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ARABICA - ISLAM

ZIRKER, Hans — Der Koran. Primus Verlag GmbH, Darm- stadt, 1999. (21 cm, X, 230). ISBN 3-89678-121-9. DM 39,80/sFr 37,-. Hans Zirker’s Der Koran: Zugänge und Lesarten is a thoughtful, if somewhat eccentric, study of the Qur}an by a Catholic theologian for a Catholic readership. That Zirker’s analytical framework is rooted in his Catholicism does not necessarily preclude scholarly preoccupations, but it does raise the question of where his work might fit in the acade- mic study of Islam. His approach to the study of the Qur}an is informed by three questions that he believes to be funda- mental to a Christian appreciation of the Qur}an: how are Christians addressed in the Qur}an; given the role of the Qur}an in the historical activity of the Church, how can an understanding of the Qur}an contribute to Christian self-inter- pretation; and finally (more argument than question) the analysis of Islam must be rooted in an objective (sachgerecht) understanding of the Qur}an (pp. 1-2). This last argument is admirable, if also banal considering the modern study of Islam; how it applies to Zirker’s endeavors is decidedly obscure. The growing importance of interfaith dialogue to the mission of the Catholic Church unquestionably finds its mod- ern day impetus in the declarations of the Vatican II Council of 1965, particularly, with regard to Islam, Article 3 of the Nostra Aetate. Zirker takes as his point of departure three possible interpretations of the Council’s (intentionally vague?) statement on Islam, which is essentially a procla- mation of “esteem” for Muslims that emphasizes mutual tenets and downplays differences, especially the differing views of Jesus. The most damaging interpretation, to Zirker’s mind, is that the Council acknowledges the Muslim belief in the Revelation of God only insofar as it accords with Bibli- cal beliefs. The two other possible interpretations are that if the Qur}an is considered Revelation, it may also be accorded the status of the Word of God, or the vague nature of the Council’s findings might simply be an admission that the Church lacks the jurisdiction to proclaim on the status of the Qur}an (pp. 17-20). The program of action that Zirker constructs from his rumination on the Council’s statements is, however, most peculiar. He argues that a proper understanding of the Qur}an 413 BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LVII N° 3/4, Mei-Augustus 2000 414 cannot emerge from “the unbiased sobriety… of the critical Zirker concludes by outlining the “Bases for Christian study of the history of religions and literature” but only from assessment” in Chapter V. Here he opts for the third inter- a faith-based approach (p. 20). Such a pronouncement under- pretation of the Vatican II Council’s statement on Islam, i.e. mines Zirker’s call for an “objective” study of the Qur}an it falls outside the authority of the Church to decide on the but it also has the unfortunate effect of excluding his work significance of the Qur}an (p. 185). Ultimately, a Christian from serious academic review. Zirker’s readings in the reading of the Qur}an serves only Christians in their engage- Qur}an are further articulated by his insistence that the ment with their own faith. The “Theology of Religions” Qur}an be a “universal Book” the preconditions for reading school of Christian theology, in its efforts toward interfaith which cannot be informed solely by the reader’s adherence dialogue, allows for two options in confronting other reli- to Islam. To stress the universal nature of the Qur}anic mes- gions. Zirker outlines these options as “inclusivist theology” sage is reasonable. But Zirker also argues that “a reading of and “pluralist theology” respectively (pp. 186-7). The for- the Qur}an that does not stem from the hermeneutical pre- mer assesses the truth of another religion in terms of the cor- suppositions of the Islamic understanding of revelation… respondences its beliefs have with Christian views (“mutual might view the differences [between Islam and Christianity] theologizing”); the latter recognizes each religion as a valid as reconcilable” (p. 25); to engage in this Christian exege- response to revelation (“mutual appreciation”). Zirker argues sis does not require the consent of Muslim theology (ib.). that neither is satisfactory, but stops short of suggesting The problems faced by a Christian in reading the Qur}an are another. The vague exhortation to the Christian reader to not superfluous; not the least are the Qur}anic claim to super- study the Qur}an attentively and perhaps in very specific sede earlier scriptures and the reduction of the role of Jesus ways approach it as the Word of God (p. 189) is conserva- to prophet. Rather than grapple with these issues, Zirker tive and even admirable, but mostly echoes the cautious state- advocates a hermeneutical approach to the Qur}an that is con- ments of Vatican II. sciously and outspokenly at odds with the Muslim under- Zirker’s work, because of his explicitly stated aims and his standing of revelatory scripture. The deconstructionist ten- Catholic presuppositions, cannot form a part of an introduc- dencies in Zirker’s interpretations of the Qur}an appear to be tory curriculum to the study of the Qur}an in the various dis- directly related to his explicit attempt to avoid confronting ciplines of the humanities, but if there is such a thing as a those problems. By removing his exegesis from the social secular humanistic study of religion that is non-reductionist, and historical contexts in which the Qur}an is and must be Zirker’s work might form part of the material for an anthro- situated, Zirker can re-invent the meanings of the text in iso- pological or sociological study of emergent theories of dia- lation. This is at the heart of his advocacy of the Freiheit der logue in post-Vatican II Catholic environments. Otherwise it Leser, the model for which Zirker finds in the controversial is best left to its intended Christian readership. and marginal theories of the modern literary critic NaÒr Îamid Abu Zayd (pp. 181-184). By not confronting the Yale University David C. REISMAN problematic elements of the Qur}an’s portrayal of Jesus and December 1999 of Christians, Zirker presumably believes he is doing a ser- vice to the larger goal of interfaith dialogue. What results, ** however, is an exegesis of a non-existent or at least wholly * transformed scripture. Zirker’s re-invention of the Qur}an as deconstructed text TALMON, Rafael — Arabic Grammar in its Formative Age. and his preoccupations as a Christian reader presumably (Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics, XXV). E.J. determined the thematic arrangement of his readings. His Brill Publishers N.V., Leiden, 1997. (24 cm, X, 437). ISBN choices of themes to address are not unjustifiable but they do 90-04-10812-2; ISSN 0081-8461. Nlg. 218.00/US$ appear to be wholly uninformed by the centuries of Muslim 136.25. exegesis brought to bear on the Qur}an, and so miss elements of characterization and interpretation that should find a place Al-Îalil b. AÌmad is certainly one of the more enigmatic in the modern study of the Qur}an. For instance, Chapter II, early medieval Islamic scholars. Medieval biographers were “God’s Scripture in the world of signs” (pp. 26-50) lacks unable even to verify the approximate date of his death, entirely a discussion of the theory of i{gaz, or the inimitabil- although we know it was some time during the second half ity of the Qur}an, which has made of the Qur}an the central of the 2nd century A.H. His significant contribution to a num- “sign” of MuÌammad’s prophetic mission in both theologi- ber of important fields of adab, however — prosody, lexi- cal and literary works of Islamic culture. Chapter III, “Rev- cography and grammar — has never been in doubt. Modern elation as Communication” (pp. 51-102) draws superficially scholarship has been fascinated with this character since the upon speech-act theories and the by now (if only!) discred- early part of the 20th century A.D. but until recently this inter- ited literary obfuscations of Ferdinand de Saussure. Chapter est had not culminated in many major studies of him. Rafael IV, “Cosmic Order according to the framework of the Book” Talmon’s work under review here is certainly one of the most (pp. 103-174) surveys the geography, time, actors, religious comprehensive monographs even to be written about al-Îalil obligations and eschatology of the scriptural world. Through- b. AÌmad. out, Zirker presents extracts of the received German transla- This work is an addition to the prestigious and valuable tions of the Qur}an (listed on p. 209), followed by his analy- series of works entitled Studies in Semitic Languages and sis. The highly developed hermeneutical theories of Biblical Linguistics. It contains four main chapters and two appen- criticism may have served in an interesting manner as sub- dices. Talmon sets out with the main premise that the Kitab stitute for those of the Islamic tradition, but they are wholly al-{Ayn (henceforth KA), which is generally held to be the absent from Zirker’s exegesis. His methods and findings are first comprehensive Arabic dictionary, is as valuable for the uniquely his own. grammatical information and data it contains as it is for its 415 BOEKBESPREKINGEN – ARABICA - ISLAM 416 lexicographical richness which makes it the most important also those who require access to almost any facts about al- dictionary of the early period, and maybe one of the most Îalil’s life and career. It would be interesting to compare Tal- valuable of all the Arabic dictionaries. Even more funda- mon’s efforts with those of Karin Ryding in her edited vol- mental to Talmon’s thesis is the attempt to establish and ver- ume of papers on al-Îalil which this reviewer had not yet ify once and for all that al-Îalil was the author of the KA. seen at the time of writing. That volume shows the level of He maintains that one of the most conclusive ways to prove interest in al-Îalil who was such an important figure in the his indisputable authorship of KA is through the references early development of the Arabic heritage. to grammatical issues which are found in the dictionary in abundance. By analyzing this grammatical data and compar- American University of Sharjah Adrian GULLY ing it with the teaching of early grammatical treatises Tal- January 2000 mons argues that the hallmark of grammatical initiatives and ideas historically attributed to al-Îalil in other works should be evident in the . The conclusions on p. 259 seem to KA ** underline the author’s satisfaction with his findings. * Chapter One presents the reader with a highly detailed and meticulous critical account of al-Îalil’s biography. Chapter NISHIO, Tetsuo, J. ODA, S. NAKAMICHI, S. MORITA — A Two deals with the attribution of the to al-Îalil which is KA Dictionary of Arab Tribes. (Asian and African Lexicon a recurring theme throughout the work. Chapter Three 34). Institute for the Study of Asian and African Languages assesses the grammatical teaching of the , covering pho- KA and Cultures, Tokyo, 1999). (26 cm, VI, 594). ISBN 4- netics, morphology and syntax as well as the classification of 87297-735-1. the parts of speech. This is a particularly important chapter for those contemporary scholars interested in the early devel- One can hardly find a more debatable ethnological notion opment of Arabic grammatical terminology. Chapter Four than that of a tribe in general and of a Middle Eastern tribe in discusses the position of the KA in early Arabic grammar, in particular. Since Peters has been disputing the applicability of particular its relationship with Sibawayhi’s al-Kitab and the Evans-Pritchardian segmentary lineage model to tribes in ques- references to al-Îalil in it, as well as some useful compar- tion, we frequently read and talk about flexibility and inter- isons with works by established Basran and Kufan scholars changeability of tribal terminology, enigmatic endogamous from the early period. The appendices are an invaluable inclu- character of clan structure provided by parallel-cousin mar- sion in this work. Appendix One is a comprehensive listing riage, alternative research models based not on fusion and fis- of all the grammatical citations located by Talmon in KA. sion but on status, alliance, and shared history, etc. A work- Appendix Two lists the grammatical terminology which is shop at the 5th Biennial EASA Conference (Frankfurt 1998) also an extremely useful reference point for philologists and dedicated to Arabian tribal systems, its genesis, evolution, and scholars of Arabic grammar. present day functioning, has proved again that, as once phrased The depth of study undertaken for this work is in evidence by Geertz, our progress in ethnology is marked less by a per- at the very beginning where Talmon lists 79 primary sources fection of consensus than by a refinement of debate. The way that contain information to varying degrees about al-Îalil . out of this theoretical impasse is clear: we have to go on col- The manner in which Talmon has set about his task reminds lecting field data and putting in order the data already amassed. the reader at times of the way a scholar of Prophetic Tradi- Tribal studies are carried out now in Oman, Yemen and tion might trace chains of transmission, following links elsewhere. Definitive and valuable (in every sense) source through with painstaking patience. Much of the book makes works have been published recently by the British Archive for dense reading which deserves to be appreciated by schol- Editions; suffice it to mention a sixteen-volume Records of ars of the Îalilian tradition. It is full of details and references Yemen 1798-1960 edited by Doreen and Leila Ingrams who which make it a very worthy piece of scholarship, although used extensively their intimate knowledge of the area and one could argue that Chapter One and Two are rather long. their access to the Aden Records of the Oriental and India At times one wonders whether the vast amount of informa- Office Collections; or an eighteen-volume Gazetteer of Ara- tion in those two chapters is always relevant to the main bian Tribes (edited by Richard Trench) which documented objective of this study. Whether one is always convinced by descriptions of about 745 tribes of the Arabian Peninsula with Talmon’s conclusions is also questionable. its major clans and families. How to find one’s bearings in There are surely many appealing claims in this work, how- the heterogeneous set of facts, one can make out from the ever, such as the one that the identification of al-Îalil’s lin- book under review. eage as being non-Arab was a “Su{ubi attempt to deprive A team of Japanese specialists comprising Tetsuo Nishio their pro-Arab rivals of this pillar of national pride” (p. 13). from the National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka, Jun{ichi The analysis of the grammatical data found in KA is fasci- Oda from the Institute for the Study of Asian and African nating in parts and puts the many references attributed to al- Languages and Cultures in Tokyo, Shizuka Nakamichi from Îalil’s teaching in other grammatical works into a much the Graduate School of Languages and Culture in Osaka, and wider framework. Soko Morita, a researcher in Arabic literature, created this The book would have benefited from an index, and there Dictionary as a by-product of their 1995 to 1997 project on are a number of typographical errors. For instance: {knda l- the cultural value of water in the Bedouin society. For a com- Îalil ({inda), and Braunlich (1926) is repeated (both p. 91); puter-readable database concerning the Arab tribal genealogy also “governmant” (government) (p. 194). At 136 US dol- they chose a well-known five-volume compendium of {Umar lars it is not the type of work that will attract many private Ri∂a KaÌÌala entitled Mu{jam qaba}il al-{Arab al-qadima buyers. However, it will be a valuable source of reference for wa-l-Ìadi†a, or Dictionary of the Arab Tribes in the Past and scholars devoted to early Arabic grammatical studies, and Present (2 edition, Beirut 1978-1979). 417 BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LVII N° 3/4, Mei-Augustus 2000 418

In a short introduction the authors disclose a fixed format Dîwân (vol. I of the series); they date either from the end of they selected for each entry of the Dictionary: 1) tribal name, the poet's life or from his youth. Another is an even more short and long, 2) the tribal type, 3) genealogical chain(s) of marginal figure in Dawâsir society, Nâbit, whose two poems, ancestors, 4) descendants of the tribe in question, 5) confed- responses to ones by al-Dindân, stand in the tradition of the eration it belongs to, 6) sub-units it is composed of, 7) related naqâ'i∂. But the main focus of the book is on Ibn Batla and tribes, 8) present location, 9) original homeland, 10) modern Bkhaytân ibn DÔâfi, both of them firmly integrated into tribal names of the states/areas, 11) the size of a tribe including society and spokesmen for collective experience in much of number of houses/tents, number of males and females, 12) their work. additional information including religion, social structure, As in the previous volumes, an introduction sketches the name derivatives, etc., 13) source. poets' lives and discusses both the social context of the texts “In many cases”, they argue, the Kahhala’s information and certain traits of their authors' styles. A separate chapter was cross-checked “by reference to the original Arabic is devoted to the poems' linguistic and prosodic characteris- sources” which are, however, not mentioned in point 13). tics. The poems are then given in transliteration and transla- The authors also remind that Arabic words in their Dictio- tion, followed by a glossary. Two appendices complete the nary contain no short vowels to avoid any erroneous reading whole; the first quotes a poem by FalâÌ ibn FâliÌ in response by humans and computers, thus having facilitated their own to one by Bkhaytan, and the second provides information task while complicating that of the user. Another drawback, about place-names referred to in the texts. in my opinion, is connected with the point 2): a motley Given the nature of Ibn Batla's and Bkhaytân's poems, the assemblage of tribal designations given by Kahhala cannot introduction pays much attention to the function of poetry as be called “types” since typology of Arabian tribes is a stum- an expression of tribal experience and values. Of Ibn Batla, bling-block of the whole problem. one of the last of the illiterate Bedouin bards, two types of Nevertheless, this Dictionary presents a typical example of poem are included, those which recall the search for pasture contemporary Japanese scholarship in Arabian humanities, for the Makhârîm clan's herds and often petition God to send and is a fair start toward an ambitious but realistic objective. rain, and those which celebrate tribal clashes. While in the It provides us with a helpful tool for an exhausting enterprise first type Ibn Batla's approach has much in common with that of further systematization of tribal nomenclature, taking into of al-Dindân, the poet speaks throughout not only for him- consideration that this is only their first tribute to the Inter- self but also for his community, whether he is lamenting the national Network for Arabic Studies and developing an Elec- separation from his kin brought about by the search for pas- tronic Encyclopedia Arabica System. All in all, this book, ture, or celebrating the clan's bravery and its capacity to either in hardback or in its computerized database version, defend its territorial rights. has the potential to make an important contribution to the ver- Bkhaytân, by contrast, has experienced both nomad and satile and conflicting field of tribal research. settled life. Having spent his youth under the tents, he learned to read and write as a young man and served in the Kuwaiti Peter-the-Great Museum of Mikhail RODIONOV National Guard for several years before returning to his Anthropology and Ethnography, St. Petersburg native wadi and dividing his time between the Society for the February 2000 Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, the official body responsible for enforcing the Saudi state's interpreta- tion of Islamic behaviour, and the trade in camel fodder. His ** poems are of three main types, those celebrating tribal val- * our, those of diplomatic intent, praising relatives by marriage, friends and prominent acquaintances, and those connected KURPERSHOEK, P. Marcel — Oral Poetry and Narratives with his eventful emotional life (as the husband of four wives, from Central Arabia, III: Bedouin Poets of the Dawasir he is frequently involved in domestic quarrels). While his Tribe. Between nomadism and settlement in Southern sense of tribal ties is as strong as that of the other poets, his Najd (Studies in Arabic Literature, Vol. XVII/III), E.J. verses betray the changing conditions of Najdi life, symbol- Brill Publishers N.V., Leiden 1999. (24 cm, XX, 506, 1 ised on the one hand by the replacement of the camel with map): ISBN 90 04 11276 6; ISSN 0169-9903. Nlg. 190,- the pick-up truck and on the other by his addressing himself / US$112.00. to influential personalities outside his own tribe. Kurpershoek's presentation of these mens' lives and This is the third of four volumes recording aspects of the poetry, his detailed account of the conditions in which he oral literature of the Bedouins of Central Arabia; Professor recorded their work, and his perceptive comments about their Kurpershoek has already published the poetry of the highly responses to his questions and their general attitude to his individual al-Dindân and a collection of narratives of tribal research are a memorable human document. By juxtaposing combats.1) In this book he returns to poetry, presenting selec- contrasted figures, the marginal al-Dindân and Nâbit with the tions from the works of four Dawâsir poets. One is al-Dindân, socially integrated Ibn Batla and Bkhaytân, and the illiterate of whom fifteen pieces are included as a supplement to the Ibn Batla with the more sophisticated Bkhaytân, he suggests the variety of bedouin experience. He also succeeds in illus- trating the different degress of awareness, on his informants' 1) P. M. Kurpershoek, Oral Poetry and Narratives from part, of the importance of his project to record the Bedouin Central Arabia. I: The Poetry of Ad-Dindân. A Bedouin Bard heritage of oral literature before it is too late. And it is pre- in Southern Najd (1994); II: The Story of a Desert Knight. cisely the transitional figure (and probably the most intelli- The Legend of SlêwîÌ al-‘A†âwî and other ‘Utaybah Heroes gent of the poets), Bkhaytân, who understands best what is (1995); reviewed in BiOr LIV (1997), cols. 254-59. at stake and contributes most to the success of the enterprise. 419 BOEKBESPREKINGEN – ARABICA - ISLAM 420

The introduction provides valuable information on many (the reproacher, the beloved's spirit visiting the lover in his subjects. It discusses, for instance, the tension between, on dreams) and ones which are new to me at least — the lover's the one hand, the traditional spirit of tribal loyalty and antag- eyelashes turning grey, the beloved compared to a haughty onism expressed in the war and invective poetry and, on the officer drilling army recruits. This last suggests that even the other, the ideology of an Islamic community imposed by the clichés of love poetry may be evolving, a hypothesis sup- Saudi state. It situates values connected with the poems, such ported by the charming poem by ‘Aydân ibn Râjis which as the importance of defending tribal boundaries or, on draws an explicit parallel between the attachment of a camel- another level, the prestige accruing to a poet whose work is mare to her foal and the intensity of human love (pp. 118- admired, in their social context. It explains allusions to heroic 20). If Kurpershoek himself prefers not to study the more deeds of the past and throws light on their significance. It conventional manifestations of this genre of poetry, which he reviews some forms of ghazal poetry, again considering them judges “often….far removed from psychological and physi- as originating within a specific social context. cal reality” (p. 114), his material could be investigated by As far as the poets' means of expression are concerned, someone who feels more affinity with it. For it might well the author examines the rain poems in detail, pointing out reveal that Bedouin attitudes towards love are changing along their characteristic succession of themes and certain recurrent with Bedouin society and that a more modern sensibility is motifs. He draws attention to the use of different voices and emerging. embedded narratives, particularly developed in Ibn Batla's Perhaps, though, there is a deeper problem here. Kurpers- poems. He traces the gradual effacement of the camel motif, hoek emphasises throughout poetry's role as a form of social still very important to al-Dindân, in Ibn Batla's work and its communication. If love poetry is, amongst other things, a yielding to the car (or rather pick-up truck) motif in means of communication between the sexes, the study of it Bkhaytân's poems. The truck presents the Bedouin poet with in this society where men and women live segregated lives something of a dilemma, for it is recognisably a product of cannot be carried out by a man alone; the role it plays in the the non-Muslim, “infidel” world, and yet it has become an world of women needs to be investigated too. essential part of Bedouin life. The strength of tradition is, The translations are generally clear, despite the difficulties however, reflected in the fact that the truck takes on animal- involved in such an enterprise, and make it possible for the like traits and may engage in a dialogue with its driver. As reader ignorant of Najdi dialects to follow the poems in the this example shows, the profound changes which have taken original and to sense the beauty of their sound and images. place in life in Arabia in the last fifty years have sometimes But one wonders at the reason for some departures from the been reflected in fascinating changes in Bedouin poetry. Arabic. For instance, Kurpershoek notes Ibn Batla's tendency Among the more general issues on which Kurpershoek has to move between “I” and “he” in his poems (p. 21), but he important observations is the nature of orality (pp. 26-9). On does not reflect this usage consistently when it appears in the the basis of his findings he affirms that poems composed by poet's introductions to his poetry; instead, the first person is admired Bedouin masters of the art, even though they are not partially substituted for the third (pp. 141, 157, 199, 209). recorded in writing, still have an original version and a fixed The half-line “fîha syûfin twarridha bi-l-aymâni” surely form. Moreover the principle of authorship is not in doubt, means “[her eyes (‘uyûnha in the previous line)] possess as is shown by the custom of poets to mention their name in [glances like] swords which her hands plunge into the body”, the first verse. And just as orality in this tradition is not syn- rather than the obscure “Like swords her hands thrust the onymous with anonymity, it should not be equated with addi- sharp points into the body” (pp. 242, 243). The line “Their tive and aggregative techniques. Rather, the poems of al- cavalry then lost heart and veered back in weariness, / Shout- Dindân and Ibn Batla are carefully composed, and their ing encouragements (yanxôn) from afar to the riders whose authors' references to the process of creation reflect an evi- horses stumbled” (pp. 210, 211) not only seems unlikely (if dent concern with the construction of the poem. If parallels one loses heart, does one tend to shout encoragements?) but are to be sought with other traditions of oral poetry, Kurpers- also does not reflect the information given in the Glossary, hoek suggests that one might look with more profit to tradi- where naxa is translated “to call for help; to invoke s.o.'s tions such as the Eskimo or Somali ones, rather than the honour in an appeal for his assistance” (p. 464). Yugoslav epics made famous by Lord and Parry. Sometimes it is the internal logic of the text which prompts It is to be regretted that one genre of Najdi poetry, ghazal, a revision of the translation. For instance, in the line “A war- gets rather short shrift. Kurpershoek explains that he has tried like people, beholden to no-one for the borders they drew, / to avoid the “more general type of love poetry” “because of Since they were imposed, not ceded by one's own volition” its cliché-ridden nature”, even though he recognises that the second half, corresponding to “b-gêr ar-r∂â m aÌdin “what to an outsider may sound like a string of stereotypes ‘a†âha bi-taxyîrih ” (pp. 144, 145) would seem to mean may represent a cherished memory of romantic attachment “Without getting the approval of anyone who has ceded them to the composer” (p. 107). But if an aim of the project is to of his own free will”. In the unusual poem where Ibn Batla record Bedouin oral literature before it disappears, at least lists the wishes he prays to have fulfilled, he speaks of his one representative specimen of the genre should be included longing for a rifle: “widdi bha wi-r-rizg b-îdik mdabbar / ya to complete the documentation. And what is meant by minn galbi fi sana‘ha naÌâwi” translated as “How I desire “cliché-ridden”? If it refers to recurrent motifs peculiar to to hold that by which one attains his livelihood, The joy of a Bedouin ghazal, why do they deserve to be passed over in heart forever hankering to win that cherished prize” (pp. 164, silence, when the recurrent motifs connected with the moun- 165). But Ibn Batla does not depend on a rifle for his liveli- tain-climbing theme are discussed in detail? Or are these the hood. Earlier on he has prayed to God for “an easy, depend- clichés of pre-Islamic or ‘Abbâsid love poetry? If so, this able livelihood (rizgin)”, and wi-r-rizg b-îdik mdabbar would should be made clear. In fact the sample given on pp. 115-6 seem to be taking up the same idea again: “Yet my liveli- is quite interesting, for it includes some old-established motifs hood is in Your hands”. The half-line “‘alîm as-sarâyir bayy- 421 BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LVII N° 3/4, Mei-Augustus 2000 422 inatha w-xâfîha” is translated as “Who has knowledge of all tories on (early) Islam produced in a certain European lan- secrets, not matter how deeply hidden” (pp. 150,151). But if guage. He may suppose that the author, after composing both bayyin means “visible”, might another sense of sarâyir, numerous and solid studies on characteristics and the history “inmost thoughts” fit better: “Who has knowledge of our of the Shi‘a, now has decided to leave his hitherto cultivated inmost thoughts, whether manifest or hidden”? field of research in order to exploit further ones of the soils But here and in some other places where the reader may of cultural interest. A reader, suspicious in such a manner, have doubts about the translation, proposing alternatives is may, however, find comfort in taking notice of that this pub- more difficult than usual. For Kurpershoek has benefitted lication was not composed as a mere history. Corresponding from the poets' commentaries on their work; he has had to the subtitle, it represents a study on the leadership of the unique access to an irreplaceable source of information. Do Muslim community in early times, up to the end of the reign the translations he gives consistently reflect what the poets of MuÌammad's early companions and to the establishment told him? As the above remarks suggest, there is occasion- of the Umayyad dynasty. ally reason to question this. But if he is following his author- The main chapter of the publication, entitled “‘Ali: the ities, some extra information in notes or the Glossary would counter-caliphate of Hashim” (pp. 141-310) is preceded by reassure the reader. an Introduction (on earlier studies dealing specifically with The Glossary itself, which draws on the writings of dialec- the succession as such, on the obligation of kinship and the tologists as well as the author's own observations, is an families of the prophets in the Qur'an, and on the two wit- invaluable tool. The indications of the Classical Arabic (CA) nesses ‘A'isha and ‘Abd Allah b. al-‘Abbas, pp. 1-127), by origins of words are helpful. But it comes as a surprise to see the chapters “Abu Bakr: the Successor of the Messenger of lakk, meaning “100,000 (rupees)” labelled CA, when it is God and the caliphate of Quraysh” (pp. 28-56), “‘Umar: Indian in origin. And the CA word related to gimir “valiant, Commander of the Faithful, Islamic meritocracy, consulta- brave youth”, is not ghumr, “inexperienced, ignorant boy or tion and Arab empire”, as also “‘Uthman: the Vicegerent of man” but ghamr, “generous, noble” (which gained currency God and the reign of ‘Abd Shams” (pp. 78-140). It is fol- as a proper name in the Umayyad family). lowed by a Conclusion (pp. 311-355), subtitled “Restoration The final volume will contain the Index. This will add to of the Community and despotic kingship”, dealing with the the value of the work, enabling more cross-references to be caliphate of al-Îasan and the restoration of the community made across the volumes and helping to locate information under a single caliph, Mu‘awiya. Seven Excursuses (The bur- which is not always where one expects it. For instance, the ial of Muhammad, The inheritance of MuÌammad, up to The allusions in Ibn Batla's poems to historical or legendary marriages and children of al-Îasan ibn ‘Ali, pp. 356-387) events are discussed in the chapter on Bkhaytân, in the sec- complete the text. tion there on historical references. Several observations about The intention of presenting the history of the “Rightly al-Dindân's poetry are found in the chapter on Ibn Batla, with Guided” caliphs is to focus one of the main events of (early) whom he is compared. It is all the more important that the Islamic history, namely the (first) Inter-Muslim war (fitna), Index, when it is drawn up, is carefully organised to enable ultimately leading to the division of Islam, to the schisma the reader to find his way easily in the wealth of material pro- between Sunnite and Shi‘ite Islam. Therefore, ‘Ali and his vided. And the system of reference to poems which has been caliphate had to be considered the point of main effort in this employed in this volume, and which lists first the number of publication. Indeed, the fitna as the climax of the conflict the poem, then the line, and finally the volume in which it about the caliphate is rendered in a very detailed description, appears could be altered to the more usual order: volume, adopting the narrative style of the Arabic sources by literally poem, line. translating several direct speeches. Thus, various passages of These mostly minor criticisms do not detract from the fact the publication show a form of narrative history as the Ara- that this volume of Kurpershoek's work includes not only a bic sources do. Although the author himself declares his corpus of memorable texts, some of them very beautiful, but intention to refer to in this way, as also to try to strike a also a sum of information about poetry and the context of its proper balance between abridgement and faithful rendering composition and performance in Central Arabia just before of report and texts (cf. Preface, p. XII), some of the passages the memory of tribal life in the era preceding the establish- quoted are indeed overlong. ment of the Saudi state fades. It forms part of what will cer- Without being in need to recapitulate the importance of the tainly remain a landmark in the recording and study of Ara- events and persons determining the evolution of the caliphate bic oral literature. and its early history, we only may confirm certain statements and messages recorded in W. Madelungs's opus, e.g. the real Lausanne, January 2000 Hilary KILPATRICK picture of ‘Uthman, the use of the term “meritocracy” in con- nection with early Islamic history, especially for ‘Umar's ** caliphate, even the fact that the reign of ‘Ali bore all the * marks of a counter-caliphate, lacking legitimacy in view of the norms of the early caliphate, and that his rule had not MADELUNG, Wilferd — The Succession to MuÌammad. A gained popularity in Kufa during his lifetime. Other passages Study of the Early Caliphate. Cambridge University like that on the Arab empire that ‘Umar established (p. 77; Press, Cambridge, 1997. (23 cm, XVIII, 413). ISBN 0 indeed he himself?) should be seriously discussed. 521 56181 7. £45.00/US$69.95 But we have to be aware of the author's intention to point out ‘Ali's early claim to legitimate succession as also his firm At first sight, the reader may consider this publication a conviction of the legitimacy of his own claim based on his further history of the (early) caliphate, admittedly compre- close kinship to the Prophet. Nevertheless, the reader cannot hensive, but, basically, by no means differing from other his- really obtain a radical and convincing reinterpretation of early 423 BOEKBESPREKINGEN – ARABICA - ISLAM 424

Islamic history, as claimed by the author. Indeed, we may the reader will probably profit from the annotation which follow the author on his way to propose a new look at the Landau-Tasseron has given us. In short, the book will in all sources for a proper reassessment and not to simplify matters likelihood seldom be read at once — as the translator/anno- when accepting a consensus of former research, done by tator herself acknowledges — but its main use is that of a ref- scholars in earlier decades of the 20th century. erence work with as a primary merit its annotation with spe- cial emphasis on explanatory notes regarding tribal aspects. Wien, January 2000 Herbert EISENSTEIN Anyone referencing or buying this book should make sure to consult the two-page list of errata in the index; due to an oversight of the publisher many errors in the proofs of the ** index to the volume had remained unchanged in the printed * version, a pity, yet set right. At any rate, the translator-anno- tator deserves the highest praise for her achievement. THE HISTORY OF AL ™ABARI, Vol. XXXIX, edited by E. Landau-Tasseron. Biographies of the Prophet’s Compan- University of Utrecht John NAWAS ions and Their Successors. State University of New York January 2000 Press, New York, 1998. (23 cm, XXVII, 406). ISBN 0- 7914-2819-2, 0-7914-2820-6. $ 24.95. ** The book under review is an English translation of a work * which the scholar al-™abari (d. 310 AH/923 CE) had proba- bly intended to close his . As Landau-Tasseron History EL-AZHARI, T.K. — The Saljuqs of Syria during the Crusades explains in her introduction, this “separate” work falls more 463-549 A.H./1070-1154 A.D. Klaus Schwarz Verlag, or less within the genre of biographical dictionaries and not, Berlin, 1997. ISSN 0939-1940; ISBN 3-87997-263-X. as the Arabic title (Dhayl al-mudhayyal min ta}rikh al-Òahaba wa al-tabi}in) may suggest, in the “Dhayl” genre, i.e., con- The volume, in the Islamkundliche Untersuchungen series, tinuations of previously written works. Much of the confu- is Dr Taef Kamal El-Azhari’s doctoral thesis, which has been sion surrounding this closing supplement to the History is due apparently published without change. This makes the book to the fact that we do not have the complete text. Conse- difficult to read, beset as it is with grammatical and typing quently, the translator and annotator of this volume appro- infelicities, contorted sentences and opaque logic. But, for all priately gives as page headers “Biographies” (left pages) and the problems, it is informative. The facts follow hard on one “Excerpts from The Supplement to the Supplemented” (right another and this reader certainly learned from the work. The pages) since we are dealing with “excerpts”. The introduc- main problem is that analysis is restricted to a numer of bul- tion to this volume extensively deals with the precise nature let points at the end of each section; on occasion a startling of this part of al-™abari’s oeuvre. statement like “Atsiz did not even spare the people who had That this work has been left for us in incomplete form is taken refuge in the al-Aqsa Mosque (sic), once (my under- naturally reflected in its structure. As the title implies, it pro- lining) regarded as the third holy place by the Muslims, and vides biographies of the Companions of the Prophet firstly only spared the people around the sacred stone” jumped off and then of the Successors, the generation of Muslims who the page (pp. 43-4) as a bald statement that needed explana- came after the Companions. Usually the biographies are tion. After pages of difficult syntax that demanded effort to given according to the year in which the person at hand died. tease out the sense, sometimes the prose will suddenly flow, Interspersed one finds information on women, including sec- leaving the impression of imput from a supervisor, or per- tions on the wifes and female relatives of the Prophet. At haps a section of text lifted wholesale from a source with the times the organizational principle of the work is not years but quotation marks omitted — but then full stops and commas tribes: members of a number of tribes are also listed with are not always accurately used, and this may be another gen- their biographies and a section or two on some allies (Ìulafa}) uine mistake. Ch. 6 is devoted to a discussion of the Saljuqid and clients (mawali). Generally, this manner of presentation administration and institutions in Syria. This is particularly holds in turn for the Successors. useful and informative, but curiously devoid of an insight into In her introduction, Landau-Tasseron herself quite cor- the personalities or effects of, say, the educational practices. rectly expresses some doubt as to what extent the non-spe- It is a pity that more editorial help was not given to Dr El- cialist will benefit from this work — unlike the main corpus Azhari either by the publisher, or by his supervisor. The of the History which is beneficial for both layperson and spe- defects in presentation — I suspect the work was delivered cialist. To her credit and in comparison with other translators “camera-ready” — cloaks the serious research into contem- in the series, Landau-Tasseron informs the reader which par- porary sources undertaken by the author. On several occa- allel texts she selected (namely works by al-Khalifa b. al- sions his work has enabled him to question the findings of Khayya†, al-Baladhuri and Ibn Îibban) and why. The anno- senior scholars like Gil and Frankel. Although overall the tation throughout the book, however, goes beyond mere book is not atmospheric — by that I mean that the events are identification of parallel passages and is actually the treasure reported with a curious dispassion so that the personality of of this volume. Landau-Tasseron, a specialist on early Arab the Saljuqs does not emerge — there are times when the great tribes, shares her knowledge with the reader by pointing out turmoil that took place in Syria nearly 1000 years ago sud- tribal affiliations which may otherwise had not caught the denly comes into focus, as when a poem by a Jew living in attention of the reader. Though the text itself is not complete, Cairo describes the sack of Fustat by Atsiz — “They were a anyone interested in a particular individual or a group of indi- strange and cruel people/ Girt with garments of many colours, viduals in early Islam should check if any of these people are armed and officered/ and capped with helmets, black and by chance found in the extant version of the Dhayl. If found, red./ They trumpet like elephants, and roar as the roaring 425 BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LVII N° 3/4, Mei-Augustus 2000 426 ocean./ They are mingled of Armenians, Arabs and Edomites/ solving all existing crises” (p. 365). In addition, blatantly Greeks and Germans, Paphlagonians and Turks”… (p. 45). offensive and intemperate statements such as “Western Cul- It is more usual, though, to find the detail that brings an his- ture does not recognise moral, spiritual or human values, but torical account to life confined to the footnotes. In a book that only materialistic and benefit-based values” (p. 362) will deals with as complex a period of Syrian history, this is a merely irritate the majority of readers in the West, whatever pity, and the contrast with, say, the recent book by Dr Car- their religions. This reviewer would be the first to admit the ole Hillenbrand on The Crusades. Islamic Perspectives is need to evaluate Islam in fair and objective terms and to add marked. his voice in objection to the negative image of Islam fre- quently peddled in the popular press (see p. vii). However, Edinburgh, February 2000 Sylvia AULD the polemical stance of this book will do nothing to help its author’s cause. The volume lacks a bibliography, diacriticals are eschewed for Arabic names and words, but the translator ** does incorporate page references to the Arabic text in the * main body of his translated text. EL-ZEIN, Samih Atef — Islam and Human Ideology/transl. University of Leeds Ian Richard NETTON with an introd. and notes by Elsayed M.H. Omran/Prepa- January 2000 ration and Presentation by Nabih Sidani and Issam Ghan- dour. Kegan Paul International, London, 1996. (23 cm, XXVI, 376). ISBN 0-7103-0539-7. £ 45.00; $ 76.50. ** * Islam and Human Ideology comprises 45 short chapters within the compass of 375 pages. It is a translation into Eng- KNYSH, Alexander D. — Ibn {Arabi in the Later Islamic Tra- lish by Elsayed M.H. Omran from the Arabic work of Samih dition. State University of New York Press, Albany, 1999. Atef El-Zein entitled a u u a al-Isl m wa Aydiy l jiyat al-Ins n (23 cm, XVI, 449). ISBN 0-7914-3967-4; ISBN 0-7914- (Beirut: Dar al-Kitab al-Lubnani, , rev. and enlarged 1989 3968-2. $ 27.95. from 1971 edn.). Samih Atef El-Zein is a prolific Lebanese Muslim scholar who has written books on Islam, human cul- It has become a commonplace to say that the great Islamic ture, politics, economics, sociology and Qur}anic tafsir. The philosopher and mystic, MuÌyi }I-Din MuÌammad Ibn {Ali blurb on the dustjacket claims that this work is an attempt to Ibn al-{Arabi (560-638 A.H./1165-1240 A.D.), often loosely go beyond the usual introductory books about Islam and to called Ibn {Arabi, is a controversial figure. Indeed, there can show how Islamic Law can be applied to everyday life. The be few major figures in the medieval intellectual develop- proclaimed purpose of the book is as follows: “In a step-by- ment of Islamic thought around whom the polarisation has step approach and with an abundance of examples and quo- been more intense. On the one hand, Ibn al-{Arabi has been tations from both the Holy Qur}an and the Sunnah, the book soundly condemned as an evil heretic; on the other, he is demonstrates in a systematic and convincing manner the revered by his supporters as a great, and much maligned, superiority and humaneness of Islamic law as compared with saint, with a major contemporary society, founded in Oxford both the capitalist and communist-socialist ideologies. The in 1977 and called the Muhyiddin Ibn{Arabi Society, dedi- book shows how both the capitalist and communist-socialist cated to the exposition of his life and works, as well as the ideologies fall short of addressing the needs of individuals in translation of his massive corpus. But the doctrine of WaÌdat a humane and compassionate manner” (Translator’s Intro- al-wujud (the Oneness of Being), most often associated with duction, p. xiv). Ibn al-{Arabi, was not calculated to win the Shaykh many Mr El-Zein thus preaches a Third Way which is, of course, friends among contemporary and future mainstream {ulama}. the ideology of Islam. The titles of the author’s 45 chapters Into this quagmire of conflicting opinions, Alexander range from “Social Justice”, “Morality” and “banks” Knysh has chosen to jump in order to try and make some through “The Gold System” and “Perils of Foreign Loans” sense of the diverse reactions to the Shaykh’s writings and to the significantly titled Chapter 44, “The Islamic System thought. As Knysh puts it, at the beginning of his own vol- Alone Insures Basic Needs”. Fundamentally, however, the ume: “Although his vast work has been analysed in dozens volume treats of three basic themes: Communism, Capital- of academic monographs and in hundreds of articles, Ibn ism and Islam. {Arabi still poses a major intellectual challenge to his inves- It is a polemical work indeed, evidenced, for example, in tigators. More significantly, an aura of mystery and contro- its reference to “the miniscule amount of accurate, reliable versy that has enveloped his name over the last seven cen- and comprehensive information which exists concerning turies has attracted to him not only academics but also a Islam in the West” (p. vii), its superficial acquaintance with broad non-specialist audience in the Muslim countries and in Marxism, and the works of Karl Marx, on which it purports the West” (p. 1). And Knysh confesses that his reason for to speak with authority, and statements such as the follow- writing the volume under review was the great disparity in ing, which belong more in a Kulliyat al-Da{wa rather than an the treatment of Ibn al-{Arabi by scholars in the West and the objective academic monograph: “A quick glance at Western East. His wish is to achieve the following objectives: “(1) to culture will reveal that it is incapable of safeguarding happi- highlight the principal stages of the scholarly debate over Ibn ness and peace of mind for mankind. On the contrary, such {Arabi’s legacy and the evolution of polemical arguments Western culture has brought about the misery from which the employed by the participants; (2) to describe the reasons for world suffers immeasurably today” (p. 264); and “The world a striking, almost inconceivable, tenacity of his mystical will be well-advised to emulate this lofty, Islamic ideology teaching; (3) to unravel the motives of the parties to the con- and to embrace its concepts, as this ideology is capable of troversy over Ibn {Arabi and his ideas” (p. 2). 427 BOEKBESPREKINGEN – ARABICA - ISLAM 428

The accomplishment of these objectives is attempted in (Istanbul, 1990) to the collection of Fritz Meier’s Essays on nine chapters: the first two examine how Ibn al-{Arabi has Islamic Piety and Mysticism (Leiden; E.J. Brill, 1999). The been tackled by modern contemporary Western scholars, and length and depth of such volumes, and the one presently provide a biographical context. Chapter Three examines the under review, attest a real efflorescence in contemporary ∑ufi figure of Ibn {Abd al-Salam and the latter’s denunciation of Studies. Ibn al-{Arabi, while Chapter Four surveys the challenge of Islamic Mysticism Contested runs to 829 pages. It is invid- Ibn Taymiyya. The fifth chapter surveys the treatment of Ibn ious to single out individual names but many of the masters al-{Arabi in Arabic biographical literature written between of ∑ufi studies today are here including Gerhard Böwering, the 14th-15th centuries A.D. Chapter Six concentrates on al- Michel Chodkiewicz, Carl W. Ernst, Bruce Lawrence and Taftazani and his refutation of Ibn al-{Arabi while the sev- Marc Gaborieau, to name just a few among many luminar- enth chapter looks at Ibn al-{Arabi in the Muslim West and ies. It is worth noting that the present volume appeared while asks basically whether he was a “Prophet in his own land”. Elizabeth Sirriyeh’s Sufis and Anti-Sufis: The Defence, Chapters Eight and Nine examine Ibn al-{Arabi in the Rethinking and Rejection of Sufism in the Modern World Egyptian and Yemeni contexts respectively. The work ends (Richmond UK: Curzon Press, 1998) was still in the press with a general conclusion. Throughout, the author has tried and could not, therefore, take account of her views. Islamic “to demonstrate that the scholarly discourse around Ibn Mysticism Contested originated in the papers presented at the {Arabi’s teaching hinged on a set of thematic axes that international symposium on “Sufism and its Opponents” remained unchanged in different historical and theological which was convened at the University of Utrecht in the contexts” (p. 5). In his efforts Knysh deploys all the Netherlands by Frederick De Jong and Bernd Radtke between expected primary Arabic and secondary European sources, 1st-6th May 1995. The Preface informs us that “the idea to ranging from Ibn al-{Arabi’s own al-FutuÌat al-Makkiya and organise a symposium with this particular focus was born in FuÒuÒ al-Îikam to the modern translations and commentaries a discussion on research priorities in the field of Islamic mys- of William C. Chittick and Michel Chodkiewicz, to very good ticism which De Jong had with Avram Udovitch and Frank effect. Stewart in Princeton over a decade ago”. In the Introduction In sum, Knysh achieves the three stated objectives, referred to their volume, Professors De Jong and Radtke provide a to above, admirably. This is an important book which will substantial rationale for the volume: provide a major adjunct to the work already undertaken on Criticism of and opposition to mystical conceptions of Islam Ibn al-{Arabi by other specialists like Chittick, Chodkiewicz, and their adherents have been and still are crucial forces shap- Austin and Izutsu. While some will quarrel with Knysh’s ing and coinciding with socio-political configurations in the views on Ibn Taymiyya, and a few gremlins have crept into world of Islam while constituting an integral part of an ongo- the text (e.g. the duplication on part of the Contents pp. IX ing debate inside the Islamic tradition. Yet, the virtual absence and X, and the mistitling of Netton’s Muslim Neoplatonists of comparative studies of regional and historical variations in as Islamic Neoplatonism on p. 283 n. 4) these points are the polemics between Sufis and those adhering to non-mysti- insufficient to detract from the notable achievement of cal conceptions of Islam is perhaps striking, as is the absence of more comprehensive studies concerning these polemics, Knysh. The author concludes: “In general, the problem faced their historical and cultural determinants and their wider impli- by scholars who dealt with Ibn {Arabi was one of taxonomy” cations. The relevance of such studies for our understanding (p. 277). In Ibn {Arabi in the Later Islamic Tradition, Alexan- of Islamic history is obvious… mystical Islam is contested at der Knysh has created a taxonomy of this later tradition present as much as it was in the past, with considerable vari- which will serve as a guide and a model for scholars and stu- ation in the nature and intensity of the contest. An adequate dents of the great Shaykh for many years to come. understanding of the nature of these contests requires the pen- etration of the complexities of their historical context. Such a University of Leeds Ian Richard NETTON historicising approach, while taking into account the wider January 2000 socio-political configuration, unites the papers presented in the [volume under review].

** The work comprises an Introduction by the editors and 35 * individual studies divided geographically into seven major sections (S) as follows: (1) Perimeters and Constants; (2) Al- JONG, Frederick de, & Bernd RADTKE (eds) — Islamic Mys- Andalus, North Africa and the Middle East; (3) Africa; (4) ticism Contested. Thirteen Centuries of Controversies and The Indian Subcontinent; (5) Central Asia and China; (6) Polemics. (Islamic History and Civilisation, 29). E.J. Brill Anatolia, Iran and the Balkans; (7) The Malay-Indonesian Publishers N.V., Leiden, 1999. (24 cm, XII, 829). ISBN World. The range is thus immense and the standard of con- 90-04-11300-2; ISSN 0929-2403. Nlg. 420, $ 247.50. tributions is extremely high. Articles appear in the three lan- guages of English, French and German. They range from dis- Recent automobile advertising in the UK proclaimed that cussions of “Early Sufism between Persecution and Heresy” “size matters”! Whether this is true of Islamic Studies in (Böwering) and “The Wahhabiyya and Sufism in the Eigh- general, and ∑ufi Studies in particular, is a matter of taste and teenth Century” (Esther Peskes) [S. 1] through analyses of debate. However, there is no getting away from the fact that “Persecution and Circumspection in Sha††ari Sufism” (Carl a large number of weighty tomes, in both the physical sense W. Ernst) and “Veiled Opposition to Sufis in Muslim South and that of content, have recently hit the market. They range Asia” (Bruce B. Lawrence) [S. 4] to surveys of “Opposition from Marc Gaborieau’s magisterial edition of articles deal- to Sufism in the East Indies in the Seventeenth and Eigh- ing with the Naqshbandis (Marc Gaborieau, Alexandre teenth Centuries” (Azyumardi Azra) and “Controversies and Popovic & Thierry Zarcone (eds), Naqshbandis: Chemine- Polemics Involving the Sufi Orders in Twentieth-Century ments et Situation Actuelle d’un Ordre Mystique Musulman Indonesia” (Martin Van Bruinessen) [S. 7]. This volume is a 429 BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LVII N° 3/4, Mei-Augustus 2000 430 superb resource for ∑ufi studies with much that is original, Selon Esmail, le caractère ouvert du Coran a engendré fascinating and stimulating. Every scholar of taÒawwuf who deux attitudes intellectuelles opposées: le traditionalisme des can afford it will wish to buy a copy; every university library ahl al-Ìadît et le rationalisme, au sein duquel il situe le with an Arabic and Islamic Studies Department should buy mu‘tazilisme, la falsafa et l'ismaélisme. Les auteurs ismaé- a copy. liens d'époque fatimide, et en particulier Abû Ya‘qûb as- Sigistânî, ont su développer une harmonie quasi parfaite entre University of Leeds Ian Richard NETTON une pensée discursive, analytique, qu'ils ont en commun avec February 2000 les falâsifa, et une pensée religieuse, centrée autour du sym- bolisme de la révélation. L'instrument de cette harmonisa- tion, le , présenté comme un procédé anti-dogmatique ** ta'wîl qui procède du  vers une multitude de † s, opère une * âhir bâ in création continuelle de sens («a continual creation of mea- ning», p. 52), qui sans cesse ouvre des horizons nouveaux et ESMAIL, Aziz — The Poetics of Religious Experience. The appartient au même ordre que la créativité propre à la Islamic Context. (The Institute of Ismaili Studies Occa- réflexion scientifique. Du symbole émane une force, une sional Papers — 1). I.B. Tauris, London, 1998. (21 cm, créativité (Ricœur: «le symbole donne à penser») qui entre- VIII, 75). ISBN 1 86064 240 3. tient la réflection discursive. Il n'existe par conséquent dans Ce petit livre d'Aziz Esmail, l'ancien Doyen de l'Institute la pensée ismaélienne de l'époque fatimide aucune contra- of Ismaili Studies à Londres, ne se présente pas comme un diction entre science et religion, entre raison et mythe [voir ouvrage d'islamologie traditionnelle, mais plutôt comme un à ce sujet mon article: «Mîzân ad-diyâna ou l'équilibre entre essai visant une nouvelle approche de la tradition musulmane science et religion dans la pensée ismaélienne», Acta Orien- à partir de certains acquis de la philosophie analytique talia Belgica 8, 1993, pp. 247-254]. moderne. En 70 pages à peine, l'auteur développe, au gré Cette dichotomie est d'ailleurs, selon Esmail, propre à la d'une argumentation très dense, un nombre de thèmes qui philosophie occidentale à partir de Kant. La pensée islamique tiennent en haleine le monde musulman contemporain. D'où a ainsi été la victime d'un double réductionisme: religieux, la grande actualité et l'intérêt réel de cette publication. depuis Gazâlî, qui a réduit l'islam rationaliste à la margina- Esmail comprend le fait religieux comme une interpréta- lité; laïque, par l'influence du positivisme moderne qui, à la tion individuelle, bien que déterminée par le contexte socio- suite de Kant mais un peu malgré lui, a opéré une rupture culturel, de «l'expérience du sacré», qui se traduit toujours complète entre la science et l'ensemble des expériences sym- à l'aide de symboles. Les textes religieux — y compris le boliques (religieuses, artistiques…). Pour sortir de cette Coran — sont des textes symboliques, «poétiques» (d'où le impasse, Esmail préconise de renouer avec la tradition de titre du livre: «The Poetics of Religious experience») qui Sigistânî, à l'aide d'une philosophie herméneutique, une ana- certes portent les marques de l'époque et de la culture où ils lyse du langage dans la voie ouverte par Ricœur: reconnaître ont vu le jour, mais qui à la fois transcendent ce cadre histo- la diversité des formes et des niveaux du langage implique la rique: il s'agit de textes éternels, qui continuent à inspirer et reconnaissance de la diversité des modes au moyen desquels à fasciner pour autant qu'ils véhiculent des valeurs humaines l'homme a exprimé son expérience du sacré. universelles. Wittgenstein, mais avant tout Paul Ricœur, Cet essai, que l'on pourrait considérer comme un traité auquel Esmail se réfère à maintes reprises, nous ont appris ismaélien moderne, pose d'une façon pertinente et avec beau- que le symbole demeure ouvert, qu'il ne se laisse pas cir- coup de courage quelques uns des problèmes les plus déli- conscrire mais contient au contraire une riche diversité de cats qui déchirent actuellement les intellectuels du monde significations dont la recherche nous invite à une créativité musulman. Il aborde ainsi la nécessité d'une approche histo- continue. Le littéralisme de l'islam orthodoxe traditionniste rique du Coran et d'une compréhension dynamique de ses méconnaît le caractère symbolique, ouvert et dynamique du préceptes, afin de remédier à l'ankylose qui menace la sur- Coran, en le figeant dans un système rigide de dogmes, qui vie même de l'islam. En outre, le livre est un plaidoyer en ne laissent aucune place à la créativité individuelle, ni aux faveur du pluralisme, de la reconnaissance de la diversité des particularismes locaux. Il en résulte un monologisme qui confessions et des traditions religieuses au sein du monde mène trop souvent au totalitarisme psychologique et poli- musulman, contre tout appel à l'islam unitaire, ce soi-disant tique. L'islam «ésotérique» par contre, en tirant parti de «ordre islamique universel» que certains considèrent comme l'énorme richesse du symbolisme religieux, respecte la diver- la réponse ultime aux menaces de l'occident. Enfin, et sur- sité des croyances et des cultes, qui sont autant de manières tout, Esmail entrevoit la nécessité pour le monde musulman valables pour l'homme d'exprimer son expérience du sacré. d'élaborer une pensée philosophique et théologique adaptée Ibn al-‘Arabî a su donner un fondement théorique à ce plu- aux circonstances d'aujourd'hui, une philosophie de la reli- ralisme: au-delà des divisions confessionnelles aussi bien à gion capable d'intégrer les acquis de la science actuelle. Il l'intérieur qu'à l'extérieur de l'islam, il reconnaît la valeur amorce une telle philosophie en faisant certes appel à des intrinsèque des multiples voies par lesquelles les hommes de cadres de référence occidentaux (Wittgenstein, Corbin, tous temps et de toutes cultures se sont efforcés d'approcher Ricœur), mais en les adaptant avec bonheur au contexte isla- l'Unité de l'Etre. Seule cette attitude permet d'apprécier l'en- mique (Rûmî, Ibn al-‘Arabî, Sigistânî). Son livre s'inscrit richissante diversité de la tradition musulmane, avec ses ainsi dans un certain renouveau actuel de la pensée islamique innombrables particularismes locaux. Face à l'épistémologie «post-islamiste», qui tente de remédier à la profonde crise simpliste des ‘ulamâ', dont le littéralisme présuppose une intellectuelle dans laquelle est plongée le monde musulman, correspondance directe entre le mot et la réalité désignée, non en rejettant l'occident comme tel et en se repliant sur soi- «l'imagination créatrice» (Corbin) d'Ibn al-‘Arabî mène au même, mais en s'ouvrant à l'autre et en engageant le dialogue pluralisme en incorporant la force créatrice du symbole. avec lui. 431 BOEKBESPREKINGEN – ARABICA - ISLAM 432

L'auteur soulève certes plus de questions qu'il n'en résout l'identité de la communauté. Nous rejoignons ici la notion du réellement. Mais en nous invitant à la méditation et au débat, symbole en tant que principe de créativité, telle qu'elle a été il remplit déjà largement l'objectif qu'il s'est lui-même posé développée dans l'essai d'Aziz Esmail paru dans la même dès les premières pages. collection. Bien qu'il soit regrettable que Keshavjee traite son sujet Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Daniel DE SMET avec une concision extrême et d'une façon un peu désordon- février 2000 née, quitte à dérouter le lecteur non initié à l'ismaélisme con- temporain, il aborde dans ces quelques pages une question ** qui dépasse de loin le cadre restreint de la secte nizarite. * L'auteur suggère que seule une nouvelle approche des textes KESHAVJEE, Rafique — Mysticism and the Plurality of sacrés et des rituels de l'islam permet d'échapper au double Meaning. The Case of the Ismailis of Rural Iran. (The écueil qui menace actuellement le monde musulman: le rejet Institute of Ismaili Studies Occasional Papers — 2). I.B. catégorique (et irréaliste) de la modernité en faveur d'une Tauris, London, 1998. (21 cm, VII, 47). ISBN 1 86064 Tradition divinisée, ce qui mène trop souvent au totalitarisme 231 4. et au fanatisme, ou l'attitude inverse de rejet de la tradition en faveur d'une modernité sans âme ni esprit, ce qui mène L'auteur de cet essai, qui a vécu pendant plusieurs années inévitablement à une perte d'identité et porte atteinte à la cul- parmi les Ismaéliens nizarites du Khorassan en vue de son ture en soi. Ph. D. (The Quest for Gnosis and the Call of History: Mod- En une optique ismaélienne le ta’wil, ou exégèse ernization Among the Ismailis of Iran, défendu à Harvard en ésotérique, permet de répondre par l'affirmative aux ques- 1981), pose le grave problème de la confrontation entre tra- tions posées par l'auteur au début de son exposé (p. 3): l'is- dition et modernité dans le monde musulman contemporain. lam spirituel, «mystique», n'exclut point une participation Il le fait en présentant, comme case study, quelques aspects active à la vie moderne, mais peut au contraire jouer un rôle de la vie religieuse des communautés nizarites rurales de primordial dans la modernisation des sociétés musulmanes, Perse orientale, qui ont connu ces dernières décennies une n'étant en aucun cas incompatible avec une approche transformation profonde. rationnelle, «scientifique» de la réalité. Dès lors, cette méth- Après que l'Agha Khan et les principaux dignitaires de la ode exégétique pourrait inspirer maint penseur musulman secte durent quitter la Perse en 1841 pour s'établir à Bom- dans l'élaboration d'une théologie et d'une philosophie adap- bay, les Nizarites iraniens s'étaient repliés sur eux-mêmes, tées aux exigences de notre temps. essayant de survivre tant bien que mal dans leurs villages isolés, à la merci des vexations émanant d'un entourage KU Leuven, février 2000 Daniel DE SMET duodécimain profondément hostile. Cette situation changea brusquement lorsque, au cours des années 30, l'Agha Khan ** III renoua le contact avec ses fidèles iraniens et lança pour * eux un ambitieux programme de développement. Chaque vil- lage reçut son école primaire, bientôt suivie d'établissements JOHANSEN, Baber — Contingency in a Sacred Law. Legal secondaires. Les élèves les plus doués obtinrent des bourses and Ethical Norms in the Muslim Fiqh. (Studies in pour poursuivre des études supérieures à Mashad ou à Islamic Law and Society, Vol. 7). E.J. Brill Publishers Téhéran, voire en occident. Lorsque l'Agha Khan visita l'I- N.V., Leiden, 1999. (24 cm, XIII, 521). ISBN 90 04 ran en 1951, il y trouva une communauté ismaélienne déjà 10603 0; ISSN 1384-1130. Nlg. 246.00/$144.50. fortement modernisée. Ainsi, il constata avec satisfaction que la plupart des femmes avaient abandonné le chador. Depuis Johansen’s very interesting book is a collection of fifteen lors, l'actuel Agha Khan n'a fait que renforcer cette politique articles published in several Journals from 1977 to 1994 (pp. de développement socio-économique, basée sur une éduca- XI-XIII). It gathers together many works which otherwise tion moderne, conforme aux normes occidentales (cf. F. Daf- cannot be easily consulted. This implies that transcription and tary, The Isma‘ilis. Their history and doctrines, Cambridge transliteration vary in the different papers. The articles are 1990, pp. 534-544). subdivided in nine chapters according to their different topics Cette expérience unique de modernisation accélérée au sein preceeded by a long Introduction (pp. 1-72) and a short sum- d'une communauté rurale profondément attachée à ses tradi- mary of the subject matter of each chapter (pp. 72-76). A tions, risque d'engendrer une crise d'identité dangereuse, un valuable set of notes enriches the articles. The book ends with conflit insurmontable entre les générations. La tradition a useful Index (pp. 477-521). nizarite, qui n'a pu survivre qu'en s'assimilant au soufisme, A general picture of the meaning and the evolution of “a est constituée d'un ensemble de rites et de légendes qui, pris system of ethical and juristic norms called fiqh” (p. 1:4f), a à la lettre, ne peuvent paraître que superstitieux à la nouvelle ‘sacred law’, given in the Introduction (“The Muslim Fiqh élite intellectuelle et urbaine. La modernité menace alors de as a Sacred Law. Religion, Law and Ethics in a normative détruire en quelques années la tradition, l'identité même de system”), seems very pertinent. First of all, Johansen la communauté, sauvegardée pendant tant de siècles au prix inquiries into the main boundaries between fiqh as opposed d'immenses sacrifices. to ‘ilm, the revealed knowledge, because it differs from theo- Selon l'auteur, la seule issue réside en une approche logy in its objects, perspectives, and methods as emerges in ouverte et créatrice de la tradition: une fois dépassé le sens five essential points: the rational knowledge of God, the littéral et obvie des textes fondateurs et des rituels, il s'en ontology of the created universe, the human capacity to dégage un faisceau de significations, «a plurality of mean- choose and to act, the theodicy problem, and belief as the ele- ing», qui continuellement redonne sens à la réalité et redéfinit ment which constitutes the unity of the Islamic community 433 BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LVII N° 3/4, Mei-Augustus 2000 434

(pp. 6-23). The fiqh, as an independent branch of knowledge, (the permanently inhabited built-up area of the town); it is serving as a normative reference for a universally valid sys- different from the agricultural or pastural lands surrounding tem of justice, required a complex organization of jurisdic- the town. The second element is the range and hierarchical tion which had a clearly political character in its origins. But classification of the places of worship (pp. 97-104). Besides it was more closely controlled by the fiqh schools as their the holy places of Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem, or the norms were widely accepted (pp. 26-28). The great com- mosques of the quarter and the “thoroughfare mosques”, the petition between the several law schools led to a vivid liter- Friday mosques in the Muslim towns had a great importance ary debate (pp. 28-33), which gave rise to different doctrines because they represented the religious and political unity of and schools of fiqh from the eighth to the eleventh centuries the whole population of the town and its fina’. This stated, it (pp. 40-42). But on one point the Muslim jurists agree — they is obvious that there was a large debate about the number of distinguish norms in two types: those concerning the forum the Friday mosques in a single town. If some leading Îanafi externum and those regarding the forum internum only (pp. jurists believed that there could have been only one valid Fri- 33-37). It is easy to verify that sometimes “the tension day prayer in one municipal entity, it could also have been between legal and ethical norms… may reach a stage in true from the second half of the eighth century onward that which tragical conflicts are envisaged” (p. 36:5ff). The great the large town, the “huge metropolises”, had more than one majority of the articles included in this book, mainly con- Friday mosque. In conclusion, there was a transformation of cerned with the most widespread Îanafi school of law, focus the city “from a monocentric cult community under political precisely on this tension. The author demonstrates that the control to a polycentric urban structure with a plurality of closing of the gate of igtihad was a late invention (p. 447:4) important religious institutions often under private patron- and the fiqh adapted to the changing circumstances. Of great age” (p. 72:17ff). The legal doctrine adapted to the chang- interest is the discussion of the different doctrinal opinions, ing circumstances of urban life. not always shared by the author, of some European scholars The fourth article (“Urban structures in the view of Mus- (Snouck Hurgronje, Goldziher, Max Weber and Schacht) and lim jurists: the case of Damascus in the early nineteenth cen- of two of the most celebrated Arab jurists trained in modern tury”, pp. 153-162), based on a translation of a ÎaÒkafi’s text occidental law (‘Abd al-Razzaq al-Sanhuri and Chafik and Ibn ‘Abidin’s gloss, is somehow or other connected to Chehata) about the fiqh (pp. 42-72). Johansen tries to follow the previous one. In fact, it makes clear that the Îanafi jurists, the attempt of the Îanafi fuqaha’ to distinguish a legal from in their efforts to adapt norms and terminology to the urban a religious and ethical sphere, to show that this attempt is situation in which they were living, agreed on the existence linked to the perspectives of urban life and the development of a polycentric urban structure, i.e. that “different parts of of the Muslim cities, and to highlight the way in which the the city’s environs enjoy different legal and ritual status” (p. fuqaha’ consciously used the heteronomy between the reli- 73:2f). The nodal points of this new urban structure were the gious and ethical ideal, on the one hand, and the legal norm, Friday mosques and — more importantly — the mosques of on the other, in order to justify the adaptation of the legal the quarters. norm to social and political practices (pp. 71-72). As regards the organization of the mosques (“The servants These changes did not occur in an uniform Islamic world of the mosques”, pp. 107-128), the author also notes the because, according to the Îanafi doctrine, there existed a dif- evolution of an important Islamic principle. In fact, the clas- ferentiation between town and countryside as regards taxa- sical Îanafi doctrine stating that “no payment is acceptable tion, urban groups relevant for the penal law and the Friday for works of obedience” (p. 72:31) was changed in the 11th prayer (Chapter I: The City and its norms, pp. 77-162), in century when, for the first time, the Îanafi ‘ulama’ of BalÌ contradiction to the widespread assumption that Islamic law stated a new legal doctrine declaring it lawful to perform the does not differentiate between town and countryside and that a∂an, the imama and other religious duties in return for a it does not define the Muslim town (pp. 78, 129). Taking into contractually stipulated payment, even if the type of pay was account the Friday prayer (“The all-embracing town and its debated at length by the jurists. The social circumstances giv- mosques. Al-MiÒr al-gami‘”, pp. 77-106), the question of ter- ing rise to this evolution were the proliferation of private reli- minology plays a major part to better understand the rela- gious institutions. Johansen mainly takes into account three tionship between a town, its precincts, and the countryside. documents found in the Algerian National Archives, includ- It is al-miÒr al-gami‘, “the all-embracing town” (p. 80:9), a ing lists of salaried persons employed in the Îanafi mosques technical term, ignored by the law schools other the Îanafi of Algiers between 1811 and 1814, and in 1836. The author school, denoting a town in which the Friday prayer may be describes these documents and examines the functions ful- validly held. Even if its geographical origin and its first use filled by their employees, the “people of the mosques,” who are doubtful, it “is not earlier than the second half of the can roughly be divided in four categories; among them there eighth and not later than the first half of the ninth century” was a hierarchy of functions. The places of worship were also (p. 82:9f). Although a range of definitions can be given to divided according to a fixed hierarchy. The people employed al-miÒr al-gami‘, all of them point out the central idea that in the Îanafi and the Maliki religious institutions of Algiers its population constitutes a congregational community par- were about 4-7% of the adult male Muslim population who ticipating in one communal Friday worship. Therefore, generally combined two or more jobs. according to the prevalent Îanafi doctrine, there is no sharp The third article (“Amwal Âahira and amwal ba†ina: town line of demarcation between a village and a small town. On and countryside as reflected in the tax system of the Îanafi the contrary, two elements clearly distinguish a large town school”, pp. 129-152) takes into account the tax system of from a village. The first consists of the urban precincts, the Îanafi law and points out the differentiation between town fina’ al-miÒr (pp. 90-97), the open space around a town, ser- and countryside. In fact, such a system grants a privileged ving the common interests of the residents of the town, on fiscal status to the urban population when compared not only which no houses are built which belong to the ‘umran al-miÒr with the agricultural population, but also with the cattle- 435 BOEKBESPREKINGEN – ARABICA - ISLAM 436 breeding tribesmen. This implies that the Îanafi jurists evalu- the Îanafi jurists made a distinction between binding sen- ated different genres de vie, and developed the idea of a fiscal tences of the courts on the one hand, and religion and ethics system which clearly differentiates between urban property on the other (p. 174). The binding juridical provision of the and all other kinds of property. That the town emerges as a courts is a juridical solution enforceable in this world and fiscal unit clearly separated from the rural and bedouin pop- corresponding to appearences (Âahir). Thus, Ìukm differs ulations in the different regulations concerning urban, from the personal relation to God, expressed with the con- nomadic and agricultural types of property appears evident cept of diyana. However, while a judge cannot have recourse from the “six obligatory acts through which Muslims are to the ethical and religious interpretation of the law, a mufti liable to transfer parts of their private property to third per- can do so because he connects religion, law and ethics in his sons… without receiving an equivalent in goods, money, or fatwa. During thousand of years, the relation between Ìukm private services for them” (p. 131:2ff). However, three of and diyana has been complementary and represented the them (‘id al-fi†r, ‘id al-a∂Ìa, rikaz) do not regard the eco- scholastic compromise between law and ethics, ratio and reli- nomic activities of Muslims. But the structure of the remain- gion. Islamic law is characterized by a tension between these ing three taxes (Ìarag, ‘usr, zakat) clearly works to the dis- “two different semantic fields which together constitute the advantage of the Muslim population engaged in agriculture. fiqh” (p. 73:24f). However, the radical reform movements of As far as zakat is concerned, it is not a uniform tax. First of the 18th century no longer accepted this compromise. They all, the property of pious foundations cannot be taxed under aimed to clearly identify law with religion and ethics, found- zakat. Moreover, it is divided into an alms tax on amwal ing a tradition of anti-rationalism in their name. Therefore Âahira, “visible goods”, and another on amwal ba†ina, “hid- they criticized the jurists and the fiqh as being an obstacle on den goods”, which is mainly applied to urban property. This this way. distinction favours the city-dwellers based on the fact that, as The only article (“Secular and religious elements in Îanafi zakat is considered a “financial act of devotion” (‘ibada law. Function and limits of the absolute character of govern- maliyya), not all of them are obliged to pay it (minors, the ment authority”, pp. 189-218) included in Chapter IV (Prop- insane, slaves and half-free persons are excluded) and their erty as an institution of social integration) tries to find those entire property is not assessed. Moreover, this distinction also possible norms, universally ackowledged by Muslim schol- favours the urban tax-payers compared to the cattle-breeding ars, describing the ideal relationship between government and tribesmen. On the contrary, the ‘usr, a real obligation, is society and to discover “whether these norms tended to mainly a levy (mu’na) on productive land and agricultural strengthen the ‘absolute’ character of moral criticism directed produce. Also the Ìarag, a personal obligation, even if it is against the rulers” (p. 189:14ff). The solution is found focus- a tax on property, becomes due on account of the mere exist- ing the figure of the proprietor, “the prototype of the legal ence of property, regardless of the juridical and economic sit- person in Hanafite law” (p. 191:20), i.e. the free and sane uation of the tax-payer. person of age. The author examines the basic concepts of An adaptation of the norms of Islamic law to social cir- ∂imma (the capacity to acquire rights and duties which dif- cumstances can be noted in the evolution of the doctrine ferentiates between the human being as a proprietor and the regarding the prescriptive value of social practices (Chapter human being as property) and ahliyya (the legal capacity II, Legal norms and social practices, including the article, which separates adult persons from children, sane persons “Coutumes locales et coutumes universelles aux sources des from lunatics) (pp. 192-200) and notes that neither of them règles juridiques en droit musulman hanéfite”, pp. 163-171). are dependent on sex or religious affiliation, and that this The prevalent Iraqian Ìanafisme maintains that a social prac- assumption is true both in relation to the Ìuquq al-‘ibad tice may be among the non-juridical and non-religious (“claims of men”: transactions, marriage, family, inheritance, sources of the fiqh under certain conditions (they are admit- compensations and talion in the penal law) and the Ìuquq ted if they are restricted to definite situations, geographic Allah (acts of worship, Ìudud, taxes, etc.). But there is a dif- precincts, limited periods of time, or some particular social ferentiation between the two kinds of Ìuquq. As regards the classes or professions). However, this doctrine was developed “claims of men” (pp. 200-209), the whole structure is based by the muftis and by the authors of the commentaries who on the interdependence of private proprietors with one admitted the juridical validity of the local social practices as another or with the government. The relationship between the general and universal rules of fiqh. This doctrinal evolution proprietors is supposed to be governed by the principle of just appears evident examining the contract of métayage exchange (but the principle of legal equality is restricted as (muzara‘a). far as the hierarchical order of marriage and family, and Chapter III (Legal rationality and ethical norms) is ded- within the penal law for the right to retaliation for intentional icated to the way in which the fiqh marked off legal from eth- wounding and the amount of compensation to be paid, since ical norms. The only article (“Die sündige, gesunde Amme. they depend on sex, freedom and political status) (pp. 209- Moral und gesetzliche Bestimmung (Ìukm) im islamischen 210). Moreover, private legal persons “may dispose of their Recht”, pp. 172-188) stresses that, if on the one hand it is claims at their own free will and decide of their own accord unquestionable that religious and ethical points of view whether they want the authorities to interfere with their con- widely determine the formation, the foundation and the ap- flicts or not” (p. 210:2ff). “Finally, all private legal claims plication of norms of Islamic law, it is also true that the ra- are legally relevant only insofar as the private legal persons tional generalization of juridical principles in many cases involved have a legal bond (‘iÒma) with an Islamic govern- meant as a consequence that religious and ethical points of ment that protects their life and property” (p. 210:8ff). view cannot, or can only inadequately be taken into account. As far as Ìuquq Allah are concerned, they are the legal The binding sentence of a court (Ìukm) does not necessarily claims of state and religion, the realm of the absolute, of God, correspond to the requirements of religion and ethics. After represented by the government, the ruler, who consequently examining four cases (pp. 174-184), the author shows that does not have the right to abandon them (pp. 211-212); they 437 BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LVII N° 3/4, Mei-Augustus 2000 438 represent the public interest which cannot be interchanged tems, the sacred law of Muslims and the law system of the with the private interest. For this reason, the religious affili- colonial powers, was accepted. Muslim jurists have continued ation of the individual legal person determines his claims and to teach that the enforcement of law is a function pertaining liabilities in the sphere of this kind of Ìuquq (pp. 216-217). to the political power, but they have begun to respect a plu- “What emerges as the result of these regulations is the formal ralism of law systems which presupposed a new relation recognition of the absolute character of the political and between politics, religion and law (pp. 234-237). juridical actions of the government, and the practical protec- The important idea of ‘iÒma is analysed thoroughly in the tion of the system of private legal relations, based on the prin- second article (“Der ‘IÒma-Begriff im hanafitischen Recht”, ciple of the just exchange” (p. 214:25ff). Two further cat- pp. 238-262). It had been only examined by two scholars in egories (ta‘zir and siyasa) were elaborated by the Îanafi the past, however without a systematic description and a his- jurists since the early and classical period in order to enable torical development (pp. 240-241). After a sketch of the use the government and the judiciary to protect the sphere of pri- of this concept in the pre-Islamic period and in the Qur’an, vate exchange relations and the public domain (pp. 216-217). the author examines the opinions of the earlier jurists (al-Say- Chapter V (Political authority as foundation of social in- bani and al-Safi‘i) (pp. 242-244), followed by the later Îanafi tegration: a territorial concept of law, pp. 219-348), includ- jurists to the 19th century. The classical doctrine is that the ing three articles, treats a subject of great relevance to the right of the authority to inflict penalties and the claim of the present; that is, whether Muslim jurists were able to conceive separate persons to legal protection through the authority and of the existence and the continuity of the rights of non-Mus- the courts, are dependent on the proportion and the continu- lims after the accomplishment of the Islamic revelation and ity of the submission to an Islamic authority. The different the foundation of an empire governed by Muslims, and kinds of legal protection which an individual can enjoy were whether Islam may accept the existence of a neutral state. regulated and systematically denominated by the Îanafi The author shows that the Islamic doctrine was subject to an jurists as well as by the jurists of the remaining schools of evolution. The first article (“Entre révélation et tyrannie: le law since the 11th century, through the different kinds of droit des non-musulmans d’après les juristes musulmans”, ‘iÒma, which denote the different dimensions of legal pro- pp. 219-237) focuses on the first issue. Except for short tection: the ‘iÒma mu’abbada (pp. 248-250), the ‘iÒma periods, Muslims of the Near East succeeded in making the mu’aqqata (pp. 250-251), the ‘iÒma muqawwima (pp. 251- Islamic law rule the relations between Muslims, Jews and 255), the ‘iÒma mu’a††ima (pp. 257-258). Christians. Based on the criterion of analogy, Muslim jurists A sort of topical presentation of the principle of the ‘iÒma believed that every sacred law derives from a revelation. is made in the third article (“Staat, Recht und Religion im From Adam until MuÌammad, God revealed himself by sunnitischen Islam. Können Muslime einen religionsneutralen means of a numerous chain of revelations. The question is Staat akzeptieren?”, pp. 263-321, followed by a debate, pp. whether the sacred laws of the Judaean-Christian revelation 321-348) where Johansen investigates a very relevant ques- are still in force or they have been abrogated by the Islamic tion considering the presence of large Muslim communities revelation, and, if that is the case, what is the legal status of in Europe during the last decades. The author limits himself people who still believe in those abrogated laws. The Îanafi to Germany, but his considerations might be extended to the doctrine is that the previous sacred laws keep their validity rest of Europe. He believes it is possible to acknowledge only if they are confirmed by the Qur’an and the Sunna. The Muslim religious communities as institutions of public law. jurists analogically developed a political level from this reli- This may be at present possible both because Muslims might gious concept by means of the doctrine of ‘iÒma (a religious, be induced to accept a neutral state as they are minorities in political and legal tie between the authority and a subject). many countries, and because most Muslims in Germany The legal-political submission of a non-Muslim takes the belong to associations which do not oppose a secular order. shape of a contract of protection (‘aqd al-∂imma) which Further, Muslims in Germany, above all those of the second garantees the protection of his life, his person and his goods or third generation, have no comprehension that one might as well as of those of his family. The differentiation between acknowledge Islam differently from a religion or a religious religion and politics allows the Muslims to be content with community. Such integration of Islam in the German jurid- the political submission of non-Muslims, implying the obliga- ical and social order can only happen if the secular order is tion to submit to the Islamic law. In particular, the integra- understood as multicultural and multireligious. However, if tion of a non-Muslim in the “territory of Islam” is realized the principle of acknowlegment is unquestionable, the form by his submission to penal law and rules concerning the of acknowledgment must be carefully considered. transactions (mu‘amalat), whereas he keeps his religious How can Muslims accept a neutral state as far as religion rights and his normative systems. The protected people are is concerned? According to the author, clear differentiations without political power. Their religious laws subsist as toler- between law, religion and state exist in the religious tradition ated social practices, without juridical value whenever they of the Sunni Islam. Only in the Medinese community under are disputed in an Islamic court. The situation is different for the Prophet MuÌammad, a ruler and a judge, did Sunni Islam Muslims living in the “territory of war” as regards the experience fully the political ideal of the religion. The Sunni enforcement of the norms of their sacred law, but both ter- law originated from a situation where community and power ritories are similar as far as the political and military effects system were divided. Therefore, the subject of religion (the of those norms and the consequent right of ownership are individual) and the subject of law (the subject of an Islamic concerned (pp. 231-234). government) are not identical. Law was formed without the However, the concept of “territory of Islam” changed dur- contribution of the rulers, but it was enforced by them. Only ing the period of the reconquista and above all during mod- in the 18th century did the Sunni Islam create a relation ern colonialism. A coexistence of several territories of Islam, between religion and politics on mystical grounds. But the with their own independent government, and of two law sys- result of the economic and political European expansion was 439 BOEKBESPREKINGEN – ARABICA - ISLAM 440 that the legitimation of the Islamic states was no longer found author demonstrates that the Îanafi jurists considered the in the Muslim theologians, but in the European powers. ‘uqubat as a unity and that they limited the core of these Those states created new law, promoted new science, sup- norms because “the law of proof and procedure clearly dis- ported new forms of economy, released new forms of cul- tinguishes trials which are conducted in order to impose cor- ture, and encouraged new practices regarding consumption poral or capital punishments from all other forms of judicial and life. The old social structures were weakened and Islam process” (p. 75:8ff). Johansen marks out the borderlines was removed from public life. Four religious answers were between the ‘uqubat and the other fields of law. All the Mus- given to this situation: the religious anti-imperialism of lim authors give a peculiar position to the ‘uqubat within the Gamal al-Din al-Afgani, the theological modernism of Islamic law. In this context the concept of subha stands out, MuÌammad ‘Abduh, the juridical modernism of al-Sanhuri not only considered as bona fides (subhat al-istibah or subha and Chehata, and the Islam of the religious-political move- fi’l-fi‘l), but also as subhat al-maÌall (pp. 427-428). Of ments, particularly that of the Muslim Brothers in Egypt and course, the ‘uqubat are not identical to the forms of the mod- Syria. With the end of the colonial era, the favoured position ern European penal law. of the non-Muslims minorities also ended. Muslims con- The second article (“Le jugement comme preuve. Preuve sidered the achievement of the independence as a re-occupa- juridique et vérité religieuse dans le droit islamique hanéfite”, tion of the state, society and economy by Muslim people. But, pp. 434-445) points out that the fiqh is part of a religious sys- in conformity with the experience of the colonial period, the tem which denies that human reason has a capacity to acquire state was still understood as the decision-making level which a knowledge of the truth without the help of revelation. This can modify economy, society and culture. assertion is expressed by the contrast of the terms Âahir (per- Chapter VI (Equality and exchange under the penal law) ceptible reality by senses) and ba†in (inner reality: know- includes an article (“Eigentum, Familie und Obrigkeit im ledge, learning, will and reasons influencing actions of an hanafitischen Strafrecht. Das Verhältniss der privaten Rechte individual which are only accessible to God and to the indi- zu den Forderungen der Allgemeinheit in hanafitischen vidual concerned). The judge is obliged to give his judgment Rechtskommentaren”, pp. 349-420) which intends to demon- only according to the Âahir. For this reason the juridical rules strate that “only the Îanafites treat the non-Muslim subjects regarding the qa∂i only concern the Âahir, and the complex of Muslim government as equals of the Muslim subjects as system of proof in civil proceedings, limited and relative in far as the substantive law on homicide and corporal injury is their validity, aims to restore and re-define the reality of the concerned” (p. 74:25ff). Analysing the borderlines between appearances, whereas the knowledge of the truth belongs to private and public rights, the author finds that one of the basic God and to the afterlife (pp. 435-445). This means, on the concepts is that of equivalence (pp. 350-351) followed in the one hand, that there is a sharp distinction between what is Ìuquq al-‘ibad, but not valid for the Ìuquq Allah (pp. 352- effective for justice and what is effective for religious ethics; 354). Four of the six fields of the Îanafi penal law belong to on the other, that law is an autonomous branch of knowledge the claims of men (equivalent compensation for homicide and against the rational speculation of theology, mysticism and physical injury, pp. 355-367; qasama, pp. 367-372; com- eschatology. pensation for premeditated personal injury, pp. 373-376; and The forms in which the change of norms between the tenth compensation for premeditated homicide, pp. 376-386). and the nineteenth centuries was made acceptable are dis- Îudud exclusively belong to the claims of God (pp. 386- cussed in Chapter VIII (How the norms change) including an 394), while the ta‘zir punishment is a mixture of the two (pp. article (“Legal literature and the problem of change: the case 394-409). This classification is important because Ìuquq al- of the land rent”, pp. 446-464). The question is: did Islamic ‘ibad are private rights, very strongly determined by the law remain unchanged during its history? Already some transaction law, which the authority cannot cancel and upon Western scholars, however without proving the practical legal which the religious membership and the authority have no importance of this discussion, had some reservations about a influence. The importance of the economic links for the main real “closing of the gate of igtihad” (p. 447). The answer to fields of penal Îanafi law is also discernible in the tendency the previous question can be given by examining the differ- to no longer designate as liable groups tribes or clans, but ent levels of legal literature. The first literary genre includes corporative responsible groups with collective material inter- the mutun (textbooks embodying the dominant doctrine of ests (pp. 410-412). Because Ìuquq al-‘ibad are rights and the law schools) and the uÒul (referring to the sources and the duties rising from property and family ties, modelled on the methodology of the law), which are textbooks for teaching principle of equivalence, the exchange of equivalents per- purposes, which keep the Islamic law largely unchanged from petuates the inequality among the persons. On the contrary, the tenth and eleventh centuries (p. 448). The suruÌ, the sec- the principle of equivalence has no importance for the Ìuquq ond literary genre, point out the divergences between the dif- Allah, which show even in their name that the community ferent law schools and develop the arguments put forward by appears as an autonomous entity compared with the private each school, and, as they comment the mutun in the light of subjects of law (pp. 414-417). the conditions under which the commentators were living and Chapter VII (Proof and procedure as a key to the Fiqh’s writing, they widely accepted new solutions (pp. 448-449). structure) includes two articles. The first (“Zum Prozessrecht The fatawa (responsa, legal opinions), the third level of legal der ‘Uqubat”, pp. 421-433) tries to refute the opinions of literature, have the peculiarity that a mufti has to choose the some jurists and islamists, like Bousquet and Schacht, who opinion which he wants to follow and which he considers to object that neither consistent principles nor clear structure can be binding; thus they are open to accept new solutions to a be seen in penal law, which cannot be clearly delimited with large extent (p. 449). A further literary genre between the reference to the other branches of law. Chehata even refuses level of the fatawa and the suruÌ includes “the many small to discuss this subject because it has never been a living law treatises in which jurists defend the legal practice of their and it has not had any link with practice. On the contrary, the country and period against the criticism of legal and admin- 441 BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LVII N° 3/4, Mei-Augustus 2000 442 istrative purists” (p. 450:17ff). On the fifth level are the si- adaptation of Islamic law to a society of the twentieth cen- gillat (court registers) showing cases brought before the qa∂is tury in order to settle controversies between the Parliament and preserving the judgments they pronounced. Since those and the Council of Guardians and to meet the intellectuals’ judgments were not necessarily executed in society, the major wishes to have a “Droit islamique dynamique” (p. 473:31f). contribution to the formation of new legal doctrines of the Khomeyni declared the state as the highest authority regard- Sunni fiqh was given by the fatwa-literature rather than by ing legislative power. Therefore, the preservation of the the qa∂is judgments, as Johansen shows regarding the Îanafi Islamic state and the safeguarding of the public interest have doctrine of land tax and rent (pp. 453-464). However, priority over all other forms of Islamic law, whether classi- changes in Islamic law have the character of “a juxtaposition cal or modern (pp. 473-475). of different solutions to one and the same problem” (p. 447:29f). Naples, October 1999 Agostino CILARDO Chapter IX (The quest for substantive justice), including an article (“Droit et justice dans l’État Islamique. Paysants, ** ouvriers et fuqaha’”, pp. 465-476), stresses the importance * of social struggles in the formation of the law in the Islamic Republic of Iran. For a century, the power of the state has grown in the Near East to the detriment of the cultural tradi- SCHNEIDER, Irene. — Kinderverkauf und Schuldknecht- tions and the autonomous social structures. This process took schaft. Untersuchungen zur frühen Phase des islamischen the shape of the “Sacralisation de l’État” and “Étatisation de Rechts. (Abhandlungen für die Kunde des Morgenlandes, la religion” in the Islamic Republic of Iran. However, class Band LII, 1). Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart, 1999. (22 cm, struggles also persisted where the Islamic movements took 454). ISBN 3-515-07086-9. DM 154,-/öS 1124,-. power and ruled in the name of the Islamic law. This means Es gibt Bücher, über die man sich ärgert, wenn man sie that the religious and juridical traditions on which an Islamic gelesen hat. Das verliegende Buch gehört zu den Büchern, die state legitimates its politics do not suffice in order to justify Ärger bereiten, wenn man sie nicht gelesen hat. Denn seine its legislation (pp. 465-466). Since the twenties, a permanent Verfasserin, Frau PD Dr. Irene Schneider, hat mit dieser ihrer Islamic protest movement against the changes of social, eco- an der Universität zu Köln vorgelegten Habilitationsschrift nomic and cultural structures introduced under the Western einen Beitrag zur Aufklärung der frühislamischen Rechtsent- influence has taken place. These aspirations were summed up wicklung geleistet, der nicht oft und genau genug gelesen in Khomeyni’s book , where the rules of Islamic Government werden und den zu ignorieren man sich nicht leisten kann. Islamic law are presented as immutable, requiring the exist- Ihr Thema ist nur auf den ersten Blick einfach: die Unter- ence of an Islamic state for their application, directed by a suchung der aus den ersten eineinhalb Jahrhunderten des government of Muslim jurists ( a i ) (pp. 466-467). vel yet-e feg h Islam überlieferten Äußerungen von Gelehrten und Juristen This conception affected the structure of power after the 1979 zur Beurteilung von Kinderverkauf, Schuldknechtschaft, revolution in Iran where a double sovereignty existed: the Selbstverkauf und Verkauf von Ehefrauen sowie der Ver- Parliament which takes care of the social destiny, and the sklavung von Findelkindern und freien Menschen allgemein Council of Guardians which watches over the observance of (S. 9). Bei näherer Betrachtung verwandelt es sich jedoch the supreme authority of the divine law. The President of the zusehends in eine Art gordischer Zwiebel, deren Schalen S. Republic and the Cabinet represented the executive. For all sorgfältig und gründlich ablöst, um zu ihrem Innern vorzu- the questions, the final decision was the supreme g ’s mu tahid dringen. Unnötig zu sagen, daß nicht der Kern, sondern die concern. However, notwithstanding this structure, Johansen Schalen und ihre Schichtung Gegenstand der Untersuchung notes that since 1979 at least three aspects of the Islamic law sind. have changed due to the legislative process: the lawgiver has Damit kompliziert sich das Thema. Nicht das ausgewählte to choose only a solution among the many different contra- Segment des materiellen Rechts selbst, die verschiedenen dictory opinions of the jurists; then, laws approved by Par- Formen des Freiheitsverlusts (unter Ausschluß des Freiheit- liament and accepted by the Council of Guardians have no sentzugs, der Haft, und des Menschenraubs), und seine juri- equivalent in the classical Si‘i law, thus forming a new stische Vernetzung mit benachbarten Instituten konfigurieren Islamic law; and the last and most important element is that das Thema, sondern die unterscheidbaren Phasen, die die the new Islamic law is changeable (pp. 467-468). rechtliche Behandlung des Freiheitsentzugs im orientalischen Johansen points out that conflicts between the interpreta- Rechtsmilieu durchliefen. Zeitlicher Rahmen dieser histo- tions of the classical law upheld by the Council of the risch-organischen Anamnese des Freiheitsentzugs ist das erste Guardians and the bills presented by the Parliament often nachchristliche Jahrtausend. Die räumliche Begrenzung auf expressed class interests, as appears evident taking into die islamischen Kernländern zwischen Ägypten und Irak account the debate on the agrarian reform and the labour law ergibt sich aus den Befunden aus der »vorliterarischen« (pp. 469-473). This means, firstly, that the conflicting posi- Phase der frühislamischen Rechtsgeschichte. tions of the Parliament and the Council of Guardians are a Mit diesem Begriff bekommt das Thema seine eigentliche sign of class struggles. Secondly, the Islamic law enacted by Kontur. S. greift damit auf eine »allgemein akzeptierte Chro- the Parliament no longer corresponds to the classical Islamic nologie« (S. 23) zurück. Diesseits der vorislamischen Rechte law. Thirdly, the classical Islamic law is often perceived by unterscheidet sie zwischen der literarischen Phase des isla- the working classes as a denial of their basic juridical rights mischen Rechts, die in die vorklassische (Mitte 2. Jh. bis and, thus, incompatible with the Islam as they conceive it, Ende 3. Jh. H), klassische (bis 6. Jh.) und nachklassische that is a “religion de la justice” (p. 473:19). Phase (ab 6. Jh.) zerfällt, und der vorausgehenden vorlitera- In 1988 Khomeyni created a new institution (Council for rischen Phase (bis Mitte 2. Jh.). the safeguard of the public interest) responsible for the 443 BOEKBESPREKINGEN – ARABICA - ISLAM 444

Den letzten Schliff aber bekommt das Thema durch das Rechtsgeschichte. Sie orientiert sich dabei an drei Eckpfei- Untersuchungsmotiv. Denn einer derartig aufwendigen Auf- lern: der sog. »Schacht-These«, der Untersuchung der früh- gabe stellt man sich nur mit gewichtigen Gründen. Vorder- mekkanischen durch H. Motzki (Die Anfänge der islamischen gründig und überspitzt formuliert versucht S., einen Krimi- Jurisprudenz, Stuttgart 1991) und den Quintessenzen von D. nalfall in Medina zur Zeit des Propheten zu lösen. Aus einem Powers (Studies in Qur'an and Îadith, Berkeley 1986) und Komplex von 22 prophetischen Überlieferungen isoliert sie P. Crone (Roman, Provincial and Islamic Law, Cambridge eine »Surraq-Geschichte« (S. 15), in deren Kern die Ent- 1987), die den Blick auf den proto- bzw. vorislamischen scheidung des Propheten MuÌammad steht, einen insolven- Nährboden des islamischen Rechts richteten. Mit den ersten ten freien Schuldner auf dem Markt von Medina in die Skla- beiden setzt sich das 2. Kapitel auseinander. S. macht dort verei zu verkaufen (S. 74). Vier Jahrhunderte später behauptet beides gründlich: die kritische Gegenprobe der Schacht'schen Ibn Îazm in al-MuÌalla, die Offenbarung von Sure 2:280 Thesen am materiellen Rechtsbereich des Freiheitsverlusts habe dieser Praxis ein Ende und an ihre Stelle die Irreversi- und die Ausweitung der von Motzki auf Mekka und ‘Abdar- bilität eines einmal erlangten Freiheitsstatus' gesetzt. Die razzaq begrenzten Quellenuntersuchung auf die islamischen zusammenfassende Darstellung der Problematisierung des Kernländer und deren literarische Vertreter. Daß danach im Surraq-Falls und der Behandlung des Freiheitsverlusts und 3. Kapitel (S. 279-350) folgerichtig auch die rückwärtige -begriffs in der vorklassischen und klassischen Literatur Front zu den vorislamischen Rechten eröffnet wird, unter- (Kap. 1) läßt Ibn Îazm als Außenseiter erscheinen: In der streicht die Entschlossenheit der Autorin zu einer rückhalt- klassischen Literatur werden diese Themen selten, in der vor- losen ganzheitlichen Aufklärung zu »eine[m] alten und klassischen nirgendwo ausführlich behandelt. Weiter wird, bisher nicht entschiedenen Streitpunkt in der Islamwissen- abgesehen vom gelegentlichen fasid-Verkauf Freier, der Ver- schaft«: Entsteht das islamische Recht in Partenogenese oder kauf von freien Menschen allgemein und von Familienmit- als Konglomerat verschiedener vorislamischer Rechtsnormen gliedern im Besonderen ignoriert. Zum sporadisch zu fin- und -praktiken (S. 19)? Der geographische und zeitliche Rah- denden generellen Verkaufsverbot gesellt sich ein men zwingt sie dabei zur Durchsicht ausgewählter Sekun- bemerkenswerter Dissens im Schuldrecht, in dem sich eine därliteratur nach den historischen Vorgängern des islami- Mehrheit der späteren Juristen gegen die juristische Sanktion schen Rechts. Ziel der geordneten Zusammenstellung der Schuldknechtschaft, d.h. der unterschiedlichen Formen altorientalischer, ägyptischer, arabischer, sassanidischer, (pro- des Abarbeitens einer Schuld, stellt (S. 55-6). vinzial-)römischer, byzantinischer, jüdischer und christlicher S. erkennt nun einen Widerspruch zwischen dem Urteil im Rechtsvorschriften und -aussagen zu spezifischen Formen des Surraq-Fall und — wenn überhaupt aufgegriffen — dieser Freiheitsverlusts ist der Vergleich mit dem jeweiligen frühis- prinzipiell gegenteiligen Behandlung durch das literarische lamischen Pendant: Wie verhält sich etwa der vorliterarische Recht. Diesen Widerspruch gilt es aufzulösen. Um die Aus- Findelkindstatus zu altorientalischen, arabischen, römischen wirkung der nächstliegenden Lösung, der Gefälschtheit des etc. Aussagen? Hier gerät das logische tertium comparatio- Ìadi†-Komplexes, zu umgehen, weist sie in mühsamer Klein- nis, die sozio-ökonomische Rechtsursache und ihre histo- arbeit (S. 133-262) die Existenz von Traditionen Rechtsge- rische Kontinuität, unter die Räder der Codici und ihrer lehrter des 1. und 2. Jh. 's nach, die den Surraq-Fall inhalt- Paragraphen (3. Kann-Bruchstelle). S. ist sich dieses lich flankieren. Aus dem Ertrag von ca. 65 Belegen Schwachgliedes ihrer Beweisführung wohl bewußt. Hin und einschlägiger Rechtsansichten und -urteilen, gewonnen aus wieder, am ausführlichsten in zwei Fußnoten (S. 3573, ähn- der gründlich durchsuchten †abaqat-, tafsir-, tariÌ-, Ìadi†- lich S. 51111), sucht sie den sichern Boden der Realgeschichte. und naÌw-Literatur, geht sie der regionalspezifischen Aber wird mit der innerliterarischen Beantwortung der Frage, Behandlung des Freiheitsverlusts in der vorliterarischen ob »wie allgemein gesagt wird, der Islam im Bereich des Phase auf den Grund (1. Kann-Bruchstelle: Hypothese der Sklavenrechts einen völligen Bruch mit der vorislamischen Authentizität der tabi{un-Überlieferungen). Vergangenheit vollzogen [hat]« (S. 281), das Verhältnis von Das hintergründige Motiv liegt nun offen: Pars pro toto Recht und Gesellschaft nicht um- und gleichzeitig dem (2. Kann-Bruchstelle: Korrelation zwischen einem Segment Thema übergestülpt? des materiellen Rechts und dem vorliterarischen Recht) Wäre das Resultat dieser dritten und letzten Teiluntersu- bezeugen der Komplex der Surraq-Ìadi†e, die einzeln einer chung ein anderes, hätte das Buch gravierenden Schaden genauen matn- und isnad-Analyse (S. 74-122) unterzogen genommen. Doch S. bleibt im selbst-abgesteckten Rahmen werden, und die anderen zum Freiheitsverlust gefundenen und dazu verbindlich. Ihrem Vergleich von Juristen und juri- Überlieferungen die Existenz einer eigenständigen Jurispru- stischen Direktiven liest sie für die vorliterarische Phase des denz in der vorliterarischen Zeit. Man (be)urteilte in dieser islamischen Rechts ein »teilweise[s] Weiterleben vorislami- Zeit noch wirklichkeitsnäher, z.T. auch härter, auf jeden Fall scher Rechtsnormen« und »die Entwicklung eines 'islami- aber ungebundener, nach eigener Rechtsauffassung (ra'y) und schen' Standpunktes in spezifischen Fragen des Rechts« (S. damit stark regionalen Gepflogenheiten verpflichtet. Daß in 359) ab. der später entstandenen Rechtsliteratur »bestimmte Pro- Das knappe Schlußkapitel (S. 351-9) beschließt das Buch blemkreise von Anfang an ausgeblendet blieben«, liegt in noch nicht. Erst mit dem sich anschließenden, ungemein hilf- »der Realitätsferne des [literarischen] fiqh«. Kasuistische reichen und verläßlichen Anhang, in dem die verwendeten Argumentierform und introvertierte Gelehrtendispute führten Überlieferungstexte nach Siglen geordnet, übersetzt und schließlich zu einem »'Scheuklappen'-Recht«, in dessen bibliographisch nachgewiesen, die Überlieferer mit Kurzbio- Verengung der Perspektive erst eine sozial-geschichtliche graphien vorgestellt und schließlich noch graphisch in die Analyse Licht bringen könnte (praphrasiert aus S. 356-7). isnade der Surraq-Ìadi†e eingebaut sind (S. 361-427), ist die Mit voller Absicht eröffnet S. mit diesen Schlußfolgerun- Botschaft komplett: Und sie bewegt sich doch! S. nahm ihr gen, die noch als Fragen in die Einleitung geschrieben sind Projekt mit der herausfordernden Feststellung auf, daß »die (S. 19), eine neue Runde der Diskussion, um die islamische Authentizität dieser Urteile und Rechtsansichten [der frühen 445 BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LVII N° 3/4, Mei-Augustus 2000 446

Juristen] zu ermitteln [...] gewöhnlich von der islamwissen- nun dazu aufgeführt, die »eine Historizität Surraqs äußerst schaftlichen Forschung als ein schwieriges, ja sogar von unwahrscheinlich sein [lassen]« (S. 114). Nun wird der Spieß vornherein zum Scheitern verurteiltes Unterfangen beurteilt umgedreht: »Aber selbst wenn es Surraq gegeben hätte [...] [wird]« (S. 10). Und sie bringt es mit der Beantwortung der Zaid ihn nicht sehen können« (S. 115), und (vorläufig, s.o.) Fragen zuende, die sie mit Hilfe des Surraq-Dilemmas an die geschlossen: »Die Erkenntnis, daß Surraq als Person nicht frühislamische Rechtsgeschichte stellte. Dazwischen liegt existiert hat, bedeutet noch nicht, daß die gesamte Geschichte eine islamwissenschaftliche Partitur von der Konstruktions- seiner Straftat und der folgenden Bestrafung jeder histori- komplexität einer Bach'schen Fuge. schen Grundlage entbehrt, daß sie gänzlich frei erfunden Das juristische Thema des Freiheitsentzugs wird rückläu- wurde: im Gegenteil« (S. 115). Die Skizze ist grob, steht im fig in drei historischen Epochen der Rechtsentwicklung textlichen Zusammenhang und ist auch nicht repräsentativ. durchgeführt. Am Ende jeder Epoche steht die Zusammen- Aber wie hier beschlichen mich auch an anderen Stellen führung der ma∂hab- oder regionalspezifischen Gegenstim- Zweifel über die Tragfähigkeit des sicheren Bodens, von dem men, deren Tonart selbst wiederum der synchronische Ver- aus das darüberliegende Problem angegangen wird. Im gleich der Behandlung der eingangs definierten konstitutiven Charme dieses Argumentationsstils liegt auch seine Formen des (schuldrechtlichen) Freiheitsentzugs (Schulds- Schwäche. klaverei, Schuldknechtschaft bzw. Selbstdedition, Abarbeit Zweifellos auf sicherem Boden bewegt sich S. mit der der Schulden und Restschuldenbefreiung, S. 36-7) festlegt. Auswahl und Durchsicht ihrer Quellen. Für das von ihr abge- So ordnen sich die Zwischenbeantwortungen zu einer dyna- steckte Thema mußte sie ihre Recherche weit über die eigent- mischen Spirale, auf der — idealiter — lückenlos die liche Kernliteratur hinaus ausdehnen. Das so weit gezogene diachronische Entfaltung des Schuldrechts im Orient abge- Suchfeld wird beispielhaft für weitere, ähnliche Untersu- bildet ist. Es ist diese strenge und konsequente form der chungen sein. Zum rechtlichen Aspekt der Schuldnerbe- Komposition, die zu einer ganzheitlichen Einschätzung des handlung könnte vielleicht noch die Ìiyal-Literatur (vgl. etwa Buches zwingt. An der Fülle der aufeinanderaufbauenden das Kitab al-Ìiîal von al-ÎaÒÒaf, ed. J. Schacht, Hannover Teilerkenntnisse und Zwischenresultate werden sich im Zuge 1923, zu sira' 4:2,11,15-6,25 und zu dain 36:6, 82:6) hin- der Rezeption des Buches sicherlich noch Skeptiker gütlich zugezogen werden. Die Auswertung der tafsir-Literatur tun (Interessierte seien jetzt schon auf Der Islam 2000 ver- beschränkt sich im wesentlichen auf die Surraq-positiven Ein- wiesen). Ich möchte anstelle einer Detailkritik einige hervor- träge im K. an-NasiÌ von an-NaÌÌas und al-Gami‘ li-aÌkam stechende und komplementäre Eigenschaften der Untersu- al-Qur'an von al-Qur†ubi (S. 15-6, 263, 268). Der Tafsir von chung herausstellen. ™abari erscheint zwar in der Bibliographie; seine Überliefe- Nicht mehr selbstverständlich ist die sorgfältige äußere rungen zu 2:280 zur Einschränkung der Schuldhaft für Mus- Form des Buches. Der Aufbau ist klar, Zitation und Quer- lime (Tafsir, Bulaq 1364 H, III 74:8f; den nach meiner verweise stringent und eindeutig, die Anzahl der übersehe- Kenntnis ausführlichsten Überblick über die koranexegeti- nen Fehler erschreckend gering (doch sollte 'igar', S. 43ff., sche Diskussion von 2:279-82 gibt M. al-Amin as-Sinqi†i in 'igar', 'As‘a†', S. 215, 'Ibn al-As‘a†' und 'NasiÌ', S. 273, A∂wa' al-bayan, Beirut o.J., I-X, I 231-60; zur ∂a‘if-Qualität 'NasÌ' gelesen werden). Nach einigen Stichproben vertraut von al-Bailamani dort II 80/1) kommen jedoch nicht zur man sich den übersetzten Textpassagen ohne Bedenken an. Sprache. Fast völlig ausgegrenzt ist die Realien-Literatur (vgl. Über den Index lassen sich alle wichtigen Begriffe und etwa S.D. Goitein, A Mediterranean Society, Berkeley 1967, Eigennamen auffinden. Leider sind die zahlreichen Zwi- I 259 zum Verkauf freier Muslime in al-Mahdiya). schenüberschriften nicht ins Inhaltsverzeichnis augenom- Nun liegen diese Randbezirke auch nicht im Blickfeld von men. S. Sie beschränkt sich bewußt auf die Kritik des Ìadi†-Mate- Den Leser bei einer Ìadi†- und fiqh-Studie über 421 Text- rials. Weil es existiert, besitzt es Aussagekraft — welche, ent- seiten bei der Stange zu halten, ist nicht einfach. S. regt die scheidet die Prüfung seiner Authentizität. Die dafür benützte Neugierde des Lesers mit rhetorischen und stilistischen Knif- Methode ist genau beschrieben (S. 60-74). Sie fußt ganz auf fen an. Durch wiederholtes zusammenfassendes und voraus- der von G.H. Juynboll und H. Motzki revidierten Schacht- weisendes Fragen verstrickt sie ihn in einen Dialog. Die Lehre und — wenn auch nur undeutlich gezeigt (S. 131) — Methode der partiellen, spannungsfördernden Enthüllung ist auf der von A. Noth in Isfahan — Nihawand vorgeschlagenen besonders gekonnt an Surraq, dem Helden der Geschichte, Motiv-Analyse des matn. Wie gründlich und gekonnt sie vorgeführt. Scheibchenweise bekommt er aus einer Verbal- diese einsetzt, ist nichts weniger als beeindruckend und wahr- wurzel (s-r-q) eine ätiologische Identität und gar einen Eigen- scheinlich vorbildlich für diejenigen, die sich darauf ein- namen, um schließlich beides, im Vergleich mit dem jüdi- lassen. Daß man das nicht unbedingt muß, hat kürzlich W. schen Recht, wieder zu verlieren (S. 343-4) und als Hallaq (The Authenticity of Prophetic Îadîth: a Pseudo-pro- Intensivform 'dreister Dieb' zu enden. Ähnlich effektiv arbei- blem, in: Studia Islamica 1999) zu zeigen versucht. Die weni- tet S. mit Logismen. Nicht ohne Grund taucht das argumen- ger als ein Dutzend von den muslimischen Gelehrten als aut- tum e silentio im Index (sechs Einträge) auf. Nun kann man hentisch behandelten Propheten-Ìadi†e bewiesen nicht nur die sich einem Logismus schlecht entziehen. S. methodisches epistemologische Kritikfähigkeit der mittelalterlichen Rechts- Arbeiten mit den Quellen lebt jedoch geradezu vom Errei- und Traditionswissenschaft, sondern auch die Überflüssigkeit chen sicheren Bodens durch einen Schluß, von dem aus die westlicher islamwissenschaftlicher Bemühungen, den Wahr- Untersuchung weitergetrieben werden kann. Zur Veran- heitsgehalt des Überlieferungscorpus zu ergründen. Der schaulichung soll zumindest eine dieser Figuren skizziert Schlag geht — zumindest — bei S. ins Leere. Sie bearbeitet werden: Die Übersicht über die Quellenaussagen zu Surraq nicht nur eine andere Zeitstufe, sie tut auch gerade das, was erbringt »keinen gemeinsamen Nenner, und sei er noch so Hallaq (ibid., S. 88) anmahnt: Sie nimmt den traditionellen klein [...] Das deutet darauf hin, daß es sich bei Surraq um Diskurs ernst und versucht konsequent, den (wahren) Hin- eine Fiktion handelt« (S. 113). Weitere Argumente werden tergrund einer (gefälschten) Überlieferung aufzudecken. Ihre 447 BOEKBESPREKINGEN – ARABICA - ISLAM 448 dabei erzielten Ergebnisse sind in sich plausibel und zudem different questions. He can stress the legal aspects, but also meist so vorsichtig formuliert, daß die Seriosität der Unter- the spatial aspects, that is the role of waqf buildings in an suchung immer gewahrt bleibt. urban structure, or a quarter, etcetera. He can also empha- Wie beschließt man nun die Besprechung eines Buches, size the significance of waqfs for the support of religious das den Leser am Ende förmlich zu einem Credo zwingt? insitutions or for the handing down of family possessions Der Forschungsertrag, daß die vorliterarische Phase des isla- from one generation to the next. He can also investigate the mischen Rechts (»alles in allem bezüglich des Freiheitsver- economic functioning of waqfs, both as objects of economic lusts»[!]) eine Zäsur in der Geschichte des Rechts bedeutet transactions and as components of the economic infrastruc- (S. 358), ist so überzeugend erarbeitet, daß er Bewegung in ture. For Kaiser, all these questions should be asked before die Grundpositionen der Islamwissenschaft bringen wird. Je a coherent picture of the waqf institution can be realized. mehr Leser sich damit auseinandersetzen, desto genauer wer- The main guideline, however, is that the system of waqfs den die Korrekturen ausfallen — ganz abgesehen von dem should be seen as flexible and interacting with economic and Ärger, den sie sich ersparen, ein packendes wissenschaftli- political conjunctures. The waqf institution is not merely a ches Buch zu ignorieren. legal concept; it is fully integrated into the mechanisms of history. Freiburg i.Br., Februar 2000 Ulrich REBSTOCK The idea of the flexibility of the waqf institution implies a second hypothesis: it presupposes a certain measure of dif- ferentiation, not only in time, but also in place. If the waqf ** system is not unchangable, it is also essentially not uniform, * in spite of efforts towards harmonization. Only with these two suppositions can the waqf phenomenon be embedded in KAISER, Annette — Islamische Stiftungen in Wirtschaft und the process of historical transformation. Kaiser’s survey Gesellschaft Syriens vom 16. bis 18. Jahrhundert. clearly shows the problems that this theoretical approach Islamwissenschaftliche Quellen und Texte aus deutschen entails. After all, our knowledge of waqfs in the Ottoman Bibliotheken, Band 8. Klaus Schwarz Verlag, Berlin, period is still insufficient and a general description can only 1999. ISBN 3-87997-107-2. be achieved by joining data from various periods and vari- In recent years an increasing number of historical studies ous places together. Information about Cairo or Bursa in the on the phenomenon of Muslim pious foundations, or waqfs, 16th or 19th centuries has to be used to fill the gaps in our has improved our insight into the functioning of the institu- knowledge about waqfs in Damascus in the 17th century. tion in Muslim societies. They have also shown, however, This is not necessarily harmful to our general understanding how complex the waqf institution was and how manifold of the waqf phenomenon, of course, but it tends to be mis- were its ties to the economic, social, religious and legal leading if generalizations are too readily accepted for specific domains. While some traditional views have become obso- cases. lete, many new questions arise. These questions are first of Kaiser notes that one of the main problems in studying the all concerned with the theoretical framework: how do we historical functioning of waqfs is the lack of a framework interpret the interaction between the legal aspects of waqf, linking the theories of Islamic law with everyday legal prac- recorded in various kinds of texts, and the practicalities of tice. She rightly proposes the study of the records of Islamic historical circumstances? And, secondly, how can we develop courts and legal texts (fatwa-collections; legal handbooks) to a conception of the institution in which the many different support historical research on the waqf system. Here too the functions of waqfs are related to each other? These questions question of differentiation is essential: to what extent can we are so difficult, I think, because they imply a reconciliation accept legal rules as valid for individual cases? Which cate- between two contradictory views of history, the religious con- gorizations were used in which courts? Were specific forms ception of a history governed by eternal, unchanging princi- of waqf commonly practised in the whole empire? Did tra- ples, imbued with moral values and heading towards a well- ditionally accepted legal practices survive? Were new legal defined goal; and a secular conception based on the devices developed by a combination of practical requirements acceptance of contingency and the forces of continual change. and legal reasoning? In spite of the tendencies at centraliza- In her study Islamische Stiftungen in Wirtschaft und tion within the Ottoman state, questions such as these can Gesellschaft Syriens vom 16. bis 18. Jahrhundert Annette only be answered by focusing research efforts on the local Kaiser presents an excellent survey of the debate on the waqf- and regional levels and dissociating legal practices from ide- institution in recent years, focusing on the Arab provinces of alized concepts. the Ottoman Empire. This survey is supplemented by a Although Kaiser does not herself attempt to integrate the detailed description and analysis of a waqf-document from legal and socio-economic frameworks of the waqf institution, Damascus, dated 1074/1664 and preserved in the Staatsbib- she is justified in remarking that the Islamic legal system is liothek Preussischer Kulturbesitz in Berlin. The analysis con- still often seen as being segregated from historical circum- sists of an effort to identify the founder and other persons stances. This approach sometimes has strange moral over- involved, a description of the structure of the document, a tones, for instance when it is observed with some disapproval transcription of important formulas and fragments, an analy- that founders could designate themselves or their family as sis of legal aspects, topographical and architectural informa- beneficiaries, or when it is supposed that the waqf institution tion, and an explanation of words and terminology. The book was used to ‘circumvent’ the rules for inheritance. Critics is clearly the result of thorough scholarly labour and contains such as these fail to see that these practices were fully incor- a lot of detailed information. porated into the system of Islamic Law and were not seen as In her introduction Kaiser argues that the complexity of contradicting the meaning of the waqf institution. The waqf the waqf institution allows the researcher to formulate many institution was one of the acknowledged ways of transferring 449 BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LVII N° 3/4, Mei-Augustus 2000 450 possessions to the next generation, with its own regulations Frauen auf Grund der chaotischen politischen und admini- and prescriptions, and carefully separated from the domain strativen Situation im Ägypten der späten Mamlukenzeit, also of inheritance. Whoever frowns upon these practices confuses im 18. Jahrhundert, besaßen, ergaben sich generell aus dem historical practices with anachronistic moral standards and Recht von Frauen auf eigenes Eigentum. Mit dem Machtan- idealized historical concepts. tritt MuÌammad ‘Alis und seinem streng zentralisierten By presenting her overview of studies, questions, findings Regierungssystem verloren Frauen diese Rechte und Frei- and hypotheses concerning the debate on the history of the heiten. Sie erschienen auch nicht mehr als Klägerinnen vor waqf institution Kaiser explicitly and implicitly sketches an Gericht (dies geschah allerdings wohl immer mit männlicher outline of future research. Firstly, reflections on ways to inte- Begleitung). Die ägyptische Elite übernahm das viktoriani- grate the juridical and economic frameworks of waqf are sche Frauenideal.1) Im 20. Jahrhundert gewannen Frauen seit required; secondly, both the legal framework and the func- der Revolution von 1919 Rechte zurück, engagierten sich in tioning of the waqf system have to be related to historical cir- Wohltätigkeitsorganisationen, studierten dann und übernah- cumstances; thirdly, not all practices which were introduced men berufliche Positionen. Wenn Vfn., Professorin an der in the course of time should be seen as harmful innovations Universität Los Angeles, angesichts der Rückkehr vieler corrupting the ideal status of waqfs, but rather as efforts to Ägypterinnen zur Verhüllung die Frage stellt, ob es nicht bes- cope with changing conditions; fourthly, waqfs were a part ser sei, wenn diese Frauen ihre Söhne so erzögen, daß Frauen of power structures, on the level of individuals, families and sich nicht durch Verhüllung gegen sexuelle Belästigung regional en state networks; and, fifthly, every effort to for- schützen müßten, kann man ihr nur zustimmen. — MONA mulate an integrative definition of the waqf institution should SIDDIQUI analysiert in »Law and the Desire for Social Con- allow for a large measure of differentiation. trol: An Insight into the Hanafi Concept of Kafa’a with Refe- rence to the Fatawa ‘Alamgiri (1664-1672)«, S. 49-68, das Amsterdam, January 2000 R. v. LEEUWEN hanafitische Prinzip der Kafaˆa. Diese Forderung nach sozia- ler Gleichheit zwischen Mann und Frau oder besser der sozia- ** len Ebenbürtigkeit der Familie des Mannes, besonders dann, * wenn eine Frau von dem nur durch die Hanafiten einge- räumten Recht der eigenen Wahl eines Ehemanns, ohne das Agieren eines Wali, Gebrauch macht, sei ein Prinzip zur YAMANI, Mai (ed.) — Feminism & Islam. Legal and Liter- Wahrung des sozialen Status quo generell. Heute, da Frauen ary Perspectives / with additional editorial assistance allmählich die Öffentlichkeit erobert haben, die Geschlech- from Andrew Allen. Ithaca Press, London, 1996. ISBN tersegregation im Schwinden begriffen ist, da nicht mehr 0-86372- 203- 2. (24 cm, XII, 385). L 30.00. familiäre Interessen, sondern persönliche Sympathie, ja Liebe Der vorliegende Band enthält Beiträge einer Vortragsreihe für eine Ehe ausschlaggebend sind, zeige sich aber, daß die zum Thema »Feminism and Islamic Law«, die, organisiert Partnerwahl auch unter solch veränderten Gegebenheiten oft von der Herausgeberin, zwischen Oktober 1993 und Juni auf derselben sozialen Ebene erfolge. — GHADA KARMI führt 1994 an der School of Oriental and African Studies in Lon- in »Women, Islam and Patriarchalism«, S. 69-85, sehr kri- don stattfand. tisch einige der bis heute vorherrschenden patriarchalischen Die Vielfalt und auch Widersprüchlichkeit der Meinungen, Seiten des Islams vor. Sich auch auf F. MERNISSI und N. AS- die hier von Autorinnen größerenteils vorderorientalischer SA{DAWI stützend fordert sie, den Koran in seinem histori- Herkunft, aber mit unterschiedlichen Ausbildungsgängen und schen und sozialen Kontext zu sehen, alle auf diesem Gebiet heute unterschiedlichen beruflichen Positionen/Tätigkeiten, herrschende Paranoia abzulegen und zu erkennen, daß der zu diesem Thema vertreten wird, ist aufschlußreich. MAI Koran eigentlich aus zwei Dokumenten bestehe, einem zeit- YAMANI, Kolumnistin der Beiruter Zeitung al-Îayat und des gebundenen und einem ewig gültigen. Das eigentliche Pro- Magazins ar-Ragul, mit einem PhD in Sozialanthropologie blem der Frauen sei der Patriarchalismus, der durch die hier- der Universität Oxford, weist in ihrer »Introduction«, S. 1- archischen Familienstrukturen gewahrt würde und der jedes 29, darauf hin. Mittel zu seiner Perpetuierung nutze. — Eine konträre Mei- Die 15 Beiträge sind unter vier Obertiteln gruppiert: 1. nung vertritt die Ägypterin RAGA‘ EL-NIMR, Dozentin für Beginnings and History; 2. The Language of Literature and Islamkunde und Religionsphilosophie an der König-Fahd- Culture; 3. The Politics of Interpretations; 4. The Confines Akademie in London, in »Women in Islamic Law«, S. 87- of Law. Eine kurze Auswahlbibliographie, S. 373-76, und ein 102. Gestützt fast ausschließlich auf Sekundärliteratur, betont Index, S. 377-85, runden den Band ab. sie die inferiore Situation von Frauen in nahezu allen Kultu- Teil 1: AFAF LUTFI AL-SAYYID MARSOT macht zu Beginn ren mit Ausnahme des Islams und rechtfertigt die der Frau ihres Beitrags »Entrepreneural Women«, S. 33-47, mit Recht ungünstigen Bestimmungen des islamischen Rechts als für darauf aufmerksam, daß die Hauptdeterminante für das Leben sie vom heiligen Koran und dem Propheten gut gemeint. muslimischer Frauen oft gar nicht die Religion ist, sondern In Teil 2 kritisiert ELIZABETH MCKEE in »The Political daß andere machtvolle Faktoren wirken, die die Religion Agenda and Textual Strategies of Levantine Women Wri- instrumentalisieren. Sie weist, wie auch andere Autorinnen, ters«, S. 105- 139, »feministische Kommentatorinnen« ara- auf die differierenden Aussagen des Korans über die soziale Position von Mann und Frau hin und darauf, daß die Reli- gion einer Gesellschaft Richtlinien gibt, die aber — dies 1 Ein Gegenbeweis ist allerdings des bekannten Reformers RIFA‘AA†- sicher überall — im Lauf der Geschichte unterschiedlich ™AH†AWis umfangreicher al-Mursid al-amin li-l-banat wa-l-banin aus dem interpretiert und realisiert wurden. Im folgenden führt sie, lei- Jahr 1873, in dem er nicht nur für Koedukation, sondern auch für weibli- che Berufstätigkeit plädiert, allerdings noch nicht für eine höhere Bildung der ohne Quellenangabe, Belege dafür aus der islamischen für Frauen. Das Werk sollte die Gründung der ersten staatlichen Mädchen- Geschichte an. Die Freiheiten auf ökonomischem Gebiet, die schule in Kairo mental vorbereiten. 451 BOEKBESPREKINGEN – ARABICA - ISLAM 452 bischer Literatur wie M. COOKE, E. ACCAD auch IMANAL- 1988 und 1994 belegt sie, wie die wenigen Frauen im irani- QA∂I wegen ihres »reductive reading«, d. h., der Beschrän- schen Parlament nach dem Sturz des Schahs sich geschickt kung auf feministische Belange bei arabischen Autorinnen, der Argumentation der Mollah-Regierung über die besondere als lebten deren Heldinnen in einem politischen Vakuum. Mentalität von Frauen bedienten, um Frauen den Zugang zur Vfn. wirft diesen Kommentatorinnen ebenfalls die Vernach- Justiz wieder zu ermöglichen. Sie wurden zunächst, verbun- lässigung genereller literaturkritischer Faktoren vor, der Ana- den mit einer 3-jährigen Schließung der juristischen Fakul- lyse der strukturellen oder Textstrategien. Sie greift aus ihrer tät, als Richterinnen wie Klägerinnen völlig ausgeschlossen, ungedruckten PhD–Arbeit LAILA BA{LABAKKIS Ana aÌya, bzw., sollten, was Positionen wie Sekretärinnen und PC-Spe- SAÎAR ÎALIFAs aÒ-∑ubbar (den sie aÒ-∑abbar liest), GADA zialistinnen anging, im Interesse einer »islamischen Ethik« AS-Sammans Bairut 75 und ÎAMIDA NA‘NA‘s al-Wa†an fi l- der Geschlechterbeziehungen aus Gerichten entfernt werden. ‘ainain für eine Alternativinterpretation heraus und versieht Frauen sollten sich auf die Studienfächer Gynäkologie (und sie jeweils mit charakterisierenden Labels: 1. «An Existen- vermutlich Pädiatrie) konzentrieren. Sie wurden aber nach tial View of Lebanon’s Political Divides«, 2. »Political and längeren Debatten als unbedingt notwendige Beraterinnen in Economic Crises in the Occupied Territories«, 3. »A Sym- Familien- und Frauenangelegenheiten reintegriert, sind auch bolic Articulation of Lebanon’s Pre-War Tensions«, 4. seit 1994 zu einem Studium des islamischen Rechts zugelas- »REGIS DEBRAY and the Palestinian Revolution«. Die Ter- sen.- MAHA AZZAM behandelt in »Gender and Politics in the mini »mediator«, »mediated desire«, »triangular desire«, Middle East«, S. 217-230, den zunehmenden Einfluß isla- »mimetic desire« sind »Leitwörter« ihrer Analyse. Darin daß mischer Gruppierungen auf verschiedene in den 50/60/70er es für arabische Schriftstellerinnen nicht nur eine soziale Jahren sozialistisch-säkularistisch orientierte Länder, deren Dimension in ihren Werken gibt, kann man Vfn. sicher damalige Orientierung heute als gescheitert erscheint. Ihr Ein- zustimmen. — LAMA ABU-ODEH nimmt sich in »Crimes of fluß gerade auf jüngere Frauen und ihr wachsender Erfolg im Honour and the Construction of Gender in Arab Societies«, Hinblick auf eine islamgeprägte Frauenbildung, auf Verhül- S.141-194, eines eklatanten Themas an. Sie demonstriert, wie lung etc. ist unverkennbar. — JEAN SAID MAKDISI legt in die Strafgesetzgebung arabischer Länder den gusl al-‘ar in »The Mythology of Modernity: Women and Democracy in unterschiedlicher Weise exkulpiert. Historische Basis ist das Lebanon«, S. 231-250, eklatante Widersprüche in der Situa- Osmanische Strafrecht von 1858, Artikel 188, das wiederum tion von Frauen im Libanon dar: In keinem anderen arabi- auf dem französischen Strafgesetzbuch von 1810 (§ 324, schen Land gibt es so viele modern gekleidete, modern, d. h. abgeschafft am 7. 11. 1975 durch Art. 17, Gesetz Nr. 617/75) verwestlicht, wirkende Frauen wie dort. In kaum einem ande- beruht. Auch das spanische, das portugiesische und das ita- ren Land des Vorderen Orients haben Frauen gar keinen lienische Strafrecht enthielten oder enthalten noch (Italien bis Anteil an führenden politischen, wenig Anteil an höheren 1979) solche Artikel. (Daß der gusl al-‘ar bundesdeutsche akademischen Positionen. In keinem anderen Land gibt es, Gerichte bis heute beschäftigt, erfuhr ich gerade bei einer den verschiedenen religiösen Richtungen entsprechend, so obligatorischen Islam-Fortbildung für nordrheinwestfälische viele unterschiedliche Formen des Familienrechts, das meist Verwaltungsrichter, zu der ich als Referentin geladen war). verschieden interpretierbar und Laien der jeweiligen Glau- Daß in allen Fällen, die die Vfn. untersucht hat, Frauen und bensrichtung kaum bis gar nicht bekannt sei. Während im Mädchen unterer sozialer Schichten die Opfer waren, deckt Bürgerkrieg Frauen zu exzeptionellen Handlungen und Ent- sich mit den Fällen, die in Deutschland relevant geworden scheidungen gezwungen und fähig waren, gebe es heute keine sind, nur daß es sich hier um türkische Familien handelt. Die einheitliche Frauenbewegung im Land. Vfn. sieht die Ursa- (in arabischen Ländern durchgängig männlichen) Richter in chen in der Geschichte des Landes, dem besonders starken solchen Fällen allerdings entstammen einer anderen sozialen Einwirken der verschiedenen westlichen Missionen mit ihren Schicht. Auf diese Schicht trifft die hochinteressante Typi- Bildungsinstitutionen und deren Weiterwirken und der bis sierung zu, die Vfn. S. 169-84 im Hinblick auf die sexuellen heute fehlenden echten Demokratie bei starken sozialen Einstellungen von arabischen Frauen und Männern vornimmt, Divergenzen. - MUNIRA FAKHRO, Absolventin der Columbia von denen sie zugibt, daß es Interpendenzen, Mischformen, University, Assistant Professor of Social Change and Social auch den Wechsel von einem Typ zum anderen geben mag. Development an der Universität Bahrain, betont in »Gulf Wie seit der Entstehung unabhängiger Nationalstaaten natio- Women and Islamic Law«, S. 251-62, angesichts der infolge nale Entwicklungsprojekte, die soziale Strukturen und Tra- des Ölbooms seit 2 Jahrzehnten stark angewachsenen und ditionen verändern, besonders Frauenbildung und weibliche wahrgenommenen Bildungsmöglichkeiten für Frauen in die- Berufstätigkeit die traditionelle Geschlechtersegregation auf- ser Region die Notwendigkeit von Reformen des islamischen brechen, aber die jahrhundertelang internalisierten Vorstel- Familienrechts, das in allen Golfstaaten bis zur Abfassung lungen von Ehre und Scham auch bei den oberen Mittel- und dieses Artikels ohne oder nahezu ohne Einschränkungen galt, den Oberschichten kaum oder nur allmählich wandeln, macht auch im Hinblick auf ein Ehealter. Zwar variiere die Situa- Vfn. deutlich. Die vorherrschenden Ambivalenzen und Unsi- tion von Frauen von einem Land zum anderen, zwischen den cherheiten in den nationalistischen Projekten veranlaßten die sozialen Schichten, zwischen Stadt und Land, aber das isla- Fundamentalisten zu einer kompletten Re-Segregierung. mische Familienrecht diskriminiere in dieser Form alle Teil 3 beginnt mit HALEH AFShARs Beitrag »Islam and Frauen im Hinblick auf Erbrecht, Scheidung, Sorgerecht, Feminism: An Anlysis of Political Strategies«, S. 197-216. Polygynie. Diese praktizierten etwa in Kuweit 1985 50, 5% Vfn. betont nach Hinweisen auf die wichtige Rolle von aller Männer, in anderen Golfstaaten über 5%. Das Fehlen Frauen wie Îadiga und Fa†ima im frühen Islam, daß gerade von politischen Parteien und Gewerkschaften in den meisten Frauen die Berufung muslimischer »Revivalisten« auf diese dieser Länder reduziere Reformbestrebungen auf nichtpoliti- Zeit unterstützen müssen. Sie legt dar, wie grausam die Rein- sche Organisationen, religiöse Zentren, Kulturvereine, Sport- stituierung des qiÒaÒ-Rechts für Frauen im Iran war. Mit Zita- klubs etc. — MAI YAMANI analysiert in »Some Observations ten aus der iranischen Frauenzeitung Zan-i Ruz zwischen on Women in Saudi-Arabia«, S. 263-81, basierend auf ihren 453 BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LVII N° 3/4, Mei-Augustus 2000 454

Erfahrungen mit Frauen saudischer Elitezirkel im Hidschas behalte dieser Staaten gibt JANE CONNORS, Juristin australi- über einige Jahre, sehr sachlich den Wandel, der seit der scher Herkunft, in »The Women’s Convention in the Muslim Gründung des wahhabitischen Königreichs 1932 über drei World«, S. 351-71. Bis zum 18. 1. 1995 hatten 139 Länder unterschiedliche Perioden eingetreten ist. Ein Wandel, der ihren Beitritt erklärt, 42 Länder Vorbehalte geäußert, teils nur seit den 80er Jahren nach der Machtergreifung der Mollahs formaler Art. Vorbehalte substantieller Art äußerten vorwie- im Iran als rivalisierendem religiös-rechtlichem politischen gend Staaten, die sich auf die Sari{a berufen. Auf die Emp- System auch durch Power-Plays charakterisiert ist, die gebil- fehlung, den Status von Frauen im Islam noch einmal zu dete jüngere Frauen unter Berufung auf die Position von Eli- überprüfen, reagierten die Delegationen von Bangladesch und tefrauen aus der Umgebung MuÌammeds mit sehr starker Ägypten mit dem Vorwurf des Kulturimperialismus und reli- Betonung hanbalitisch-religiöser Lebensinhalte durchzuset- giöser Intoleranz. Der Artikel schließt mit dem Appell der zen versuchen, bei Wahrung der strengen Geschlechterse- Vfn. an Gelehrte, die nach Normen der Nichtdiskriminierung gregation im Bildungswesen, in allen rechtlichen und beruf- im Koran, der Sunna und anderen frühen Quellen suchen, zu lichen Bereichen und bei strikter Einhaltung staatlicher beweisen, daß die traditionelle Ansicht über die fehlende Ent- Verfügungen wie dem Autofahrverbot für Frauen nach einer wicklungsfähigkeit des Islams falsch sei. eklatanten Protestaktion von Oberschichtfrauen 1990. Eine knappe Auswahlbibliographie, S. 373-76, und ein Teil 4 beginnt mit ZIBA MIR-HOSSEINIs Beitrag »Stretching Index, S. 377-85, bilden den Schluß des interessanten und the Limits: A Feminist Reading of the Shari’a in Post-Kho- vielseitigen Bandes. meini Iran«, S. 285-319. Vfn. führt interessante Beispiele für »postfundamantalistische« Debatten zu Fragen der Position Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, der Frau nach dem Koran und der Sari{a, also unter »isla- Februar 2000 Wiebke WALTHER misch-feministischen Aspekten«, vor, die von verschiedenen Autoren und Autorinnen in der Frauenzeitschrift Zenan zwi- ** schen 1992 und 1994 geführt wurden. Grundhaltung ist, den * Bab des Igtihad weit zu öffnen, vieles im Koran aus MuÌam- mads Bestreben zu erklären, den Zeitverhältnissen gemäß PETERSEN, Andrew — Dictionary of Islamic Architecture. zunächst vorsichtig zu reformieren und weitere Reformen im Routledge, London, 1996 (25 cm, 342). ISBN 0-415- Geist der Korans späteren Zeiten zu überlassen, generell die 06084-2, £ 60.00. Frau als soziales, dem Mann gleichgestelltes, freies mensch- liches Wesen, sie nicht lediglich als Sexualwesen zu sehen. The reader who takes this book in his hands gains the — SOUAD MOKBEL-WENSLEY, Rechtsanwältin in Beirut, impression that he has here a comprehensive guide to Islamic macht in »Statutory Discrimination in Lebanon: A Lawyer’s architecture, a work which is refreshingly innovative in View«, S. 321-29, auf Gesetze und Verfügungen aufmerk- including in its scope the entire Muslim world, or all places sam, die §7 der libanesischen Verfassung über die Gleichheit where larger groups of Muslims, producing buildings for their aller Libanesen vor dem Gesetz widersprechen und Frauen specific needs, are living. This promise, given in the Preface diskriminieren. Fast alle diese Bestimmungen entstammen is kept true to through the entire work, where we find not dem älteren französischen Recht, bevor französische Frauen only substantial entries on China, Java, the Philippines, Sin- 1938 die volle rechtliche Kapazität erlangten, oder dem gapore or the various Black African countries, which are osmanischen Recht. Vfn. konstatiert in ihrer »Conclusion«, lacking from the usual accounts of Islamic architecture, but daß es tief verwurzelte soziale Widerstände gebe, die Gleich- also pleasantly surprising articles on Germany, France and stellung und Gleichberechtigung von Mann und Frau anzu- the USA. This is all very pleasant and useful, scholarship erkennen. Beim Erbrecht etwa wenden christliche Familien finally freeing itself of the narrow confines of the core lands eher die muslimische Vorstellung der Bevorzugung von Söh- of classical Islam. The inclusion of sections on vernacular nen an als die christliche der Gleichberechtigung zwischen architecture, providing as it does “an architectural context for Töchtern und Söhnen. — Scharfe Kritik äußert NAJLA HAMA- the more famous monuments,” is an enormously positive DEH in »Islamic Family Legislation. The Authoritarian Dis- move. The encyclopaedic nature of the book largely excludes course of Silence«, S. 331-49. Vfn. konzentriert sich auf das theoretical discussion. This can be found, however, in the lit- Scheidungsrecht und das Sorgerecht, das Frauen stark erature, to which copious reference is made at the end of most benachteiligt und mit dem Grundprinzip der Gleichberechti- sections and which is meant to be a selection of “the princi- gung von Mann und Frau, wie sie der Koran im Hinblick auf ple works on the subject.” The main purpose of the book is die kultischen Rechte und Pflichten zu erkennen gibt, und wie “to provide basic information.” This is done in an alphabetic sie der Prophet in seinem persönlichen Leben praktiziert manner, as the title would imply, per country, region or habe, unvereinbar sei. Frauen würden in diesen Fällen letzt- important city. The book is lavishly illustrated with (unnum- lich wie Eigentumsobjekte des Mannes behandelt, nur dürfe bered) photographs, plans, sections, drawings and maps das nicht offen zur Sprache gebracht werden. Daß gerade im showing the geographical position of the principal monu- Islam, wo die Rolle der Mutter immer wieder betont wird, ments and sites. It contains 342 pages, including a register, Müttern die Rechte auf ihre Kinder derart genommen wür- and is printed on excellent paper. The work has, however, a den, sei mit den Grundprinzipien der Religion unvereinbar. number of severe shortcomings, which seriously diminish its — Einen Überblick über die Geschichte der UNO-»Kon- quality and usefulness. They fall into three categories: print- vention über die Abschaffung aller Formen der Diskriminie- ing or writing errors, buildings or towns mixed up with oth- rung gegenüber Frauen«, die am 3. 9. 1981 nach nahezu 20- ers, and an incomprehensible omission of many of the prin- jähriger Vorbereitung in Kraft trat und deren Ratifizierung cipal reference works in the sections “Further Reading.” First durch Staaten mit vorwiegend muslimischer Bevölkerung of all, the work is full of bad printing errors, to the extent that zwischen 1981 (Ägypten) und 1994 (Kuweit), sowie die Vor- one gets the impression that the author, as well as the pub- 455 BOEKBESPREKINGEN – ARABICA - ISLAM 456 lisher, hardly cared for proof-reading. Besides this there is a Payas,” should be the complex of Sokollu Mehmed Pasha at total disregard for correct spelling; printing mistakes are Payas, from the time of Sultan Selim II (1566-1574). The mixed with careless spelling. buildings in Payas appear in Sokollu's foundation charter The reader is warned on the first line of the first page (Gökbilgin, Pa≥a Livâsı, p. 510) and in several preserved (Preface) where “Mahamad” occurs, instead of Muhammad. accounts of its income and expenditure. Unfortunately, on p. This is not an exception but a rule, as a few more examples, 223 the same building complex is referred to as a work of picked at random, will show: p. 25 “Sasaidische” for Sasani- Selim II, and Payas is placed in eastern Anatolia, whereas it dische; p. 28, and at various other places “D(oris) Berhens” is firmly situated in southern Anatolia. The ancient capital of for Behrens; “Besiktasi order” for Bektashi order. Here a Islamic Bengal, Gaur, which, since 1948 has been cut in combination of the Istanbul suburb Be≥ikta≥ and the Bektashi two by the border between India and Eastern order of dervishes seems to have been made. On p. 36 the Pakistan/Bangladesh, is said to be identical with Lakhnaw, Bosnia town of Travnik is rendered “Trevnik.” On p. 40 “Lal which on p. 34 is called”Lucknow“which, however, is a Sahin Pasa” in Kazanlik for Lala ≤ahin Pa≥a (or: Shahin totally different city, situated a few hundred miles to the west Pasha); p. 50 “Muhammad Cali Pasha” for Muhammad {Ali; and is the historical capital of the 18th-century Muslim prin- p. 59 “Taabegs” for Atabegs; p. 103 “M. Shokooy and N.H. cipality of Awad (Oud). Moreover, the magnificent monu- Shokooy” for the correct Mehrdad and Natalie Shokoohi, the ments of Pandua near Gaur, which are among the largest eminent Iranian-British scholar-couple. On p. 105 we find a structures Islam ever produced, are not mentioned at all. On road leading from the city of “Sanca” to Mecca, which the p. 30, the”Khan Mirjan“in Baghdad from 1359 is said to be reader after some difficulty can recognise as Sa{na in Yemen, a work of the Ilkhanid dynasty, whereas the last ruler of this which on p. 252 appears as San}a. Of incorrectly or mis- dynasty, Abu Said, died in 1335. In fact the aforementioned leadingly written city names there are more, such as building is one of the main works of the successor dynasty “Mahadi” for Mahdia, etc. On p. 112 we find the Hungarian of the Ilkhanids, the Jalayrids (1335-1432), whose existence scholar Fehervari as “Fehevari,” and on the same page the is briefly mentioned on p. 125. On p. 36, 17th-century Bosnia term “Hunkar Mahil” appears instead of Hünkâr Mahfil, is made the basis for the Ottoman conquest of Hungary. This which appears almost correctly written elsewhere in the same is only wrong by a century. It should read 16th-century pages. On p. 113 we read “Hulagau ibn Kublai Khan” for Bosnia. On p. 42, it is said that the famous Ye≥il Cami in the Hulagu and Kubilai, where the former was not the son of the early Ottoman capital of Bursa was built “between 1403- latter but his brother. On p. 143 the Kano Chronicle is sup- 1421” The first date mentioned is plainly impossible, because posed twice to refer to a certain Cabd al-Rahman, which of in 1403 its builder, Mehmed I, was still a child residing in course is {Abd al-Rahman, the same sort of mistake as Amasya with no control whatsoever over Bursa. Yet, on p. occurred with the city of “Sanca,” where the scholarly look- 219, the building is said to have been built in “1412.” The ing, but in the context of this book superfluous, sign for the inscriptions of this beautiful building, published in 1933 in Arabic letter -ayn- is taken to be a C. For the uninitiated the leading periodical “Der Islam” (No 20) give dates reader, for whom this book is mostly intended, this is very between January 1420 and August 1424. The Muradiye misleading, as are the distorted names of authors of impor- Mosque, also in Bursa, is said to have been completed in tant works, such as “Pugachenkara” (p. 195) or 1447 (p. 315) whereas the main inscription from the build- “Pugachenkava” (p. 293) for Galina Pugachenkova. Distor- ing clearly states that it was finished in 1425. The monuments tions of Turkish names and words, but also of Persian, Greek, of Bursa seem to be particularly mistreated. On p. 41, we are Arabic, or even German are also frequent: p. 78 “Yildirim informed that the “Bayazit complex” in Bursa was begun in Cami” for Yıldırım Camii; p. 144 “Kapilica” for Kaplıca; “1490.” From the description it is clear that Yıldırım Bayezid “Karaman Oghulu” for Karamanoghlu; “Kuliyye” for Kül- (1389-1402) is meant. Here two rulers are mixed up. Bayezid liye; “Konyo” for Konya (p. 290); “Akkoyonolu” for II ruled between 1481-1512 but no mosque/medrese complex Akkoyunlu (p. 292), and with Arabic, Persian and German whatsoever is known to have been built by this Sultan in words or names: “Alattin”, and “Aleattin” (p. 154 and 218) Bursa. On p. 56, Cyprus is said to have been conquered in for Alaeddin; “Khan Yunnus”, or “Khan Yunis” (p. 175) 1571 by “Selim I” (1512-1520); p. 78 has Edirne captured for Khan Yunus; “Yusf ibn Tashfin” (p. 175) for Yusuf; by the Ottomans in 1362 and made capital of the empire in “Miriakefalon” (p. 154) for Myriokephalon; “Mirimah” (p. 1366. In fact, 1361 is the traditional date of the capture of 259) for Mihrimah; Saffavid (p.50) for Safavid; “Gourami” this important city, but for at least 20 years it has been for Göreme in Cappadocia; Barbara “Finnster, Sasaidische accepted that 1369 is a much more likely date. On p. 78, the Ruinem” (p. 294) for Finster, Sasanidische Ruinen; J. “Yildirim Cami” is said to be dated between 1360 and 1390. “Sacht” for J. Schacht, or, for the name of a well known However, the date from its building inscription, now pre- dynasty in Yemen, “Rassids” for Rasulids. served in the Edirne Museum, can be clearly read as “802” Besides these unnecessary and ungainly mistakes and dis- (Sept. 1399-Sept. 1400). The inscription was published in tortions of names, the book contains a large amount of incor- 1977 by F.Th. Dijkema in his major work on the Ottoman rect information, with places mixed and exchanged, incorrect epigraphy of Edirne, published in English. The “Muradiye dates, etc. which severely diminish the value of the book as Tekke and Mosque” in the same city is said to have been a reference work. To mention only a few: on p.10, the “Con- built in 1421, whereas its inscription clearly gives the date gregational Mosque” of Berat in Albania is said to have been 1435. On p. 115 we are informed that the single massive ivan built in 1380, whereas Berat was taken by the Ottomans only of the Great Mosque of Tabriz in Iran measures no less than in 1417 and the “Congregational Mosque” is in fact the “40 m wide and more than 80 m deep.” The exact measure- Mosque of the Ruler, or the Mosque of Bayezid II, connected ments taken by Donald Wilber (Ilkhanid Iran, monument no. with the campaign through southern Albania of this Sultan in 51 and sketch no. 30) have 30.10 m wide, and probably 65 1485. On p. 24: the “Selim I [1512-1520] complex in m deep. The original depth can no longer be established 457 BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LVII N° 3/4, Mei-Augustus 2000 458 because that part of the building is missing. A brick vault during an 18th-century earthquake and were cheaply recon- with a span of 40 m is outright impossible and the thickness structed as a wooden shed roof. The Islamic buildings in of the walls of the Tabriz vault (10.40 m) is enough to show countries like Greece or Tunisia are particularly mistreated. that here the limits are reached. Petersen's plan of the impor- In the introduction of the section it is claimed that “there was tant Üç ≤erefeli Mosque in Edirne (p. 77) indicates that this little Turkish settlement in Greece.” This is only true for the building is 38 m wide. In reality it is 66 m wide. On p. 154 south of the country. The North, Thessaly, Macedonia and we find that in Konya there is a “Ince Minareli Mosque” Western Thrace were densely settled with Turks; in Mace- whereas in all existing literature this building is described as donia they constituted almost half of the total population and a medrese. To stay with Turkey, the medrese of “Kapiaga” in Thrace (by 1900) more than three quarters of the whole. is said to have been built by (Sultan) Beyazit (II) as part of It is in these provinces that the important works of Islamic a complex of buildings. In fact, it is a single building and was architecture can be found, but in the book they are not even sponsored not by the Sultan but, as its names suggests, by the mentioned. The section on monuments is particularly poor: Head of the Gatekeepers. This was Hüseyin Aga, who left a “The oldest standing mosque in Athens is the Fethie Cami, number of buildings behind in Istanbul, in Samokov in Bul- built in the late 15th century.” In fact it was built in the third garia and in Sonisa near Amasya, besides the curious Amasya quarter of the 17th century and named the “Mosque of the medrese. The identity of this person and his works have been Victory” (Fethiye) to commemorate the completion of the well studied, by Petra Kappert, Tayyib Gökbilgin, Hedda Ottoman capture of Crete, in 1669. Medreses are also said to Reindl and Semavi Eyice, all in publications from several have been built in Athens, but “none of which has survived decades ago. On p. 161/62 we find that in the “eight [sic!] although remains of the city walls built by Ali Hadesk' [sic!] century” the “Christian Maronites of Southern Libanon can still be seen.” In fact an important part of an early 18th- established the Druze community.” In reality, however, the century medrese still stands, including its entrance portal and Druze, appeared after the year 1017 as the result of preach- important inscription. Of the town walls of Ali Hasseki, how- ing in Cairo and spread from there to Lebanon, partly through ever, not a single stone remains!Along the same lines, towns emigration from Egypt. (Cf. Heinz Halm, Die Schia, Darm- and buildings in the north of Greece have been mixed up. The stadt (Wissenschaftliche Büchergesellschaft, p. 219-222; or: colossal aqueduct of Süleyman the Magnificent in the sea- Robert B. Betts, The Druze, Yale, New Haven and London port of Kavalla is moved by Petersen to the inland city of 1988). Countries are treated in a similar fashion. The section Serres (p. 102) fifty miles away! At the entry for Tunisia, we on Albania states that: “One of the most celebrated mosques read (p. 288) that the country became “an independent repub- in Albania is at Krujë 20 km north of the capital Tirana'. The lic” in “1945.” The correct date of independence, however, mosque, located on the grounds of Skanderbeg's castle, was was 20/3/1956, as can be read in any encyclopaedia. One built in 1779 and has wooden ceilings painted to look like a page further on we read that the well known Ribat of Suse dome set on squinches.” Yet Krujë is almost 40 km from (Sousse) was built in 821 by the Aghlabid ruler Ziyadat Tirana and there is no mosque from 1779 with painted Allah. In fact Ziyadat Allah only added a minaret to a build- wooden ceilings in the castle of Skanderbeg, but only the ruin ing erected by the Umayyad governor Yazid ben Hatim of a minaret of the mosque of Fatih Sultan Mehmed, which between 771-788, a time when Christian pirates from Byzan- was wholly reconstructed in H. 1253 (A.D. 1833/34) after tine Sicily raided the coasts of Islamic North Africa. When having been destroyed when in 1831, during the suppression Ziyadat Allah erected the minaret to the ribat of Sousse east- of the Albanian revolt, the Ottoman army blew up the castle ern Sicily, with Taormina, was still in Byzantine hands. It fell of Krujë. This new building was destroyed during the only in 902. “Albanian Cultural Revolution” of the Spring of 1967 and These comments should be enough to give an impression had, according to old pictures, a plain and flat wooden ceil- of the quality of this book. We should, however, mention one ing. The date “1779” pertains to the ceiling of the Halveti more point: the major omission of entries, especially in the Tekke in Berat, which survived “1967” and is indeed of the sections of “Further reading.” Great centres of Islamic archi- kind Petersen described. The only other mosque in Krujë is tecture, like Bidar, Jaunpur or Mandu, about which there is that of Murad Bey outside the castle, in the old bazaar street, a rich literature, especially in English, are omitted. Skopje, originally from the 16th century but wholly rebuilt in the the Balkan city, which still retains all of its major Islamic same year as the mosque in the castle. We are thus confronted monuments, all well studied, is entirely omitted, as is the with a ghost mosque. The most important Ottoman mosque country Macedonia, with its large Muslim minority, living is no doubt the Xhamia e Plumbit, or Kursunlu Cami in there since the late 14th century, with many examples of good Shkodër (Skutari / Skadar) in the north of the country, built, Islamic architecture still extant. The monumental monograph according to its inscription, in H.1187 (A.D. 1773/74), but by Ghulam Yazdani on Bidar (Bidar, its History and Monu- not mentioned by Petersen. Along the same lines, in the sec- ments, Oxford, 1947) is also a glaring omission. As further tion “Bulgaria” the Kızane Tekke is said to be “near Nikopol reading for the section on Bengal (p. 34) the small article of on the Danube,” whereas it is three km west of the town of Perween Hassan in Muqarnas 6, 1989 is mentioned but not Targoviste, the old Eski Dzuma, which is far inland. The city the comprehensive and more than excellent volume of of Yambol in Bulgarian Thrace is said to have been “estab- George Michell, “The Islamic heritage of Bengal,” Paris, lished after the Ottoman conquest in 1365” (p. 40). In fact it 1984. In less than one page the glories of Isfahan “capital is the Greco-Roman and Byzantine city of Diampolis, the city of Iran” are hurriedly described, and no further literature name living on in the modern name Yambol. The important is mentioned. The reader, however, is guided by the remark Cumaya Camii in Plovdiv is said to be “roofed by three cen- “See also: Iran.” In that section, however, nothing is to be tral domes and six wooden vaults.” In fact the six lateral (cra- found on Isfahan, a city where the two most important works dle) vaults are solidly made of brick. The roofing of the outer of Islamic architecture in that rich country are to be found. portico is wooden, where the original five domes collapsed Here, at the very least, Eugenio Galdieri's great monograph 459 BOEKBESPREKINGEN – ARABICA - ISLAM 460

(Isfahan, Masgid-i Cuma, 3 vols, Roma 1972/84) should have ever, and as a reliable guide to the field, they failed pitifully. been mentioned, or Oleg Grabar's The Great Mosque of Isfa- All the more so because for the next forty or fifty years han, London, 1990. In the section on Albania, three minor nobody will dare to make a work of the same sweeping articles are mentioned but not the 340 page monograph by scope. One could argue that the task Petersen took on his M. Kiel, “Ottoman Architecture in Albania, 1385-1912,” shoulders was far too large for a single individual. The mass Istanbul, 1990. One seriously misses Hafez K. Chehab's pen- of unpleasant printing and writing errors, and the sheer care- etrating study “On the Identification of Anjar as a Umayyad lessness with which places or monuments are mixed up or foundation,” in the easy accessible periodical Muqarnas (vol confused, could have been avoided with a bit more diligence. 10, 1993), especially since so great an authority as Oleg Here both the author and the publisher have failed. Grabar refused to identify Anjar as an Umayyad work. It may be, however, that this study appeared too close to the time in University of Utrecht, March 2000 Machiel KIEL which the compilation of the book was completed. On p. 209, the important shrine of Abd al-Samad in Natanz in central ** Iran is described, but the fundamental article “The Octago- * nal Pavilion at Natanz” by Sheila Blair in Muqarnas I, 1983 is not mentioned. Likewise, there is no mention of Yassir PARKER, Kenneth (ed.) — Early Modern Tales of Orient. A Tabba's provocative study “The Origin of the Muqarnas Critical Anthology. Routledge, London, 1999. (25 cm, IX, Dome,” in Muqarnas (vol. 8, 1988). In the section on Hun- 290). ISBN 0-415-14757-3. £ 16.99. gary, a mini-article by Fehervari is mentioned as further read- ing, but not the monographs by Josef Molnár (Monuments In his introduction, Kenneth Parker discusses the nature of Turcs en Hongrie, 1973) and Gyözö Gerö, which appeared travel books in early modern times, i.e. sixteenth and seven- in editions in all of the major European languages. Conse- teenth century, their hybrid nature with transitions between quently, only the türbe of Gül Baba, more a curiosity than a pelgrims’ tales and scientific discovery, their form in between work of architecture, is mentioned as a monument, whereas the public world of official discourse and the private one of large domed mosques such as those in Pecs, Szigervár or Sik- autobiography, letter and diary. But most of all Parker is lós, or the imposing fortress of Szigetvár, wholly rebuilt interested by the degree in which these early accounts of the under Selim II, receive no mention at all. One could argue Orient form part of Orientalism as defined and described by that Hungary was a far-away and unimportant part of the Edward Said (London, 1995). However, as Parker cites, Said Islamic world and that it therefore received so little attention. takes as a roughly defined starting point for this phenome- Yet it is the stated aim of the author to encompass precisely non the late eighteenth century. So, to nobody’s surprise the entire Islamic world, something he genuinely attempts to Parkers conclusion is: not until the end of the seventeenth do, incorporating large and good articles and much literature century do important features of Orientalism like the sense on sites in “East Africa,” “West Africa,” “Gedi,” “Kilwa,” of European supremacy and the experiencing of the Orient “Lamu”, etc. which are usually left out entirely. In the as a diffuse unity develop themselves. Until that time Eng- African context, however, the omission of Dorothee Gruner's lish travellers (without saying so explicitly, Parker limits his comprehensive work on the “Die Lehmmoschee am Niger" text to English travel accounts!!) were simultaneously fasci- (Stuttgart, 1990). is striking. A further severe omission is the nated by the wealth and power of the Ottomans and fearful great Spanish work (with substantial English summary) of of it, and clearly saw differences in Islamic lands. Their world Amalgro, Cavallero and Zozoya”Qusayr Amra: Residencia is not divided into “them” and “we”, but these early mod- y baños omeyas en el desierto de Jordania"(Madrid, 1975) ern times travellers are mostly “dis-oriented” by the diver- on the important Umayyad ‘desert castle' of Qusair Amra. In sity of the Orient, e.g. Persians versus Ottomans, and the the section on Istanbul, a minor article is mentioned on the diversity of the Occident, e.g. French versus Englishmen, cathedral of Hagia Sophia as an Ottoman mosque, but Gülru Protestant versus Catholic, etc. For example: Persia is sought Necipoglu's detailed and refreshing study “The Life of Impe- as a possible foil against other European countries. rial Monuments, Hagia Sophia after Byzantium,” in R. Mark In the introduction, some common features and contexts — A.S. Akmak (eds.) Hagia Sophia from the Age of Justin- of the texts are compared and highlighted. The way of pub- ian to the Present (Cambridge Univ. Press, 1988), is a painful lication, the justification of travelling and publishing, the dif- omission. Perhaps the greatest omissions, however, are Cor- ficult position of ambassadors and diplomats, the “terrible nelius Gurlitt's majestic “Die Baukunst Konstantinopels” Turk” as topos, the stress laid on the tolerance of Persians (Berlin, 1912), which still contains the best architectural plans versus the intolerance of Ottomans, the dismissal of minori- of the Istanbul mosques, or Gülru Necipoglu's major work ties by the travellers, the lessons that can be learned from a on the Topkapı Palace in the same city: “Architecture, Cer- Turk, and the way the image of Orientals is staged. emonial, and Power. The Topkapı Palace in the fifteenth and The anthology consists of a short biography for each sixteenth Centuries" (Cambridge Mass. — London, 1991), author and parts of his travel story (in this period no woman which supersedes all that has been written about this singu- traveller left an account of her travels in the Orient). Parker larly important Islamic palace, or the magisterial volume has selected very interesting travelers: Edward Webbe, edited by the same author: “Pre-Modern Islamic Palaces,” a William Harborne, Richard Wragge, Anthony Sherley, special issue of one of the leading periodicals in the field: William Biddulph, John Cartwright, Fynes Moryson, William Ars Orientalis, 23, 1993. Despite all of the criticisms, the Lithgow, Sir Henry Blount, Thomas Herbert and John Fryer. author and the publishers of the “Dictionary of Islamic Archi- However, their treatment is very disappointing: not one orig- tecture” should be praised for the highly original and refresh- inal text is given, it is not even mentioned in which way ing concept of this book. It contains many sections which are Parker simplified their text, no reference is made to the ori- original or simply pleasant to read. As for execution, how- gin of the citations, and, worst of all, a lot of mistakes are 461 BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LVII N° 3/4, Mei-Augustus 2000 462 made in the process of rewriting the texts. I took at random In this chapter we learn about the traditional holding of coun- page 195, the story of Herbert, and found the following mis- cils prior to the present National Assembly, the welfare state takes: line 4 “great City of Commerce”, in the original “a and the aftermath of the occupation in 1990. In the reviewer’s City of great Commerce”; line 8 “in lush degree”, in the opinion the latter could have been described in more detail. original “in such a degree”; line 16-17 “in all these parts”, The society and politics of the insular Gulf state Bahrain in the original “in all these hot parts”; line 22 “and cool air”, during the twentieth century is traced in part 4 “Political in the original “and cool the air”; and even two more mis- Developments in Bahrain” (pp. 59-81). In the section “Lin- takes are made in this one page!! ear progression of power” special reference is given to the To make these very interesting texts available to today’s uprisings which occured between 1994 and 1996. Again, the students and scholars, as he claims his aim to be, Parker reviewer would have hoped to be supplied with more exact should have made a really critical publication of those that information on these actions. are not yet published in a responsible and scholarly way. Zahlan gives in chapter 5 “The Political Order” (pp. 83- 93) a picture of the new forms of participation in government, Amsterdam, December 1999 Jenneke K. REEMST albeit in a non-politicised manner. This is provided by the state for its nationals in the form of easy and privileged access to positions in the civil service. The establisment of ** different modern institutions like the assemblies in Kuwait * and Bahrain and the benevolence of the rulers ensuring that they continue to function, are also epitomised. ZAHLAN, Rosemarie Said — The Making of the Modern Gulf “ ” (pp. States: Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates The Ruling Families of Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar 95-105) titles chapter 6. The origins of the Al Sabah of and Oman. Revised and Updated Edition. Ithaca Press, Kuwait and their relatives the Al Khalifah of Bahrain are London, 1998. (23 cm, XII, 200). ISBN 0-86372-229-6. drafted, whereas the history of the Al Thani in Qatar starts The events of August 1990 which occured in the Gulf only with Muhammad bin Thani (1868-76). He is, however, region such as the invasion of Kuwait, which created a stag- not the founder of the dynasty, as the author noted on page gering amount of international activity in the following 99. From different English and Arabic sources we find little months until the liberation of the small shaikhdom; internal has been mentioned about the life of the ancestor Thani bin affairs like both the removal from power of Khalifah bin Muhammad, except that he was born in Zubarah, became a Hamad Al Thani (names, tribes, ruling families etc. showing prominent pearl trader and was succeeded by his son the author’s transcription system) in Qatar in 1995 by his son, Muhammad bin Thani, who was in power between 1850 and and the anti-government demonstrations in Bahrain which 1878. This also differs from the information stated by Zahlan have led to great tension and instability in this archipelago above. We do know that in 1850 he settled with his family since the mid-1990s, gave rise to this revised and updated in Doha and became known as “the Shaikh of Doha”. The edition which has been extended to include the latest inci- writer provides no information at all on the roots of the Al dents and recently declassified documents. Thani. Part 1 “The Gulf in History” (pp. 7-17) summarises the Part 7 “The Ruling Families of the United Arab Emirates” great civilisation of Dilmun; the Gulf region and its impor- (pp. 107-123) cites the history of the dynasties of the seven tant communications as a strategic and financial centre dur- emirates forming this federation — Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Shar- ing the grip of the Abbasids; the genesis of the Qarmatians, jah, Ras al-Khaimah, Ajman, Umm al-Qaiwain, and Fujairah. with headquarters in Bahrain; the advent and intrusion of Both, the sections on Ajman and Umm al-Qaiwain are very European colonialism by the Portuguese, English, Dutch, and scant regarding the background of these ruling families. French; the framework dealing with the establishment of the In chapter 8 “The Ruling Family of Oman” (pp. 125-134) Al bu Said in Oman during the middle of the eighteenth cen- the author presents an account of the reign of the Al bu Said tury; the rise in central Arabia of the Wahhabi movement and and, in more detail, the time since the takeover of Qaboos in the advancement of the Qasimi, the tribal confederacy with 1970. its settlements alternating over the years between Ras al- Part 9 “Saudi Arabia, the Powerful Neighbour” (pp. 135- Khaimah and Sharjah and the extent of its power which 155) is divided into five sections. The reader is informed stretched to the Arab and Persian littoral. From 1820 onwards chronologically about the period dating from 1913 until the the Trucial system was set in motion by Britain, commiting present day. We are presented with numerous facts on the the shaikhs of the lower Gulf region and Bahrain to abstain Ikhwan, the establishment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, from plunder on land and piracy at sea. The English thus the two upheavals in 1979 which undermined the country’s came to regard the area as their own preserve. But towards security, the setting-up of the consultative council at the the end of the nineteenth century, Britain’s supremacy began beginning of the 1990s, and the external tensions and rela- to be challenged by other powers — the Ottoman Empire, tionships with neighbouring countries and others like Egypt, France, Russia and Germany. Zahlan also informs us about Britain and the United States of America, to mention just a further treaties relating to this matter. few. “The Emergence of the Gulf States” (pp. 19-31), the title The last chapter, chapter 10 “The International Setting” of chapter 2, focuses on the period after oil was discovered (pp. 157-193) pays attention to the Gulf Co-operation Coun- in that region and the concessions given to the oil companies. cil (in full: The Co-operation Council for the Arab States of An interesting passage illuminates the rulers’ role of author- the Gulf) which was founded in 1981; its collective security; ity in this context. economic integration and Saudi influence upon the organi- An outline of Kuwait’s political development constitutes sation. Further passages are devoted among others to the Iraq- part 3 “Representative Government in Kuwait” (pp. 33-57). Iran War, the policy of the United States of America, Iran- 463 BOEKBESPREKINGEN – IRAN 464 gate, the Arab League diplomacy, and the operation “Desert Storm” to liberate Kuwait after the Iraqi occupation in August 1990. The author has made no use of Arabic sources. There are, for instance, publications in Arabic on the process of democ- ratisation in Kuwait, which would have enriched chapter 3. English and Arabic newspapers published in Kuwait, Qatar and mainly Dubai, which reported on the events in the mid- dle of the 1990s in Bahrain, would have given a more detailed picture of these events. The criticism notwithstanding, we have to thank Rosemarie Zaid Zahlan for her work on updating this edition.

University of Vienna Monika Fatima MÜHLBÖCK July 1999

KORTE AANKONDIGING

TROUPEAU, Gérard — Études sur le christianisme arabe au Moyen Age. (Collected Studies Series). Variorum, Alder- shot, 1995. (23 cm, XII, 310, front.). ISBN 0-86078-560- 2. £ 49.50. This volume of reprinted articles is organized as follows. Introductory is the first article, “La littérature arabe chréti- enne du Xe au XIIe siècle”. The next section offers Arabic translations of (pseudo-) Biblical and Patristic texts, includ- ing the Physiologus (articles II-V). Important are the nine theological treatises by Arab Christians that follow (VI-XIV): {Abd Allah Ibn al-™ayyib, YaÌya Ibn {Adi, {Ali Ibn Dawud, Severus Ibn al-Muqaffa}, Petrus Ibn al-Rahib. In most cases the Arabic text is given; always the French translation. The next section of the book gives five texts on Christianity writ- ten by Muslims: al-Sijistani, Khalif al-Mu{izz, al-Shahras- tani, Ibn Taymiyya (XV-XVIII). The last four articles discuss Christian festivals as seen by a Muslim lawyer; cloisters or Syrian Christians in Arab eyes; Christian Arabic terminol- ogy as explained by the lexicographer Ibn Sidah. Addenda et Corrigenda (1 page) and an Index conclude the book.