This book aims to demonstrate that the accounts that feature Muḥammad’s grandfather in Ibn Isḥāq’s Sīra are the product of narrative engineering. Through a narrative sequence in which ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib is the hero, several intriguing episodes follow one another in a causal manner and lead to the birth of a future prophet. Articulated with a historical anthropology, the narrative analysis reveals that the Sīra is the heir to the royal literature of the ancient Near East. Using motifs and themes from the culture of the Fertile Crescent, the Sīra makes ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib a royal figure in the service of legitimising the Abbasid dynasty, heir par excellence to Ishmael and restorer of the Abrahamic covenant. Cet ouvrage entend démontrer que les récits qui mettent en scène le grand-père de Muḥammad dans la Sīra d’Ibn Isḥāq sont le produit d’une ingé nierie narrative. À travers une séquence narrative dont ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib est le héros, plusieurs épisodes intriguants s’enchainent d’une manière cau sale et aboutissent à la naissance d’un futur pro phète. Articulée à une anthropologie historique, l’analyse narrative révèle que la Sīra est l’héritière de la littérature royale du Proche-Orient ancien. À partir de motifs et de thématiques issus de la culture du croissant fertile, la Sīra fait de ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib une figure royale au service de la légitimation de la dynastie abbasside, héritier par excellence d’Ismaël et restaurateur de l’alliance abrahamique.

Selected contents of this volume (1999), collected in memory of Naphtali Kinberg: Rachel Milstein, "The Evolution of a Visual Motif: The Temple and the Ka'ba"; Gabriel M. Rosenbaum, "A Certain Laugh: Serious Humor and Creativity in the Adab of Ibn al-Gawzi"; Aryeh Levin, "Sibawayhi's Attitude to the Language of the Quran"; Kees Versteegh, "Loanwords from Arabic and the Merger of d/d"; Toufic Fahd, "Adab: Poesie, Prose, Proverbes"; Richard C. Steiner, "Philology as the Handmaiden of Philosophy in R. Saadia Gaon's Interpretation of Genesis 1:1"; Dominique et Marie-Therese Urvoy, "Un aspect particulier de relation entre adab et falsafa"; Joseph Sadan, "Arabic Tom 'n Jerry Compositions: A Popular Composition on a War between Cats and Mice and a Maqama on Negotiations and Concluding Peace between a Cat and a Mouse"; Ulrich Marzolph, "Adab in Transition: Creative Compilation in Nineteenth-Century Print Tradition"; David Wasserstein, "A West-East Puzzle: On the History of the Proverb 'Speech in Silver, Silence in Golden." Israel Oriental Studies has ceased publication with volume 20.

L'ouvrage que voici marque assurément un tournant décisif dans l'effort entrepris par les Africains de bonne foi de réhabiliter l'Histoire du Continent noir. Nous y découvrons que la notion de Dieu est une notion traditionnelle et intellectuelle africaine, les origines africaines des dieux de l'Olympe, les noms africains des dieux d'Égypte, les origines africaines du Judaïsme, du Christianisme et de l'Islam, les sources africaines de la démocratie parlementaire et du Droit, les sources vivifiantes de cette extraordinaire épopée qui conduira à l'émergence de la civilisation appelée égyptienne, le sens de l'iconographie des principales divinités de la vallée du Nil, les sources africaines de la franc-maçonnerie, les sources de la légende du Saint-Graal, l'objet de la circoncision, l'origine et la fonction des cathédrales, la fonction du sarcophage, les origines de la chimie et de la biologie, et les fondations africaines de Rome sont autant de sujets spécifiquement abordés.

Reenvisioning Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution in Islam examines the variety of strategic peacebuilding and conflict resolution activities conducted by Muslim practitioners and nongovernmental organizations in Muslim-majority communities. Qamar-ul Huda explores ways that Muslim scholars, civil society members, and communities interpret violence and nonviolence, peacebuilding, and conflict resolution in an interconnected globalized age, focusing on methods, practices, and strategies. He shows how a faith-based commitment can empower effective social, political, and intellectual action that results in meaningful change. The book sheds light on a variety of vital topics, including how the state utilizes hard and soft power in global, religious diplomacy; ways in which civil society organizations and NGOs maximize networks to engage in peacebuilding and conflict resolution; the role of civil society in soft power politics; and how some peacebuilding organizations are out of step with local Muslim cultures & religious customs, and why that matters. Qamar-ul Huda charts a vision of contemporary ethics of peacebuilding, pluralism, reconciliation, and dialogue.

This book collects Serif Mardin’s seminal essays written throughout the span of his prolific career. Comprising some of the author’s finest and most incisive writings, these essays deal with the historical background, political travails, and socioeconomic metamorphosis of Turkey during a century of modernization. With his characteristic sophistication and breadth of vision, Mardin provides readers with a remarkably objective analysis of ideology, civil society, religion, urban life, and violence in late Ottoman and Republican Turkey. Mardin moves easily from sociological topics on violence and class-consciousness to the history of the Ottoman Empire, and the philosophy and culture of modern Turkey within the greater Middle East. These influential pieces—collected for the first time in one volume—represent an invaluable addition to the field of Middle East studies.