Perspektiven auf Judentum und Islam im früheren 16. Jahrhundert

The article deals with how prominent representatives of the so-called »Radical Reformation« or early Anabaptism looked at contemporary Judaism and Islam. It shows that Martin Luther's reassessments of these foreign religions triggered dynamic developments that differed fundamentally from his own increasingly reactionary attitudes. In contrast to the late Luther, radical hostility towards Jews did not play a special role in the milieus of the »radicals«. In a small group of Anabaptists, also due to sporadic contacts with Jewish communities, a messianic theology developed that also offered expectations of salvation for Jews and Muslims. The prospect that the troops of the Ottoman Empire would conquer Germany and Europe played an important role in the apocalyptic ideas of some representatives of the Radical Reformation. After this victory, in which a holy remnant of true Christians would survive, there would be a millennial empire. The article attempts to show that the processes of dissociation within religions, which were broken open by the Reformation, changed the Christian perception of Judaism and Islam.