Encyclopedia
The Encyclopedia of the Jews, Judaism, and Zionism is the product of over 25 years of research and critical inquiry. An encyclopedia on almost all aspects of Judaism, the Jews, Zionism, and Israel, written by a non-Jewish Arab, is considered the first of its Kind. It is not only a deconstructive encyclopedia, taking a critical stance vis a vis its subject matter, but also a reconstructive one, suggesting alternative ways of looking at Jewish, Zionist, and Israeli phenomena, and new terminology to deal with them.
The Encyclopedia deals with all aspects of the history of the ancient Hebrews, and that of the Jewish communities all over the world, covering the world-wide numbers and distribution of the Jewish communities, their main traits, and their organizational institution, as well as their relationships with their respective homelands and with the Zionist state. It also deals with the major Jewish personalities (such as Maimonides) and non-Jewish personalities (such as Napoleon and Hitler) that figure prominently in the histories of the Jewish communities. The Encyclopedia, moreover, deals with almost all aspects of Judaism, its sects and holy books, its rituals, its crisis in the modern times, and its relationship with both Zionism and anti-Semitism. It also covers the Zionist movement, its activities, "schools", and main figures, as well as some of the main aspects of the Zionist State.
The Encyclopedia is decontructive/ reconstructive in as far as it does the following:
1-Presents an alternative general history of Judaism, the Jews, Zionism, and Israel.
2-Provides precise definitions of the essential Jewish and Zionist concepts and terms, giving a new history thereof, and underscoring their problematic aspects.
3-Examines biased concepts and terms, in order to replace them by more neutral and explanatory ones.
The Encyclopedia consists of eight volumes, each dealing with a specific topic, comprising a number of parts. Each part, in turn, consists of a number of chapters divided into entries. The total number of entries is 2300, and the average number of pages in each volume is about 400 pages.
Even though the Encyclopedia is topically arranged in Arabic, it contains two alphabetical indices: one in Arabic, and the other in English.
General Contents of the Encyclopedia
Volume 1 (in five parts): Theoretical Framework
- Theoretical Problems.
- Paradigm as an Analytical Tool.
- Monistic Pantheism/Immanence.
- Comprehensive Secularism.
- Functional Groups.
Volume 2 (in four parts): The Jewish Communities-Problematics
- The nature of the Jews in All Times and Places.
- Jews or Jewish Communities?
- Jews or Jewish Functional Groups?
- The Gentiles' Eternal Hostility to Judaism and the Jews
Volume 3 (in tow parts): The Jewish Communities - Modernization and Culture
- Modernization.
- Cultures of the Jewish Communities.
Volume 4 (in three parts): The Jewish Communities - Histories
- The history of the Jewish Communities in the Ancient World.
- The history of the Jewish Communities in the Muslim World
- The history of the Jewish Communities in the Western World.
Volume 5 (in three parts): Judaism - Concepts and Sects
- Judaism-Some Problematics.
- Concepts and Basic Doctrines.
- Jewish Religious Sects.
Volume 6 (in four parts): Zionism
- Problematic and Basic themes.
- History of Zionism
- Zionism Organization.
- Zionism and the Jewish Communities.
Volume 7 (in five parts): Israel - The Zionist state
- The Problematic of Normalization and the Functional State.
- Settler - Colonial State.
- Racism and Depopulation.
- The Settler - Colonial System.
- The Crisis of Zionism and the Israeli Question.
Volume 8: Supplements and Indices
- The Mechanics of the Encyclopedia.
- Definition of Main Concepts and Terms.
- Historical Tables of the Main Events in the History of Humanity at Large, as well as in the Specific Histories of Both the Jewish Communities and Palestine.
- Topical Index: Comprehensive Index of all the Volumes, Parts, Chapters, and Entries.
- Arabic Alphabetical Index.
- English Alphabetical Index.