Abraham Geiger
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Abraham Geiger (1810–1874) was a German rabbi who led the foundation for Reform Judaism, where he sought to remove all nationalistic elements (particularly the "Chosen People" doctrine) from Judaism, stressing Judaism as an evolving and changing religion.
In the Germany of the 19th century, Abraham Geiger and Samuel Holdheim stood out as the two founding fathers of Reform Judaism. Geiger was the more moderate and scholarly reformer, seeking to found this new branch of Judaism on the scientific study of history, without assuming that any Jewish text was inspired.
Geiger was not only a scholar and researcher commenting on most important subjects and characters in Jewish history, he was also a rabbi, and the person most responsible for the founding of the reform doctrine in the mid 19th century, giving it much of the form that it still retains today. Michael Meyer in his book about Reform Judaism says that if any one person can be called the founder of Reform Judaism, it must be Geiger.
Much of Geiger's writing has been translated into English (from German) and many books about him were written in English. The book by Heschel, is an important example.
Some of Geiger's studies are included in The Origins of The Koran: Classic Essays on Islam’s Holy Book edited by Ibn Warraq. Other works are Judaism and Islam (1833) and An Appeal to My Community (1842).
Books
This list does not include anything regarding Judaism and Christianity. Susannah Heschel's Abraham Geiger and the Jewish Jesus is a good place to start regarding this relationship.
See also
- Origin and development of the Qur'an
- M. H. Ali, The Biography of the Prophet and the Orientalists: Free book discussing Muir's theories
- M. H. Ali, The Quran and the Orientalists
External links
- Article in the Jewish Encyclopedia written by Isidore Singer & Emil G. Hirsch
- Jewish Discovery of Islam by Martin Kramer, includes discussion of Geiger.