Scholars reinsert theological-political divisions despite Sabbatai Zevi’s own embrace of Islam

Evidence

Liebes writes that “the Sabbatean messianic movement was mainly a movement of religious rather than political redemption.” In so doing, Liebes operates a double gesture whereby he addresses, quite exceptionally, the importance oflslam in Sabbateanism (an importance that one would have found hard to refute, given Zevi’s letter to his own Stammesbruder: “My brothers, know … that the True One, which only I have known for many generations and for which I have toiled, wanted me to enter Islam with all my heart.” Sabbatai also signed his letters “Muhammad”). Yet Liebes reinscribes the division as that of theology from politics. — Gil Anidjar, The Jew, the Arab, 779

Categorization

• XREF: The theology/politics division Anidjar deconstructs mirrors the Jew/Arab binary he argues is genealogically one — core to the bridge thesis.