The Jew, the Arab - (Cultural Memory in the Present) by Gil Anidjar (Paperback)

About the Book

This book argues that in "Christian Europe," the question of the enemy has for millennia been structured by the historical relation of Europe to both Arab and Jew. It provides a philosophical understanding of the background of the current conflict in the Middle East.

Book Synopsis

Is there a concept of the enemy? To what discursive sphere would it belong? Or, if there is no concept of the enemy, what are the factors that could have prevented its articulation? Following the reflections of Carl Schmitt and Jacques Derrida on the theologico-political, and reading canonical texts from the Western philosophical, political, and religious traditions, the author seeks to account for the absence of a history of the enemy.

The question of the enemy emerges in this book as contingent on the way Europe has related to both Jew and Arab as concrete enemies. Moreover, the author provocatively argues that the Jew and the Arab constitute the condition of religion and politics. Among the many strengths of the book is the timeliness of its profound study of contemporary actuality: the volume provides a basis for a philosophical understanding of the forces at work that produced and kindled current conflicts in Europe, the U.S., and the Middle East.

From the Back Cover

"In this unique, original, and breathtakingly new work, Anidjar follows the figure of the enemy, as it informs arguments in many discursive areas: literature and philosophy to be sure, but also politics, theology, the constructions of race and ethnicity, history, etc. By showing in what ways the figure of the enemy is intertwined with construction of the Jew, the Arab, the Moslem, the Christian, the European, Anidjar continually challenges the reader to rethink concepts of and habitus related to the concept of enemy. Each chapter consists of cogent analyses, an illustration of relations among works and fields, and insightful remarks." --Lawrence R. Schehr, University of Illinois

About the Author

Gil Anidjar is Associate Professor in the Department of Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures at Columbia University. He is the author of "Our Place in Al-Andalus" Kabbalah, Philosophy, Literature in Arab Jewish Letters (Stanford, 2002).