Martyrdom in the Three Monotheistic Religions

 

DIRECTOR:

Haym Soloveitchik, Yeshiva University

 

CO-DIRECTOR:

Guy G. Stroumsa, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

 

The unexpected return of religion to politics and culture, and the dramatic resurgence of religious violence throughout the world, has brought to our attention, more than ever, the power of martyrdom.

To understand this phenomenon in its different historical contexts, the School aims to analyze from a comparative perspective, several particularly meaningful cases over the course of some 1,800 years among Jews, Christians and Muslims. The School will draw on case studies from Late Antiquity, the Middle Ages, the Reformation and contemporary Islam. We will also focus on studying the formation of the idea of martyrdom in its various guises, with particular emphasis on the phenomenon of "voluntary martyrdom".