Qur’an Versus Kabbalah: A Reading into Palestinian-Israeli Conflict

Abstract This paper examines the historical development of Messianic Kabbalah and its impact on the Palestinian–Israeli conflict. It argues that the concept of redemption (tikkun), a central theme in Messianic Kabbalah, has been a significant factor in the conflict and has contributed to using force for peace. It provides a detailed analysis of the historical evolution of Messianic Kabbalah and its role in shaping the religious and political beliefs of different Jewish groups, including the Zionist settlers. It also examines the theological and philosophical foundations of Messianic ideas, which helped to establish beliefs that influenced the development of Zionism, and uses a historical-critical methodology to analyse Jewish sources in the Qur’an. It focuses on 20th-century figures like Gershom Sholem and Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook rather than earlier Zionist figures (e.g., Rabbi Yehudah Alkalai, Rabbi Hirsch Kalischer, Ahad Ha’am, Rabbi Mohilever, Jacob Klatzkin). Sholem’s pioneering analysis of Jewish mysticism and Kook’s synthesis of Messianic Kabbalah with Zionist ideology together illuminate how mystical ideas were transformed into modern political practices. This approach contrasts with the works of other Kabbalistic authorities such as Jacob Emden, Leon Modena and non-Jewish scholars like Johannes Buxtorf, Jean Morin and Jacques Basnage, whose contributions are less directly connected to the evolution of Zionist thought. The study opens the door for future research to explore the lesser-known aspects of Islamo–Judeo relations during the 12th century. The main findings of this paper pave the way towards a better understanding of the intricate relationship between religion, politics and violence in the Palestinian–Israeli conflict through the framework of the Qur’an and, specifically, how the displacement of Palestinians witnessed in modern times can be traced back to Messianic ideas. Zionism adopted Kabbalistic Messianism to justify colonialist ideologies. The theological interpretation of Messianic Kabbalism is developed in isolation of the Qur’anic interpretation and Islamic influence. Keywords KabbalahJudaismQur'anMessianicRedemption (tikun)IsraelPalestine Article Details License Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of Al-Tamaddun Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. By submitting manuscripts to the Journal of Al-Tamaddun, authors agree to transfer copyright to the journal. However, authors may republish their work or grant others permission to republish it; in which case it should be accompanied by a proper acknowledgment that the work was originally published in the Journal of Al-Tamaddun. The journal adopt CC-BY-NC licence which authors may also share and distribute their article anywhere of non-commercial website, social media and repositories immediately on publication. Authors may also reuse the Abstract and Citation information (e.g. Title, Author name, Publication dates) of their article anywhere at any time including social media such as Facebook, blogs and Twitter, providing that where possible a link is included back to the article on the journal site. How to Cite Asmad, A., Amin, E. M. A., Ahmed, M. M. E.-D. ., & Youssef , A. . . (2025). Qur’an Versus Kabbalah: A Reading into Palestinian-Israeli Conflict. Journal of Al-Tamaddun, 20(1), 245–265. https://doi.org/10.22452/JAT.vol20no1.18 Download Citation Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS) BibTeX Copyright © JAT. All Rights Reserved. ISSN: 1823-7517 e-ISSN: 2289-2672