The Judeo‐Islamic God

Abstract

This article discusses the concept of the Judeo‐Islamic God as a substantive and defensible alternative to the problematic concept of the “Judeo‐Christian God” in popular, political, and academic Western discourses. It argues that the transcendent monotheistic deity of Islam, Allāh, is a direct continuation of the composite deity of Rabbinic Judaism, El‐Yahweh. By discussing the presence of Jews in ancient Arabia, this article analyzes how Jewish beliefs and traditions shaped early and formative Muslim conceptions of God. As a result, readers are urged to reflect on why the Judeo‐Islamic God is not a normative term in religious studies and to question the motivations behind the popular use of the term “Judeo‐Christian God” in its stead.