Acknowledgements
This book is the result of years of research during which I have had the wonderful opportunity to be a member of working groups at the University of Amsterdam, the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin, the CSIC in Madrid (particularly CORPI), the University of Groningen, the Frankel Institute for Advanced Studies of the University of Michigan and the Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas, Tel Aviv University. They have provided me with the necessary means and inspiration to develop the most important ideas in the text presented here. Attendance at conferences and workshops organized by these centres and by others, such as the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, the Minerva Institute (Tel Aviv University), the Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften (Bad Homburg), the Universidad Complutense of Madrid and the University of Copenhagen, to name just a few, have helped me to develop some parts in greater depth thanks to the generous and valuable feedback of the organizers and other participants. The revision of the manuscript has taken place in the collegial environment of the Faculty of Religion, Culture and Society at the University of Groningen, where I am currently conducting a research project funded by the Dutch Research Council NWO (VENI). My special gratitude for his tireless support of my work goes to Professor Gerard Wiegers and for her invaluable help and critical view on Islamic science to Professor Sonja Brentjes. I have greatly benefited from the comments of Professors Yossef Schwartz, Ido Yavetz and Benno van Dalen and from the conversations with Anuj Misra and Giulia Rispoli in the corridors and garden of the MPIWG and in Berlin’s cafés; from Rosemary Robson, for her insightful comments on the text. They and many other colleagues have made me raise and rethink perspectives and ways of working or have simply been kind enough to listen patiently to my efforts to place this outstanding polemic against Judaism and Christianity under the magnifying glass. As the reader will understand, the work presents specific challenges and my studies have not always been able to decipher everything. However, the author’s unique way of understanding the subject matter makes it a source of primary importance for understanding Mudejar and, more broadly, Muslim thought and knowledge of science on the shores of the western Mediterranean. The pages that follow are a humble first step towards accumulating more in-depth knowledge of this composition, which will hopefully be followed by future research. I could not end without thanking my family, who have accompanied me on every step of the way or who have been able to wait with a loving smile along the way.