Journal of Arabic and Islamic
Studies
CONTENTS
Volume V, 2003-2004
Edited by Joseph Norment Bell
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Bayan
Rayhanova. Mythological and Folkloric Motifs in
Syrian Prose: The Short Stories of Zakariyya Tamir. (Adobe Acrobat 6.0 PDF
file, 168 kB, pp. 1-12). HTML
Unicode version.
Abstract: The interest of Arab authors in
ancient forms of artistic thinking has grown considerably in recent times and
is revealed in different ways: through ethnographical studies, literary
adaptations, the publication of legends and myths, and the inclusion of
mythological and folkloric material in modern narrative texts. The present
paper is an attempt to analyze Zakariyya Tamir's short stories, which are among the most outstanding
products of Syrian literature, and to reveal the function of well-known motifs
such as the motif of the bewitched place, the motif of the quest for treasure,
the motif of the miraculous birth, and others in his works.
Tamima
Bayhom-Daou. The Second-Century Ġulat: Were They Really Gnostic? (Adobe Acrobat 6.0 PDF file, 356 kB, pp.
13-61). HTML Unicode version.
Abstract:
This paper
questions the suggestion of our sources that gnostic
currents had already appeared among Šī'ites
by the early second/eighth century. It contends that gnosticism did not surface in Šī'ism
until the third/ninth century and that our information on its existence among
second-century Šī'ites is the result of
retrospective ascription to groups and individuals who, on account of their
(real or alleged) messianic beliefs, had already been identified by moderate Imāmīs as ġulāt.
That information would have served to distance Imāmism
and its imāms from gnostic
teachings by associating those teachings with repudiated figures from the past.
The paper examines evidence showing that in his work on firaq Hišām
b. al-Hakam (d. 179/795) was not aware of the
existence of gnostic ideas in Šī'ism.
Other examined evidence also shows that references to gnostic
ġuluww
are conspicuous by their absence from sources on Šī'ism
that are datable to before the third/ninth century.
John Hunwick.
"I Wish to Be Seen in Our Land Called Afrika":
'Umar b. Sayyid's Appeal to
Be Released from Slavery (1819) (Adobe Acrobat 6.0 PDF file, 178 kB, pp. 62-77). HTML
version to be posted later.
Abstract: While Muslims
were forbidden to enslave Muslims, in Africa, in battles between Muslims and non-Muslims, sometimes
the latter captured Muslims, and sold them to European/American ship crews, who
were seeking slaves to take across to America and sell, since Americans could
use Muslims as slaves. 'Umar b. Sayyid
(or, more likely, Sa'īd) was captured in Futa Toro in 1806/7, exported, and sold as a slave in
Reuven
Snir. Modern Arabic Literature and Islamist
Discourse: “Do Not Be Coolness, Do Not Flutter Safety”
(Adobe Acrobat 6.0 PDF file, 387 kB, pp. 78-123).
HTML version to be posted later.
Abstract: With the rise of Islam, Arab
civilization was given a defined ideological and cultural framework within
which it could develop. Islam, as a system of symbols, represents the most
significant factor in the explanation of Arab cultural, intellectual, and
literary history since the seventh century. Arabic literature was never wholly
a religious one, but since the revelation of the Qur’ān, the various
activities in the literary system generally occurred within the borders defined
by Islam and were guided by a cultural heritage that seemed nearly as sacred as
the religious law. Islam and, more specifically, the Qur’ān, was also predominant
in consolidating principles that ensured, according to most Arab intellectuals
in the twentieth century, that modern Arabic literature could only be a direct
extension of the classical literature. The dominance of Islamist discourse in
the literary system during the last century was reflected through censorship
and banning of books for religious considerations and for the harm they might
do to public morality. Nevertheless, Arabic literature witnessed during the
second half of the previous century a strong trend towards separation from its
strict Islamic moorings in order to follow its course as a completely
secularized literature. This trend has found its manifestation in both the
interrelations of the literary system with other extra-literary systems as well
as on the level of the texts themselves. (The term “Islamist” is
used here to refer to the cultural activities and the discourse of the
religious circles; conversely, the terms “Muslim” or
“Islamic” are applied to general religious and traditional cultural
phenomena).
Hassan Bashir. Iran and
Political Modernisation in the Nineteenth Century:
Parliamentarianism, Constitutionalism and Feminism in the Newspaper Sur-i Israfil (Adobe Acrobat 7.0 PDF file, 250 kB, pp. 124-47). HTML version to be posted later.
Abstract: The Constitutional Revolution in
Last
modified January 17, 2007.
