You may have to Search all our reviewed books and magazines, click the sign up button below to create a free account.
The permanent presence of Islam and Muslims (approximately 7 million) is a comparatively recent phenomenon in most countries of the European Community. By far the greater majority of them consists of former inhabitants of the Muslim world who migrated to the West for economic or political reasons after the Second World War. Over the last decades many initiatives have been launched by Muslim communities to create infrastructural provisions for their religious life, within the existing legal and social frameworks. In fact, all countries of the European Community share the principles of religious freedom and non-discrimination in their respective Constitutions. However, the precise way in which...
This book, based on interdisciplinary research, examines the establishment of Muslim institutions in Western Europe, and particularly focuses on the role played by agents from the host society and the political and ideological positions adopted by them in reaction to claims from Muslims.
From meditation and fasting to celibacy and anchoritism, the ascetic impulse has been an enduring and complex phenomenon throughout history. Offering a sweeping view of this elusive and controversial aspect of religious life and culture, Asceticism looks at the ascetic impulse from a unique vantage point. Cross-cultural, cross-religious, and multidisciplinary in nature, these essays provide a broad historical and comparative perspective on asceticism--a subject rarely studied outside the context of individual religious traditions. The work represents the input of more than forty preeminent scholars in a wide range of fields and disciplines, and analyzes asceticism from antiquity to the prese...
Hermes is the Greek god of the Word, of thought and magic, the swift-moving messenger of the Divine and guardian of souls in the Afterlife. In Ancient Egypt he was the majestic god Thoth, the Recorder, the lord of measurement and science, the brother/husband of Isis. In Rome, he was of course Mercury, flying through the Empyrean at the speed of idea by the aid of his winged helmet and boots. In this broad survey of the Hermetic arts, author Jacob Slavenburg brings an unparalleled depth of insight to the subject. He examines the historical Hermetic literature and details its relevance to modern occultism, from the symbolism of architecture and art to the mysteries of Freemasonry. The heavenly...
Egyptology: The Missing Millennium brings together for the first time the disciplines of Egyptology and Islamic Studies, seeking to overturn the conventional opinion of Western scholars that Moslims/Arabs had no interest in pre-Islamic cultures. This book examines a neglected period of a thousand years in the history of Egyptology, from the Moslem annexation of Egypt in the seventh century CE until the Ottoman conquest in the 16th century. Concentrating on Moslem writers, as it is usually Islam which incurs blame for cutting Egyptians off from their ancient heritage, the author shows not only the existence of a large body of Arabic sources on Ancient Egypt, but also their usefulness to Egypt...
This work focuses on the current situation of Balkan Muslims, their relationship with the state, and the links between their ethnic and religious identities.
Comparative insights on astronomy, divination, and medicine from ancient texts The contributions in this volume revolve around a set of interconnected topics in the ancient sciences: medicine, astronomy, astrology, and divination. Several essays present unpublished textual sources or editions of new source material on divination (e.g., dream interpretation, personal astrology, and Sothis divination) and medicine (e.g., dermatology, gynecology, and apotropaic incantations). Other contributions provide new insights into known corpora or texts, such as the Assyro-Babylonian omens, the Hippocratic treatise Places in Man, Greco-Egyptian medical texts, and the vast astronomical corpus of Greco-Rom...
Preliminary Material /Editors Liber Amicorum -- Professor Bleeker's publications /Editors Liber Amicorum -- Professor C. J. Bleeker, a personal appreciation /Geo Widengren -- Are the Bororo Parrots or are we? /Th. P. van Baaren -- Le Professeur W. B. Kristensen et l'Ancien Testament /M.A. Beek -- Pour l'histoire du dualisme: un Coyote africain, le Renard pâle /Ugo Bianchi -- Saviour and judge: two examples of divine ambivalence /S. G. F. Brandon -- Mitologia /Angelo Brelich -- Sehen und hören /K. A. H. Hidding -- Prasāda in the Rāmāyana /D. J. Hoens -- The conception of creation in cosmology /E. O. James -- Der Schrecken Pharaos /Siegfried Morenz -- Jesus and Mani - a Comparison /L. J. ...
The contents of this volume are extremely significant: The specific events in this earliest period set precedents for what later became established Islamic practice. The book deals with the history of the Islamic community at Medina during the first four years of the Islamic period--a time of critical importance for Islam, both as a religion and as a political community. The main events recounted by Ṭabarī are the battles between Muḥammad's supporters in Medina and their adversaries in Mecca. Ṭabarī also describes the rivalries and infighting among Muḥammad's early supporters, including their early relations with the Jewish community in Medina.