DOCSLIB.ORG

Article Reference

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Article Reference Article East and West. Dialogue or Monologues? GENEQUAND, Charles Reference GENEQUAND, Charles. East and West. Dialogue or Monologues? EU-topias, 2015, vol. 9, p. 9-18 Available at: http://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:133742 Disclaimer: layout of this document may differ from the published version. 1 / 1 WIDE ANGLE: East and West 9 East and West Dialogue or Monologues?* Charles Genequand Abstract / Resumen / Résumé / Sommario christianisme et de l’islam depuis les origines jusqu’à nos jours, en passant par l’époque médiévale, le texte interroge les malentendus et les préjugés The confrontation of Modern Western culture with that of the Middle culturels qui ont été forgés à travers les récits des voyageurs, diplomates et East sometimes appears to boil down to the conflicting theses of Edward religieux des deux cultures. Parmi les textes de la modernité qui reflètent Said and Samuel Huntington. The examination of a few texts in a longer d’une façon plus significative le débat sur l’Orient, figurent les réflexions chronological perspective reveals on the contrary that the opposition ser- des penseurs des Lumières comme Voltaire, Montesquieu, Rousseau et ved above all to the West in its efforts at self-definition, and that Easter- Volney et la diversité de leurs positions et arguments. ners also made their contribution to the enterprise. Through a historical review of different cultural representations about Christianity and Islam Il rapporto conflittuale tra laq cultura occidentale e il Medio Oriente from the origins to the present day, ranging from medieval times, the text potrebbe essere riassunto dalle teorie di Edward Said e Samuel Huntington, question misunderstandings and cultural prejudices that have been forged in apparente antagonismo. Tuttavia, la lettura di un insieme di testi da through the stories of travellers, diplomatic and religious of both cultures. una prospettiva storica più ampia rivela che tale antagonismo è servito Among the texts of modernity that most significantly symptomatize the alla cultura occidentale fondamentalmente per definire se stessa, e che debates on the «East», stand out the reflection of eminent thinkers of the l’Oriente ha contribuito a tale operazione. Mediante un excursus storico che Illustration such as Voltaire, Montesquieu, Rousseau, and Volney, and the prende in considerazione testi sulla Cristianità e sull’Islam, dalle origini diversity of their positions and arguments. fino all’attualità, passando per il Medioevo, il saggio interroga i malintesi e i pregiudizi culturali forgiatisi mediante racconti di viaggiatori, diplomatici La confrontación entre la culturaq occidental moderna y la de Oriente Me- e religiosi delle due culture. Tra i testi della modernità che sintomatizzano dio parece resumirse, a veces, en las teorías aparentemente antagónicas de in modo significativo il dibattito su «l’Oriente», speciale interesse rivestono Edward Said y Samuel Huntington. La revisión de algunos textos desde le riflessioni di pensatori eminenti dell’Illuminismo come Voltaire, una perspectiva histórica más amplia revela, sin embargo, que dicha oposi- Montesquieu, Rousseau y Volney, e la diversità delle rispettive posizioni. ción ha servido principalmente a Occidente en su intento de definirse a sí mismo, y que los orientales también contribuyeron a tal tarea. A través Keywords / Palabras clave / de un repaso histórico de distintas representaciones culturales acerca de Mots-clé / Parole chiave la Cristiandad y del Islam desde los orígenes hasta la actualidad, pasando por la época medieval, el texto interroga los malentendidos y los prejuicios Clash or dialogue of civilisations, Christianity, Islam, Edward Said, Samuel culturales que se han ido forjando a través de los relatos de los viajeros, Huntington diplomáticos y religiosos de ambas culturas. Entre los escritos de la mod- Choque o diálogo de civilizaciones,q Cristiandad, Islam, Edward Said, ernidad que sintomatizan de modo más significativo el debate sobre el Samuel Huntington «Oriente», destacan las reflexiones de pensadores de la Ilustración como Voltaire, Montesquieu, Rousseau y Volney, y la diversidad de sus posturas. Choc ou dialogue de civilisations,q Chrétienté, Islam, Edward Said, Samuel Huntington La confrontation de la culture occidentaleq moderne et de celle du Moyen- Orient semble parfois se résumer aux thèses conflictuelles d’Edward Said Scontro o dialogo di civiltà, Cristianità,q Islam, Edward Said, Samuel Hun- et de Samuel Huntington. Un examen de quelques textes dans une pers- tington pective chronologique de longue durée révèle toutefois que l’opposition a surtout servi à l’Occident dans ses tentatives de se définir lui-même, et * This text was delivered as the final lecture for the students of the Master’s que les Orientaux n’ont pas manqué de collaborer à l’entreprise.A tra- Degree in Interculturality, Communication and European Studies (2014-2015) at the vers une lecture historique des différentes représentations culturelles du Universitat de València on May 14th 2015. ISSN: 2174-8454 - Vol. 9 (primavera 2015), p. 9-18 ISSN: 2174-8454 - Vol. 10 WIDE ANGLE: Charles Genequand The debates on the dialogue of civilizations – or the lines quoted by Said, but above all in that he entirely lack of it – have concentrated over the past thirty overlooks the glaring Orientalist cliché which is the years around the two antithetical, and yet mirror-like, basis of the whole tragedy, namely that the Greeks won books by Edward Said (Orientalism, 1978) and Samuel because they love freedom, whereas the Orientals love Huntington (The Clash of Civilizations, 1993-6). The first subjection. This is best illustrated by another passage of denounces the colonialist attitude latent in all Western the same play. The scene is set in Persia where Darius’ writings on the East, specifically the Middle East; the mother is anxiously awaiting the news of the ongoing second advocates a new world order under the aegis campaign. She narrates the ominous dream she had the of the US along neo-conservative lines and found its previous night: disastrous application in the 2003 Iraq war. Although placed at the two extremes of the political spectrum, There seemed to come into my sight two finely dressed women, both look strangely alike in their relativistic essentialism. one arrayed in Persian, the other in Doric robes, outstandingly They are reminiscent of the Good and Evil Spirit of superior in stature to the women of real life, of flawless beauty, Zoroastrian cosmology who, it is said, were conceived and sisters of the same stock: one, by the fall of the lot, was a native and inhabitant of the land of Greece, the other of the as twin brothers. Although Said speaks of the Orient Orient (Barbarian). I seemed to see these two raising some kind and Huntington of civilizations in the plural, both are of strife between themselves; my son, perceiving this, tried to in fact mostly, almost exclusively in the case of Said, restrain and calm them, yoked them under his chariot, and concerned with the Islamic Middle East. The de facto passed the yoke-strap under their necks. One of them, thus identification of Islam and Middle East, by the way, is arrayed, towered up proudly, and kept her jaw submissively in harness; but the other began to struggle, tore the harness from not the least problematic feature of his book. In what the chariot with her hands, dragged it violently along without follows I will not attempt a critique of their theses, a task bridle or bit, and smashed the yoke in half. My son fell out. which has been carried out in great detail by numerous (trad. Sommerstein) authors, and would be impossible to realize within the time compass of a short article, but rather try to place It doesn’t take a Sigmund Freud to interpret the them in an historical and philosophic perspective. dream. Darius loses the war because his people, I would like to begin by letting poets speak, one represented here by a beautiful girl wearing Oriental from the West, one from the East. The first witness is clothes, willingly accept and even rejoice in slavery, Aeschylus, the founder, for us, of the tragedy. In his whereas the Greeks love freedom. In his Politics, about Persians, created in 472 BC, he relates the military disaster a hundred years later, Aristotle will give philosophical suffered by Xerxes at Salamis in 480. Said quotes from shape to this idea with his doctrine of the slave by this play a fragment of the choral song in which the nature, a nature which he ascribes indiscriminately to Persian courtiers lament the fate of the men who lost all Asiatic people. But the more interesting point here, their lives in a distant land, and comments thus: «What which has not been remarked so far, is that the two girls matters here is that Asia speaks through and by virtue are sisters. It vividly reflects the ambivalent attitude of of the European imagination, which is depicted as the Greeks towards their neighbours, at the same time victorious over Asia, that hostile “other” world beyond similar and irreducibly different. the seas. To Asia are given the feelings of emptiness, Less than a half-century later, Herodotus will give loss, and disaster that seem thereafter to reward Oriental in his «Enquiry» (Histôriê) a detailed account of the challenges to the West; and also, the lament that in some causes and history of the conflict between Greeks and glorious past Asia fared better, was itself victorious over Barbarians «in order that so the memory of the past Europe.» These remarks are particularly bizarre, not may not be blotted out from among men by time, and only in that there is no intimation of a glorious past in that great and marvellous deeds done by Greeks and ISSN: 2174-8454 - Vol. 9 (primavera 2015), p. 9-18 ISSN: 2174-8454 - Vol. WIDE ANGLE: East and West 11 foreigners (Barbaroi!) and especially the reason why they in Greece where she gives birth to a son, Alexander.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Recent Developments in the Study of Arabic Philosophy and Its Impact on the West
    Recent Developments in the Study of Arabic Philosophy and Its Impact on the West: with special reference to South Italy and Sicily from Alfanus to Frederick nn Charles Burnett In respect to Arabic/Islamic philosophy, the time seems to be ripe for making syntheses. As has often been observed before, there is a major problem as to whether the subject that one is dealing with should be called 'Arabic' or 'Islamic'. The choice of adjective reflects different attitudes to the subject matter, as is exemplified in two major works in preparation. In Turkey Alparslan Acikgenc is writing a history of Islamic philosophy, in the conviction that a philosophical attitude and the basics of philosophical terminology are established already in the Meccan surahs of the Qur'an, and was developed in the Medinan surahs. This native Islamic philosophy can be seen in the kalam (dialectical theology), and it was the preexistence of lively philosophical interest and discussion that made Arabic scholars inquisitive about Greek philosophy. Greek philosophy, which they referred to as (quot­ ing Acikgenc) 'falsafa' was merely an episode, a subsection, of Islamic philosophy: the word was 'reserved exclusively for the manner of Greek, more specifically, Aristotelian philosophizing' whereas 'within Islamic civilization kalam was used to refer to what we call today philosophy'. On the other hand Richard Taylor and Peter Adamson are preparing 'the Cambridge Companion to Arabic philosophy.' This is conspicuous for its lack of contributers from the Islamic world (the nearest
    [Show full text]
  • Of Book Titles and Other Texts
    Index of Book Titles and Other Texts Aeneid, Virgil 902 Asrār al-ḥikma al-mashriqiyya (The Mysteries Āghāz wa-anjām (The Beginning and the End), of Illuministic Philosophy), Ibn Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī 662–63, 672 Sabʿīn 898 Aḥwāl-i qiyāma (The circumstances of Asrār-nāme (Book of secrets), ʿAṭṭār 281 resurrection) 1040, 1042–44 Asrār al-shahāda (The spiritual realities of in paradise 1055 fig.47.9 martyrdom), Sarbāz Burūjirdī 1056 records raining from the sky 1054 fig.47.8 Asrār al-tawḥīd (Secrets of oneness) 580 n. 9 ʿAjāʾib al-makhlūqāt, al-Qazwīnī 932–33, Auf rauhem Wege, Mark Lidzbarski 1132 936, 938–39 Awṣāf al-ashrāf (Attributes of the nobles), al-Ajwiba ʿan al-asʾila al-Ṣiqilliyya (The Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī 662 responses to the Sicilian questions), Ibn Sabʿīn 898 Bahjat al-nāẓirīn wa-āyāt al-mustadillīn (The Akhbār Makka, al-Azraqī 357 n. 80 delight of onlookers and the signs for Akhlāq-i Muḥtashamī (The Muḥtashamid investigators), Marʿī b. Yūsuf ethics), Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī 662 al-Karmī 25, 931–32, 935–36, 939–42 Akhlāq-i Nāṣirī (The Nasirean Ethics), Naṣīr Bāl-i Jibrīl (Gabriel’s Wing), Muḥammad al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī 662 Iqbāl 954 n. 7 ʿAlāmāt al-qiyāma, al-Barzanjī 1249 Baṣāʾir al-darajāt, al-Ṣaffār al-Qummī 608 Alf layla wa-layla (A Thousand and One Beiträge zur Eschatologie des Islam (1895), Nights) 25, 286, 435, 587, 923–27 Josef Bernhard Rüling 6 Almagest, Ptolemy 357, 1088, 1094 Between Heaven and Hell: Islam, Salvation, Alter und Heimat der mandäischen Religion, and the Fate of Others (2013), Mohammad Mark Lidzbarski 1134 Khalil 10 Anwār al-tanzīl wa-asrār al-ta ʾwīl (The lights Biḥār al-anwār (Seas of light), Muḥammad of revelation and the secrets of Bāqir al-Majlisī 614, 1253 interpretation), al-Bayḍāwī 223, 228, The Birds, Aristophanes 253 n.
    [Show full text]
  • A Thesis for the Decree of Ph.D., in the University of Edinburgh By
    "MQLINOS AM) THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE SPIRIT OF QUIETISM. n A Thesis for the Decree of Ph.D., in the University of Edinburgh by. H. A. A^new, M.A. , BJL., Research Student in the Dejrt., of Ecclesiastical History (Faculty of Divinity) in the University. OCTOBER CONTENTS. CHAPTER. PAGE Int r o due t i on. 1 1. Hoots of Quietism: Neoplatonism, Dionysius. 3 2. Islamic Mysticism & Passivism in (a) the East; (b) Spain. Jewish influences. 21 3. Golden age of Mysticism (a) Spain; (b) The Netherlands. 43 4. The Alumbrados of Spain. 6? 5. The Illuminati of Italy. 88 6. Miguel Molinos: Valencia, Rome. 118 7. His Works. 137 8. The Growing Opposition. 163 9. The Trial. 179 10. Quietism in France. 200 11. Permanent worth of Quietism. 214 BIBLIOGRAPHY. INTRODUCTION: Beneath the anti-Reformation rigourism of the 17th century Spain and Italy, a school or thought was developing - and teaching men a doctrine of stillness and non-resistance. This is the school whose history and aims we now propose to investigate. The principal idea of this research is not only to judge the immediate influences which caused Molinos to expound his doctrine of Quietism, but to trace the close cultural contacts between the old and the new, and to draw attention to that particular mystical and semi-mystical atmosphere to which Spain was exposed by reason of its geographical and political position. As this thesis is only a chapter in the history of movements I have not attempted to do more than briefly outline the antique elements which might help to further our under­ standing of this growth of Quietism and the quietistic spirit in the 17th Century.
    [Show full text]
  • History of Islamic Philosophy Henry Corbin
    History of Islamic Philosophy Henry Corbin Translated by Liadain Sherrard with the assistance of Philip Sherrard KEGAN PAUL INTERNATIONAL London and New York in association with ISLAMIC PUBLICATIONS for THE INSTITUTE OF ISMAILI STUDIES London The Institute of Ismaili Studies, London The Institute of Ismaili Studies was established in 1977 with the object of promoting scholarship and learning on Islam, in the historical as well as contemporary context, and a better understanding of its relationship with other societies and faiths. The Institute's programmes encourage a perspective which is not confined to the theological and religious heritage of Islam, but seek to explore the relationship of religious ideas to broader dimensions of society and culture. They thus encourage an inter-disciplinary approach to the materials of Islamic history and thought. Particular attention is also given to issues of modernity that arise as Muslims seek to relate their heritage to the contemporary situation. Within the Islamic tradition, the Institute's programmes seek to promote research on those areas which have had relatively lesser attention devoted to them in secondary scholarship to date. These include the intellectual and literary expressions of Shi'ism in general, and Ismailism in particular. In the context of Islamic societies, the Institute's programmes are informed by the full range and diversity of cultures in which Islam is practised today, from the Middle East, Southern and Central Asia and Africa to the industrialized societies of the West, thus taking into consideration the variety of contexts which shape the ideals, beliefs and practices of the faith. The publications facilitated by the Institute will fall into several distinct categories: 1 Occasional papers or essays addressing broad themes of the relationship between religion and society in the historical as well as modern context, with special reference to Islam, but encompassing, where appropriate, other faiths and cultures.
    [Show full text]
  • Todd, the Sufi Doctrine Of
    The Sufi Doctrine of Man Richard Todd - 978-90-04-27126-5 Downloaded from Brill.com05/29/2020 05:15:59AM via New York University <UN> Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Science Texts and Studies Edited by Hans Daiber Anna Akasoy Emilie Savage-Smith VOLUME 90 The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/ipts Richard Todd - 978-90-04-27126-5 Downloaded from Brill.com05/29/2020 05:15:59AM via New York University <UN> The Sufi Doctrine of Man Ṣadr al-Dīn al-Qūnawī’s Metaphysical Anthropology By Richard Todd LEIDEN | BOSTON Richard Todd - 978-90-04-27126-5 Downloaded from Brill.com05/29/2020 05:15:59AM via New York University <UN> Cover illustration: Walters Manuscript W.633 folio 88b: A mosque scene with preacher and congregation; from an anonymous 16th-century manuscript of Hafiz’s Divan. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Todd, Richard, 1968- The Sufi doctrine of man : Sadr al-Din al-Qunawi’s metaphysical anthropology / by Richard Todd. pages cm. -- (Islamic philosophy, theology and science) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-90-04-27123-4 (hardback : alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-90-04-27126-5 (e-book) 1. Theological anthropology--Islam. 2. Sadr al-Din al-Qunawi, Muhammad ibn Ishaq, -1273 or 1274. 3. Sufis--Biography. 4. Sufism. I. Title. BP166.7.T63 2014 297.4092--dc23 2014008343 This publication has been typeset in the multilingual “Brill” typeface. With over 5,100 characters covering Latin, ipa, Greek, and Cyrillic, this typeface is especially suitable for use in the humanities.
    [Show full text]
  • Huizinga-J-Homo-Ludens.Pdf
    HOMO LUDENS A STUDY OF THE PLAY-ELEMENT IN CULTURE by J. HUIZINGA Late Professor of History in the University oj Leyden ROUTLEDGE & KEGAN PAUL London, Boston and Henley First published in German in Switzerland in I944 This edition first published in 1949 by Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd 39 Store Street, London WelE 7DD 9 Park Street, Boston, Mass. 02108, USA and Broadway House, Newtown Road Henley-on- Thames, Oxon RG9 lEN Reprinted in 1980 Printed in Great Britain by Redwood Burn Ltd Trowbridge & Esher No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except for the quo tat ion of brief passages in criticism ISBN 0 7100 0578 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS TRANSLATOR'S NOTE Vll FOREWORD ix I NATURE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF PLAY AS A CULTURAI� PHENOMENON 1 II THE PLAy-CONCEPT AS EXPRESSED IN LANGUAGE 28 III PLAY AND CONTEST AS CIVILIZING FUNCTIONS 46 IV PLAY AND LAW 76 V PLAY AND WAR 89 VI PLAYING AND KNOWING 105 VII PLAY AND POETRY 119 VIII THE ELEMENTS OF MYTHOPOlESlS 136 IX PLAy-FoRMS IN PHILOSOPHY 146 X PLAy-FoRMS IN ART 158 XI WESTERN CIVILIZATION Sub Specie Ludi 173 XII THE PLAY-ELEMENT IN CONTEMPORARY CIVILlZA- TION 195 INDEX 214 TRANSLATOR'S NOTE THIS edition is prepared fr om the German edition published in Switzerland, 1944, and also fr om the author's own English translation of the text, which he made shortly before his death. Comparison of the two texts shows a number of discrepancies and a marked difference in style; the translator hopes that the following version has achieved a reasonable synthesis.
    [Show full text]
  • Ibn Sab'½n's Sicilian Questions: the Text
    AL-QANÍARA XXIX 1, enero-junio de 2008 pp. 115-146 ISSN 0211-3589 IBN SAB‘½N’S SICILIAN QUESTIONS: THE TEXT, ITS SOURCES, AND THEIR HISTORICAL CONTEXT LAS CUESTIONES SICILIANAS DE IBN SAB‘½N: EL TEXTO, SUS FUENTES Y SU CONTEXTO HISTÓRICO ANNA AYÆE AKASOY * Oriental Institut, Oxford The Sicilian Questions are the earliest pre- Las Cuestiones Sicilianas son el primer texto served text of the philosopher and Sufi Ibn conservado del filósofo y sufí Ibn Sab‘ênde Sab‘ên of Murcia (c. 614/1217-668/1270). Murcia (c. 614/1217-668/1270). Aunque el Even though the prologue of the text claims prólogo del texto pretende que se trata de res- that it is a response to questions sent by Fred- puestas a preguntas mandadas por Federico II erick II to the Arab world, it seems more al mundo árabe, parece más probable que se likely that it was an introductory manual for trate de un manual introductorio para estu- Arab students of philosophy, dealing with diantes árabes de filosofía, discutiendo cua- four specific and controversial problems as a tro problemas específicos y controvertidos way of presenting general concepts of Aristo- como manera de presentar conceptos genera- telian philosophy. This article analyses the les de la filosofía aristotélica. Este artículo structure and way of argumentation in the Si- analiza la estructura y la manera de argumen- cilian Questions. Particular attention is being tar en las Cuestiones Sicilianas. Dedica su paid to the relationship between mysticism atención en particular a la relación entre el and philosophy and the sources of the text, Sufismo y la filosofía y a las fuentes del tex- above all the philosophical writings of Ibn to, sobre todo los textos filosóficos de Ibn Rushd.
    [Show full text]
  • Philosophy and Sufism at the Golden Age Era of Islam in Spain
    ,1'21(6,$1',$6325$$6$0(5,&$1%251,1'21(6,$1,1 3+,/2623+<$1'68),60$77+(*2/'(1$*((5$2) 307 81,7('67$7(62)$0(5,&$ ,6/$0,163$,1 Poststructuralism and Applied Linguistics: Complementary PHILOSOPHY AND SUF ISM AT THE GOLDEN ǡApproaches Ǥ ȋʹͲͲ͹ȌǤ to Identity and Culture in ELT Ǥ AGE ERA OF ISLAM IN SPAIN ǣȀȀǤǤ ȀȀ Ȁ ǤǤ TESOL Quarterly, 31 ǡ Ǥ ȋͳͻͻ͹ȌǤ ǡ ǡ Ǥ Rahmah Raini Jamil, Dahimatul Afidah ȋͳȌǡ ͶͲͻ–ͶʹͻǤ ǣȀȀ Ǥ Ǥ Ǥ ȀȀ ΨʹͲΨʹͲΨʹ ȋ Ȍ ǣͲͳͺ̷Ǥ ͲΨʹͲ ΨʹͲʹͲͳ͹ΨʹͲǤIdentity and language learning Abstract: ǡ Ǥǡ ȋʹͲͲͲȌǤ Ǥ ǣ ǤIdentity and language learning (2nd. Ed.) ȋ͹ͲͷǦ͹ͳͷ ȌǤ ǡǤȋʹͲͳ͵ȌǤ Ǥǣ ǡǡǤ In B.V. Lal, P. Reeves and R.
    [Show full text]
  • YOUSEF ALEXANDER CASEWIT [email protected] the University of Chicago Divinity School +1 312 483 7430 ACADEMIC APPOINTME
    YOUSEF ALEXANDER CASEWIT [email protected] The University of Chicago Divinity School Swift Hall 225 1025 East 58th Street Chicago, IL 60637 +1 312 483 7430 ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS 7/2016 - present Assistant Professor of Qur’anic Studies, University of Chicago Divinity School 8/2015 - 5/2016 Humanities Research Fellow, New York University Abu Dhabi 2015 - 2016 Assistant Professor of Arabic Medieval Intellectual Heritage and Culture, Arabic and Translation Studies Department, American University of Sharjah EDUCATION Ph.D. Yale University, Religious Studies Department 2014 Program: Islamic Studies (high distinction) Thesis: The Forgotten Mystic: Ibn Barrajān and the Andalusian Muʿtabirūn M.Phil Master of Philosophy, Yale University 2012 Religious Studies Department Program: Islamic Studies (high distinction) Concentrations: Islamic Religious History Islamic Religious Thought Scripture & Tradition M.A. Master of Arts, Yale University 2012 Religious Studies Department Program: Islamic Studies (high distinction) B.A. G eorge Washington University, 2002-2006 Major: International Affairs (cum laude) Middle East Studies Latin American Studies Minor: Religion I.B. Rabat American School, International Baccalaureate 1998-2002 Language of Instruction: English and Arabic RESEARCH INTERESTS Qurʾānic Studies; Islamic mysticism, theology, and philosophy; Qurʾānic exegesis, 1 scriptural reasoning, Divine names in Islamic thought, Muslim perceptions of the Bible LANGUAGES Arabic: Native speaking, reading, and writing fluency in Classical Arabic &
    [Show full text]
  • Emperor Frederick II, "Sultan of Lucera", "Friend of the Muslims", Promoter
    Emperor Frederick II, »Sultan of Lucera«, »Pr~end oJ the Musiims«, Promoter of Cultural Transfer: Controversies and Suggestions Dorothea Weltecke Emperor Frederick II (1194-1250), who ruled the Holy Roman Empire from 1220 to 1250,1 is one of the central figures of Europe's historical narrations, or rather myths, about its premodern past? Already in his own time, he aroused responses ranging from profound adoration to vehement rejection. Frederick used different methods of rule in the different regions of his great realm: the German countries, Northern Italy, Sicily, Burgundy and the Kingdom ofJerusa­ lem. While governing firmly and centrally in Sicily and fighting to subordinate the great communes of Lombardy, he conceded privileges and independence to the ecclesiastical and secular princes in the German lands.3 These diverse styles of power and Frederick's ability to adapt to various diplomatic and political sit­ uations make it difficult to present his politics, let alone his personality, in a coherent way. Frederick's dramatic life and reign were affected by many conflicts, notably overshadowed by his long struggle with Popes Gregory IX (1227-1241) and In­ nocentius IV (1243- 1254), primarily concerning rule in Italy. His demand for universal rulership as Christian Roman Emperor collided with the same claim by the popes. This is the time when the papal claim to real power in Euro­ pean politics approached its climax in theory and practice. In 1245 a council in the city of Lyon officially pronounced the emperor deposed.4 This struggle Important recent biographies are David Abulafia, Frederick II: A Medieval Emperor (London: Allen Lane The Penguin Press, 1988); Wolfgang Stumer, Friedrich II: Gestalten des Mittelal­ tm und der Renaissance; Vol.
    [Show full text]
  • ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY from ITS ORIGIN to the PRESENT SUNY Series in Islam Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Editor ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY from ITS ORIGIN to the PRESENT
    Islamic Philosophy from its to Origin thePresent Philosophy in the Land of Prophecy Seyyed Hossein Nasr ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY FROM ITS ORIGIN TO THE PRESENT SUNY series in Islam Seyyed Hossein Nasr, editor ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY FROM ITS ORIGIN TO THE PRESENT Philosophy in the Land of Prophecy Seyyed Hossein Nasr State University of New York Press Published by State University of New York Press © 2006 State University of New York All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitte in any form or by any means including elecronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. For information, address State University of New York Press, 194 Washington Avenue, Suite 305, Albany, NY 12210-2384 Production by Marilyn P. Semerad Marketing by Fran Keneston Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. Islamic philosophy from its origin to the present : philosophy in the land of prophecy / Seyyed Hossein Nasr. p. cm. — (SUNY series in Islam) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7914-6799-6 (hardcover : alk. paper) — ISBN 0-7914-6800-3 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Philosophy, Islamic. I. Title. II. Series. B741.N384 2006 181'.07—dc22 2005023943 ISBN-13: 978-0-7914-6799-2 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN-13: 978-0-7914-6800-5 (pbk. : alk. paper) 10987654321 ማሜምሞ The Quranic revelation is the light which enables one to see.
    [Show full text]
  • BORDERS and CONFLICTS in the MEDITERRANEAN BASIN ISBN Online: 978-88-99662-01-1
    Mediterranean, Knowledge, Culture and Heritage 2 Giuseppe D’ANGELO – Jorge MARTINS RIBEIRO Editors BORDERS AND CONFLICTS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN BASIN ISBN online: 978-88-99662-01-1 Mediterranean, Knowledge, Culture and Heritage 2 Mediterranean, Knowledge, Culture and Heritage Book Series edited by Giuseppe D’Angelo and Emiliana Mangone The Book Series, published in electronic open access, shall be a permanent platform of discussion and comparison, experimentation and dissemination, promoting the achievement of methodological action-research goals, in order to enforce the development of the territories and of the local and European identities, starting from the cultural heritage and from the Mediterranean Area. All the research work revolves around three key topics: Mediterranean: The knowledge and cultural values of southern Europe and the Mediterranean Area may represent the strategic elements to overcome the current crisis in Europe, to the point of be- coming a stimulus for the review of policies. Knowledge: Language, history, tradition and art have always conveyed dialogic relations and inter- personal relationships within societies, founding on otherness the peculiarities understood as knowledge development, processes, sedimentation and transformation. What becomes peculiar is the "knowledge" as the achievement of an advantage derived from the possession of unique and inimitable knowledge. Culture and Heritage: Culture, understood as its cultural heritage, is proposed as one of the privi- leged areas of the "new economy". In fact,
    [Show full text]