Network for Early Islamic Studies
Newsletter no. 6
April, 1997
To Dr. Afsaruddin, Ahmed, Album, Allen, Bacharach, Bates, Bewley, Bonner,
Brockett, Burton, Conrad, Cook, Daiber, Daniel, Donner, Dutton, Elad, Fierro,
Friedmann, Ghaneabassiri, Gilliot, Goerke, Gordon, Graham, Griffith, Guenther,
Halm, Hamadeh, Hawting, Heidemann, Heinen, Hibri, Horden, Hoyland, Humphrey,
Jarrar, Jhazbhay, Kaplony, Keall, Kinberg, Kirby, Kohlberg, Landau Tasseron,
Lang, Lecker, Leder, Lindsay, Madelung, Madigan, Marin, Melchert, Meri, Morony,
Motzki, Muaikel, Muranyi, Neuwirth, Noja Noseda, Noth, Powers, Raven, Rezvan,
Rippin, Rubin, Savage, Schick, Schmidtke, Schneider, Simon, Stacey, Vrolijk,
Wakin, Walmsley, Wheeler, Whitcomb and Zaman
Dear members of the Network for Early Islamic Studies,
This is Newsletter No. 6, which is also published on the Internet. It will be
followed by a printed version for those who do not have Internet access.
As you can see, there are a substantial number of new members, again. Also, a
few of our members have sent in some extra news.
In the attached questionnaire you are asked for the usual information, to
which I added a number of questions about the web site.
(NOTE: Of course, those of you who have Internet, can visit the site, go to
the Newsletter no. 6 page, and 'Save as ... text', which will save this
newsletter to their computer in ASCII-format, without any codes.)
WEBSITE
" Welcome to the web-site of the NEIS ! The Network for Early Islamic Studies
aims at facilitating contacts between everyone studying early Islam (ca. 500 -
900 A.D.). (...)"
This is how the first page of the new Internet site of the NEIS starts. In
order to speed up the process of spreading news for and about members, a web
site has been created and put on the internet 15 March 1997. It offers you all
the information available to me at the moment you are visiting its pages.
The address of this web-site is: http://www.xs4all.nl/~reenendv/
The web-site will be updated after a new round of questionnaires, but also
immediately after a new member joined the NEIS, or after receiving news about
conferences, jobs, scholarships, computer related matters etcetera.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The web site contains the following elements:
- Home page
- News
- Do you have news, corrections, criticism ? Use the questionnaire !
- General information about the NEIS
- News about research
- Newsletter no.7, scheduled spring 1998
- Newsletter no. 6, April 1997
- Newsletter no. 5, April 1996
- Newsletter no. 4, June 1995
- Newsletter no. 3, May 1993
- Newsletter no. 2, November 1992
- Newsletter no. 1, June 1992
- Researchers and organisations
- Addresses of members and institutes
- Organisations, projects, centra
- Sources and tools
- Editions, computer corpora, on-line information, publishers, bookshops
- Arabic Computing, TEI, SGML, HTML
- Education: lectures, courses
IN CONSTRUCTION
However, this service is still under construction and many pages are only
very moderate beginnings of what might be useful for members of this Network.
In the coming months, it will be improved and expanded. You are kindly
requested to send in whatever information, corrections or criticism you think
might be useful for improving this site.
In the meantime, a number of early newsletters still have to be edited. Also,
a number of links in the later ones will not work properly, yet. For example, a
possibility was created to browse through the newsletters not only vertically,
but also horizontally, between different newsletters. This feature has been
added to the paragraph of each person in the newsletters, also with new members
(who, by definition, do not have an item in a previous newsletter). For the
moment, such links will bring you to the end of that previous or next
newsletter. Also, some of the e-mail addresses of the members do not
automatically enable you to e-mail them, yet. Soon, such matters will be solved.
PRIVACY
I have added quite an extensive 'Copyright statement', with the usual
warnings and threats. For the time being, until I know what you think about
'exposing' your production to the world, I have made a construction that is not
waterproof but at least does not offer all addresses and newsletters without any
resistance.
The construction is, that the links to the newsletters and the addresses of
the members on this web site have not been connected properly. For members it is
possible to find those pages in the following way:
Do try the link to the newsletters at the index.page of this site.
A message will appear, saying that the page has not been found. You should
then at the top of your browser screen insert 'privacy.dir/' before the last
element of the address in the 'Location'.
For the newsletters this means that
http://www.xs4all.nl/~reenendv/3activit.dir/newsl2.html should become
http://www.xs4all.nl/~reenendv/3activit.dir/privacy.dir/newsl2.html
Once you are inside that directory/folder with newsletters, you will only
have to change the number of the newsletters in the 'http' part to find it, or
choose another newsletter at the top of the newsletter.
For the addresses this means that you should try the link to the newsletters
at the index.page of this site. The address of that page:
http://www.xs4all.nl/~reenendv/4research.dir/1address.dir/index.html should
become
http://www.xs4all.nl/~reenendv/4research.dir/1address.dir/privacy.dir/index.html
I hope that this temporary solution is not too inconvenient.
"NEWSLETTERS or ANNALS" With the web site, the Network for Early Islamic
Studies has reached another phase in its existence. As a web site is, or should
be, a continuously changing set of information, there is no need anymore for a
newsletter for all those who have access to the Internet. Also, the whole idea
of a newsletter that contains information about the preceding period is not
'correspondent' with a web site. Therefore, the newsletters will be transformed
into the place in the web site where all news from the members in a certain year
is gathered. These 'annals' will be printed each January and sent to those
members who do not access to the Internet.
SECRETARY
Something else that changed is the position of your secretary. With my thesis
nearly finished, I accepted a job at Koninklijke Brill NV, better known as
Brill. I am the Project Manager Electronic Publications and my work includes
such projects as making a CD-ROM of the Encyclopaedia of Islam and another
project of making a web site for Brill. As the NEIS is concerned, I do hope that
you will continue to feel reassured that no information of the Newsletters or
addresses will become available to Brill or any other publisher.
MEMBERS ONLY
I realise myself that the 'members-only' set-up of the web site is something
that does not make it easier in use and I am asking you to be so kind to fill in
the question about that issue below in the questionnaire. It is of some
importance since, without a security measure, for example, your plans and
projects you are working on become public knowledge. Also the address list could
be copied for direct mailing actions by all kinds of firms, both by regular mail
and by e-mail.
NEW E-MAIL
A practical consequence of the end of my project at the Free University
Amsterdam is that my e-mail number there, sofie@let.vu.nl, will not be valid
anymore from 31 of August. You are kindly requested to use the web site e-mail
number from now on: reenendv@xs4all.nl Any e-mails to the old address will be
forwarded to me for some time, but only for a few months. When you change it in
your e-mail program, don't forget to change the address in lists of groups of
e-mail numbers, should you have any.
INFORMATION and QUESTIONNAIRE
I would like to repeat what I said in the e-mail you have received when the
web site was only just 'born': please, send in information about any of the
subjects treated here, or something else that you would like to see as a part of
this web site. As for the Questionnaire at the end of this message: if you would
be so kind to fill in this form, preferably leaving the codes, please return it
to me in the form of an e-mail or an attachment to an e-mail.
ARCHAEOLOGY, CERAMICS and FUNDS
Dr. David Stacey, a new member, wrote the following message:
In my Doctoral thesis ("The Archaeology of Early Islamic Tiberias" London U.
1995) I surmised that much of the pottery found in 9-11th century C.E. Tiberias
was locally produced. A few kiln sherds, recovered from a sewer trench, were
published just in time to be mentioned in my thesis, (=91Atiqot XXVI 1995, pp.
57-59). They help to confirm my supposition, but it is necessary to uncover more
kilns, and recover quantities of sherds from a controlled excavation, to
establish local types, and to be able to carry out meaningful chemical and
physical analyses.
Whilst these wares are of provincial workmanship, and do not rival the
artistic quality of the lustre wares produced in Iraq or Egypt, they are of
great importance to humble archaeologists, if not to art historians.
"Unfortunately the late Abbasid and Fatimid periods continue to be a wasteland
where the term "Arab" ceramics remains the descriptive norm" (Whitcomb in The
Archaeology of Society in the Holy Land 1995, p. 494). The Tiberias wares,
particularly those that can be securely dated in the 10/11th centuries, help to
fill this wasteland. The ceramics from the Tiberias kilns would be studied, in a
wider context, at the Oxford University Research Laboratory for Archaeology and
History of Art, under Dr Robert Mason.
The proposed excavation, which will be directed by myself, perhaps with the
assistance of Edna Stern (who published the kiln sherds), is a self- contained
project. Only one season at the kiln site is envisaged. However, a season that
succeeded in establishing both a local pottery typology, and a partnership in
wider ceramic studies, might open the way for excavations within the ancient
city of Tiberias which, archaeologically, is the most important Early Islamic
site in Israel. As the provincial capital of Jund al-Urdunn it was continuously
inhabited throughout the Early Islamic period until the arrival of the Crusaders
whose fortified town only occupied a small part of the much larger
Roman/Byzantine/EI city. Unlike other important early Islamic towns in Israel
(Ramla, Jerusalem, Ashkelon etc.), therefore, a large part of the city was not
disturbed by later occupation and the Early Islamic stratigraphy is well
preserved.
I am looking for
- financial support for this project,
- possible partnership with an academic institution, and
- volunteers, preferably students either of archaeology or of Islamic
Studies, prepared to help.
D A Stacey
If any of you has information or funds, please contact Dr. Stacey at the
following e-mail address:
stacey1@stacey1.demon.co.uk
As always, I hope that the web site and the present newsletter provide you with
some extra information for your work in the field of early Islamic studies.
Many regards,
Daan van Reenen
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To other newsletters:
2) Search here alphabetically
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QUESTION no. 3 Articles, books, lectures
- Co-editor of Language & Cultural context in the Near East, Eisenbrauns,
1997, forthcoming
- "The Bina al-maqala of Ahmad Ibn Tawus and its Place within the Mathalib
Genre" in The Journal of Semitic Studies, 41 (1996).
- "An Insight into the Hadith Methodology of Jamal al-Din Ahmad Ibn Tawus"
in Der Islam, 72/1 (1995).
- Writing a chapter on Classical Arabic literature to appear in a reader
called Cultures of Islam (Univ. of Washington Press).
- Article on the Mathalib al-wazirayn of al-Tawhidi, forthcoming in
al-`Arabiyya.
- Review of Stefan Wild, ed. The Qur'an as Text, forthcoming in the MESA
Bulletin.
QUESTION no. 4 Current work and ideas
- Currently working on a monograph dealing with the Risalat al-`Uthmaniyya
of al-Jahiz and a thirteenth century Shi`i refutation of it by Ahmad Ibn
Tawus.
- Also working on an article on the representation of the views of the
various partisan factions associated with the Rightly-guided caliphs and their
immediate successors in the hadith manaqib literature.
QUESTION no. 6 Sharing material
yes, possibly.
QUESTION no. 7 News
I would like to plug the Festschrift I recently co-edited in honor of Georg
Krotkoff , professor emeritus in Arabic and Semitics at the Johns Hopkins
University.
It is called Humanism, Culture, and Language in the Near East and includes the
following articles which would be of interest to our group:
- 1) "Inquiry into the Origin of Humanism" by George Makdisi
- 2) "Humanism and the Language Sciences in Medieval Islam" by Michael
Carter.
- 3) "Playing with the Sacred: Religious Intertext in Adab Discourse" by
Fedwa Malti-Douglas.
- 4) "The Etymology of Muqarnas: Some Observations" by Wolfhart Heinrichs.
and others.
More in the next newsletter:
Afsaruddin
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- QUESTION no. 3 Articles, books, lectures
QUESTION no. 4 Current work and ideas
1. I am writing up my PhD dissertation entitled "The Problem of the Satanic
Verses and the Formation of an Orthodox Image of Muhammad" under the supervision
of Prof. Michael Cook.
2. I am working, albeit somewhat sporadically, on an English translation of
Yunus b. Bukayr's transmission of Ibn Ishaq's sirah.
QUESTION no. 6 Sharing material
yes
More in the next newsletter:
Ahmed
More in the previous newsletter:
Ahmed
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I'm pleased to announce that the first chapter of my book "Ayyubid Architecture"
is now available online (without illustrations) at
http://www.wco.com/~books/readmeaa.html.
This chapter, "Damascus before Nur al-Din," is mostly scene-setting and
housekeeping, preparatory to the main study, but it does discuss several 12th
century monuments.
This is an electronic publication; there is no print counterpart (although of
course you can print it through your Web browser if you're set up to do so).
The rest of the chapters will be forthcoming over the next year or two.
One reason there are no illustrations is that I have yet to determine what
format I should target when scanning color 35mm slides. I want to do that work
only once, using a good archival format from which I can produce, for online
publication, graphic files of reasonable size. Any suggestions are most welcome.
Regards, Terry Allen, prop.
Palm Tree Books Buying & selling books on the Islamic world, POB 123
particularly Islamic art, architecture, & archaeology Occidental, CA 95465
catalogue: http://www.wco.com/~books/ voice/fax 707-874-1501 email
books@ptbooks.com
More in the next newsletter:
Allen
More in the previous newsletter:
Allen
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- QUESTION no. 3 Articles, books, lectures
The Women of Madina (Volume 8 of Tabaqat of Ibn Sa'd), Ta-Ha Publishers,
London, 1995 (Volume 7 is being edited for publication)
QUESTION no. 4 Current work and ideas
Other volumes of the Tabaqat of Ibn Sa'd - A book on Mu'awiya is also being
edited for publication. 5)
Engaged in a long-term new translation of Sahih al-Bukhari (rather in
abeyance at the moment due to the pressure of other work)
QUESTION no. 6 Sharing material
yes
More in the next newsletter:
Bewley
More in the previous newsletter:
Bewley
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QUESTION no. 3 Articles, books, lectures
An article by me entitled "'Amal v. Hadith in Islamic Law: The Case of Sadl
al-yadayn (Holding One's Hands by One's Sides) When Doing the Prayer" appeared
in the journal Islamic Law and Society, vol. 3, no. 1, at the beginning of this
year. This article represents continuning research by me on
(a) the nature of early (i.e. 2nd-early 3rd century), as opposed to
"classical" (i.e. mid-3rd century onwards) hadith, and
(b) the meaning of the word "sunna" as it is reflected in the early rather
than classical hadith collections.
(I have had various reviews published on general Islamic topics during the
past year but none of them relate specifically to early Islam.)
QUESTION no. 4 Current work and ideas
In addition to that mentioned in no. 3 above, I am hoping to work on early
Hanafi fiqh in its relation to early Maliki fiqh, especially with regard to the
works of al-Shaybani.
My interest in early Kufic manuscripts of the Qur'an and the different
readings (qira'at) represented in them also continues.
QUESTION no. 6 Sharing material
Yes.
More in the next newsletter:
Dutton
More in the previous newsletter:
Dutton
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- QUESTION no. 4 Current work and ideas
I am currently trying to look at the development of sectarian movements in
early Islamic history and trying to assess their relationship with the expansion
of Islam. The aim of this project is to learn more about the role of religion in
general and Islam in particular in human history.
- QUESTION no. 6 Sharing material
Yes
More in the next newsletter:
Ghaneabassiri
More in the previous newsletter:
Ghaneabassiri
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- QUESTION no. 3 Articles, books, lectures
Two abridged versions of my MA-thesis will be published:
Die fruehislamische Geschichtsueberlieferung zu Hudaibiya, (forthcoming in
Der Islam, probably in 1998).
The historical tradition about Hudaybiya according to `Urwa b. al-Zubayr
(forthcoming, probably in spring 1999).
--> The articles deal with the development of the historical tradition about
Hudaybiya from the first version which can be reconstructed (the one of `Urwa b.
al-Zubayr) to what can be called the "standard account" of the story, as it is
told by Ibn Ishaq, al-Waqidi and others.
Among the findings is, that most probably the tradition about Hudaybiya is
composed of different accounts (of different events), which have been combined
into a coherent narrative.
QUESTION no. 4 Current work and ideas
I'm currently working on a source critical study of Abu `Ubayd's Kitab
al-Amwal.
QUESTION no. 6 Sharing material
yes
More in the next newsletter:
Goerke
More in the previous newsletter:
Goerke
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- QUESTION no. 3 Articles, books, lectures
" The Samarran Turkish Community in the Ta'rikh of al-Tabari." In Hugh
Kennedy, ed., Al-Tabari: a Medieval Muslim Historian and his Work. Darwin Press,
Princeton NJ.
"Slaves, Swords and Salaries: Providing for the Samarran Turkish Military,"
paper delivered at the Interdisciplinary Approaches to Samarra symposium,
Wolfson College, Oxford University, May 10-11, 1996. The proceedings are to be
published.
Book, The Breaking of a Thousand Swords: A History of the Samarran Turkish
Community. I am preparing my doctoral dissertation for publication under this
title.
QUESTION no. 4 Current work and ideas
In addition to the preparation of the above manuscript, I am in the early
stages of preparing a study of the Abna' community of Baghdad. I would welcome
news of recent research on Baghdad in the first century of its existence and of
newly edited primary works or recently discovered manuscripts.
QUESTION no. 6 Sharing material
yes
More in the next newsletter:
Gordon
More in the previous newsletter:
Gordon
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- QUESTION no. 3 Articles, books, lectures
article: on nature and nature imagery in the Qur'an (see under relevant
selected publications below (1995)
talk: "Sharif" as problem for Islamic Studies (at Columbia University,
Dec.95): interested in the problem of ascertaining the social and religious role
of the ashraf at various periods of Islamic history in different cultural zones.
books:
Beyond the Written Word: Oral Aspects of Scripture in the History of
Religion. Cambridge University Press, 1987, 1993.
Divine Word and Prophetic Word in Early Islam: A Reconsideration of the
Sources, with Special Reference to the Divine Saying, or So-called "Had=EEt= h
Quds=EE". Religion and Society, vol. VII. The Hague: Mouton and Co. 1977.
articles:
[1996] "Sharif", in C. E. Bosworth et al., eds., The Encyclopaedia of Islam.
New Edition forthcoming in vol. IX, s.v., in press
1995 "'The Winds to Herald His Mercy': Nature as Token of God's Sovereignty
and Grace in the Qur'an", in Albert Blackwell, Sang Hyun Lee, and Wayne
Proudfoot, eds., Faithful Imagining, Richard R. Niebuhr =46estschrift (Atlanta:
Scholars Press), pp. 19-38.
1993 "Traditionalism in Islam: An Essay in Interpretation", Journal of
Comparative History 23 (1993): 495-522.
1990 "Koran und Hadit", Chapter 2 of Orientalisches Mittelalter, ed.
Wolfhart Heinrichs. Vol. 5 of Neues Handbuch der Literaturwissenschaft, ed.
Klaus von See, 25 vols. Wiesbaden: Athenaion, pp. 166-185.
1986 "Scripture", in Mircea Eliade et al., eds., The Encyclopedia of
Religion (16 vols. New York: Macmillan, 1987), 13: 133-145.
1985 "Qur'an as Spoken Word: An Islamic Contribution to the Understanding of
Scripture", in Approaches to Islam in Religious Studies, ed. Richard C. Martin
(Tucson: University of Arizona Press), pp. 23-40, 206-215.
1984 "The Earliest Meaning of 'Qur'=E2n'", Die Welt des Islams 23/24: 361=
-377.
1983 "Islam in the Mirror of Ritual", in Islam's Understanding of Itself,
ed. Richard G. Hovannisian and Speros Vryonis, Jr. Eighth Biennial Georgio Levi
della Vida Medal Conference Volume (Malibu, Calif.: Undena Publications), pp.
53-71.
QUESTION no. 4 Current work and ideas
the formulation and understanding of socalled "ritual obligations"/'ibadat
in the Ummah in the early and later periods
the extension of the isnad system/pattern of authentication and authority
into diverse areas of Islamic life (see published article on this below)
QUESTION no. 5 Larger projects
Assoc. Editor, The Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an (Gen. editor, Jane
D.McAuliffe), E.J. Brill
QUESTION no. 6 Sharing material
yes, where relevant
More in the next newsletter:
Graham
More in the previous newsletter:
Graham
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QUESTION no. 3 Articles, books, lectures
At the moment I am delivering a seminar on the subject "The system of the
sciences in medieval Islam", which also is the subject of my current
dissertation. As can be derived from point 4 below, I am dealing with the
establishment of the sciences ('uluum) and their inherent criteria.
This implies a theoretical aspect in the fields of History of Science and
Philosophy of Science, asking what the subject of the historian of science is.
Although general criteria of 'ilm become clear not before the 10th century, the
roots lie around the year 800 when the Greek and the Persian ideal of knowledge
enters the world of Arabic books.
These criteria are e.g. that every 'ilm is part of an overall system, that it
has a name and a topic, that it is usefull, that it relies on authorities and
texts, that it has terminology, that it can be divided into methods, issues
etc..
I have finished a short case study on 'ilm at-ta'riikh and have now turned to
see what Muslims regarded as scientific about the magical sciencs like sihr,
simiya, kimiya, tanjiim etc. My main sources are the Summa works (Qosta b. Luqa,
Farabi, fihrist, mafaatiih al-'uluum ... until Ibn Khaldun) and forewords out of
the individual disciplines (9th century onwards)
QUESTION no. 4 Current work and ideas
Ideas at present: etymology of "'ilm" (done); search for the first occurence
of plural "'uluum"; study of summa-literature, i.e. encyclopaedia of the
sciences; search for the significance of the three social ideals of 'aalim,
failasuuf, and adiib and their interactions; search for inherent criteria of
'ilm in the meaning of science; I am establishing a list of the sciences in
Islam.
QUESTION no. 6 Sharing material
I am ready to send texts and raw data whenever I can.
More in the next newsletter:
Hamadeh
More in the previous newsletter:
Hamadeh
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QUESTION no. 3 Articles, books, lectures
"Religion and Science in Islam", for the Encyclopaedia of the History of
Science, Technology and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures; to appear this fall. -
Review of the "Tribiblos Astronomique" by Theodor Meliteniotes; for "ISIS"; to
appear in the next number. (This Byzantine astronomer has been an interesting
source also for the Muslim astronomical tradition).
QUESTION no. 4 Current work and ideas
I am trying to concentrate the study of Arabic science within the religious
and ethical context of Muslim institutions, the law, and the values of the
Islamic community. The early developments in Islamic history haven proven most
fruitful in this regard. As far as possible, I hope to continue publishing
editions of early scientific texts that have remained unknown to the overly
specialized studies of the past.
QUESTION no. 6 Sharing material
yes (as I have done already in the past)...
QUESTION no. 7 News
Having seen some of the work IBM is doing at the Vatican Library with the
goal of making some 20.000 documents accessible through the Internet, I foresee
much better conditions for the future work of medieval historians....
More in the next newsletter:
Heinen
More in the previous newsletter:
Heinen
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Please note my new e-mail address: telhibri@judnea.umass.edu
More in the next newsletter:
Hibri
More in the previous newsletter:
Hibri
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QUESTION no. 3 Articles, books, lectures
1. Konstantinopel und Damaskus. Gesandtschaften und Vertra:ge zwischen
Kaisern und Kalifen 639-750. Untersuchungen zum Gewohnheits-Vo:lkerrecht und zur
interkulturellen Diplomatie; Dissertation Zurich 1994, Berlin 1996
(Islamkundliche Untersuchungen 208)
2. Fatimidische Religionspolitik um die "Wiege Jesu" in: Jerusalem, Bulletin
Schweizerische Gesellschaft Mittlerer Osten und Islamische Kulturen 3 (1996) 4-8
(a short version of no.4)
3. Routen, Anschlussrouten, Handelshorizonte im Brief von Hasday b. Saprut
an den hazarischen Ko:nig, in: Charvat, Petr und Prosecky, Jiri (Hgg.), Ibrahim
ibn Yaquub at-Turtushi: Christianity, Islam and Judaism meet in East-Central
Europe, c.800-1300 A.D.; Proceedings of the international colloquy 25-29 april
1994, Prag 1996, 140-168
4. Die fatimidische Moschee der "Wiege Jesu" in Jerusalem, Zeitschrift des
Deutschen Pal!stina-Vereins 113 (1997) (in press)
QUESTION no. 4 Current work and ideas
The structure of a holy city' s perception: Muslim, Jewish and Christian
Jerusalem 638-1099
--> This book is the reason I spent 20 months in Jerusalem, walking through
the old city many times, spending in the city's research places a good number of
hours in discussions while drinking tea and coffee of all colours)
More in the next newsletter:
Kaplony
More in the previous newsletter:
Kaplony
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QUESTION no. 4 Current work and ideas
I am interested in the early stages of Islamic mysticism, and effects of
other religious groups and social structures in the areas involved
More in the next newsletter:
Kirby
More in the previous newsletter:
Kirby
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QUESTION no. 3 Articles, books, lectures
articles between 1993-96
"Idol worship in pre-Islamic Medina (Yathrib)", in Le Museon 106 (1993),
331--46.
-->;interpretation of a hitherto unknown text found in Maqrizi's al-Khabar
`anal-bashar. There were three different types of idols: those worshipped by
thewhole clan, those held by noblemen and common household idols. On the eve
ofIslam the Arabs of Medina were immersed in idol worship.
"Hudhayfa b. al-Yaman and `Ammar b. Yasir, Jewish converts to Islam'', in
Quaderni di Studi Arabi 11 (1993), 149--62.
"The Futuh al-Sham of `Abdallah b. Muhammad b. Rabi`a al-Qudami'', in
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 57 (1994), 356--60.
-->A description of an unknown treatise now lost.
"Kinda on the eve of Islam and during the ridda'', in Journal of the Royal
Asiatic Society 1994, 333--56.
-->Genealogica land geographical evidence about Kinda with reference to their
ridda. The twosubdivisions of Kinda, power struggles within Kinda before Islam,
the demiseof the Banu Wali`a and the rise of Ash`ath b. Qays, the
Prophet'suncons ummated marriage to Ash`ath's sister.
"Abu Malik `Abdallah b. Sam of Kinda, a Jewish convert to Islam", in Der
Islam 71 (1994), 280--82.
"Waqidi's account on the status of the Jews of Medina: a study of a combined
report'', in Journal of Near Eastern Studies 54 (1995), 15--32.
-->Waqidi's text concerning the status of the Jews inMedina when the Prophet
came there is corrupt. In its correct form the textpresents the Jews as the
strongest element in the population of Medina."Combined reports" are
detrimental to the study of early Islamic history.
"On Arabs of the Banu Kilab executed together with the Jewish Banu Qurayza",
in Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam 19 (1995), 66--72.
-->When the Banu Qurayza wereexecuted, their Arab allies (or clients) of the
Banu Kilab were executed withthem, which strongly suggests that these Kilabis
were Jewish proselytes.
"Judaism among Kinda and the ridda of Kinda", in Journal of the American
Oriental Society 115 (1995) (forthcoming)
-->Before he embracedIslam, Ash`ath b. Qays and many of his fellow Kindites had
been Jewish. Thesources point out an analogy between the massacre of Nujayr and
that ofQurayza a few years earlier.
"Biographical notes on Abu `Ubayda Ma`mar b. al-Muthanna", in Studia
Islamica 81 (1995), 71--100.
-->`Ubayda was nicknamed Sibukht with reference to his Jewish descent. Astudy
of evidence extracted from the biographical literature. (Cf. recently
W.Madelung in Journal of Islamic Studies III, 1992.)
"The death of the Prophet Muhammad's father: did Waqidi invent some of the
evidence?" in Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenlaendischen Gesellschaft 145
(1995), 9--27.
"The conversion of Himyar to Judaism and the Jewish Banu Hadl of Medina", in
Die Welt des Orients 26 (1995), 75--82.
-->A.F.L. Beeston has recently expressed doubts concerning theconversion of
As`ad Abu Karib of Himyar to Judaism, suggesting that the story speaks of
"monotheist Rahmanism". But the story speaks explicitly ofconvers ion to
Judaism. It is noteworthy that one of Ibn Ishaq's sources for itwas a grandson
of a Kindite who emigrated to Medina.
"Biographical notes on Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri, in Journal of Semitic Studies 41
(1996), 21--63.
-->Zuhriand the Umayyads: contemporary apologetics vs. hard evidence, Zuhri's
firstmeeting with `Abd al-Malik and "the Hadith of the three mosques", Zuhri's
estate in the region of Shaghb wa-Bada.
"The emigration of `Utba b. Abi Waqqas from Mecca to Medina", in Bulletin of
the School of Oriental and African Studie 59 (1996), 116--19.
"On the preservation of the letters of the Prophet Muhammad", in A. Cameron
and L.I. Conrad (eds.), Studies in Late Antiquity and Early Islam (forthcoming).
"`Amr b. Hazm al-Ansari and Qur'an 2,256: `No compulsion is there in
religion',", in Oriens 1996 (forthcoming).
The Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd. edition, s.vv. Salul, VIII, 1002--1005;
Siffin, Sulaym b. Mansur, Taghlib, al-Ta'if, Tamim b. Murr, Tamim al-Dari.
More in the next newsletter:
Lecker
More in the previous newsletter:
Lecker
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QUESTION no. 3 Articles, books, lectures
I participated in the 1997 MESA panel entitled: "Ibn `Asakir and Early
Islamic History". My paper was entitled: "Ibn`Asakir as Salvation Historian".
I am editing the papers, that will be published together under the title: "Ibn
`Asakir and Early Islamic History".
The tentative table of contents to the volume is as follows:
- Ibn Asakir and Early Islamic History
- James E. Lindsay, ed.
-
- Table of Contents
-
- Introduction
- James E. Lindsay
-
- Ibn `Asakir as "Salvation Historian"
- James E. Lindsay (Colorado State University)
-
- Ibn `Asakir's Introduction to his Ta'rikh*
- Bernd Radtke (University of the Netherlands)
-
- Sayf at First: A Comparison of Conquest Narratives in Ibn `Asakir's
- Recension of Sayf b. `Umar with al-Tabari's Recension of Sayf
- Marianne Engle Cameron (University of Chicago)
-
- Ibn `Asakir and the Rashidun Caliphs
- Fred Donner (University of Chicago)
-
- Ibn `Asakir's Sources for the Late Umayyad Period
- Steven Judd (University of Michigan)
-
- Ibn `Asakir and Abbasid History
- Paul Cobb (Wake Forest University)
-
- Ibn `Asakir and Abbasid History*
- Laila Othman (SOAS)
-
- Epilogue
- Lawrence I. Conrad (Wellcome Institute)
-
- Appendices
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
-
- * I don't have the working titles for B. Radtke's and L. Othman's papers.
However they have indicated that these will be the subject matters of their
papers.
QUESTION no. 4 Current work and ideas
- I am continuing my Ibn `Asakir research. I am focusing primarily on IA as
a preserver of qisas al-anbiya'.
- Presently I am preparing a paper that will address IA's treatment of Sarah
and Hagar for the 1997 MESA panel "Ibn `Asakir and Early Islamic Syria" which
will include many of the participants from last year's panel.
- I am also preparing a monograph on IA's treatment of Saul, David, and
Solomon as the first Syrian/Israelite prophet/kings.
QUESTION no. 5 Larger projects
the Ibn 'Asakir panels noted above.
QUESTION no. 6 Sharing material
Yes, I would be willing to share just about anything that might be of
interest to someone.
QUESTION no. 7 News
The Middle East Medievalists has posted a fledgling web site.
It should be fully operational by the end of the summer. There are a few things
already up -- basic info, membership application form, board of directors, and
some related ME links.
The address is: http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/Hist/mem/
d) manuscripts : rare new material, newly edited texts
I just received volumes 46-50 of Ibn Asakir's Ta'rikh madinat Dimashq from
Sulaiman's Bookshop in Beirut. It is now published through the last entry of the
L's -- Layth al-Laythi More in the next newsletter:
Lindsay
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QUESTION no. 3 Articles, books, lectures
"Religious Policies of the Caliphs From al-Mutawakkil to al-Muqtadir," in
_Islamic Law and Society_ 3 (1996):316-342.
-->Religious Policies" is based mainly on the characters of the qadis appointed
by these caliths. Three points stand out: al-Mutawakkil ended the Inquisition
only gradually, and never fully repudiated its prosecutors; al-Muhtadi followed
a line close to that of his father (al-Wathiq), favoring Hanafiyah and their
allies; finally, al-Muwaffaq, acting through his brother al-Mu`tamid, promoted a
semi-rationalist Malikism.
"The Adversaries of Ah.mad Ibn H.anbal," in _Arabica_ 44 (1997): 234-253
-->Here I lay out in detail my concept of a "semi-rationalist" theological
party, comprising _mutakallimun_ who would defend traditionalist tenets such as
the increate Qur'an but using _kalam_ and conceding peripheral points such as
the create pronunciation of the Qur'an. It was against them that Ahmad ibn
Hanbal inveighed most fiercely, and by name, whereas he is seldom quoted against
the Mu`tazilah, among others.
A review essay appeared in the same issue of _Arabica_, pages 308-316,
concerning George Makdisi, "_T.abaqa-t_-Biography: Law and Orthodoxy in
Classical Islam," _Islamic Studies_ 32 (1993):371-396, and Wael B. Hallaq, "Was
al-Shafi`i the Master Architect of Islamic Jurisprudence?" _IJMES_ 25
(1993):587-605.
"The Piety of the Hadith Folk," paper about to be presented to the Middle
East Studies Association, Providence, Rhode Island, November 1996.
-->I propose that the piety of the hadith folk (traditionalists) of the ninth
century C.E. was notable for stress on seriousness (e.g., not laughing) and a
contractual community whose members had equal obligations. The hadith folk are
hence distinct from, among others, the Classical Sufis, who liked humor and
conceived of a hierarchical community, and from contemporary litterateurs,
devoted as they were to humor and recherche knowledge.
"The Transition From Asceticism to Mysticism at the Middle of the Ninth
Century C.E.," _Studia Islamica_ 83 (1996):51-70.
-->Defines "asceticism" and - "mysticism" and goes over quotations from figures
in the _Tabaqat al-sufiyah_ of al-Sulami to determine precisely where mysticism
first emerged. Interprets the Sufi Inquisition of Ghulam Khalil as an ascetic
reaction to emerging mysticism, the classical Sufism of al-Junayd as a way for
mystics to continue their pursuits without offending ascetics.
"Ibn Mujahid and Qur'an Recitation in the 10th Century C.E.," paper
presented to the American Oriental Society, Philadelphia, March 1996.
-->Finds that the worlds of Qur'an recitation and hadith transmission were
largely separate, further discrediting the identification of Ibn Mujahid with
traditionalism. The delimitation of variant readings in the early 10th century
does mark the end of the Classical period.
A version of my doctoral dissertation, "The Formation of the Sunni Schools
of Law, 9th-10th Centuries C.E." (University of Pennsylvania, 1992) should
appear from E.J.Brill in early 1998.
Also forthcoming is "The Ima-mi-yah Between Rationalism and Traditionalism,"
_Shi-`i- Islam: Faith, Experience, and Worldview_, edited by Lynda S. Clarke
with Mahmoud Ayoub.
QUESTION no. 4 Current work and ideas
A version of my doctoral dissertation, "The Formation of the Sunni Schools
of Law, 9th-10th Centuries C.E." (University of Pennsylvania, 1992) is under
inspection by a publisher.
-->There's lots more to do with the topic, but others working on the schools of
law in this period might wish to see what I have done already.
I intend to address Basran ascetics and mystics from the mid-9th cent. to
the later 10th; from Abu Hatim al-`Attar to Abu Talib al-Makki.
I also intend to address the development of hadith science in general and
_rijal_ criticism in particular in the 9th and 10th centuries. Has anyone spent
much time with al-Fasawi (d. 277/890), _K. al-Ma`rifah wa-al-tarikh_?
QUESTION no. 6 Sharing material
Yes.
More in the next newsletter:
Morony
More in the previous newsletter:
Morony
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QUESTION no. 4 Current work and ideas
Works in progress: Preparing for publication a study and translation of
three late Medieval Syrian pilgrimage guides. Dissertation on the cult of saints
in Medieval Syria.
Preparing for publication a study and annotated translation of three late
Medieval Syrian pilgrimage (ziyarat) guides. He has also recently submitted for
publication an introductory article to the ziyara as well as a study of the
Medieval Cults of the Prophet Elijah and al-Khadir. Meri's dissertation which he
is currently preparing is entitled, "Sacred Journeys to Sacred Precincts: The
Cult of Saints in Medieval Syria." - Islamic, Jewish, and Christian
hagiographies - early, Medieval and modern; Qisas al-Anbiya', fada'il, ziyarat;
Medival popular culture, Medieval Judaica, Judaeo-Arabic language and culture;
Meideval Europe; comparative historiography.
Interests: Comparative hagiographies (Muslim, Jewish, and Christian),
fada'il al-Sham, ziyara, Qisas al-Anbiya', Islamic popular culture, High Islam,
Medieval Judaica, Judaeo-Arabic language, culture, and literature, ceremony and
ritual, Medieval Europe, comparative historiographies, Syrian Jewry, Syria and
Palestine.
More in the next newsletter:
Meri
More in the previous newsletter:
Meri
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QUESTION no. 4 Current work and ideas
A) Beitraege zur Geschichte der Hadith- und Rechtsgelehrsamkeit der
Malikiyya in Nordafrika bis zum 5.Jh.d.H. Bio-bibliographische Notizen aus der
Moscheebibliothek von Qairawan. (Harrassowitz. Wiesbaden 1997).
B) Andalusische Rechtsgelehrsamkeit: die Schriften des 'Abd al-Malik b.
Habib al-Qurtubi (present title).
More in the next newsletter:
Muranyi
More in the previous newsletter:
Muranyi
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QUESTION no. 4 Current work and ideas
ARCHAEOLOGY, CERAMICS and FUNDS
In my Doctoral thesis ("The Archaeology of Early Islamic Tiberias" London U.
1995) I surmised that much of the pottery found in 9-11th century C.E. Tiberias
was locally produced. A few kiln sherds, recovered from a sewer trench, were
published just in time to be mentioned in my thesis, (=91Atiqot XXVI 1995, pp.
57-59). They help to confirm my supposition, but it is necessary to uncover more
kilns, and recover quantities of sherds from a controlled excavation, to
establish local types, and to be able to carry out meaningful chemical and
physical analyses.
Whilst these wares are of provincial workmanship, and do not rival the
artistic quality of the lustre wares produced in Iraq or Egypt, they are of
great importance to humble archaeologists, if not to art historians.
"Unfortunately the late Abbasid and Fatimid periods continue to be a wasteland
where the term "Arab" ceramics remains the descriptive norm" (Whitcomb in The
Archaeology of Society in the Holy Land 1995, p. 494). The Tiberias wares,
particularly those that can be securely dated in the 10/11th centuries, help to
fill this wasteland. The ceramics from the Tiberias kilns would be studied, in a
wider context, at the Oxford University Research Laboratory for Archaeology and
History of Art, under Dr Robert Mason.
The proposed excavation, which will be directed by myself, perhaps with the
assistance of Edna Stern (who published the kiln sherds), is a self- contained
project. Only one season at the kiln site is envisaged. However, a season that
succeeded in establishing both a local pottery typology, and a partnership in
wider ceramic studies, might open the way for excavations within the ancient
city of Tiberias which, archaeologically, is the most important Early Islamic
site in Israel. As the provincial capital of Jund al-Urdunn it was continuously
inhabited throughout the Early Islamic period until the arrival of the Crusaders
whose fortified town only occupied a small part of the much larger
Roman/Byzantine/EI city. Unlike other important early Islamic towns in Israel
(Ramla, Jerusalem, Ashkelon etc.), therefore, a large part of the city was not
disturbed by later occupation and the Early Islamic stratigraphy is well
preserved.
I am looking for
- financial support for this project,
- possible partnership with an academic institution, and
- volunteers, preferably students either of archaeology or of Islamic
Studies, prepared to help.
D A Stacey
More in the next newsletter:
Stacey
More in the previous newsletter:
Stacey
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QUESTION no. 3 Articles, books, lectures
publications/papers 1995-96
1995a "Christians and Christianity at Early Islamic Pella", in Trade,
Contact, and the Movement of Peoples in the Eastern Mediterranean: Papers in
Honour of J. B. Hennessy (Sydney, Mediterranean Archaeology Suppl. Series 3),
pp. 32124.
1995b "Tradition, Innovation, and Imitation in the Material Culture of
Islamic Jordan", Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan 5 (Amman,
Department of Antiquities), pp. 65768.
--> Sets out in detail the first stratigraphically-derived ceramic sequence
for north Jordan, spanning the late sixth to tenth centuries. Major changes to
traditional pottery chronologies can be demonstrated with a concomitant impact
on the cultural history of the region.
1995c (With PM Fischer) "Tell Abu al-Kharaz: the Swedish Jordan expedition
1993, fourth season preliminary excavation report", Annual of the Department of
Antiquities of Jordan 39, pp. 93119. Report on early ninth century pottery
recovered at Tell Abu al-Kharaz during the fourth season.
1996a "Byzantine Palestine and Arabia: Urban Prosperity in Late Antiquity",
in N Christie and ST Loseby (eds.), Towns in Transition: Urban Evolution in Late
Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages, (London, Scolar Press ISBN 1-85928-107-9),
pp. 12658.
-->This 14,000 word research paper traces the development of towns in
Palestine and Arabia between the fourth and early seventh centuries ce. The
study uses mostly archaeological data to describe the character and extent of
urban change from Diocletian to the Islamic Conquest. The construction of new
public buildings (mostly churches), the maintenance of an urban infrastructure
(streets, water utilities and defences) and the considerable growth in
settlement size and number demonstrates the vitality of late antique urbanism in
the region. The study concludes with a critical review of the economic factors
that supported the continuing importance of towns.
1996b "Turning East. The appearance of Islamic Cream Wares in Jordan the
end of antiquity?". Paper delivered at the colloquium Byzantine and Early
Islamic Ceramics in SyriaJordan (IVthVIIIth centuries), Amman, 35 December
1994, for publication in E Villeneuve & PM Watson (eds), Byzantine and Early
Islamic Ceramics in SyriaJordan (IVthVIIIth centuries): Actes du Colloque
International (Damascus, Institut Franais de Damas).
1996c "The Islamic Coins", Section 6 in RAG Carson, KA Sheedy & AG Walmsley,
Pella in Jordan 7: The Coins from the Excavations, (Sydney, Mediterranean
Archaeology Supplementary Series).
-->Final report (catalogue and interpretative commentary) on the Islamic
coins from the Pella excavations.
1996d "Land, Resources and Industry in Early Islamic Jordan". Paper
delivered at the Sixth International Conference on the History and Archaeology
of Jordan, Torino, 510 June 1995, for publication in Studies in the History and
Archaeology of Jordan 6 (Amman, Department of Antiquities).
QUESTION no. 4 Current work and ideas
Social and economic developments in Byzantine and Early Islamic Palestine
and Arabia (Jordan), c. 527-900 CE, mostly from an archaeological perspective. A
rich body of data is available from the excavation of archaeological sites
(Amman, Baysan, Pella etc) especially ceramics, numismatics and changes in the
urban environment. Research funded by the Australian Research Council Fellowship
scheme, Canberra.
QUESTION no. 5 Larger projects
(With A/Prof. AMH Shboul): Urbanization & Social Change in Early Islamic
Syria (Funded by the Australian Research Council, Canberra). A collaborative
project between an Islamic historian (Shboul) and archaeologist (Walmsley) on
urban transformations and social developments in Early Islamic Bilad al-Sham
(greater Syria).
QUESTION no. 6 Sharing material
yes
QUESTION no. 7 News
New field project (1996-1998) funded by the Australian Research Council
(Canberra) Large Research Grant: `An Archaeological Evaluation of Gharandal in
Jordan'.
-->Gharandal is a largely unexplored Late Antique and Early Islamic township
in the south of Jordan (Byzantine Arindela, Islamic `Arandal). The project, in
collaboration with the Department of Antiquities of Jordan, seeks to record and
excavate the ruins of a church and a large enclosure, probably a Khan/market,
and sections of the domestic quarter.
Questions of continuity and change in social and economic conditions from
Late Antiquity to the early Middle Ages will be explored. Rural conditions will
also be assessed through a regional survey.
More in the next newsletter:
Walmsley
More in the previous newsletter:
Walmsley
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QUESTION no. 3 Articles, books, lectures
- APPLYING THE CANON IN ISLAM: AUTHORIZATION AND MAINTENTANCE OF
INTERPRETIVE REASONING IN HANAFI SCHOLARSHIP (SUNY 1996).
- "MOSES OR ALEXANDER? Q 18:60-65 IN EARLY COMMENTARIES" JOURNAL OF NEAR
EASTERN STUDIES (FORTHCOMING, JAN 1998).
- "JEWISH SOURCES FOR Q 18:65-82? REEVALUATION OF ARENT JAN WENSINCK'S
THEORY" JOURNAL OF AMERICAN ORIENTAL SOCIETY (FORTHCOMING, 1998).
- LECTURES INCLUDE: "AL-AQL FI IKHTILAF AL-FUQAHA ALA TAKHRIJ ILAL
AL-SHARIAH MIN USULI-HA" ASHAB AL-QALAM, HAWALY, KUWAIT, FEBRUARY 1997.
QUESTION no. 4 Current work and ideas
QURANIC MASORAH AND ITS RELATION TO DEVELOPMENT OF CLASSICAL FIQH SCHOOLS
QUESTION no. 5 Larger projects
ESTABLISHING A STUDY CENTER AND CONTINUING STUDY GROUP FOR THE INTEGRATION
OF ISLAMIC STUDIES INTO LIBERAL ARTS CURRICULA.
More in the next newsletter:
Wheeler
More in the previous newsletter:
Wheeler
===============================================================
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===============================================================
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