Encyclopedia of Islam

Further reading: Bernard McGinn, Anti-Christ: Two 

Thousand Years of the Human Fascination with Evil

(New York: Columbia University Press, 2000); Zeki 

Saritoprak, “The Legend of al-Dajjal (Antichrist): The 

Personification of Evil in the Islamic Tradition.” Muslim 

World 93 (2003): 291–308.

anti-Semitism

A term coined in the 19th century, anti-Semitism 

is used to describe hateful attitudes and hostile 

actions directed at Jews. It is not to be confused 

with the persecution of Jews by Christians and 

others prior to that time, which is better under-

stood as anti-Judaism—the persecution of Jews 

because of their religious beliefs and practices. The 

term Semite originated in modern history as part 

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