Why did Christian use ideas about Jews to think about Muslims? For the same reasons they used ideas about Jews to think about all sorts of people and topics unrelated to real Jews... which only begs the question. Discover some answers and how they might help us understand both the past and the present.

David Freidenreich studies how premodern Christians, Jews, and Muslims understood one another — because many of these ideas continue to shape contemporary attitudes and interactions. He's the Pulver Family Professor of Jewish Studies at Colby College, where he serves as chair of the Jewish studies department and associate director of the Center for Small Town Jewish Life. He earned his Ph.D. at Columbia University and rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary.