Arabic Literature

Genèse et essor d'un genre littéraire : les traités d'amour dans la littérature arabo-islamique médiévale

by Monica Balda-Tillier

Short stories as a means for socio-political criticism as seen through the writings of Zakaria Tamir

by Hugh Lovatt

A Sketch Map of Arabic Poetry Anthologies

by Bilal Orfali

This article provides a sketch map of Arabic poetry anthologies up to the fall of Baghdad in 759/1258 by grouping... more This article provides a sketch map of Arabic poetry anthologies up to the fall of Baghdad in 759/1258 by grouping titles that share general characteristics in form or content, or exhibit specific goals and aspirations. The purpose is to provide an analytic framework to the study of this type of literature. With its ten categories, the map allows for the inclusion of new or previously overlooked anthologies. The map is introduced by a survey of the state of scholarship on the terms adab and anthology within the scope of classical Arabic literature, and highlights a number of the main approaches to the study of Arabic literary anthology in recent scholarship. The article also suggests some authorial motives behind the genesis, development, and popularity of this type of literature.

La luz de la ciencia o la luz de la sabiduría: el maestro en las autobiografías árabes

by Salvador Peña

Co-authored with M. C. Feria & M. Vega. Published in 'Autobiografía y literatura árabe', edited by M. Hernando de Larramendi, G. Fernández Parrilla & B. Azaola, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, 2002, pp. 117-126.

Mahfuz, Naguib

by Salvador Peña

Published in 'Diccionario histórico de la traducción en España', edited by Francisco Lafarga and Luis Pegenaute, Madrid: Gredos, 2009, pp. 736-737.

Asín Palacios, Miguel

by Salvador Peña

Published in 'Diccionario histórico de la traducción en España', edited by Francisco Lafarga and Luis Pegenaute, Madrid: Gredos, 2009, pp. 68-70.

Árabe, Literatura

by Salvador Peña

Published in 'Diccionario histórico de la traducción en España', edited by Francisco Lafarga and Luis Pegenaute, Madrid: Gredos, 2009, pp. 45-49.

Lampeggiar d'iranismi tra una notte e l'altra

by Gianroberto Scarcia

Guardando verso Sud, a cura di Elisabetta Fazzini e Eleonora Cianci. Ed. Rocco Carabba Lanciano 2009

by Eleonora Cianci

Quaderni del Mediterraneo 2. Collana Diretta da Bernardo Razzotti. Università 'G. d'Annunzio' di Chieti-Pescara, Facoltà di Lingue e Letterature Straniere. Atti della Convenzione Internazionale tra l'Università 'G. d'Annunzio' di Chieti-Pescara e l'Université '7 Novembre à Carthage' di Tunisi.

Averroes,'Long Commentary on the'De Anima'of Aristotle'(Taylor translation)

by Jessica L. Radin

Singing Samarra (861-956): Poetry and the Burgeoning of Historiography upon the Murder of al-Mutawakkil.

by Samer Ali

Journal of Arabic and Islamic Studies, 6, pp. 1-23.

Historiography on the patricide/regicide of the Caliph al-Mutawakkil (d. 861) developed from a stage of simple... more Historiography on the patricide/regicide of the Caliph al-Mutawakkil (d. 861) developed from a stage of simple description to a burgeoning of mytho-historical narrative. It would appear that what began as a palace scandal—profaning to a putatively sacral community already torn by civil war—developed into a redemptive tragedy with perennial appeal. In a patronage society governed by loyalty to one’s patron or father, this transformation should count as nothing less than conspicuous. This article examines the role of a major Abbasid poet, al-Buḥturī (d. 897), in shaping public perception by cultivating genuine sympathy for the Abbasids and planting the seeds of questions that would be addressed in historical narratives. In particular, I discuss the importance of literary salons or gatherings as a social institution where poetry and historical narratives were recited orally as a means of transmitting knowledge to future generations. These gatherings provide a likely forum where mythic questions of poetry could inspire narrative.

Early Islam – Monotheism or Henotheism? A View from the Court

by Samer Ali

Journal of Arabic Literature. 39:1, pp. 14-37

This article employs sources produced by people who worked at the Abbasid court in order to expose a tension in early... more This article employs sources produced by people who worked at the Abbasid court in order to expose a tension in early Islamic society between two systems of sacrility. An emerging monotheism was promoted by pious elders (mashāyikh) and ascetics (nussāk), which gave power and authority to one absolute deity, Allāh. Th e court, and most members of society, favored an older system, henotheism, which championed the sacrility of leadership archetypes, the king, sultan, saint, and master-teacher, while tolerating the emerging new sacredness of the One. The latter system enjoyed familiarity since ancient times in the Near East and vested nearly all leadership roles in society with a measure of sacred power and authority, hence adding to the stability of Abbasid hierarchy. Here, I examine three major practices at the court for generating sacrility, including praise hymns (madīḥ) in honor of great men, palace space-usage and architecture, as well as bacchic culture, which all privileged the caliph and his subordinates. The implications of symbol usage extend far beyond the court since underlings appropriated it in seeking rank and status by emulating their superiors.

Praise for Murder?: Two Odes by al-Buhturi surrounding an Abbasid Patricide

by Samer Ali

Published in Writers and Rulers: Perspectives on Their Relation from Abbasid to Safavid Times

Reinterpreting al-Buhturi’s Iwan Kisra Ode: Tears of Affection for the Cycles of History

by Samer Ali

Journal of Arabic Literature. 37: 1, pp. 46-67.

The poet al-Buhturi (d. 897) composed a deeply disturbing ode in mid-career, dubbed the Iwan Kisra Ode. Scholars have... more The poet al-Buhturi (d. 897) composed a deeply disturbing ode in mid-career, dubbed the Iwan Kisra Ode. Scholars have conventionally interpreted the Iwan Kisra Ode as an anti-imperial ode critical of the Abbasids in a time of decline evinced by the murder of the Caliph al-Mutawakkil (d. 861) and the emerging power of the Turkic guards at Samarra. This article re-examines al-Buhturi’s own motives to demonstrate that an anti-imperial ode would be anathema to his interests and posits an alternative interpretation. The analysis is based on extensive Abbasid lore and a close reading of the ode. It suggests that the ode had the effect of redeeming the Abbasids in order to avoid civil strife in a time of danger.

The Rise of the Abbasid Public Sphere: The Case of al-Mutanabbi and Three Middle Ranking Patrons.

by Samer Ali

Al-Qantara: Revista de Estudios Árabes. 29: 2, pp. 467-494

The tenth century in Iraq and Syria saw an unprecedented rise in the number of canonical poets who were delivering... more The tenth century in Iraq and Syria saw an unprecedented rise in the number of canonical poets who were delivering glorious praise hymns (mad  ) to middling members of society. Scholars have posed many theories in the past 30 years to explain the function and purpose of praise hymns for royalty and rulers, but why would ordinary men who had no hope of rulership pay painful sums to commission praise hymns in their favor? This article examines the emergence of a new kind of sociability and patronage in the tenth century that enabled middling people to form alliances and exercise influence in shaping ideals of government, leadership and manhood. Examples are given of poems to patrons of middle rank who gain glory and influence via the artistic endorsement of al-Mutanabbi (d. 965): The first ode restores the public dignity of a nineteen-year-old soldier who lost his face in battle; in the second ode, the poet glorifies and defends a state clerk who had little-known Sufi leanings; in the third ode, the poet vindicates an unmasked pseudo- Muslim who was in private a Christian. Using J. Habermas’s theory of the “Public Sphere,” I show the way these odes illustrate how middling members of society gained influence in a public sphere of participation and took measures to preserve that influence.

“Boon Companion,”

by Samer Ali

Published 2011 in Encyclopedia of Islam, Third Edition. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 137-39.

In this entry, I trace the usage of the Arabic term "nadim," sometimes translated as boon companion or... In this entry, I trace the usage of the Arabic term "nadim," sometimes translated as boon companion or drinking buddy.

Benjamin Geer, “Prophets and Priests of the Nation: Naguib Mahfouz’s Karnak Café and the 1967 Crisis in Egypt,” International Journal of Middle East Studies 41, no. 4 (November 2009): 653-669.

by Benjamin Geer

Benjamin Geer, “Prophets and Priests of the Nation: Naguib Mahfouz’s Karnak Café and the 1967 Crisis in Egypt,” International Journal of Middle East Studies 41, no. 4 (November 2009): 653-669.

Similarities between religion and nationalism are well known but not well understood. They can be explained by drawing... more Similarities between religion and nationalism are well known but not well understood. They can be explained by drawing on Pierre Bourdieu's sociological theory in order to consider symbolic interests and the strategies employed to advance them. In both religion and nationalism, the “strategy of the prophets” relies on charisma while the “strategy of the priests” relies on cultural capital. In 20th-century Egypt, nationalism permitted intellectuals whose cultural capital was mainly secular, such as Naguib Mahfouz, to become “priests of the nation” in order to compete with the ʿulamaʾ for prestige and influence. However, it severely limited their autonomy, particularly after Nasser took power and became a successful nationalist prophet. Mahfouz's novel Al-Karnak, which explores the fate of the Nasser regime's political prisoners and the effects of Egypt's 1967 military defeat, reflects this limitation. Under a nationalist regime, the film adaptation of the novel contributed to Mahfouz's heteronomy.

Benjamin Geer - The Priesthood of Nationalism in Egypt - PhD Thesis

by Benjamin Geer

Geer, Benjamin. 2012. ‘The Priesthood of Nationalism in Egypt: Duty, Authority, Autonomy’. PhD thesis, London: School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London

This thesis considers the effects of nationalism on the autonomy of intellectuals in Egypt. I argue that nationalism... more This thesis considers the effects of nationalism on the autonomy of intellectuals in Egypt. I argue that nationalism limits intellectuals’ ability to challenge social hierarchies, political authority and economic inequality, and that it has been more readily used to legitimise new forms of domination in competition with old ones. I analyse similarities between religion and nationalism, using the sociological theory of Pierre Bourdieu together with cognitive linguistics. Focusing mainly on the similarities between priests and nationalist intellectuals, and secondarily between prophets and charismatic nationalist political leaders, I show that nationalism and religion are based on relatively similar concepts, which lend themselves to similar strategies for gaining credibility, recognition and moral authority. I present case studies of a few nationalist intellectuals, focusing on ones who advocated views that later became dominant. The translator and teacher Rifa‘a Rafi‘ al-Tahtawi, who was trained as a religious scholar before studying secular subjects in France, brought nationalism to Egypt by blending European nationalist concepts with centuries-old concepts from Islamic religious and literary traditions. In the early 20th century, the nationalism of intellectuals such as Muhammad Husayn Haykal enabled them to compete with men of religion for prestige and political influence, and also served particular class and professional interests. Tawfiq al-Hakim’s concept of the charismatic national leader influenced the young Gamal Abdel Nasser, who became a successful nationalist prophet and military autocrat. Ihsan ‘Abd al-Quddus articulated the concept of the nationalist martyr, who dies for his country; this concept also contributed to Nasser’s charisma. Both al-Hakim and al-Quddus arguably lost autonomy under Nasser’s regime. Al-Hakim was unable to criticise the regime until after Nasser’s death. Al-Quddus was imprisoned and tortured for advocating democracy, then became one of the most fervent supporters of Nasser’s autocracy.

“The Wandering European and His Egyptian Guide: On Arabic Story- and History-Telling”, in Annals of the Sergiu Al-George Institute, Institutul de Studii Orientale, Volumes VI-VIII, Bucharest, 1997-1999, pp. 161-171

by Irina Vainovski-Mihai

"An Anthropological Approach to the Jahiliyy Poetry", in Florentina Vişan and Anca Focşeneanu (eds.), Tradiţii în dialog, Ed. Universităţii din Bucureşti, 2009, pp. 90-97

by Irina Vainovski-Mihai