English Full Expanded Version1. Did the Son of Maimonides (Rambam) Convert to Islam? Why This Headline?No, the son of Maimonides — Rabbi Abraham ben Moses ben Maimon (also known as Rabbeinu Abraham or Abraham Maimonides, 1186–1237) — did not convert to Islam. He remained a devout Jew throughout his life: leader (Nagid) of the Egyptian Jewish community, court physician to the Ayyubid sultan, biblical commentator, philosopher, halakhist, and theologian. However, he was deeply influenced by Sufism (Islamic mysticism) and actively tried to integrate selected Sufi practices and spiritual concepts into Judaism in order to revitalize what he saw as a spiritually dry Jewish practice of his time. This bold experiment sparked fierce controversy, including accusations that he was “Islamizing” the synagogues.Brief Background
English Full Expanded Version 1. Did the Son of Maimonides (Rambam) Convert to Islam? Why This Headline? No, the son of Maimonides — Rabbi Abraham ben Moses ben Maimon (also known as Rabbeinu Abraham or Abraham Maimonides, 1186–1237) — did not convert to Islam. He remained a devout Jew throughout his life: leader (Nagid) of the Egyptian Jewish community, court physician to the Ayyubid sultan, biblical commentator, philosopher, halakhist, and theologian. However, he was deeply influenced by Sufism (Islamic mysticism) and actively tried to integrate selected Sufi practices and spiritual concepts into Judaism in order to revitalize what he saw as a spiritually dry Jewish practice of his time. This bold experiment sparked fierce controversy, including accusations that he was “Islamizing” the synagogues. Brief Background Only son of Moses Maimonides (Rambam); born in Egypt when his father was already 51 years old. At age 18, after his father’s death in 1204, he inherited the position of ...
