
Professor Jiang Xueqin | Sabbatai Zevi, Jacob Frank, & The Secret Faith Of Power
Jewish Crisis of Faith and Sabbatai Zevi's Conversion to Islam
Professor Jiang provides historical context for the 17th-century Jewish diaspora, citing the trauma of the 1492 expulsion from Spain and subsequent persecutions. When Sabbatai Zevi was given the choice by the Ottoman Sultan to convert to Islam or face execution, his choice to convert shocked his followers. Jiang explains the theological justification used by Zevi's adherents: that the Messiah had to descend into sin and conversion to redeem those who had previously been forced to abandon their faith.
















