Medieval Jewish polemic framed Muslim circumcision as shared Abrahamic inheritance

Evidence

For just as it is clear that Ishmael was circumcised by Abraham according to the Lord’s command, so Esau was circumcised by Isaac and the wicked sons by the patriarchs in the same way as the chosen sons, so that from this their descendants would also follow the example of circumcision if they remained God’s followers, just as you yourselves still do even today-you who undergo circumcision at the age of twelve, following the example of your father Ishmael. (49) The controversy that still surrounds the identification of the philosopher with Arabs may appear surprising at this point, but I would argue that it is not arbitrary, not simply the result of strange, if persistent, biases. — Gil Anidjar, The Jew, the Arab, 226

Categorization

• CANDY: A striking detail: a medieval Jew in a philosophical dialogue invokes circumcision lineage to claim common ground with a Muslim ‘pagan’ against the uncircumcised Christian — great trivia.
• XREF: Connects to the essay on immodesty in that both show medieval inter-communal polemic deploying shared Abrahamic bodily markers — circumcision here, dress norms there.