A social history of late Ottoman women : new perspectives /
:
In A Social History of the Late Ottoman Women: New Perspectives , Duygu Köksal and Anastasia Falierou bring together new research on women of different geographies and communities of the late Ottoman Empire. Making use of archives, literary works, diaries, newspapers, almanacs, art works or cartoons, the contributors focus particularly on the ways in which women gained power and exercised agency in late Ottoman Empire and early Republican Turkey. The articles convincingly show that women's agency cannot be unearthed without narrating how women were involved in shaping their own and others' lives even in the most unexpected areas of their existence. The women's activities described here do not simply reflect modernizing trends or westernizing attitudes-or their defensive denial. They provide an array of local responses where 'the local' can never be found (and should never be conceptualized) in its initial, unchanged, or authentic state.
:
1 online resource (xiv, 348 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004255258 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Accusations of unbelief in Islam : a diachronic perspective on takfir /
:
The present volume-the first of its kind-deals with takfīr : accusing one´s opponents of unbelief ( kufr ). Originating in the first decades of Islam, this practice has been applied intermittently ever since. The nineteen studies included here deal with cases, covering different periods and parts of the Muslim world, of individuals or groups that used the instrument of takfīr to brand their opponents-either persons, groups or even institutions-as unbelievers who should be condemned, anathematized or even persecuted. Each case presented is placed in its sociopolitical and religious context. Together the contributions show the multifariousness that has always characterized Islam and the various ways in which Muslims either sought to suppress or to come to terms with this diversity. With contributions by: Roswitha Badry, Sonja Brentjes, Brian J. Didier, Michael Ebstein, Simeon Evstatiev, Ersilia Francesca, Robert Gleave, Steven Judd, István T. Kristó-Nagy, Göran Larsson, Amalia Levanoni, Orkhan Mir-Kasimov, Hossein Modarressi, Justyna Nedza, Intisar A. Rabb, Sajjad Rizvi, Daniel de Smet, Zoltan Szombathy, Joas Wagemakers.
:
1 online resource. :
9789004307834 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Mothers and daughters in Arab women's literature the family frontier /
:
This study explores the mother-daughter relationship as the most fundamental and most intimate female relationship and as the cornerstone of Arab family life. Drawing on autobiographical and semifictional works by women writers from across the Arab world, the study offers a first-hand account of how Arab women view and experience this primary bond. The author uses both early and contemporary writings of Arab women to illuminate the traditional and evolving nature of mother-daughter relationships in Arab families and how these family dynamics reflect and influence modern Arab life. The compelling narratives demystify the institutions of family and motherhood and show the potential of mothers and daughters to transform the patriarchal family and thus the fabric of Arab society. A groundbreaking work that fills a void in cross-cultural studies, it is of interest to scholars and students of Middle Eastern studies, women's studies, and family studies.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004191099 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The transmission and dynamics of the textual sources of Islam : essays in honour of Harald Motzki /
:
For many Muslims, the textual sources of Islam provide the guiding principles on which they base their beliefs. These texts have also been studied by Western scholars of Islam for centuries. Most of their work has focussed on the historicity of the texts, often at the expense of the study of Muslims' highly diverse interpretation and application of these sources in everyday life. This volume provides new insights into the transmission of these sources (primarily the Qurʾān and the Ḥadīth) and combines this with the dynamics of these scriptures by paying close attention to how believers in the Muslim world as well as the West interpret and apply them. As such, this volume provides a fascinating overview of how the sources of Islam are dated, debated and negotiated. Contributors include: Nicolet Boekhoff-van der Voort, Gregor Schoeler, Maribel Fierro, Fred Leemhuis, Claude Gilliot, Andreas Görke, Jens Scheiner, Michael Lecker, Maher Jarrar, Gerard Wiegers, Uri Rubin, Kees Versteegh, Joas Wagemakers, Herbert Berg, Abdulkader Tayob, Roel Meijer, Martijn de Koning, Carmen Becker and Ulrike Mitter.
:
1 online resource (xvi, 495 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [13]-24) and index. :
9789004206786 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Speaking for Islam : religious authorities in Muslim societies /
:
Who speaks for Islam? To whom do Muslims turn when they look for guidance? To what extent do individual scholars and preachers exert religious authority, and how can it be assessed? The upsurge of Islamism has lent new urgency to these questions, but they have deeper roots and a much longer history, and they certainly should not be considered in the light of present concerns only. The present volume - grown out of an international symposium at the Free University, Berlin in 2002 - is not so much concerned with religious authority , but with religious authorities , men and women claiming, projecting and exerting religious authority within a given context. It addresses issues such as the relationship of knowledge, conduct and charisma, the social functions of the schools of law and theology, and the efforts on the part of governments and rulers to organize religious scholars and to implement state-centred hierarchies. The volume focuses on Middle Eastern Muslim majority societies in the period from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries, and the individual papers offer case studies elucidating important aspects of the wider phenomenon. Individually and collectively, they highlight the scope and variety of religious authorities in past and present Muslim societies. This book is also available in paperback .
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047408864 :
1385-3376 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Arabic humanities, Islamic thought : essays in honor of Everett K. Rowson /
:
This volume brings together studies that explore the richness of the Arabic literary tradition and of Islamic intellectual life, from the beginnings of Islam to the present. The contributors cover an unusually wide range of subjects, including such topics as guile in the Quran, marriage in Islamic law, early esoterica, commentaries on al-Ḥarīrī's Maqamāt , Hellenistic philosophy in Arabic, medieval music and song, scurrilous poetry, Arabic rhetoric, cursing, the modern social and legal history of the Middle East, al-Kharrat's modernist project, and contemporary Islamic thought and responses to it. The volume's range reflects the enormous breadth of Everett Rowson's scholarship and his impact over a lifetime of publishing, editing, teaching, and mentoring in the many fields that constitute the Arabic humanities and Islamic thought. Contributors: Ali Humayun Akhtar, Thomas Bauer, Hans Hinrich Biesterfeldt, Kevin van Bladel, Marilyn Booth, Michael Cooperson, Kenneth M. Cuno, Geert Jan van Gelder, Hala Halim, Lara Harb, David Hollenberg, Matthew L. Keegan, David Larsen, Joseph E. Lowry, Zainab Mahmood, Jon McGinnis, Jeannie Miller, John Nawas, Bilal Orfali, Alex Popovkin, Dwight F. Reynolds, Susan A. Spectorsky, Tara Stephan, Adam Talib, Sarra Tlili, Shawkat M. Toorawa, James Toth, Mark S. Wagner.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004343290 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Israel in Egypt: The Land of Egypt as Concept and Reality for Jews in Antiquity and the Early Medieval Period /
:
In Israel in Egypt scholars in different fields explore what can be known of the experiences of the many and varied Jewish communities in Egypt, from biblical sources to the medieval world. For generations of Jews from antiquity to the medieval period, the land of Egypt represented both a place of danger to their communal religious identity and also a haven with opportunities for prosperity and growth. A volume of collected essays from scholars in fields ranging from biblical studies and classics to papyrology and archaeology, Israel in Egypt explores what can be known of the experiences of the many and varied Jewish communities in Egypt, from biblical sources to the medieval world.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004435407
9789004435391
Female Stereotypes in Religious Traditions.
:
This volume contains a collection of studies describing and analyzing stereotypes of women in the religions of Ancient Israel and Mesopotamia, and in Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Medieval Christianity, Islam, Indian Sufism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Tibetan religions, and modern Neopaganism. In all these traditions the stereotypes are based on generalizations, which are socially, culturally or religiously legitimized, and which seem to have a lasting influence on society's conceptions of women. They represent oversimplified opinions, which are, however, regularly challenged by the women who are affected by them. In all traditions the stereotypes are ambiguous, either because women have challenged their validity, or because historical developments in society have reshaped them. They influence public opinion by emphasizing dominant views, as a strategy to restrain women and to keep them controlled by the rules and morals of a male-dominated society.
:
1 online resource. :
9789004378889
Essays on Turkish literature and history /
:
In Essays on Turkish Literature and History Barbara Flemming makes available essays partly previously published in German. They offer insights gained through decades of scholarship. Although the Ottoman period is central, a wide range is covered, including an early Turkish principality, Mamluk and Ottoman Egypt, and contemporary southeastern Turkey. The essays look into historical and political factors involved in the preoccupation with the world's ending, into Muslim-Christian dialogue, the sultan's prayer before battle, and the bilingualism of poets. Of particular interest are the sections on female participation in mysticism, on an anti-Sufi movement in Cairo, on the Ottoman capital's appeal to collectors and emigrants (Diez, Süssheim, Böhlau), and on the far-reaching effects of alphabet change.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004355767 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Hidden intercourse : eros and sexuality in the history of Western esotericism /
:
From rumours about gnostic orgies in antiquity to the explicit erotic symbolism of alchemical texts, from the subtly coded eroticism of medieval kabbalah to the sexual magic practiced by contemporary occultists and countercultural translations of Asian Tantra, the history of Western esotericism is rich in references to the domains of eros and sexuality. This volume, which brings together an impressive array of top-level specialists, is the first to analyze the eroticism of the esoteric without sensationalism or cheap generalizations, but on the basis of expert scholarship and attention to textual and historical detail. While there are few other domains where the imagination may so easily run wild, the various contributions seek to distinguish fact from fiction--only to find that historical realities are sometimes even stranger than the fantasies. In doing so, they reveal the outlines of a largely unknown history spanning more than twenty centuries.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047443582 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The Character of David in Judaism, Christianity and Islam : Warrior, Poet, Prophet and King /
:
King David if one of the most central figures in all of the major monotheistic traditions. He generally connotes the heroic past of the (more imagined than real) ancient Israelite empire and is associated with messianic hopes for the future. Nevertheless, his richly ambivalent and fascinating literary portrayal in the Hebrew Bible is one of the most complex of all biblical characters. This volume aims at taking a new, critical look at the process of biblical creation and subsequent exegetical transformation of the character of David and his attributed literary composition (the Psalms), with particular emphasis put on the multilateral fertilization and cross-cultural interchanges among Jews, Christians and Muslims.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004465978
9789004465961
Roads to paradise : eschatology and concepts of the hereafter in Islam /
:
Roads to Paradise: Eschatology and Concepts of the Hereafter in Islam offers a multi-disciplinary study of Muslim thinking about paradise, death, apocalypse, and the hereafter. It focuses on eschatological concepts in the Quran and its exegesis, Sunni and Shi'i traditions, Islamic theology, philosophy, mysticism, and other scholarly disciplines reflecting Islamicate pluralism and cosmopolitanism. Gathering material from all parts of the Muslim world, ranging from Islamic Spain to Indonesia, and the entirety of Islamic history, this publication in two volumes also integrates research from comparative religion, art history, sociology, anthropology and literary studies. Unparalleled and unprecedented in its scope and comprehensiveness, Roads to Paradise promises to become the definitive reference work on Islamic eschatology for the years to come.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004333154 :
0929-2403 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Gender and Muslim constructions of exegetical authority : a rereading of the classical genre of Qur'ān commentary /
:
A number of classical Sunnī Quran commentaries quote several different types of exegetical materials attributed to a few female figures from the first century A.H/seventh century C.E.-āthār, ḥadīths, legal opinions and variant readings, as well as lines of poetry. In Gender and Muslim Constructions of Exegetical Authority , Aisha Geissinger provides a comprehensive introduction to such quotations, and offers an analysis of their place and significance within the pre-modern genre of Quran commentary, demonstrating that key hermeneutical concepts in classical quranic exegesis ( tafsīr ) are gendered. Bringing together materials which have not previously been examined in detail and utilising gender as a lens through which to study them, this work provides a new approach to the study of pre-modern tafsīr .
:
1 online resource (x, 319 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004294448 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Handbook of Freemasonry /
:
Freemasonry is the largest, oldest, and most influential secret society in the world. The Brill Handbook of Freemasonry is a pioneering work that brings together, for the first time, leading scholars on Freemasonry. The first section covers historical perspectives, such as the origins and early history of Freemasonry. The second deals with the relationship between Freemasonry and specific religious traditions such as the Catholic Church, Judaism, and Islam. In the third section, organisational themes, such as the use of rituals, are explored, while the fourth section deals with issues related to society and politics - women, blacks, colonialism, nationalism, and war. The fifth and final section is devoted to Freemasonry and culture, including music, literature, modern art, architecture and material culture.
:
1 online resource (pages) :
9789004273122 :
1874-6691 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Bāyazīd: The Life and Teachings of the Mystic Abū Yazīd al-Basṭāmī (d. ca. 234/848) : Based on the Earliest Sources /
:
Abū Yazīd al-Basṭāmī (d. ca 234/848), popularly known as "Bāyazīd", remains one of the most celebrated yet controversial figures in the history of Islamic mysticism. This in-depth study of his life and teachings is based on the earliest available sources. The book sets out in detail what is known of Bāyazīd's family, his education, his disciples and associates. It explores the distinctive rhetoric that has made some of his sayings so memorable, and shows how his mode of expression adds a sense of urgency, often drama, to quite conventional doctrines of Sufism. Through the varied corpus of his sayings, this study traces Bāyazīd's teachings concerning many aspects of the mystical path, as well as his reflections on God, the Prophet, heaven and hell. Having considered his role as spiritual master, his favourable view of women and his place in the wider community, the study then turns to the controversial side of Bāyazīd: his apparently blasphemous utterances, and his so-called miʿrāj . The book goes on to explore how the two seemingly contradictory sides to Bāyazīd might be reconciled, and finally, provides a brief survey of the extent of his influence on later Sufism and its literature. See Less
:
1 online resource (380 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004680494
Mediterranean Captivity through Arab Eyes, 1517-1798 /
:
The post-Lepanto Mediterranean was the scene of "small wars," to use Fernand Braudel's phrase, which resulted in acts of piracy and captivity. Thousands upon thousands of Europeans, Arabs, and Turks were seized into bagnios stretching from Cadiz to Valletta and from Salé to Tripoli. After returning to their homelands, dozens from England and France, Germany and Spain, Malta and Italy wrote about their captivities. Their accounts were printed, distributed, translated, and plagiarized, making captivity a key subject in Europe's Mediterranean history. While Europeans wrote extensively about their ordeals, the Arabs wrote little because their religious culture militated against such writings, which would be construed as expressing disaffection with the will of God. Nor were there detailed records and registers of captives - their names, places of origin, and ransom prices - similar to what was kept in the European archives. Contrary, however, to what some historians have claimed, there was a distinct Arabic narrative of captivity that survives in anecdotes, recollections, reports, miracles, letters, fatawa, exempla and short biographies in both verse and prose. Cumulatively, these sources constitute the Arabic qiṣṣas al-asrā, or stories of the captives, in the native language and idiom of the men and women of the early modern Mediterranean.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004440258
9789004440241
Classical Arabic humanities in their own terms : festschrift for Wolfhart Heinrichs on his 65th birthday /
:
The volume brings together approaches to different elements of Arabic-Islamic civilization, mainly in the areas of linguistics, literature, literary theory, and prosody, but also including religion, ritual, economics, and zoology. Contributions also touch upon the adjacent areas of the Old Iranian, Persian, Greek and Byzantine written traditions. Some take as their points of departure specific Arabic words (cat, giraffe) or morphemes; others explore literary genres, subgenres (oration, ode, macaronic poem, travel narrative) or figures within them (the trickster, the devil). Cultural concepts such as wishing, gift-giving or discourse are treated, as are aspects of broader phenomena, such as the role of gender in dream interpretation or the relative merits of luxury goods and mass-produced commodities.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047423812 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Manifestations of a Sufi Woman in Central Asia : A Critical Edition of Ḥāfiẓ-i Baṣīr's Maẓhar al-ʿAjāʾib /
:
The Maẓhar al-ʿajāʾib is the devotional work written to expound upon the teachings of Aghā-yi Buzurg, a female religious master active in the early 16th century in Bukhara. The work was produced in 16th century Central Asia, when the region underwent major socio-economic and religio-political changes in the aftermath of the downfall of the Timurid dynasty and the establishment of the Shibanid dynasty in Mavarannahr and the Safavid dynasty in Iran. In its portrayal of Aghā-yi Buzurg, the Maẓhar al-ʿajāʾib represents a tradition that maintained an egalitarian conception of gender in the spiritual equality of women and men, attesting to the presence of multiple voices in Muslim discourse and challenging conventional ways of thinking about gender history in early modern Central Asia.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004441354
9789004441347
Prophecy and prophets in stories : papers read at the Fifth Meeting of the Edinburgh Prophecy Network, Utrecht, October 2013 /
:
The fifth meeting of the Edinburgh prophecy network focussed on the presence of prophets and prophecy in narrative texts. The papers in this volume scrutinize the image of prophecy through the analysis of narrative processes. The papers deal with a great time span: from the Hittite Empire, via the Hebrew Bible, Judaism and Islam, up to the early Modern Period. Although all sorts of variations could be detected - especially due to the variety of temporal contexts, some features are recurring especially in view of the anthropological phenomenon of prophecy and its function in narratives.
:
1 online resource (vi, 285 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004291133 :
0169-7226 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.