While the previous motives focused on the common ground between the two systems...

While the previous motives focused on the common ground between the two systems, the current comparative perspective, sometimes described as ‘new comparativism’,[^11] seeks to develop self-understanding and to increase awareness of their essential variations. Such a perspective is indifferent as to whether an actual encounter between the traditions occurred. The comparative method is likely to be an imaginary set-up by which a certain legal system is more clearly reflected.

In that respect a comparative perspective might be evaluated as a kind of thought experiment. In fact, referring to actual encounters and common ground is entirely justified when addressing medieval Jewish and Islamic jurisprudential thought. Moreover, since actual interactions between Jews and Muslims took place on various stages, both deliberately and unconsciously, it would be wrong to avoid…