This accessible study is the first critical investigation of the cult of saints among Muslims and Jews in medieval Syria and the Near East. Through case studies of saints and their devotees, discussion of the architecture of monuments, examination of devotional objects, and analysis of ideas of 'holiness', Meri depicts the practices of living religion and explores the common heritage of all three monotheistic faiths. Critical readings of a wide range of contemporary sources - travel writing, geographical works, pilgrimage guides, legal writings, historical sources, hagiography, and biography - reveal a vibrant religious culture in which the veneration of saints and pilgrimage to tombs and shrines were fundamental.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
This is a book of scholarly value that should prove important as a source for the more specialized study of individual cults and their sites. It is also distinctly thought-provoking and thus takes a worthy place in the ongoing study of the theological and sociological interrelationships of Jews, Christians and Muslims in the Middle East. * Bulletin of The Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies * [Meri] examines aspects of the cult of saints with impeccable objectivity and admirable clarity, employing to the full his impressive mastery of the primary sources, in Arabic, Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic ... his meticulous attention to detail is one of the strongest features of this work in academic terms. * Transcendent Philosophy * a model of scholarship * James E. Lindsay, Al-Masaq * Meri has written a fascinating volume which deserves to be consulted by all specialists in Islamic Studies and which, because of its careful structure and lucidity, will appeal to a much wider audience as well. * Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society * a richly descriptive...valuable [and] fine monograph * Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Volume 70/1 *
Reihe
Sprache
Verlagsort
Zielgruppe
Produkt-Hinweis
Fadenheftung
Gewebe-Einband
Illustrationen
Maße
Höhe: 221 mm
Breite: 139 mm
Dicke: 24 mm
Gewicht
ISBN-13
978-0-19-925078-3 (9780199250783)
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Schweitzer Klassifikation
Josef Meri holds the doctorate from the University of Oxford (Wolfson College) and is a specialist in the social and cultural history of the medieval Islamic world and interfaith relations and is an historian of ideas. He is presently at work on a book entitled Sacred Landscapes of the Medieval Islamic World and is serving as General Editor of the forthcoming Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia.
Autor*in
, Fellow and Special Scholar in Residence, Aal-al-Bayt Foundation for Islamic Thought, Amman, Jordan
1. Sacred Topography ; 2. The Friends of God ; 3. Experiencing the Holy: Sacred Ritual and Pilgrimage ; 4. Jewish Pilgrimage ; 5. Pilgrimage Places ; Conclusion
