Biography

Friedmann was born in Zákamenné

Zákamenné

Zákamenné is the biggest village in the Orava region in the northern part of Slovakia. Zákamenné lies in the north-western part of Orava. It belongs to the protected landscape area of Horná Orava and the specially protected area of Horná Orava...

, Czechoslovakia and immigrated to Israel with his parents in 1949. He attended high school at the Reali School in Haifa

Haifa

Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...

 (1945-1950). In 1956 he began his undergraduate studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Hebrew University of Jerusalem

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...

, Department of Arabic Language and Literature, receiving his BA in 1959. In 1962 he finished a master's degree in Arabic literature; his thesis was on the Arab poet Al-Ma'arri

Al-Ma'arri

Abul ʿAla Al-Maʿarri was a blind Arab philosopher, poet and writer....

. After this, Friedman went to McGill University

McGill University

Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...

 in Montreal to study for his doctorate. He learned Urdu

Urdu

Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...

 and focused on the history of Islam in India. His dissertation on Muslim religious thinker Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi

Ahmad Sirhindi

Imām Rabbānī Shaykh Ahmad al-Farūqī al-Sirhindī was an Indian Islamic scholar from Punjab, a Hanafi jurist, and a prominent member of the Naqshbandī Sufi order. He is described as Mujaddid Alf Thānī, meaning the "reviver of the second millennium", for his work in rejuvenating Islam and opposing...

 was approved in 1966. In the same year, Friedman joined the Hebrew University and was appointed lecturer in Islamic studies.

He is now Max Schloessinger Professor Emeritus of Islamic Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Hebrew University of Jerusalem

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...

 and, since 1999, a member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities

Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities

The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, based in Jerusalem, was set up in 1961 by the State of Israel to foster contact between scholars from the sciences and humanities in Israel, to advise the government on research projects of national importance, and to promote excellence. It comprises...

. He held several offices with the University: Chair of the Institute of Asian Studies

Asian studies

Asian studies, a term used usually in the United States for Oriental studies and is concerned with the Asian peoples, their cultures, languages, history and politics...

 and African Studies

African studies

African studies is the study of Africa, especially the cultures and societies of Africa .The field includes the study of:Culture of Africa, History of Africa , Anthropology of Africa , Politics of Africa, Economy of Africa African studies is the study of Africa, especially the cultures and...

 from 1975-1978; Chair of the Graduate School from 1980-1983; Dean of Humanities from 1985-1988; Chair of the Department of Arabic language

Arabic language

Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...

 and literature

Arabic literature

Arabic literature is the writing produced, both prose and poetry, by writers in the Arabic language. The Arabic word used for literature is adab which is derived from a meaning of etiquette, and implies politeness, culture and enrichment....

 from 2002-2004. In 2003 he was the Sternberg Distinguished Lecturer. In 2007 he has been elected Chair of the Humanities Division of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities.

In 2002 Friedmann was member at the Institute for Advanced Study

Institute for Advanced Study

The Institute for Advanced Study, located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States, is an independent postgraduate center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It was founded in 1930 by Abraham Flexner...

 in Princeton

Princeton Township, New Jersey

Also Princeton Borough is an independent municipality completely surrounded by the township.Princeton North is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Princeton Township....

. In 2003 he received the Landau Prize in the Humanities. Since 1993, he has been the editor of Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam

Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam

Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam is a peer reviewed, international academic journal devoted to the study of classical Islam, Islamic religious thought, Arabic language and literature, the origins of Islamic institutions, and the interaction between Islam and other civilizations. The founding...

. Friedmann served several times as visiting Professor at New York University

New York University

New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...

 and the University of Pennsylvania

University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...

. In 1997 he was scholar in residence with the Rockefeller Foundation

Rockefeller Foundation

The Rockefeller Foundation is a prominent philanthropic organization and private foundation based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The preeminent institution established by the six-generation Rockefeller family, it was founded by John D. Rockefeller , along with his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr...

.

Research interests

Friedmann's studies center on Islamic religious thought, mainly in the Indian subcontinent. He assays the historical record for evidence of both tolerance and intolerance of other religious faiths in the Islamic tradition in his most recent work, "Tolerance and Coercion in Islam: Interfaith Relations in the Muslim Tradition".

Works

• "Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi. An outline of his thought and a study of his image in the eyes of posterity." McGill-Queens University Press, 1971. Reprint Oxford |University Press, 2000.
• Prophecy Continuous. Aspects of Ahmadi Religious Thought and Its Medieval Background, Berkeley, University of California Press, 1989
• The Naqshbandis and Awrangzeb: A reconsideration in: Naqshbandis: Historical Developments And Present Situation, 1990
• Husain Ahmad Madani in: Dictionnaire biographique des savants et grandes figures du monde musulman périphérique, 1992
• The History of al-Tabari: The Battle of al-Qadisiyyah and the Conquest of Syria and Palestine (The History of Messengers and Kings), 1992
• Jam`iyyat al-`ulama-'i Hind, in: The Oxford Encyclopaedia Of The Modern Islamic World, 1995
• Ahmadiyya, in: The Oxford Encyclopaedia Of The Modern Islamic World, 1995
• The messianic claim of Ghulam Ahmad, in: Messianism, eds. M.R. Cohen and P. Schaefer, Leiden, E.J., 1998
• Classification of unbelievers in Sunni Muslim law and tradition in: Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam, 1998
• Conditions of conversion in early Islam. In: Ritual and Ethics: Patterns of Repentance, eds. A. Destro, 2000
• Dissension in: Encyclopedia of the Qur'an, vol. 1, p. 538-540, 2001
• Ahmadiyya in: Encyclopedia of the Qur'an, vol. 1, p. 50-51, 2001
• Messianismus im Islam in: Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart, vol. 5, 2003
• Chiliasmus im Islam in: Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart, vol. 2, 2003
• Ahmadiyya in: Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart, vol. 1, 2003
• Tolerance and Coercion in Islam: Interfaith Relations in the Muslim Tradition, Cambridge University Press, 2003

External links

• Speech held in Oslo
  Oslo
  Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
  
  by Y. Friedmann, June 20, 2005 (.rtf)