Between Mumbai and Manila : Judaism in Asia since the Founding of the State of Israel (Proceedings of the International Conference, held at the Department of Comparative Religion of the University of Bonn. May 30, to June 1, 2012)

Die Vielfalt des Judentums zwischen Mumbai und Manila

The volume offers a diversity of facets of Jewry between Mumbai and Manila. While some of its papers make references to the important factor how politics and religions are often intertwined, other papers are arranged along the lines of “area studies” – from South Asia via Southeast Asia to China and the Far East. Even if these articles at first glance concentrate on “local” minority communities they always take into ac count that the Jewish communities in Asia take part in interactions of religions which can help to foster mutual understanding. The studies presented at the conference refer to an extended approach always bringing Jewish Studies into international links and “crossing borders” – thus opening comparative perspectives to broaden our knowledge of Jewish history. So we have to reconsider aspects of Jewish studies for the future, which would include Asian and religious studies in a qualitative, comparative, and interdisciplinary way and thus can shift away from the Euro-American-centric point of view regarding Jewish Studies.