B. Roggema (Univ. Bochum): The land of Filastin and the Jewish diaspora in the eyes of Arab Christians (750–1000)

After the rise of Islam, Christians in the Middle East dedicated many writings to apologetics. In these writings they do not only address Muslims but also the Jews. Among the many bones of contention between the three religions, the issue of rival claims to the Holy Land does not play a central role. Nevertheless, between 750 and 1000 CE Arab Christians, especially Melkites, produced several polemical treatises against the Jews in which they mock the idea of the Jewish diaspora and argue that the Jews will never return to Palestine. This paper will present examples of such hitherto unstudied texts and analyse the types of arguments used.