Ideas, Images, and Methods of Portrayal Insights into Classical Arabic Literature and Islam by Sebastian Günther, ed. (Leiden, Boston: Brill, 2005. 468 pages.)

Abstract

This ambitious collection of sixteen essays (plus an introduction by the editor)
ranges widely across Islamic history and scholarly disciplines. The unifying
theme is reflected in the title: Muslim texts are examined for their conceptual
frameworks as conveyers of a cultural ethos. While some essays are
more successful than others in enunciating this theme’s more theoretical
aspects, the range of topics covered means that most readers will find something
of interest and relevance and will likely be stimulated to apply the
methods of analysis to their own area of study.
Sebastian Günther’s introduction does an admirable job of highlighting
each essay’s contribution to creating an overall picture of Muslim intellectual
history and the “cultural specificity of Islam that facilitated the
advancement of intellectual life and the formation of ‘modern’ societies”
(p. xiv) by paying attention to the ideas, forms, content, and impact of textual
artefacts from the eighth through the fourteenth centuries.
Stephan Dähne begins the volume by focusing on the Qur’an and its
use in political speeches attributed to Abu Hamza al-Shari (d. 747),
Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr (d. 692), Uthman ibn Hayyan al-Murri (d. after
713), and Abdallah ibn Tahir (d. 844). Ute Pietruschka then deals with the
Christian community’s literary activity under the Umayyads as it developed
in Syriac (and emerged in Arabic), maintained the Byzantine tradition,
and was impacted by Islam. Keeping with the Christian theme, Sandra
Toenies Keating discusses the work of the Christian apologist Abu Ra’ita
(d. ca 835) and his attempt to defend Biblical scripture from the Muslim
charge of falsification (tahrif) ...