Sephardic Jews in the Netherlands of Sephardic Jewry in Amsterdam, the Mahamad also closely controlled the process of re-judaization - that is helping those whose families had been secretly living as Jews while being outwardly Catholic return to a full Jewish life. In this process, several individuals rejected Rabbinic Judaism or advanced ideas outside of the norms of Judaism at that time and were disciplined by the Mahamad through the process of herem, which could be anything from denial of Torah honors to an outright ban on the individual. The most famous of those to receive a full ban herem was philosopher Baruch Spinoza, whose
University of Religions and Denominations values of human rights and religions, to discover the positions of different religions and to promote the religious approach to Human Rights. It began its work in May 2008. Researchers in the field of religions and human rights as well as a group of experts in similar fields hold regular seminars. This office is also responsible for translating and writing books and articles. University of Religions and Denominations The University of Religions and Denominations () is a teaching and research center focusing on the study of religions and Islamic sects. The president of the university is Sayyid Abulhasan Navab, one