Source in the Spotlight
Co-producing the End. The Use of Jewish Exegesis in Paul Alvar’s Apocalyptic Interpretation of Islam
In the 8th–9th centuries, some Christian authors identified Islam and Muhammad with the Antichrist. In his Indiculus luminosus, Paul Alvar goes further, combining Christian exegesis with Jewish interpretations and the Islamic calendar to predict the imminent end of Islamic rule – an example of apocalyptic ideas “co-produced” across religious traditions.
Latest Case Study
Why did the Christian Shrine-Keeper Poison the Muslim Astronomer? The Co-Production of Theology and History in al-Wathiq’s Expeditions to Confirm the Truth of the Qurʾan
Around the middle of the ninth century a man named Muhammad ibn Musa “The Astronomer” was poisoned by the wicked keeper of a Christian shrine. It happened (if it happened) deep inside a small mountain somewhere near the ancient city of Ephesus, on the southwestern coast of modern Turkey, in what was then the territory of East Rome. Thankfully for the history of science, Muhammad vomited up his poisoned lunch and survived the ordeal.
![Constantinople. 985. Miniature Minology Vasily II. Vatican Library. Rome. Authors of Menologion of Basil II (circa 985 AC, Constantinople), Byzantine manuscript illuminators[1]: Pantoleon with Georgios, Michael the Younger, Michael of Blachernae, Symeon, Symeon of Blachernae, Menas, and Nestor (Online on Vatican site) - http://digi.vatlib.it/view/MSS_Vat.gr.1613/0143?sid=a7590df9b8aca22111c8359533716419&zoomlevel=4](/img/asset/Y2FzZV9zdHVkaWVzL3NldmVuX3NsZWVwZXJzXyhtZW5vbG9naW9uX29mX2Jhc2lsX2lpKS5qcGc/seven_sleepers_%28menologion_of_basil_ii%29.jpg?w=1200&s=596e62fc851b571e6045436580deab7b)
Event: International Interdisciplinary Workshop
Interreligious Coproduction
Organized by SherAli Tahreen, David Nirenberg, and Katharina Heyden
Latest Publication
When Theology and History Think Together about Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
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Who we are
The project is coordinated by Katharina Heyden, Professor for Ancient History of Christianity and Interreligious Encounters at the University of Bern (Switzerland), and David Nirenberg, Leon Levy Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton (U.S.), and includes a network of collaborators across North America, Europe, and the Middle East.