Studies in the Origins of Early Islamic Culture and Tradition / Edition 1

by Michael Cook

Overview

In contrast to the gradual formation of the high cultures of most of the world, the process by which Islamic civilisation emerged and took on its classical form between the 7th and 9th centuries was unusually sudden. The studies collected here are concerned with aspects of this remarkable development. Their topics are varied, including the emergence of dialectical theology, the origins of accounts of Pharaonic history current in medieval Egypt, the sources of Muslim dietary law, the Islamic background of Karaism, and Max Weber's views on Islamic sects. Other articles look at early Syrian eschatology and its connections with late antiquity and Byzantium, at the relevance of eschatology to debates about the dating of traditions, and at the attitudes of the early traditionists to the writing down of tradition. The final items examine reports about the textual affiliations of a long-lost Koranic codex and discussions of adultery among the baboons of Yemen. A recurring theme is the relationship between Early Muslim ideas and those of non-Muslim cultures, sometimes very ancient ones.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780860789161
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	03/15/2004
Series:	Variorum Collected Studies
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Michael Cook is Cleveland E. Dodge Professor of Near Eastern Studies, Princeton University, USA.

Table of Contents

Contents: Preface; The origins of kalam; Pharaonic history in medieval Egypt; Magian cheese: an archaic problem in Islamic law; Early Islamic dietary law; 'Anan and Islam: the origins of Karaite scripturalism; Weber and Islamic sects; The Heraclian dynasty in Muslim eschatology; Eschatology and the dating of traditions; An early Islamic apocalyptic chronicle; The opponents of the writing of tradition in early Islam; Ibn Qutayba and the monkeys; A Koranic codex inherited by Malik from his grandfather; Index.