The Goldziher (Gold-zi-air) Prize is named for Ignác Goldziher (1850-1921), a Hungarian Jewish scholar of Islamic jurisprudence and poetry. His studies of Islam and travels to cities with Muslim majorities were motivated by deep respect and curiosities.   

In the 1870’s, Goldziher toured Constantinople, Beirut, Damascus, Jerusalem, and Cairo, where he became a student at Al-Azhar, the largest university in the Muslim world. There he prayed in a mosque and wrote in his diary: “In the midst of thousands of the pious, I rubbed my forehead against the floor… never in my life was I more devout … than on that Friday.” Goldziher believed Islam represented a touchstone for other monotheistic religions.

Returning to Hungary, Goldziher is credited as one of the founders of Islamic Studies in Western and Central European universities, where Jews had only recently been permitted admission, and where the study of Islam in European departments of religion was previously treated as heresy.

Goldziher was unique for his time because he studied Islam from within and from without—that is to say, critically but not judgmentally. He was curious about the vast diversity and richness of the the practice of Islam for Muslims historically.  Of course, Goldziher was not free of biases, but he felt a close affinity with Islam without being Muslim — an interesting and productive position to claim.

Goldziher’s legacy offers us a model for connections between Muslims and Jews, reminding us of how many more possibilities exist beyond conflict.  To learn more, please see Europe's Jewish Scholars of Islam by Shalom Goldman.