Islam,Christianity,andJudaismshareseveralcommonfeatures,includingtheirhistoricaloriginsintheprophetAbraham,theirbeliefinasingledivinebeing,andtheirmodernglobalexpanse.Yetitistheseemingclosenessofthese““Abrahamic““religionsthatdrawsattentiontotherealorimagineddifferencesbetweenthem.ThisvolumeexaminesAbrahamicculturesasminoritygroupsinsocietieswhichmaybemajorityMuslim,Christian,orJewish,orself-consciouslysecular.ThefocusisontherelationshipsbetweenthesereligiousidentitiesinglobalDiaspora,whereallofthemareconfrontedwithclaimsaboutnationalandindividualdifference.ThecasestudiesrangefromcolonialHongKongandVictorianLondontotoday’sSanFranciscoandruralIndia.Eachstudyshowshowcomplexsuchrelationshipscanbeandhowimportantitistosituatetheminthecultural,ethnic,andhistoricalcontextoftheirworld.Thechaptersexploreritualpractice,conversion,colonization,immigration,andculturalrepresentationsofthedifferencesbetweentheAbrahamicreligions.Animportantthemeishowthecomplexpatternsofinteractionamongthesereligionsembracecollaborationaswellasconflict—eveninthemodernMiddleEast.
Thisworkbyauthorsfromseveralacademicdisciplinesonatopicofcrucialimportancewillbeofinteresttoscholarsofhistory,theology,sociology,andculturalstudies,aswellastothegeneralreaderinterestedinhowminoritygroupshaveinteractedandcoexisted.
