Routledge Jews and Muslims in Seventeenth-Century Discourse: From Religious Enemies to Allies and Friends

Jews and Muslims in Seventeenth-Century Discourse explores for the first time the extent to which the unusual religious diversity and tolerance of the Dutch Republic affected how its residents regarded Jews and Muslims. Analyzing an array of vernacular publications, this book reveals how Dutch writers, especially those within the nonconformist and spiritualist camps, expressed positive attitudes toward religious diversity in general, and Jews and Muslims in particular. Through covering the Eighty Years War (1568-1648) and the post-war era, it also highlights how the Dutch search for allies against Spain led them to approach Muslim rulers. The Dutch were assisted in this by their positive relations with Jews, and were thus able to shape a more affirmative portrayal of Islam. Revealing noticeable differences in language and tone between English and Dutch publications and exploring societal attitudes and culture, Jews and Muslims in Seventeenth-Century Discourse is ideal for students of British and Dutch early-modern cultural, intellectual, and religious history. Review 'This insightful and original study offers an ambitious dual comparison, exploring attitudes to Jews and Muslims, in England and the Dutch Republic, during the seventeenth century. Approaching this topic from a wide range of angles – individual, diplomatic, commercial and theological – and making use of a rich and diverse corpus of primary sources, this book will be of great interest to scholars and teachers of early modern European history, religious studies, and the history of community relations and toleration.' Adam Sutcliffe, King's College London, UK About the Author Gary K. Waite is a professor of early-modern European history at the University of New Brunswick. He has published widely on religion, drama, and culture in the Low Countries, on Anabaptism and spiritualism, witchcraft and demonology, and is currently preoccupied with seventeenth-century Dutch religious nonconformists and the early Enlightenment.