Author: Christian C. Sahner Publisher: Princeton University Press ISBN: 069120313X Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 360
Book Description
A look at the developing conflicts in Christian-Muslim relations during late antiquity and the early Islamic era How did the medieval Middle East transform from a majority-Christian world to a majority-Muslim world, and what role did violence play in this process? Christian Martyrs under Islam explains how Christians across the early Islamic caliphate slowly converted to the faith of the Arab conquerors and how small groups of individuals rejected this faith through dramatic acts of resistance, including apostasy and blasphemy. Using previously untapped sources in a range of Middle Eastern languages, Christian Sahner introduces an unknown group of martyrs who were executed at the hands of Muslim officials between the seventh and ninth centuries CE. Found in places as diverse as Syria, Spain, Egypt, and Armenia, they include an alleged descendant of Muhammad who converted to Christianity, high-ranking Christian secretaries of the Muslim state who viciously insulted the Prophet, and the children of mixed marriages between Muslims and Christians. Sahner argues that Christians never experienced systematic persecution under the early caliphs, and indeed, they remained the largest portion of the population in the greater Middle East for centuries after the Arab conquest. Still, episodes of ferocious violence contributed to the spread of Islam within Christian societies, and memories of this bloodshed played a key role in shaping Christian identity in the new Islamic empire. Christian Martyrs under Islam examines how violence against Christians ended the age of porous religious boundaries and laid the foundations for more antagonistic Muslim-Christian relations in the centuries to come.
Author: Martin McGee Publisher: Paulist Press ISBN: 9780809145393 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 228
Book Description
In the mid-1990s, a fundamentalist Islamist organization gave an ultimatum to all "foreigners" in Algeria: depart or die. This book tells the story of nineteen priests and religious sisters, including seven Trappist monks, who courageously chose to stay in Algeria and who ultimately paid for their dedication with their lives. Drawing on letters, journals, and his own interviews with people who knew the nineteen religious, Fr. Martin McGee shows how these men and women gave witness to Christ through their actions, winning the love of the Algerian people-a love that did not cease with their deaths-without ever attempting to make converts. This is not only a very timely story of hope for those seeking reconciliation between Christians and Muslims, but also a testimony of courage and selflessness that will inspire all people who wish to transcend denominational differences and come together in a spirit of loving respect and understanding. Book jacket.
Author: Christian C. Sahner Publisher: Princeton University Press ISBN: 0691179107 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 360
Book Description
A look at the developing conflicts in Christian-Muslim relations during late antiquity and the early Islamic era How did the medieval Middle East transform from a majority-Christian world to a majority-Muslim world, and what role did violence play in this process? Christian Martyrs under Islam explains how Christians across the early Islamic caliphate slowly converted to the faith of the Arab conquerors and how small groups of individuals rejected this faith through dramatic acts of resistance, including apostasy and blasphemy. Using previously untapped sources in a range of Middle Eastern languages, Christian Sahner introduces an unknown group of martyrs who were executed at the hands of Muslim officials between the seventh and ninth centuries CE. Found in places as diverse as Syria, Spain, Egypt, and Armenia, they include an alleged descendant of Muhammad who converted to Christianity, high-ranking Christian secretaries of the Muslim state who viciously insulted the Prophet, and the children of mixed marriages between Muslims and Christians. Sahner argues that Christians never experienced systematic persecution under the early caliphs, and indeed, they remained the largest portion of the population in the greater Middle East for centuries after the Arab conquest. Still, episodes of ferocious violence contributed to the spread of Islam within Christian societies, and memories of this bloodshed played a key role in shaping Christian identity in the new Islamic empire. Christian Martyrs under Islam examines how violence against Christians ended the age of porous religious boundaries and laid the foundations for more antagonistic Muslim-Christian relations in the centuries to come.
Author: Tom Doyle Publisher: Thomas Nelson ISBN: 0785233482 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 240
Book Description
Explore the incredible work of the Lord in the hearts and lives of women in the Muslim world! In these gripping stories of Christ's presence straight from the underground church, Pastor Tom Doyle and his wife, JoAnn, show you how women in Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Iran are leading their communities to faith in Jesus—and how you can too! Despite enormous risks to themselves and their families, former Muslim women are now influencing their husbands and their children and bringing others to faith in Jesus Christ. No matter where they live, these women are the God-ordained spiritual gatekeepers of their families. Even though the level of oppression that women face under Islam is unfathomable to many in non-Muslim nations, these brave women stop at nothing to share their faith. The Doyles believe that women are a major reason why more Muslims than ever are coming to faith in Christ. Over the years they have discovered that once God sets a Muslim woman free, she becomes an unstoppable force for God. Women Who Risk takes readers into Muslim homes in Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iran, and other hot spots to see the power of Christ at work. This incredible book contains: Inspirational stories straight out of the underground church—stories you don’t get on the news Examples of the miraculous works of God happening in the Muslim world The experiences of pastors who have worked for the past twenty-five years in the Middle East A clear call to action sounding the alarm to the body of Christ Motivation for all Christians to boldly share their faith with family and friends The stories of these women are both breathtaking and heart-rending. Living on the edge, these women spread the gospel without fear, and the victory of the gospel is thrilling for all to see. If you’re wondering if God still performs miracles or are afraid your life can't make an impact, then this is the book for you.
Author: Margo Kitts Publisher: Oxford University Press ISBN: 0190656484 Category : Psychology Languages : en Pages : 361
Book Description
Suicide in the forms of martyrdom, self-sacrifice, or self-immolation is perennially controversial: Should it rightly be termed suicide? Does religion sanction it? Should it be celebrated or anathematized? At least some idealization of such self-chosen deaths is found in every religious tradition treated in this volume, from ascetic heroes who conquer their passions to save others by dying, to righteous warriors who suffer and die valiantly while challenging the status quo. At the same time, there are persistent disputes about the concepts used to justify these deaths, such as altruism, heroism, and religion itself. In this volume, renowned scholars bring their literary and historical expertise to bear on the contested issue of religiously sanctioned suicide. Three examine contemporary movements with disputed classical roots, while eleven look at classical religious literatures which variously laud and disparage figures who invite self-harm to the point of death. Overall, the volume offers an important scholarly corrective to the axiom that religious traditions simply and always embrace life at any cost.
Author: Thomas Sizgorich Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press ISBN: 0812207440 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 407
Book Description
In Violence and Belief in Late Antiquity, Thomas Sizgorich seeks to understand why and how violent expressions of religious devotion became central to the self-understandings of both Christian and Muslim communities between the fourth and ninth centuries. Sizgorich argues that the cultivation of violent martyrdom as a path to holiness was in no way particular to Islam; rather, it emerged from a matrix put into place by the Christians of late antiquity. Paying close attention to the role of memory and narrative in the formation of individual and communal selves, Sizgorich identifies a common pool of late ancient narrative forms upon which both Christian and Muslim communities drew. In the process of recollecting the past, Sizgorich explains, Christian and Muslim communities alike elaborated iterations of Christianity or Islam that demanded of each believer a willingness to endure or inflict violence on God's behalf and thereby created militant local pieties that claimed to represent the one "real" Christianity or the only "pure" form of Islam. These militant communities used a shared system of signs, symbols, and stories, stories in which the faithful manifested their purity in conflict with the imperial powers of the world.
Author: Zeki Saritoprak Publisher: University Press of Florida ISBN: 0813065682 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 339
Book Description
“Accessible and readable. Spotlights an important theological theme in a way that both illuminates its internal development in Islamic thought and presents it as a helpful basis for interreligious discussion. The topic is very much in need of teaching and discussion and is a fine example of ‘common ground.’”—John Renard, author of Islam and Christianity “Contains valuable and fascinating material about how classical Muslim theologians treated various aspects of Jesus and, in particular, the role of Jesus in Islamic eschatology. Saritoprak brings new insights from contemporary Turkish thinkers to bear on the issues raised by the Jesus figure in Islamic narratives about the Last Days.”—Marcia Hermansen, author of Shah Wali Allah’s Treatises on Islamic Law “A refreshingly easy read that makes a complex world of theology and interfaith relations accessible and enjoyable for readers of all backgrounds.”—Jonathan Brown, author of Hadith: Muhammad’s Legacy in the Medieval and Modern World Few people realize that Jesus was a prominent messenger of God in Islam and that Muslims believe in the return of Jesus. Even among Muslims, it is not well known that there are diverse interpretations of references to Jesus in the Qur’an and the Hadith. Aiming to remedy this, Islam’s Jesus takes a bold yet candid look at the highly charged topic of Jesus’s place in Islam, exploring some of the religion’s least understood aspects. Examining multiple intellectual traditions, Zeki Saritoprak makes clear the reality of pluralism in the history of Islamic religious scholarship. Actively engaged in efforts to promote interfaith dialogue and harmony, Saritoprak thoughtfully argues that the shared belief in Jesus presents an excellent opportunity for understanding between Muslims and Christians. Together, they constitute more than half of the world’s population, and such understanding may be a foundation for peace.
Author: Charles Kurzman Publisher: ISBN: 0190907975 Category : Political Science Languages : en Pages : 265
Book Description
In this startlingly counterintuitive book, a leading authority on Islamic movements demonstrates that terrorist groups are thoroughly marginal in the Muslim world. Charles Kurzman draws on government sources, public opinion surveys, election results, and in-depth interviews with Muslims in the Middle East and around the world, finding that while young Muslims are indeed angry at the West, they are simply not attracted to terrorist methods. This revised edition, updated to include the self-proclaimed "Islamic State," concludes that fear of terrorism should be brought into alignment with the actual level of threat, and that government policies and public opinion should be based on evidence rather than alarmist hyperbole.
Author: Christian C. Sahner
Author: Martin McGee
Author: Kenneth Baxter Wolf
Author: David Cook
Author: Christian C. Sahner
Author: Tom Doyle
Author: Margo Kitts
Author: Thomas Sizgorich
Author: Zeki Saritoprak
Author: Charles Kurzman