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Religion and Nationalism in the Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Hindu Worlds

[RG #102] Religion and Nationalism in Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Hindu Worlds

September 1, 2005 - February 28, 2006

Organizers:

Hedva Ben-Israel (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
Yosef Salmon (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev)
Emmanuel Sivan (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem)

Nationalism is one of the prominent subjects in scholarly discourse. There is a great deal of disagreement over its origins, essence, impact and degree of historical "naturalness", as well as its connection with religion. This relationship is riddled with paradox. Nationalism and religion appear sometimes as related and sometimes as opposed forces. Many historians and social scientists tend to see nationalism as a modern, political and secular phenomenon prompted by social and economic conditions that could emerge only after the decline of religion and as a substitute for it. Our choice of subject was prompted partly by the academic controversy and partly by contemporary cases where nationalist fervor and religious devotion are found together. It is also apparent that more historians are finding that in the past, too, many cases of nationalism were allied with religion or inspired by it. The purpose of our group is to compare the role of the three monotheistic religions and Hinduism in different cases of nationalism.

 

2005-2006 Research Groups

Members

men

Yagnik Achyut

FELLOW
Setu Center for Social Knowledge and Action
Yagnik is a professor at the Setu Center for Social Knowledge and Action. His research interests are Hindu nationalism; history of India; and the impact of globalization on the Third World and communication.
av

Hedva Ben-Israel

FELLOW
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Hedva is a professor in the History Department at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her research interests are: historiography; politics and culture; the era of the two world wars; European imperialism and colonialism; British history; history of Zionism; history of the Hebrew University.
men

Israel Gershoni

FELLOW
Tel Aviv University
Israel is a professor in the Department of Middle Eastern and African History at Tel Aviv University.
men

Maurice Kriegel

FELLOW
EHESS
Maurice is a professor in the Centre d'Etudes Juives at EHESS.
men

Meir Litvak

FELLOW
Tel Aviv University
Israel is a professor in the Department of Middle Eastern and African History at Tel Aviv University. His research interests are modern Shi'ism and Arab representations of the Holocaust.
men

Avi Ravitzki

FELLOW
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Avi is a professor in the Department of Jewish Thought at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His research interests are philosophy, Jewish thought, theology and politics, and Israeli culture.
men

Yosef Salmon

FELLOW
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Yosef is a professor in the Department of History at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. His research interests are modern Jewish history, and the history of the Jews in Eastern Europe and in the Land of Israel.
av

Ornit Shani

FELLOW
Tel Aviv University
Ornit is a professor in the Department of Political Science at Tel Aviv University. Her research interests are comparative politics and ethnic politics in India.
men

Emmanuel Sivan

FELLOW
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Emmanuel is a professor in the Department of History at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His research interests are Islamic radicalism and the nation state.

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