peerless model of perfection. Critics, however, argue that peculiarities can be found in the text. For example, critics note that a sentence in which something is said concerning Allah is sometimes followed immediately by another in which Allah is the speaker (examples of this are suras xvi. 81, xxvii. 61, xxxi. 9, and xliii. 10.) Many peculiarities in the positions of words are due to the necessities of rhyme (lxix. 31, lxxiv. 3), while the use of many rare words and new forms may be traced to the same cause (comp. especially xix. 8, 9, 11, 16)."[17] According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, "The dependence of Mohammed upon his Jewish teachers or upon what he heard of the Jewish Haggadah and Jewish practices is now generally conceded."[17] Early jurists and theologians of Islam mentioned some Jewish influence but they also say where it is seen and recognized as such, it is perceived as a debasement or a dilution of the authentic message. Bernard Lewis describes this as "something like what in Christian history was called a Judaizing heresy."[18] According to Moshe Sharon, the story of Muhammad having Jewish teachers is a legend developed in the 10th century A.D.[19] Philip Schaff described the Quran as having "many passages of poetic beauty, religious fervor, and wise counsel, but mixed with absurdities, bombast, unmeaning images, low sensuality."[20]
Possible preexisting sources[edit]
See also: Biblical narratives and the Quran
John Wansbrough believes that the Quran is a redaction in part of other sacred scriptures, in particular the Judaeo-Christian scriptures.[21][22] Herbert Berg writes that "Despite John Wansbrough's very cautious and careful inclusion of qualifications such as 'conjectural,' and 'tentative and emphatically provisional', his work is condemned by some. Some of the negative reaction is undoubtedly due to its radicalness... Wansbrough's work has been embraced wholeheartedly by few and has been employed in a piecemeal fashion by many. Many praise his insights and methods, if not all of his conclusions."[23] Gerd R. Puin's study of ancient Quran manuscripts led him to conclude that the Quran is a "cocktail of texts", some of which may have been present a hundred years before Muhammad.[3]
Confusion over speaker of certain verses[edit]
Bell and Watt thought that cases where the speaker is swearing an oath by God, such as surahs 75:1-2 and 90:1, seem unlikely to be coming from God. They also thought that Surahs 19:64 and 37:161-166 were spoken by angels, describing their being sent by God down to Earth.[24]
Science in the Quran[edit]
See also: Qur'an and science and Islamic views on evolution
Quranic verses 3:59, 35:11, 96:2, 20:55, 6:1, 24:45, 15:26, 7:11, and 19:67 are all related to the origin of mankind. Some critics of Islam and many Muslims state that the Quran and modern evolutionary theory are not compatible.[25][26] This has led to a contribution by Muslims to the creation vs. evolution debate.[27] Some Muslims have pointed to certain Quranic verses (such as 21:30, 71:13–14, 29:19–20, 6:133–135, 10:4) that they think are in fact compatible with evolutionary science,[28] but others think that only creationism is supported by the Quran and the hadith.[29]
Ahmad Dallal, Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at Georgetown University, writes that many modern Muslims believe that the Quran does make scientific statements, however many classical Muslim commentators and scientists, notably al-Biruni, assigned to the Quran a separate and autonomous realm of its own and held that the Quran "does not interfere in the business of science nor does it infringe on the realm of science."[30] These medieval scholars argued for the possibility of multiple scientific explanations of the natural phenomena, and refused to subordinate the Quran to an ever-changing science.[30]
Abrogation[edit]
Naskh (نسخ) is an Arabic language word usually translated as "abrogation"; it shares the same root as the words appearing in the phrase al-nāsikh wal-mansūkh (الناسخ والمنسوخ, "the abrogater and the abrogated [verses]"). The concept of "abrogation" in the Quran is that God chose to reveal ayat (singular ayah; means a sign or miracle, commonly a verse in the Quran) that supersede earlier ayat in the same Quran. The central ayah that deals with abrogation is Surah 2:106:
"We do not abrogate a verse or cause it to be forgotten except that We bring forth [one] better than it or similar to it. Do you not know that Allah is over all things competent?"[31]
Philip Schaff argues that the concept of abrogation was developed to "remove" contradictions found in the Quran:
"It abounds in repetitions and contradictions, which are not removed by the convenient theory of abrogation."[20]
Muhammad Husayn Tabatabaei believes abrogation in Quranic verses is not an indication of contradiction but an indication of addition and supplementation. As an example he mentions 2:109[32] where -according to him- it clearly states the forgiveness is not permanent and soon there will be another command (through another verse) on this subject that completes the matter. He also mentions 4:15[32] where the abrogated verse indicates its temporariness.[33]
Satanic verses[edit]
Main article: Satanic Verses
Some criticism of the Quran has revolved around what are known as the "Satanic Verses". Some early Islamic histories recount that as Muhammad was reciting Sūra Al-Najm (Q.53), as revealed to him by the angel Gabriel, Satan tempted him to utter the following lines after verses 19 and 20: "Have you thought of Al-lāt and al-'Uzzā and Manāt the third, the other; These are the exalted Gharaniq, whose intercession is hoped for." The Allāt, al-'Uzzā and Manāt were three goddesses worshiped by the Meccans. These histories then say that these 'Satanic Verses' were repudiated shortly afterward by Muhammad at the behest of Gabriel.[34] Academic scholars such as William Montgomery Watt and Alfred Guillaume argued for its authenticity based upon the implausibility of Muslims fabricating a story so unflattering to their prophet. Watt says that "the story is so strange that it must be true in essentials."[35] On the other hand, John Burton rejected the tradition. In an inverted culmination of Watt's approach, Burton argued for its fictitiousness based upon a demonstration of its actual utility to certain elements of the Muslim community – namely, those legal exegetes seeking an "occasion of revelation" for eradicatory modes of abrogation.[36]
The incident of the Satanic Verses is put forward by some critics as evidence of the Quran's origins as a human work of Muhammad. Maxime Rodinson describes this as a conscious attempt to achieve a consensus with pagan Arabs, which was then consciously rejected as incompatible with Muhammad's attempts to answer the criticism of contemporary Arab Jews and Christians,[37] linking it with the moment at which Muhammad felt able to adopt a "hostile attitude" towards the pagan Arabs.[38] Rodinson writes that the story of the Satanic Verses is unlikely to be false because it was "one incident, in fact, which may be reasonably accepted as true because the makers of Muslim tradition would not have invented a story with such damaging implications for the revelation as a whole".[39] In a caveat to his acceptance of the incident, William Montgomery Watt, states: "Thus it was not for any worldly motive that Muhammad eventually turned down the offer of the Meccans, but for a genuinely religious reason; not for example, because he could not trust these men nor because any personal ambition would remain unsatisfied, but because acknowledgment of the goddesses would lead to the failure of the cause, of the mission he had been given by God."[40]

"If it [i.e. the Quran] had been from someone other than God, they would have found much contradiction in it." This encouragement of Muhammad's enemies to claim inconsistency and contradiction, is argued, was pronounced in a hostile environment during the Quran's revelation.[41]
Intended audience[edit]
Some verses of the Quran are assumed to be directed towards all of Muhammad's followers while other verses are directed more specifically towards Muhammad and his wives, yet others are directed towards the whole of humanity. (33:28, 33:50, 49:2, 58:1, 58:9 66:3).
Other scholars argue that variances in the Quran's explicit intended audiences are irrelevant to claims of divine origin - and for example that Muhummad's wives "specific divine guidance, occasioned by their proximity to the Prophet (Muhammad)" where "Numerous divine reprimands addressed to Muhammad's wives in the Quran establish their special responsibility to overcome their human frailties and ensure their individual worthiness",[42] or argue that the Quran must be interpreted on more than one level.[43] (See:[44]).
Morality[edit]
See also: Islamic ethics
According to some critics, the morality of the Quran, like the life story of Muhammad, appears to be a moral regression, by the standards of the moral traditions of Judaism and Christianity it says that it builds upon. The Catholic Encyclopedia, for example, states that "the ethics of Islam are far inferior to those of Judaism and even more inferior to those of the New Testament" and "that in the ethics of Islam there is a great deal to admire and to approve, is beyond dispute; but of originality or superiority, there is none."[45] William Montgomery Watt however finds Muhammad's changes an improvement for his time and place: "In his day and generation Muhammad was a social reformer, indeed a reformer even in the sphere of morals. He created a new system of social security and a new family structure, both of which were a vast improvement on what went before. By taking what was best in the morality of the nomad and adapting it for settled communities, he established a religious and social framework for the life of many races of men."[46]
War and peace[edit]
Main article: Quran and violence
The Quran's teachings on matters of war and peace have become topics of heated discussion in recent years. On the one hand, some critics, such as Sam Harris, interpret that certain verses of the Quran sanction military action against unbelievers as a whole both during the lifetime of Muhammad and after. Harris argues that Muslim extremism is simply a consequence of taking the Qur'an literally, and is skeptical that moderate Islam is possible.[47][48] On the other hand, other scholars argue that such verses of the Quran are interpreted out of context,[49][50] and Muslims of the Ahmadiyya movement argue that when the verses are read in context it clearly appears that the Quran prohibits aggression,[51][52][53] and allows fighting only in self-defense.[54][55]
Kim Ezra Shienbaum and Jamal Hasan have claimed that a concept of 'Jihad', defined as 'struggle', has been introduced by the Quran. They claim that while Muhummad was in Mecca, he "did not have many supporters and was very weak compared to the Pagans", and "it was at this time he added some 'soft', peaceful verses", whereas "almost all the hateful, coercive and intimidating verses later in the Quran were made with respect to Jihad" when Muhammad was in Medina (8:38-39, 8:65, 9:29-30, 48:16-22, 4:95, 9:111, 2:216-218, 8:15-17, 9:123, 8:12, 9:5, 2:190-194, 9:73).[56]
Micheline R. Ishay has argued that "the Quran justifies wars for self-defense to protect Islamic communities against internal or external aggression by non-Islamic populations, and wars waged against those who 'violate their oaths' by breaking a treaty" (9:12-15, 42:39).[57] Mufti M. Mukarram Ahmed has also argued that the Quran encourages people to fight in self-defense (9:38-41, 9:36-37, 4:74). He has also argued that the Quran has been used to direct Muslims to make all possible preparations to defend themselves against enemies (8:60).[58]
Shin Chiba and Thomas J. Schoenbaum argue that Islam "does not allow Muslims to fight against those who disagree with them regardless of belief system", but instead "urges its followers to treat such people kindly" (4:90, 8:61, 60:8).[59] Yohanan Friedmann has argued that the Quran does not promote fighting for the purposes of religious coercion, although the war as described is "religious" in the sense that the enemies of the Muslims are described as "enemies of God" (8:57-62).[60]
Rodrigue Tremblay has argued that the Quran commands that non-Muslims under a Muslim regime, should "feel themselves subdued" in "a political state of subservience" (4:89). He also argues that the Quran may assert freedom within religion (2:256).[61] Nisrine Abiad has argued that the Quran incorporates the offence (and due punishment) of "rebellion" into the offence of "highway or armed robbery" (5:33).[62]
George W. Braswell has argued that the Quran asserts an idea of Jihad to deal with "a sphere of disobedience, ignorance and war" (47:4, 49:15, 2:244-245).[63]
Michael David Bonner has argued that the "deal between God and those who fight is portrayed as a commercial transaction, either as a loan with interest, or else as a profitable sale of the life of this world in return for the life of the next", where "how much one gains depends on what happens during the transaction", either "paradise if slain in battle, or victory if one survives" (9:52).[64] Critics have argued that the Quran "glorified Jihad in many of the Medinese suras" and "criticized those who fail(ed) to participate in it" (47:20-21).[65]
Ali Ünal has claimed that the Quran praises the companions of Muhammad, for being stern and implacable against the said unbelievers, where in that "period of ignorance and savagery, triumphing over these people was possible by being strong and unyielding."[66][67]
Solomon Nigosian concludes that the "Quranic statement is clear" on the issue of fighting in defense of Islam as "a duty that is to be carried out at all costs", where "God grants security to those Muslims who fight in order to halt or repel aggression".[68]
Shaikh M. Ghazanfar argues that the Quran has been used to teach its followers that "the path to human salvation does not require withdrawal from the world but rather encourages moderation in worldly affairs", including fighting. (73:20).[69] Shabbir Akhtar has argued that the Quran asserts that if a people "fear Muhammad more than they fear God, 'they are a people lacking in sense'" rather than a fear being imposed upon them by God directly (59:13).[70]
Various calls to arms were identified in the Quran by US citizen Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar, all of which were cited as "most relevant to my actions on March 3, 2006" (9:44, 9:19, 57:10-11, 8:72-73, 9:120, 3:167-175, 4:66, 4:104, 9:81, 9:93-94, 9:100, 16:110, 61:11-12, 47:35).[71]
Violence against women[edit]
Main articles: Islam and Domestic violence and An-Nisa, 34
Verse 4:34 of the Quran as translated by Ali Quli Qara'i reads:
Men are in charge of women by [right of] what Allah has given one over the other and what they spend [for maintenance] from their wealth. So righteous women are devoutly obedient, guarding in [the husband's] absence what Allah would have them guard. But those [wives] from whom you fear arrogance - [first] advise them; [then if they persist], forsake them in bed; and [finally], strike them. But if they obey you [once more], seek no means against them. Indeed, Allah is ever Exalted and Grand.[72]
Many translations do not necessarily imply a chronological sequence, for example, Marmaduke Pickthall's, Muhammad Muhsin Khan's, or Arthur John Arberry's. Arberry's translation reads "admonish; banish them to their couches, and beat them."[73]
The Dutch film Submission, which rose to fame outside the Netherlands after the murder of its director Theo van Gogh by Muslim extremist Mohammed Bouyeri, critiqued this and similar verses of the Quran by displaying them painted on the bodies of abused Muslim women.[74] Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the film's writer, said "it is written in the Koran a woman may be slapped if she is disobedient. This is one of the evils I wish to point out in the film".[75]
Scholars of Islam have a variety of responses to these criticisms. (See An-Nisa, 34 for a fuller exegesis on the meaning of the text.) Some Muslim scholars say that the "beating" allowed is limited to no more than a light touch by siwak, or toothbrush.[76][77] Some Muslims argue that beating is only appropriate if a woman has done "an unrighteous, wicked and rebellious act" beyond mere disobedience.[78] In many modern interpretations of the Quran, the actions prescribed in 4:34 are to be taken in sequence, and beating is only to be used as a last resort.[79][80][81]
Many Islamic scholars and commentators have emphasized that beatings, where permitted, are not to be harsh[82][83][84] or even that they should be "more or less symbolic."[85] According to Abdullah Yusuf Ali and Ibn Kathir, the consensus of Islamic scholars is that the above verse describes a light beating.[86][87]
Some jurists argue that even when beating is acceptable under the Quran, it is still discountenanced.[88][89][90]
Shabbir Akhtar has argued that the Quran introduced prohibitions against "the pre-Islamic practice of female infanticide" (16:58, 17:31, 81:8).[91]
Houris[edit]
Main article: Houri
Max I. Dimont interprets that the Houris described in the Quran are specifically dedicated to "male pleasure".[92] Henry Martyn claims that the concept of the Houris was chosen to satisfy Mohammed's followers.[93]
Alternatively, Annemarie Schimmel says that the Quranic description of the Houris should be viewed in a context of love; "every pious man who lives according to God's order will enter Paradise where rivers of milk and honey flow in cool, fragrant gardens and virgin beloveds await home..."[94]
Under the Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Quran by Christoph Luxenberg, the words translating to "Houris" or "Virgins of Paradise" are instead interpreted as "Fruits (grapes)" and "high climbing (wine) bowers... made into first fruits".[95] Alternate interpretations of these Quranic verses are offered,[citation needed] including the idea that the Houris should be seen as having a specifically spiritual nature rather than a human nature; "these are all very sensual ideas; but there are also others of a different kind... what can be the object of cohabitation in Paradise as there can be no question of its purpose in the world, the preservation of the race. The solution of this difficulty is found by saying that, although heavenly food, women etc.., have the name in common with their earthly equivalents, it is only by way of metaphorical indication and comparison without actual identity... authors have spiritualized the Houris"[citation needed] and "later literature is able to give many more details of their physical beauty... they are so transparent that the marrow of their bones is visible through seventy silken garments. If they expectorate into the world, their spittle becomes musk...".[citation needed]
Christians and Jews in the Quran[edit]
See also: Islam and antisemitism and Islamic–Jewish relations
Jane Gerber claims that the Qur'an ascribes negative traits to Jews, such as cowardice, greed, and chicanery. She also alleges that the Qur'an associates Jews with interconfessional strife and rivalry (Quran 2:113), the Jewish belief that they alone are beloved of God (Quran 5:18), and that only they will achieve salvation (Quran 2:111).[96] According to the Encyclopedia Judaica, the Qur'an contains many attacks on Jews and Christians for their refusal to recognize Muhammad as a prophet.[97] In the Muslim view, the crucifixion of Jesus was an illusion, and thus the Jewish plots against him ended in failure.[98] In numerous verses[99] the Qur'an accuses Jews of altering the Scripture.[100] Karen Armstrong claims that there are "far more numerous passages in the Qur'an" which speak positively of the Jews and their great prophets, than those which were against the "rebellious Jewish tribes of Medina" (during Muhammad's time).[101] Sayyid Abul Ala believes the punishments were not meant for all Jews, and that they were only meant for the Jewish inhabitants that were sinning at the time.[101]
See also[edit]
Islam: What the West Needs to Know
Islam and science
Creation–evolution controversy
Criticism of the Bible
The Syro-Aramaic Reading Of The Koran
War against Islam
CriticismApostasy in Islam
Censorship by religion
Criticism of Muhammad
Criticism of Islam
Homosexuality and Islam
Islam and antisemitism
Islam and domestic violence
Islamic views on slavery
Islamic terrorism
Islamofascism
Women in Islam
ControversiesIslamic view of Ezra, concerns the claim in surah 9:30 of the Quran that the Jews believe Ezra (Uzair) is the son of God
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ John Esposito, Islam the Straight Path, Extended Edition, p.19-20
2.Jump up ^ Bucaille, Dr. Maurice (1977). The Bible, the Quran, and Science: The Holy Scriptures Examined in the Light of Modern Knowledge. TTQ, INC.f. p. 268. ISBN 978-1-879402-98-0.
3.^ Jump up to: a b Patricia Crone, Michael Cook, and Gerd R. Puin as quoted in Toby Lester (January 1999). "What Is the Koran?". The Atlantic Monthly.
4.Jump up ^ Yehuda D. Nevo "Towards a Prehistory of Islam," Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam, vol.17, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1994 p. 108.
5.Jump up ^ John Wansbrough The Sectarian Milieu: Content and Composition of Islamic Salvation History, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1978 p,119
6.Jump up ^ Patricia Crone, Meccan Trade and the Rise of Islam, Princeton University Press, 1987 p. 204.
7.Jump up ^ David Waines, Introduction to Islam, Cambridge, Eng.: Cambridge University Press, 1995. ISBN 0-521-42929-3, pp 273-274
8.Jump up ^ van Ess, "The Making Of Islam", Times Literary Supplement, Sep 8 1978, p. 998
9.Jump up ^ R. B. Serjeant, Journal of Royal Asiatic Society (1978) p. 78
10.Jump up ^ Peters, F. E. (Aug., 1991) "The Quest of the Historical Muhammad." International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 23, No. 3, pp. 291-315.
11.Jump up ^ Liaquat Ali Khan. "Hagarism: The Story of a Book Written by Infidels for Infidels". Retrieved 2006-06-12.
12.Jump up ^ Liaquat Ali Khan. "Hagarism: The Story of a Book Written by Infidels for Infidels". Retrieved 2006-06-09.
13.Jump up ^ What do we actually know about Mohammed?, by Patricia Crone
14.Jump up ^ Quoted in A. Rippin, Muslims: their religious beliefs and practices: Volume 1, London, 1991, p.26
15.Jump up ^ R. Bell & W.M. Watt, An introduction to the Quran, Edinburgh, 1977, p.93
16.Jump up ^ Bell's introduction to the Qurʼān By Richard Bell, William Montgomery Watt, p. 51: Google preview
17.^ Jump up to: a b "Koran". From the Jewish Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 21, 2008.
18.Jump up ^ Jews of Islam, Bernard Lewis, p. 70: Google Preview
19.Jump up ^ Studies in Islamic History and Civilization, Moshe Sharon, p. 347: Google Preview
20.^ Jump up to: a b Schaff, P., & Schaff, D. S. (1910). History of the Christian church. Third edition. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons. Volume 4, Chapter III, section 44 "The Koran, And The Bible"
21.Jump up ^ Wansbrough, John (1977). Quranic Studies: Sources and Methods of Scriptural Interpretation
22.Jump up ^ Wansbrough, John (1978). The Sectarian Milieu: Content and Composition of Islamic Salvation History.
23.Jump up ^ Berg, Herbert (2000). The development of exegesis in early Islam: the authenticity of Muslim literature from the formative period. Routledge. p. 251. ISBN 0-7007-1224-0.
24.Jump up ^ R. Bell & W.M. Watt, Introduction to the Quran, Edinburgh, 1977, pp.93-95
25.Jump up ^ Saleem, Shehzad (May 2000). "The Quranic View on Creation". Renaissance 10 (5). ISSN 1606-9382. Retrieved 2006-10-11.
26.Jump up ^ Ahmed K. Sultan Salem Evolution in the Light of Islam
27.Jump up ^ Paulson, Steve Seeing the light – of science
28.Jump up ^ Bazm-e-Tolu-e-Islam[dead link]
29.Jump up ^ Estes, Yusuf Islam Science Question: Evolution Or Creation? Does ISLAM Have the Answer?
30.^ Jump up to: a b Ahmad Dallal, Encyclopedia of the Quran, Quran and science
31.Jump up ^ "Surat Al-Baqarah [2:106] - The Noble Qur'an - القرآن الكريم". Quran.com. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
32.^ Jump up to: a b "Surat Al-Baqarah [2:109] - The Noble Qur'an - القرآن الكريم". Quran.com. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
33.Jump up ^ Al-Mizan, Muhammad Husayn Tabatabayei, commentation on 2:106 translation available here [1]
34.Jump up ^ "The Life of Muhammad", Ibn Ishaq, A. Guillaume (translator), 2002, p.166 ISBN 0-19-636033-1
35.Jump up ^ Watt, W. Montgomery (1961). Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman. Oxford University Press. p. 61. ISBN 0-19-881078-4.
36.Jump up ^ John Burton (1970). "Those Are the High-Flying Cranes". Journal of Semitic Studies 15: 246-264.
37.Jump up ^ Maxime Rodinson, Muhammad (Tauris Parke, London, 2002) (ISBN 1-86064-827-4) pp. 107-8.
38.Jump up ^ Maxime Rodinson, Muhammad (Tauris Parke, London, 2002) (ISBN 1-86064-827-4) p. 113.
39.Jump up ^ Maxime Rodinson, Muhammad (Tauris Parke, London, 2002) (ISBN 1-86064-827-4) p. 106
40.Jump up ^ W. Montgomery Watt, Muhammad at Mecca, Oxford, 1953. 'The Growth of Opposition', p.105
41.Jump up ^ Eerik Dickinson, Difficult Passages, Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān
42.Jump up ^ Women in the Quran, traditions, and interpretation by Barbara Freyer, page 85, Mothers of the Believers in the Quran
43.Jump up ^ Corbin (1993), p.7
44.Jump up ^ Quran#Levels of meaning
45.Jump up ^ "Mohammed and Mohammedanism". From the Catholic Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 21, 2008.
46.Jump up ^ W Montgomery Watt, Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman, chapter "ASSESSMENT" section "THE ALLEGED MORAL FAILURES", Op. Cit, p. 332.
47.Jump up ^ Harris, Sam (2005). The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason. W. W. Norton; Reprint edition. pp. 31, 149. ISBN 0-393-32765-5.
48.Jump up ^ Harris makes a similar argument about hadith, saying "[a]ccording to a literalist reading of the hadith (the literature that recounts the sayings and the actions of the Prophet) if a Muslim decides that he no longer wants to be a Muslim, he should be put to death. If anyone ventures the opinion that the Koran is a mediocre book of religious fiction or that Muhammad was a schizophrenic, he should also be killed. It should go without saying that a desire to kill people for imaginary crimes like apostasy and blasphemy is not an expression of religious moderation." "Who Are the Moderate Muslims?," The Huffington Post, February 16, 2006 (accessed 11/16/2013)
49.Jump up ^ Sohail H. Hashmi, David Miller, Boundaries and Justice: diverse ethical perspectives, Princeton University Press, p.197
50.Jump up ^ Khaleel Muhammad, professor of religious studies at San Diego State University, states, regarding his discussion with the critic Robert Spencer, that "when I am told ... that Jihad only means war, or that I have to accept interpretations of the Quran that non-Muslims (with no good intentions or knowledge of Islam) seek to force upon me, I see a certain agendum developing: one that is based on hate, and I refuse to be part of such an intellectual crime." [2]
51.Jump up ^ Ali, Maulana Muhammad; The Religion of Islam (6th Edition), Ch V "Jihad" Page 414 "When shall war cease". Published by The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement [3]
52.Jump up ^ Sadr-u-Din, Maulvi. "Quran and War", page 8. Published by The Muslim Book Society, Lahore, Pakistan. [4]
53.Jump up ^ Article on Jihad by Dr. G. W. Leitner (founder of The Oriental Institute, UK) published in Asiatic Quarterly Review, 1886. ("jihad, even when explained as a righteous effort of waging war in self defense against the grossest outrage on one's religion, is strictly limited..")
54.Jump up ^ The Quranic Commandments Regarding War/Jihad An English rendering of an Urdu article appearing in Basharat-e-Ahmadiyya Vol. I, p. 228-232, by Dr. Basharat Ahmad; published by the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement for the Propagation of Islam
55.Jump up ^ Ali, Maulana Muhammad; The Religion of Islam (6th Edition), Ch V "Jihad" Pages 411-413. Published by The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement [5]
56.Jump up ^ Beyond Jihad: Critical Voices from Inside Islam. Academica Press, LLC. 2006. pp. 78–80. ISBN 1-933146-19-2.
57.Jump up ^ Ishay, Micheline. The history of human rights. Berkeley: University of California. p. 45. ISBN 0-520-25641-7.
58.Jump up ^ Mufti M. Mukarram Ahmed (2005). Encyclopaedia of Islam - 25 Vols. New Delhi: Anmol Publications Pvt. Ltd. pp. 386–389. ISBN 81-261-2339-7.
59.Jump up ^ Schoenbaum, Thomas J.; Chiba, Shin (2008). Peace Movements and Pacifism After September 11. Edward Elgar Publishing. pp. 115–116. ISBN 1-84720-667-0.
60.Jump up ^ Friedmann, Yohanan (2003). Tolerance and coercion in Islam: interfaith relations in the Muslim tradition. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. pp. 94–95. ISBN 0-521-82703-5.
61.Jump up ^ Tremblay, Rodrigue (2009). The Code for Global Ethics: Toward a Humanist Civilization. Trafford Publishing. pp. 169–170. ISBN 1-4269-1358-3.
62.Jump up ^ Nisrine Abiad (2008). Sharia, Muslim States and International Human Rights Treaty Obligations: A Comparative Study. British Institute for International & Compara. p. 24. ISBN 1-905221-41-X.
63.Jump up ^ Braswell, George W.; George W., Jr Braswell (2000). What you need to know about Islam & Muslims. Nashville, Tenn: Broadman & Holman Publishers. p. 38. ISBN 0-8054-1829-6.
64.Jump up ^ Bonner, Michael David (2006). Jihad in Islamic history: doctrines and practice. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press. p. 32. ISBN 0-691-12574-0.
65.Jump up ^ Peters, Rudolph Albert (2008). Jihad in classical and modern Islam: a reader. Princeton: Markus Wiener Publishers. p. 46. ISBN 1-55876-359-7.
66.Jump up ^ 48:29
67.Jump up ^ Ali Unal (2008). The Quran with Annotated Interpretation in Modern English. Rutherford, N.J: The Light, Inc. p. 249. ISBN 1-59784-144-7.
68.Jump up ^ Nigosian, S. A. (2004). Islam: its history, teaching, and practices. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-21627-3.
69.Jump up ^ Ghazanfar, Shaikh M. (2003). Medieval Islamic economic thought: filling the "great gap" in European economics. London: RoutledgeCurzon. ISBN 0-415-29778-8.
70.Jump up ^ Akhtar, Shabbir (2008). The Quran and the secular mind: a philosophy of Islam. New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-43783-0.
71.Jump up ^ Taheri-azar, Mohammed Reza (2006). Wikisource link to Letter to The daily Tar Heel. Wikisource.
72.Jump up ^ "Surat An-Nisa' [4:34] - The Noble Qur'an - القرآن الكريم". Quran.com. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
73.Jump up ^ Bernard Lewis A Middle East Mosaic: Fragments of Life, Letters and History (Modern Library, 2001) p.184 ISBN 0375758372
74.Jump up ^ Script for the movie, Submission
75.Jump up ^ Hirsi Ali on Film over Position of Women in Koran
76.Jump up ^ "Wife Beating in Islamic Perspective - Marital relationships - counsels". OnIslam.net. 2013-03-14. Retrieved 2013-06-11.
77.Jump up ^ "Articles and FAQs about Islam, Muslims, Allah, Muhammad, Quran, Hadith, Woman, Fiqh and Fatwa". Islamicfinder.org. Retrieved 2013-06-11.
78.Jump up ^ Quranic Perspective on Wife beating and Abuse, by Fatimah Khaldoon, Submission, 2003. Retrieved April 16, 2006.
79.Jump up ^ Abdullah Yusuf Ali in his Quranic commentary states that: "In case of family jars four steps are mentioned, to be taken in that order. (1) Perhaps verbal advice or admonition may be sufficient; (2) if not, sex relations may be suspended; (3) if this is not sufficient, some slight physical correction may be administered; but Imam Shafi'i considers this inadvisable, though permissible, and all authorities are unanimous in deprecating any sort of cruelty, even of the nagging kind, as mentioned in the next clause; (4) if all this fails, a family council is recommended in 4:35 below." Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Quran: Text, Translation and Commentary (commentary on 4:34), Amana Corporation, Brentwood, MD, 1989. ISBN 0-915957-03-5.
80.Jump up ^ Yusuf al-Qaradawi, head of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, says that "If the husband senses that feelings of disobedience and rebelliousness are rising against him in his wife, he should try his best to rectify her attitude by kind words, gentle persuasion, and reasoning with her. If this is not helpful, he should sleep apart from her, trying to awaken her agreeable feminine nature so that serenity may be restored, and she may respond to him in a harmonious fashion. If this approach fails, it is permissible for him to beat her lightly with his hands, avoiding her face and other sensitive parts.[6][dead link].[7][dead link]
81.Jump up ^ Ibn Kathir writes that in case of rebellious behavior, the husband is asked to urge his wife to mend her ways, then to refuse to share their beds, and as the last resort, husbands are allowed to admonish their wives by beating. Ibn Kathir, “Tafsir of Ibn Kathir”, Al-Firdous Ltd., London, 2000, 50-53
82.Jump up ^ Yusuf al-Qaradawi, head of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, says that "It is permissible for him to beat her lightly with his hands, avoiding her face and other sensitive parts. In no case should he resort to using a stick or any other instrument that might cause pain and injury."[8][dead link][9][dead link]
83.Jump up ^ Ibn Kathir Ad-Damishqee records in his Tafsir Al-Quran Al-Azim that "Ibn `Abbas and several others said that the Ayah refers to a beating that is not violent. Al-Hasan Al-Basri said that it means, a beating that is not severe."
84.Jump up ^ Ahmad Shafaat, Tafseer of Surah an-Nisa, Ayah 34, Islamic Perspectives. August 10, 2005
85.Jump up ^ One such authority is the earliest hafiz, Ibn Abbas.[10]
86.Jump up ^ "The Holy Quran: Text, Translation and Commentary", Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Amana Corporation, Brentwood, MD, 1989. ISBN 0-915957-03-5, passage was quoted from commentary on 4:34
87.Jump up ^ Kathir, Ibn, “Tafsir of Ibn Kathir”, Al-Firdous Ltd., London, 2000, 50-53
88.Jump up ^ Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi comments that "Whenever the Prophet (peace be on him) permitted a man to administer corporal punishment to his wife, he did so with reluctance, and continued to express his distaste for it. And even in cases where it is necessary, the Prophet (peace be on him) directed men not to hit across the face, nor to beat severely nor to use anything that might leave marks on the body." "Towards Understanding the Quran" Translation by Zafar I. Ansari from "Tafheem Al-Quran" (specifically, commentary on 4:34) by Syed Abul-A'ala Mawdudi, Islamic Foundation, Leicester, England.
89.Jump up ^ The medieval jurist ash-Shafi'i, founder of one of the main schools of fiqh, commented on this verse that "hitting is permitted, but not hitting is preferable."
90.Jump up ^ "[S]ome of the greatest Muslim scholars (e.g., Ash-Shafi'i) are of the opinion that it is just barely permissible, and should preferably be avoided: and they justify this opinion by the Prophet's personal feelings with regard to this problem." Muhammad Asad, The Message of the Quran (his translation of the Quran).
91.Jump up ^ Akhtar, Shabbir (2008). The Quran and the secular mind: a philosophy of Islam. New York: Routledge. p. 351. ISBN 0-415-43782-2.
92.Jump up ^ The Indestructible Jews, by Max I. Dimont, page 134
93.Jump up ^ Controversial Tracts on Christianity and Mohammedanism, by Henry Martyn, page 131
94.Jump up ^ Islam: An Introduction, by Annemarie Schimmel, Page 13, "Muhammad"
95.Jump up ^ The Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Quran, by Christoph Luxenberg, pages 247-282 - The Huris or Virgins of Paradise
96.Jump up ^ Gerber (1986), pp. 78–79 "Anti-Semitism and the Muslim World". In History and Hate: The Dimensions of Anti-Semitism, ed. David Berger. Jewish Publications Society. ISBN 0-8276-0267-7
97.Jump up ^ Poliakov, Leon (1997). "Anti-Semitism". Encyclopedia Judaica (CD-ROM Edition Version 1.0). Ed. Cecil Roth. Keter Publishing House. ISBN 965-07-0665-8
98.Jump up ^ Lewis (1999), p. 120
99.Jump up ^ See, for example from Gerber 91, 3:63; 3:71; 4:46; 4:160–161; 5:41–44, 5:63–64, 5:82; 6:92
100.Jump up ^ Gerber 78
101.^ Jump up to: a b Maududi, Sayyid Abul Ala (1967). The Meaning of the Quran.
External links[edit]


 This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (August 2010)

Critical sites[edit]
The Skeptics Annotated Quran
Faithfreedom.org - Faith Freedom International

Muslim responses to criticism[edit]
Muslim Responses website
Call to Monotheism website
Five Common Myths About Islam



[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Islam topics











































































































































































































































[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Criticism of religion
































































































































  


Categories: Criticism of Islam
Islam-related controversies
Quran











Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
العربية
فارسی
Bahasa Melayu
日本語
Türkçe
اردو
Zazaki
Edit links
This page was last modified on 25 April 2015, at 20:13.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
  

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_the_Quran














Criticism of the Quran

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search


Quran
Quran calligraphy

Text[show]









Content[show]












Reading[show]








Translations[show]





History[show]





Exegesis[show]











Related[show]







Category ·
 Islam portal
 
v ·
 t ·
 e
   
Part of a series on
Criticism of religion

By religion
Buddhism ·
 Christianity  (Catholicism ·
 Jehovah's Witnesses ·
 Seventh-day Adventist)
   ·
 Protestantism ·
 Hinduism ·
 Islam  (Twelver Islam)
   ·
 Jainism ·
 Judaism ·
 Mormonism ·
 Sikhism
 
By religious figure
Jesus ·
 Moses ·
 Muhammad ·
 Ellen G. White
 
By text
Bible ·
 Book of Mormon ·
 Quran ·
 Talmud
 
Critics
Mikhail Bakunin ·
 Giordano Bruno ·
 Richard Dawkins ·
 Denis Diderot ·
 Epicurus ·
 Ludwig Feuerbach ·
 Stephen Fry ·
 Sita Ram Goel ·
 Emma Goldman ·
 Sam Harris ·
 Ayaan Hirsi Ali ·
 Christopher Hitchens ·
 Baron d'Holbach ·
 David Hume ·
 Robert G. Ingersoll ·
 Karl Marx ·
 Friedrich Nietzsche ·
 Michel Onfray ·
 Thomas Paine ·
 Pierre-Joseph Proudhon ·
 Ayn Rand ·
 André Servier ·
 David Silverman ·
 Max Stirner ·
 Bertrand Russell ·
 Dayananda Saraswati ·
 Victor J. Stenger ·
 Voltaire
 
Religious violence
Terrorism ·
 War ·
 Buddhism ·
 Christianity ·
 Islam ·
 Judaism ·
 Mormonism
 
Related topics
Abuse ·
 Apostasy ·
 Crisis of faith ·
 Criticism of atheism ·
 Criticism of monotheism ·
 Persecution ·
 Sexuality ·
 Slavery
 
v ·
 t ·
 e
   
While the Quran is the scriptural foundation of Islam, criticism of the Quran has frequently occurred. Critics have made allegations of scientific and historical errors, claims of contradictions in the Quran and criticisms of the Quran's moral values.


Contents  [hide]
1 Historical authenticity
2 Claim of divine origin 2.1 Possible preexisting sources
2.2 Confusion over speaker of certain verses
2.3 Science in the Quran
2.4 Abrogation
2.5 Satanic verses
2.6 Intended audience
3 Morality 3.1 War and peace
3.2 Violence against women
3.3 Houris
4 Christians and Jews in the Quran
5 See also
6 References
7 External links 7.1 Critical sites
7.2 Muslim responses to criticism


Historical authenticity[edit]
See also: History of the Quran and Historicity of Muhammad
Most Muslims believe that the Quran is the literal word of God as recited to the Islamic prophet Muhammad through the angel Gabriel. Muhammad, according to tradition, recited perfectly what the angel Gabriel revealed to him for his companions to write down and memorize. Muslims hold that the wording of the Quranic text available today corresponds exactly to that revealed to Muhammad in the years 610–632.[1] Maurice Bucaille states in The Bible, The Qur'an and Science that "The Quranic Revelation has a history which is fundamentally different from the other two. It spanned a period of some twenty years and, as soon as it was transmitted to Muhammad by Archangel Gabriel, Believers learned it by heart. It was also written down during Muhammad's life. The last recensions of the Quran were effected under Caliph Uthman starting some twelve years after the Prophet's death and finishing twenty-four years after it. They had the advantage of being checked by people who already knew the text by heart, for they had learned it at the time of the Revelation itself and had subsequently recited it constantly. Since then, we know that the text has been scrupulously preserved. It does not give rise to any problems of authenticity."[2]
In their book Hagarism: The Making of the Islamic World, Patricia Crone and Michael Cook challenge the traditional account of how the Quran was compiled, writing that "there is no hard evidence for the existence of the Koran in any form before the last decade of the seventh century."[3] Crone, Wansbrough, and Nevo argue that all the primary sources which exist are from 150–300 years after the events which they describe, and thus are chronologically far removed from those events[4][5][6]



 Quran from the 9th century. It was alleged to be a 7th-century original from Uthman era
It is generally acknowledged that the work of Crone and Cook was a fresh approach in its reconstruction of early Islamic history, but the theory has been almost universally rejected.[7] Van Ess has dismissed it stating that "a refutation is perhaps unnecessary since the authors make no effort to prove it in detail ... Where they are only giving a new interpretation of well-known facts, this is not decisive. But where the accepted facts are consciously put upside down, their approach is disastrous."[8] R. B. Serjeant states that "[Crone and Cook's thesis]… is not only bitterly anti-Islamic in tone, but anti-Arabian. Its superficial fancies are so ridiculous that at first one wonders if it is just a 'leg pull', pure 'spoof'."[9] Francis Edwards Peters states that "Few have failed to be convinced that what is in our copy of the Quran is, in fact, what Muhammad taught, and is expressed in his own words".[10]
In 2006, legal scholar Liaquat Ali Khan claimed that Crone and Cook later explicitly disavowed their earlier book.[11][12] Patricia Crone in an article published in 2006 provided an update on the evolution of her conceptions since the printing of the thesis in 1976. In the article she acknowledges that Muhammad existed as a historical figure and that the Quran represents "utterances" of his that he believed to be revelations. However she states that the Quran may not be the complete record of the revelations. She also accepts that oral histories and Muslim historical accounts cannot be totally discounted, but remains skeptical about the traditional account of the Hijrah and the standard view that Muhammad and his tribe were based in Mecca. She describes the difficulty in the handling of the hadith because of their "amorphous nature" and purpose as documentary evidence for deriving religious law rather than as historical narratives.[13]
The author of the Apology of al-Kindy Abd al-Masih ibn Ishaq al-Kindi (not the famed philosopher al-Kindi) claimed that the narratives in the Quran were "all jumbled together and intermingled" and that this was "an evidence that many different hands have been at work therein, and caused discrepancies, adding or cutting out whatever they liked or disliked".[14] Bell and Watt suggested that the variation in writing style throughout the Quran, which sometimes involves the use of rhyming, may have indicated revisions to the text during its compilation. They claimed that there were "abrupt changes in the length of verses; sudden changes of the dramatic situation, with changes of pronoun from singular to plural, from second to third person, and so on".[15] At the same time, however, they noted that "[i]f any great changes by way of addition, suppression or alteration had been made, controversy would almost certainly have arisen; but of that there is little trace." They also note that "Modern study of the Quran has not in fact raised any serious question of its authenticity. The style varies, but is almost unmistakable."[16]
Claim of divine origin[edit]
See also: Wahy, Quran and miracles and Legends and the Quran
Critics reject the idea that the Quran is miraculously perfect and impossible to imitate (2:2, 17:88-89, 29:47, 28:49). The Jewish Encyclopedia, for example, writes: "The language of the Koran is held by the Mohammedans to be a peerless model of perfection. Critics, however, argue that peculiarities can be found in the text. For example, critics note that a sentence in which something is said concerning Allah is sometimes followed immediately by another in which Allah is the speaker (examples of this are suras xvi. 81, xxvii. 61, xxxi. 9, and xliii. 10.) Many peculiarities in the positions of words are due to the necessities of rhyme (lxix. 31, lxxiv. 3), while the use of many rare words and new forms may be traced to the same cause (comp. especially xix. 8, 9, 11, 16)."[17] According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, "The dependence of Mohammed upon his Jewish teachers or upon what he heard of the Jewish Haggadah and Jewish practices is now generally conceded."[17] Early jurists and theologians of Islam mentioned some Jewish influence but they also say where it is seen and recognized as such, it is perceived as a debasement or a dilution of the authentic message. Bernard Lewis describes this as "something like what in Christian history was called a Judaizing heresy."[18] According to Moshe Sharon, the story of Muhammad having Jewish teachers is a legend developed in the 10th century A.D.[19] Philip Schaff described the Quran as having "many passages of poetic beauty, religious fervor, and wise counsel, but mixed with absurdities, bombast, unmeaning images, low sensuality."[20]
Possible preexisting sources[edit]
See also: Biblical narratives and the Quran
John Wansbrough believes that the Quran is a redaction in part of other sacred scriptures, in particular the Judaeo-Christian scriptures.[21][22] Herbert Berg writes that "Despite John Wansbrough's very cautious and careful inclusion of qualifications such as 'conjectural,' and 'tentative and emphatically provisional', his work is condemned by some. Some of the negative reaction is undoubtedly due to its radicalness... Wansbrough's work has been embraced wholeheartedly by few and has been employed in a piecemeal fashion by many. Many praise his insights and methods, if not all of his conclusions."[23] Gerd R. Puin's study of ancient Quran manuscripts led him to conclude that the Quran is a "cocktail of texts", some of which may have been present a hundred years before Muhammad.[3]
Confusion over speaker of certain verses[edit]
Bell and Watt thought that cases where the speaker is swearing an oath by God, such as surahs 75:1-2 and 90:1, seem unlikely to be coming from God. They also thought that Surahs 19:64 and 37:161-166 were spoken by angels, describing their being sent by God down to Earth.[24]
Science in the Quran[edit]
See also: Qur'an and science and Islamic views on evolution
Quranic verses 3:59, 35:11, 96:2, 20:55, 6:1, 24:45, 15:26, 7:11, and 19:67 are all related to the origin of mankind. Some critics of Islam and many Muslims state that the Quran and modern evolutionary theory are not compatible.[25][26] This has led to a contribution by Muslims to the creation vs. evolution debate.[27] Some Muslims have pointed to certain Quranic verses (such as 21:30, 71:13–14, 29:19–20, 6:133–135, 10:4) that they think are in fact compatible with evolutionary science,[28] but others think that only creationism is supported by the Quran and the hadith.[29]
Ahmad Dallal, Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at Georgetown University, writes that many modern Muslims believe that the Quran does make scientific statements, however many classical Muslim commentators and scientists, notably al-Biruni, assigned to the Quran a separate and autonomous realm of its own and held that the Quran "does not interfere in the business of science nor does it infringe on the realm of science."[30] These medieval scholars argued for the possibility of multiple scientific explanations of the natural phenomena, and refused to subordinate the Quran to an ever-changing science.[30]
Abrogation[edit]
Naskh (نسخ) is an Arabic language word usually translated as "abrogation"; it shares the same root as the words appearing in the phrase al-nāsikh wal-mansūkh (الناسخ والمنسوخ, "the abrogater and the abrogated [verses]"). The concept of "abrogation" in the Quran is that God chose to reveal ayat (singular ayah; means a sign or miracle, commonly a verse in the Quran) that supersede earlier ayat in the same Quran. The central ayah that deals with abrogation is Surah 2:106:
"We do not abrogate a verse or cause it to be forgotten except that We bring forth [one] better than it or similar to it. Do you not know that Allah is over all things competent?"[31]
Philip Schaff argues that the concept of abrogation was developed to "remove" contradictions found in the Quran:
"It abounds in repetitions and contradictions, which are not removed by the convenient theory of abrogation."[20]
Muhammad Husayn Tabatabaei believes abrogation in Quranic verses is not an indication of contradiction but an indication of addition and supplementation. As an example he mentions 2:109[32] where -according to him- it clearly states the forgiveness is not permanent and soon there will be another command (through another verse) on this subject that completes the matter. He also mentions 4:15[32] where the abrogated verse indicates its temporariness.[33]
Satanic verses[edit]
Main article: Satanic Verses
Some criticism of the Quran has revolved around what are known as the "Satanic Verses". Some early Islamic histories recount that as Muhammad was reciting Sūra Al-Najm (Q.53), as revealed to him by the angel Gabriel, Satan tempted him to utter the following lines after verses 19 and 20: "Have you thought of Al-lāt and al-'Uzzā and Manāt the third, the other; These are the exalted Gharaniq, whose intercession is hoped for." The Allāt, al-'Uzzā and Manāt were three goddesses worshiped by the Meccans. These histories then say that these 'Satanic Verses' were repudiated shortly afterward by Muhammad at the behest of Gabriel.[34] Academic scholars such as William Montgomery Watt and Alfred Guillaume argued for its authenticity based upon the implausibility of Muslims fabricating a story so unflattering to their prophet. Watt says that "the story is so strange that it must be true in essentials."[35] On the other hand, John Burton rejected the tradition. In an inverted culmination of Watt's approach, Burton argued for its fictitiousness based upon a demonstration of its actual utility to certain elements of the Muslim community – namely, those legal exegetes seeking an "occasion of revelation" for eradicatory modes of abrogation.[36]
The incident of the Satanic Verses is put forward by some critics as evidence of the Quran's origins as a human work of Muhammad. Maxime Rodinson describes this as a conscious attempt to achieve a consensus with pagan Arabs, which was then consciously rejected as incompatible with Muhammad's attempts to answer the criticism of contemporary Arab Jews and Christians,[37] linking it with the moment at which Muhammad felt able to adopt a "hostile attitude" towards the pagan Arabs.[38] Rodinson writes that the story of the Satanic Verses is unlikely to be false because it was "one incident, in fact, which may be reasonably accepted as true because the makers of Muslim tradition would not have invented a story with such damaging implications for the revelation as a whole".[39] In a caveat to his acceptance of the incident, William Montgomery Watt, states: "Thus it was not for any worldly motive that Muhammad eventually turned down the offer of the Meccans, but for a genuinely religious reason; not for example, because he could not trust these men nor because any personal ambition would remain unsatisfied, but because acknowledgment of the goddesses would lead to the failure of the cause, of the mission he had been given by God."[40]

"If it [i.e. the Quran] had been from someone other than God, they would have found much contradiction in it." This encouragement of Muhammad's enemies to claim inconsistency and contradiction, is argued, was pronounced in a hostile environment during the Quran's revelation.[41]
Intended audience[edit]
Some verses of the Quran are assumed to be directed towards all of Muhammad's followers while other verses are directed more specifically towards Muhammad and his wives, yet others are directed towards the whole of humanity. (33:28, 33:50, 49:2, 58:1, 58:9 66:3).
Other scholars argue that variances in the Quran's explicit intended audiences are irrelevant to claims of divine origin - and for example that Muhummad's wives "specific divine guidance, occasioned by their proximity to the Prophet (Muhammad)" where "Numerous divine reprimands addressed to Muhammad's wives in the Quran establish their special responsibility to overcome their human frailties and ensure their individual worthiness",[42] or argue that the Quran must be interpreted on more than one level.[43] (See:[44]).
Morality[edit]
See also: Islamic ethics
According to some critics, the morality of the Quran, like the life story of Muhammad, appears to be a moral regression, by the standards of the moral traditions of Judaism and Christianity it says that it builds upon. The Catholic Encyclopedia, for example, states that "the ethics of Islam are far inferior to those of Judaism and even more inferior to those of the New Testament" and "that in the ethics of Islam there is a great deal to admire and to approve, is beyond dispute; but of originality or superiority, there is none."[45] William Montgomery Watt however finds Muhammad's changes an improvement for his time and place: "In his day and generation Muhammad was a social reformer, indeed a reformer even in the sphere of morals. He created a new system of social security and a new family structure, both of which were a vast improvement on what went before. By taking what was best in the morality of the nomad and adapting it for settled communities, he established a religious and social framework for the life of many races of men."[46]
War and peace[edit]
Main article: Quran and violence
The Quran's teachings on matters of war and peace have become topics of heated discussion in recent years. On the one hand, some critics, such as Sam Harris, interpret that certain verses of the Quran sanction military action against unbelievers as a whole both during the lifetime of Muhammad and after. Harris argues that Muslim extremism is simply a consequence of taking the Qur'an literally, and is skeptical that moderate Islam is possible.[47][48] On the other hand, other scholars argue that such verses of the Quran are interpreted out of context,[49][50] and Muslims of the Ahmadiyya movement argue that when the verses are read in context it clearly appears that the Quran prohibits aggression,[51][52][53] and allows fighting only in self-defense.[54][55]
Kim Ezra Shienbaum and Jamal Hasan have claimed that a concept of 'Jihad', defined as 'struggle', has been introduced by the Quran. They claim that while Muhummad was in Mecca, he "did not have many supporters and was very weak compared to the Pagans", and "it was at this time he added some 'soft', peaceful verses", whereas "almost all the hateful, coercive and intimidating verses later in the Quran were made with respect to Jihad" when Muhammad was in Medina (8:38-39, 8:65, 9:29-30, 48:16-22, 4:95, 9:111, 2:216-218, 8:15-17, 9:123, 8:12, 9:5, 2:190-194, 9:73).[56]
Micheline R. Ishay has argued that "the Quran justifies wars for self-defense to protect Islamic communities against internal or external aggression by non-Islamic populations, and wars waged against those who 'violate their oaths' by breaking a treaty" (9:12-15, 42:39).[57] Mufti M. Mukarram Ahmed has also argued that the Quran encourages people to fight in self-defense (9:38-41, 9:36-37, 4:74). He has also argued that the Quran has been used to direct Muslims to make all possible preparations to defend themselves against enemies (8:60).[58]
Shin Chiba and Thomas J. Schoenbaum argue that Islam "does not allow Muslims to fight against those who disagree with them regardless of belief system", but instead "urges its followers to treat such people kindly" (4:90, 8:61, 60:8).[59] Yohanan Friedmann has argued that the Quran does not promote fighting for the purposes of religious coercion, although the war as described is "religious" in the sense that the enemies of the Muslims are described as "enemies of God" (8:57-62).[60]
Rodrigue Tremblay has argued that the Quran commands that non-Muslims under a Muslim regime, should "feel themselves subdued" in "a political state of subservience" (4:89). He also argues that the Quran may assert freedom within religion (2:256).[61] Nisrine Abiad has argued that the Quran incorporates the offence (and due punishment) of "rebellion" into the offence of "highway or armed robbery" (5:33).[62]
George W. Braswell has argued that the Quran asserts an idea of Jihad to deal with "a sphere of disobedience, ignorance and war" (47:4, 49:15, 2:244-245).[63]
Michael David Bonner has argued that the "deal between God and those who fight is portrayed as a commercial transaction, either as a loan with interest, or else as a profitable sale of the life of this world in return for the life of the next", where "how much one gains depends on what happens during the transaction", either "paradise if slain in battle, or victory if one survives" (9:52).[64] Critics have argued that the Quran "glorified Jihad in many of the Medinese suras" and "criticized those who fail(ed) to participate in it" (47:20-21).[65]
Ali Ünal has claimed that the Quran praises the companions of Muhammad, for being stern and implacable against the said unbelievers, where in that "period of ignorance and savagery, triumphing over these people was possible by being strong and unyielding."[66][67]
Solomon Nigosian concludes that the "Quranic statement is clear" on the issue of fighting in defense of Islam as "a duty that is to be carried out at all costs", where "God grants security to those Muslims who fight in order to halt or repel aggression".[68]
Shaikh M. Ghazanfar argues that the Quran has been used to teach its followers that "the path to human salvation does not require withdrawal from the world but rather encourages moderation in worldly affairs", including fighting. (73:20).[69] Shabbir Akhtar has argued that the Quran asserts that if a people "fear Muhammad more than they fear God, 'they are a people lacking in sense'" rather than a fear being imposed upon them by God directly (59:13).[70]
Various calls to arms were identified in the Quran by US citizen Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar, all of which were cited as "most relevant to my actions on March 3, 2006" (9:44, 9:19, 57:10-11, 8:72-73, 9:120, 3:167-175, 4:66, 4:104, 9:81, 9:93-94, 9:100, 16:110, 61:11-12, 47:35).[71]
Violence against women[edit]
Main articles: Islam and Domestic violence and An-Nisa, 34
Verse 4:34 of the Quran as translated by Ali Quli Qara'i reads:
Men are in charge of women by [right of] what Allah has given one over the other and what they spend [for maintenance] from their wealth. So righteous women are devoutly obedient, guarding in [the husband's] absence what Allah would have them guard. But those [wives] from whom you fear arrogance - [first] advise them; [then if they persist], forsake them in bed; and [finally], strike them. But if they obey you [once more], seek no means against them. Indeed, Allah is ever Exalted and Grand.[72]
Many translations do not necessarily imply a chronological sequence, for example, Marmaduke Pickthall's, Muhammad Muhsin Khan's, or Arthur John Arberry's. Arberry's translation reads "admonish; banish them to their couches, and beat them."[73]
The Dutch film Submission, which rose to fame outside the Netherlands after the murder of its director Theo van Gogh by Muslim extremist Mohammed Bouyeri, critiqued this and similar verses of the Quran by displaying them painted on the bodies of abused Muslim women.[74] Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the film's writer, said "it is written in the Koran a woman may be slapped if she is disobedient. This is one of the evils I wish to point out in the film".[75]
Scholars of Islam have a variety of responses to these criticisms. (See An-Nisa, 34 for a fuller exegesis on the meaning of the text.) Some Muslim scholars say that the "beating" allowed is limited to no more than a light touch by siwak, or toothbrush.[76][77] Some Muslims argue that beating is only appropriate if a woman has done "an unrighteous, wicked and rebellious act" beyond mere disobedience.[78] In many modern interpretations of the Quran, the actions prescribed in 4:34 are to be taken in sequence, and beating is only to be used as a last resort.[79][80][81]
Many Islamic scholars and commentators have emphasized that beatings, where permitted, are not to be harsh[82][83][84] or even that they should be "more or less symbolic."[85] According to Abdullah Yusuf Ali and Ibn Kathir, the consensus of Islamic scholars is that the above verse describes a light beating.[86][87]
Some jurists argue that even when beating is acceptable under the Quran, it is still discountenanced.[88][89][90]
Shabbir Akhtar has argued that the Quran introduced prohibitions against "the pre-Islamic practice of female infanticide" (16:58, 17:31, 81:8).[91]
Houris[edit]
Main article: Houri
Max I. Dimont interprets that the Houris described in the Quran are specifically dedicated to "male pleasure".[92] Henry Martyn claims that the concept of the Houris was chosen to satisfy Mohammed's followers.[93]
Alternatively, Annemarie Schimmel says that the Quranic description of the Houris should be viewed in a context of love; "every pious man who lives according to God's order will enter Paradise where rivers of milk and honey flow in cool, fragrant gardens and virgin beloveds await home..."[94]
Under the Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Quran by Christoph Luxenberg, the words translating to "Houris" or "Virgins of Paradise" are instead interpreted as "Fruits (grapes)" and "high climbing (wine) bowers... made into first fruits".[95] Alternate interpretations of these Quranic verses are offered,[citation needed] including the idea that the Houris should be seen as having a specifically spiritual nature rather than a human nature; "these are all very sensual ideas; but there are also others of a different kind... what can be the object of cohabitation in Paradise as there can be no question of its purpose in the world, the preservation of the race. The solution of this difficulty is found by saying that, although heavenly food, women etc.., have the name in common with their earthly equivalents, it is only by way of metaphorical indication and comparison without actual identity... authors have spiritualized the Houris"[citation needed] and "later literature is able to give many more details of their physical beauty... they are so transparent that the marrow of their bones is visible through seventy silken garments. If they expectorate into the world, their spittle becomes musk...".[citation needed]
Christians and Jews in the Quran[edit]
See also: Islam and antisemitism and Islamic–Jewish relations
Jane Gerber claims that the Qur'an ascribes negative traits to Jews, such as cowardice, greed, and chicanery. She also alleges that the Qur'an associates Jews with interconfessional strife and rivalry (Quran 2:113), the Jewish belief that they alone are beloved of God (Quran 5:18), and that only they will achieve salvation (Quran 2:111).[96] According to the Encyclopedia Judaica, the Qur'an contains many attacks on Jews and Christians for their refusal to recognize Muhammad as a prophet.[97] In the Muslim view, the crucifixion of Jesus was an illusion, and thus the Jewish plots against him ended in failure.[98] In numerous verses[99] the Qur'an accuses Jews of altering the Scripture.[100] Karen Armstrong claims that there are "far more numerous passages in the Qur'an" which speak positively of the Jews and their great prophets, than those which were against the "rebellious Jewish tribes of Medina" (during Muhammad's time).[101] Sayyid Abul Ala believes the punishments were not meant for all Jews, and that they were only meant for the Jewish inhabitants that were sinning at the time.[101]
See also[edit]
Islam: What the West Needs to Know
Islam and science
Creation–evolution controversy
Criticism of the Bible
The Syro-Aramaic Reading Of The Koran
War against Islam
CriticismApostasy in Islam
Censorship by religion
Criticism of Muhammad
Criticism of Islam
Homosexuality and Islam
Islam and antisemitism
Islam and domestic violence
Islamic views on slavery
Islamic terrorism
Islamofascism
Women in Islam
ControversiesIslamic view of Ezra, concerns the claim in surah 9:30 of the Quran that the Jews believe Ezra (Uzair) is the son of God
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ John Esposito, Islam the Straight Path, Extended Edition, p.19-20
2.Jump up ^ Bucaille, Dr. Maurice (1977). The Bible, the Quran, and Science: The Holy Scriptures Examined in the Light of Modern Knowledge. TTQ, INC.f. p. 268. ISBN 978-1-879402-98-0.
3.^ Jump up to: a b Patricia Crone, Michael Cook, and Gerd R. Puin as quoted in Toby Lester (January 1999). "What Is the Koran?". The Atlantic Monthly.
4.Jump up ^ Yehuda D. Nevo "Towards a Prehistory of Islam," Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam, vol.17, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1994 p. 108.
5.Jump up ^ John Wansbrough The Sectarian Milieu: Content and Composition of Islamic Salvation History, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1978 p,119
6.Jump up ^ Patricia Crone, Meccan Trade and the Rise of Islam, Princeton University Press, 1987 p. 204.
7.Jump up ^ David Waines, Introduction to Islam, Cambridge, Eng.: Cambridge University Press, 1995. ISBN 0-521-42929-3, pp 273-274
8.Jump up ^ van Ess, "The Making Of Islam", Times Literary Supplement, Sep 8 1978, p. 998
9.Jump up ^ R. B. Serjeant, Journal of Royal Asiatic Society (1978) p. 78
10.Jump up ^ Peters, F. E. (Aug., 1991) "The Quest of the Historical Muhammad." International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 23, No. 3, pp. 291-315.
11.Jump up ^ Liaquat Ali Khan. "Hagarism: The Story of a Book Written by Infidels for Infidels". Retrieved 2006-06-12.
12.Jump up ^ Liaquat Ali Khan. "Hagarism: The Story of a Book Written by Infidels for Infidels". Retrieved 2006-06-09.
13.Jump up ^ What do we actually know about Mohammed?, by Patricia Crone
14.Jump up ^ Quoted in A. Rippin, Muslims: their religious beliefs and practices: Volume 1, London, 1991, p.26
15.Jump up ^ R. Bell & W.M. Watt, An introduction to the Quran, Edinburgh, 1977, p.93
16.Jump up ^ Bell's introduction to the Qurʼān By Richard Bell, William Montgomery Watt, p. 51: Google preview
17.^ Jump up to: a b "Koran". From the Jewish Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 21, 2008.
18.Jump up ^ Jews of Islam, Bernard Lewis, p. 70: Google Preview
19.Jump up ^ Studies in Islamic History and Civilization, Moshe Sharon, p. 347: Google Preview
20.^ Jump up to: a b Schaff, P., & Schaff, D. S. (1910). History of the Christian church. Third edition. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons. Volume 4, Chapter III, section 44 "The Koran, And The Bible"
21.Jump up ^ Wansbrough, John (1977). Quranic Studies: Sources and Methods of Scriptural Interpretation
22.Jump up ^ Wansbrough, John (1978). The Sectarian Milieu: Content and Composition of Islamic Salvation History.
23.Jump up ^ Berg, Herbert (2000). The development of exegesis in early Islam: the authenticity of Muslim literature from the formative period. Routledge. p. 251. ISBN 0-7007-1224-0.
24.Jump up ^ R. Bell & W.M. Watt, Introduction to the Quran, Edinburgh, 1977, pp.93-95
25.Jump up ^ Saleem, Shehzad (May 2000). "The Quranic View on Creation". Renaissance 10 (5). ISSN 1606-9382. Retrieved 2006-10-11.
26.Jump up ^ Ahmed K. Sultan Salem Evolution in the Light of Islam
27.Jump up ^ Paulson, Steve Seeing the light – of science
28.Jump up ^ Bazm-e-Tolu-e-Islam[dead link]
29.Jump up ^ Estes, Yusuf Islam Science Question: Evolution Or Creation? Does ISLAM Have the Answer?
30.^ Jump up to: a b Ahmad Dallal, Encyclopedia of the Quran, Quran and science
31.Jump up ^ "Surat Al-Baqarah [2:106] - The Noble Qur'an - القرآن الكريم". Quran.com. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
32.^ Jump up to: a b "Surat Al-Baqarah [2:109] - The Noble Qur'an - القرآن الكريم". Quran.com. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
33.Jump up ^ Al-Mizan, Muhammad Husayn Tabatabayei, commentation on 2:106 translation available here [1]
34.Jump up ^ "The Life of Muhammad", Ibn Ishaq, A. Guillaume (translator), 2002, p.166 ISBN 0-19-636033-1
35.Jump up ^ Watt, W. Montgomery (1961). Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman. Oxford University Press. p. 61. ISBN 0-19-881078-4.
36.Jump up ^ John Burton (1970). "Those Are the High-Flying Cranes". Journal of Semitic Studies 15: 246-264.
37.Jump up ^ Maxime Rodinson, Muhammad (Tauris Parke, London, 2002) (ISBN 1-86064-827-4) pp. 107-8.
38.Jump up ^ Maxime Rodinson, Muhammad (Tauris Parke, London, 2002) (ISBN 1-86064-827-4) p. 113.
39.Jump up ^ Maxime Rodinson, Muhammad (Tauris Parke, London, 2002) (ISBN 1-86064-827-4) p. 106
40.Jump up ^ W. Montgomery Watt, Muhammad at Mecca, Oxford, 1953. 'The Growth of Opposition', p.105
41.Jump up ^ Eerik Dickinson, Difficult Passages, Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān
42.Jump up ^ Women in the Quran, traditions, and interpretation by Barbara Freyer, page 85, Mothers of the Believers in the Quran
43.Jump up ^ Corbin (1993), p.7
44.Jump up ^ Quran#Levels of meaning
45.Jump up ^ "Mohammed and Mohammedanism". From the Catholic Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 21, 2008.
46.Jump up ^ W Montgomery Watt, Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman, chapter "ASSESSMENT" section "THE ALLEGED MORAL FAILURES", Op. Cit, p. 332.
47.Jump up ^ Harris, Sam (2005). The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason. W. W. Norton; Reprint edition. pp. 31, 149. ISBN 0-393-32765-5.
48.Jump up ^ Harris makes a similar argument about hadith, saying "[a]ccording to a literalist reading of the hadith (the literature that recounts the sayings and the actions of the Prophet) if a Muslim decides that he no longer wants to be a Muslim, he should be put to death. If anyone ventures the opinion that the Koran is a mediocre book of religious fiction or that Muhammad was a schizophrenic, he should also be killed. It should go without saying that a desire to kill people for imaginary crimes like apostasy and blasphemy is not an expression of religious moderation." "Who Are the Moderate Muslims?," The Huffington Post, February 16, 2006 (accessed 11/16/2013)
49.Jump up ^ Sohail H. Hashmi, David Miller, Boundaries and Justice: diverse ethical perspectives, Princeton University Press, p.197
50.Jump up ^ Khaleel Muhammad, professor of religious studies at San Diego State University, states, regarding his discussion with the critic Robert Spencer, that "when I am told ... that Jihad only means war, or that I have to accept interpretations of the Quran that non-Muslims (with no good intentions or knowledge of Islam) seek to force upon me, I see a certain agendum developing: one that is based on hate, and I refuse to be part of such an intellectual crime." [2]
51.Jump up ^ Ali, Maulana Muhammad; The Religion of Islam (6th Edition), Ch V "Jihad" Page 414 "When shall war cease". Published by The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement [3]
52.Jump up ^ Sadr-u-Din, Maulvi. "Quran and War", page 8. Published by The Muslim Book Society, Lahore, Pakistan. [4]
53.Jump up ^ Article on Jihad by Dr. G. W. Leitner (founder of The Oriental Institute, UK) published in Asiatic Quarterly Review, 1886. ("jihad, even when explained as a righteous effort of waging war in self defense against the grossest outrage on one's religion, is strictly limited..")
54.Jump up ^ The Quranic Commandments Regarding War/Jihad An English rendering of an Urdu article appearing in Basharat-e-Ahmadiyya Vol. I, p. 228-232, by Dr. Basharat Ahmad; published by the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement for the Propagation of Islam
55.Jump up ^ Ali, Maulana Muhammad; The Religion of Islam (6th Edition), Ch V "Jihad" Pages 411-413. Published by The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement [5]
56.Jump up ^ Beyond Jihad: Critical Voices from Inside Islam. Academica Press, LLC. 2006. pp. 78–80. ISBN 1-933146-19-2.
57.Jump up ^ Ishay, Micheline. The history of human rights. Berkeley: University of California. p. 45. ISBN 0-520-25641-7.
58.Jump up ^ Mufti M. Mukarram Ahmed (2005). Encyclopaedia of Islam - 25 Vols. New Delhi: Anmol Publications Pvt. Ltd. pp. 386–389. ISBN 81-261-2339-7.
59.Jump up ^ Schoenbaum, Thomas J.; Chiba, Shin (2008). Peace Movements and Pacifism After September 11. Edward Elgar Publishing. pp. 115–116. ISBN 1-84720-667-0.
60.Jump up ^ Friedmann, Yohanan (2003). Tolerance and coercion in Islam: interfaith relations in the Muslim tradition. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. pp. 94–95. ISBN 0-521-82703-5.
61.Jump up ^ Tremblay, Rodrigue (2009). The Code for Global Ethics: Toward a Humanist Civilization. Trafford Publishing. pp. 169–170. ISBN 1-4269-1358-3.
62.Jump up ^ Nisrine Abiad (2008). Sharia, Muslim States and International Human Rights Treaty Obligations: A Comparative Study. British Institute for International & Compara. p. 24. ISBN 1-905221-41-X.
63.Jump up ^ Braswell, George W.; George W., Jr Braswell (2000). What you need to know about Islam & Muslims. Nashville, Tenn: Broadman & Holman Publishers. p. 38. ISBN 0-8054-1829-6.
64.Jump up ^ Bonner, Michael David (2006). Jihad in Islamic history: doctrines and practice. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press. p. 32. ISBN 0-691-12574-0.
65.Jump up ^ Peters, Rudolph Albert (2008). Jihad in classical and modern Islam: a reader. Princeton: Markus Wiener Publishers. p. 46. ISBN 1-55876-359-7.
66.Jump up ^ 48:29
67.Jump up ^ Ali Unal (2008). The Quran with Annotated Interpretation in Modern English. Rutherford, N.J: The Light, Inc. p. 249. ISBN 1-59784-144-7.
68.Jump up ^ Nigosian, S. A. (2004). Islam: its history, teaching, and practices. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-21627-3.
69.Jump up ^ Ghazanfar, Shaikh M. (2003). Medieval Islamic economic thought: filling the "great gap" in European economics. London: RoutledgeCurzon. ISBN 0-415-29778-8.
70.Jump up ^ Akhtar, Shabbir (2008). The Quran and the secular mind: a philosophy of Islam. New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-43783-0.
71.Jump up ^ Taheri-azar, Mohammed Reza (2006). Wikisource link to Letter to The daily Tar Heel. Wikisource.
72.Jump up ^ "Surat An-Nisa' [4:34] - The Noble Qur'an - القرآن الكريم". Quran.com. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
73.Jump up ^ Bernard Lewis A Middle East Mosaic: Fragments of Life, Letters and History (Modern Library, 2001) p.184 ISBN 0375758372
74.Jump up ^ Script for the movie, Submission
75.Jump up ^ Hirsi Ali on Film over Position of Women in Koran
76.Jump up ^ "Wife Beating in Islamic Perspective - Marital relationships - counsels". OnIslam.net. 2013-03-14. Retrieved 2013-06-11.
77.Jump up ^ "Articles and FAQs about Islam, Muslims, Allah, Muhammad, Quran, Hadith, Woman, Fiqh and Fatwa". Islamicfinder.org. Retrieved 2013-06-11.
78.Jump up ^ Quranic Perspective on Wife beating and Abuse, by Fatimah Khaldoon, Submission, 2003. Retrieved April 16, 2006.
79.Jump up ^ Abdullah Yusuf Ali in his Quranic commentary states that: "In case of family jars four steps are mentioned, to be taken in that order. (1) Perhaps verbal advice or admonition may be sufficient; (2) if not, sex relations may be suspended; (3) if this is not sufficient, some slight physical correction may be administered; but Imam Shafi'i considers this inadvisable, though permissible, and all authorities are unanimous in deprecating any sort of cruelty, even of the nagging kind, as mentioned in the next clause; (4) if all this fails, a family council is recommended in 4:35 below." Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Quran: Text, Translation and Commentary (commentary on 4:34), Amana Corporation, Brentwood, MD, 1989. ISBN 0-915957-03-5.
80.Jump up ^ Yusuf al-Qaradawi, head of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, says that "If the husband senses that feelings of disobedience and rebelliousness are rising against him in his wife, he should try his best to rectify her attitude by kind words, gentle persuasion, and reasoning with her. If this is not helpful, he should sleep apart from her, trying to awaken her agreeable feminine nature so that serenity may be restored, and she may respond to him in a harmonious fashion. If this approach fails, it is permissible for him to beat her lightly with his hands, avoiding her face and other sensitive parts.[6][dead link].[7][dead link]
81.Jump up ^ Ibn Kathir writes that in case of rebellious behavior, the husband is asked to urge his wife to mend her ways, then to refuse to share their beds, and as the last resort, husbands are allowed to admonish their wives by beating. Ibn Kathir, “Tafsir of Ibn Kathir”, Al-Firdous Ltd., London, 2000, 50-53
82.Jump up ^ Yusuf al-Qaradawi, head of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, says that "It is permissible for him to beat her lightly with his hands, avoiding her face and other sensitive parts. In no case should he resort to using a stick or any other instrument that might cause pain and injury."[8][dead link][9][dead link]
83.Jump up ^ Ibn Kathir Ad-Damishqee records in his Tafsir Al-Quran Al-Azim that "Ibn `Abbas and several others said that the Ayah refers to a beating that is not violent. Al-Hasan Al-Basri said that it means, a beating that is not severe."
84.Jump up ^ Ahmad Shafaat, Tafseer of Surah an-Nisa, Ayah 34, Islamic Perspectives. August 10, 2005
85.Jump up ^ One such authority is the earliest hafiz, Ibn Abbas.[10]
86.Jump up ^ "The Holy Quran: Text, Translation and Commentary", Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Amana Corporation, Brentwood, MD, 1989. ISBN 0-915957-03-5, passage was quoted from commentary on 4:34
87.Jump up ^ Kathir, Ibn, “Tafsir of Ibn Kathir”, Al-Firdous Ltd., London, 2000, 50-53
88.Jump up ^ Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi comments that "Whenever the Prophet (peace be on him) permitted a man to administer corporal punishment to his wife, he did so with reluctance, and continued to express his distaste for it. And even in cases where it is necessary, the Prophet (peace be on him) directed men not to hit across the face, nor to beat severely nor to use anything that might leave marks on the body." "Towards Understanding the Quran" Translation by Zafar I. Ansari from "Tafheem Al-Quran" (specifically, commentary on 4:34) by Syed Abul-A'ala Mawdudi, Islamic Foundation, Leicester, England.
89.Jump up ^ The medieval jurist ash-Shafi'i, founder of one of the main schools of fiqh, commented on this verse that "hitting is permitted, but not hitting is preferable."
90.Jump up ^ "[S]ome of the greatest Muslim scholars (e.g., Ash-Shafi'i) are of the opinion that it is just barely permissible, and should preferably be avoided: and they justify this opinion by the Prophet's personal feelings with regard to this problem." Muhammad Asad, The Message of the Quran (his translation of the Quran).
91.Jump up ^ Akhtar, Shabbir (2008). The Quran and the secular mind: a philosophy of Islam. New York: Routledge. p. 351. ISBN 0-415-43782-2.
92.Jump up ^ The Indestructible Jews, by Max I. Dimont, page 134
93.Jump up ^ Controversial Tracts on Christianity and Mohammedanism, by Henry Martyn, page 131
94.Jump up ^ Islam: An Introduction, by Annemarie Schimmel, Page 13, "Muhammad"
95.Jump up ^ The Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Quran, by Christoph Luxenberg, pages 247-282 - The Huris or Virgins of Paradise
96.Jump up ^ Gerber (1986), pp. 78–79 "Anti-Semitism and the Muslim World". In History and Hate: The Dimensions of Anti-Semitism, ed. David Berger. Jewish Publications Society. ISBN 0-8276-0267-7
97.Jump up ^ Poliakov, Leon (1997). "Anti-Semitism". Encyclopedia Judaica (CD-ROM Edition Version 1.0). Ed. Cecil Roth. Keter Publishing House. ISBN 965-07-0665-8
98.Jump up ^ Lewis (1999), p. 120
99.Jump up ^ See, for example from Gerber 91, 3:63; 3:71; 4:46; 4:160–161; 5:41–44, 5:63–64, 5:82; 6:92
100.Jump up ^ Gerber 78
101.^ Jump up to: a b Maududi, Sayyid Abul Ala (1967). The Meaning of the Quran.
External links[edit]


 This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (August 2010)

Critical sites[edit]
The Skeptics Annotated Quran
Faithfreedom.org - Faith Freedom International

Muslim responses to criticism[edit]
Muslim Responses website
Call to Monotheism website
Five Common Myths About Islam



[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Islam topics











































































































































































































































[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Criticism of religion
































































































































  


Categories: Criticism of Islam
Islam-related controversies
Quran











Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
العربية
فارسی
Bahasa Melayu
日本語
Türkçe
اردو
Zazaki
Edit links
This page was last modified on 25 April 2015, at 20:13.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
  

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_the_Quran