College of Arts Faculty Member Participates in PhD Dissertation Defense Committee at Tikrit University

Assist. Prof. Dr. Othman Fadhil Abbas, a faculty member in the Department of History at the College of Arts, participated as a member of the defense committee for a PhD dissertation at the College of Education for Human Sciences, Tikrit University. The dissertation was titled: "The Jews of the Hejaz in the Early Islamic Period as Presented in the Book 'The History of Jews in Arabia in the Pre-Islamic Era and Early Islam' by the Orientalist Israel Wolfensohn: A Historical Study."

The discussion explored the history of the Jews of the Hejaz by examining the methodology used by the orientalist Israel Wolfensohn in presenting historical events. The committee discussed his views and sources, determining the extent to which his conclusions align with accounts found in Arabic and Islamic primary sources. Furthermore, the defense highlighted the impact of the orientalist’s intellectual and methodological background on his interpretation of events.

The dissertation concluded that its primary significance lies in addressing a subject that bridges early Islamic history and Orientalist studies. It sheds light on the reality of Jewish communities in the Hejaz during the early days of Islam, focusing on their political, economic, and social relations with the nascent Islamic state.