Power of Oratory in the Medieval Muslim World

A remarkable book analysing the importance of oratory for transmitting religious knowledge, legitimising rulers and inculcating moral values in the medieval Islamic world.

List of contents

Introduction; 1. Laying the foundations; 2. The khutba: the 'central jewel' of medieval Arab-Islamic prose; 3. The khutba: rhetorical and discursive strategies of persuasion; 4. Putting it all together: the khutba, texts, and contexts; Part I. Canonical Questions: 5. Putting it all together: the khutba, texts, and contexts; Part II. Thematic and Occasional Orations: 6. Homiletic exhortation and storytelling: challenging the 'popular'; 7. 'The good eloquent speaker': profiles of pre-modern Muslim preachers; 8. The audience responds: participation, reception, contestation; Conclusion.

About the author

Linda G. Jones is Visiting Professor of History of Religions at the University of Barcelona. She is the co-author of the Handbook to Life in the Medieval World (with Madeline Pelner Cosman, 2007) and has been published in many journals, including The Bulletin of Middle East Medievalists, al-Qantara, Anuario de Estudios Medievales, Medieval Sermon Studies and Religion.

Summary

Oratory and sermons had a fixed place in the religious and civic rituals of pre-modern Muslim societies and were indispensable for transmitting religious knowledge, legitimising rulers and inculcating moral values. While there has been abundant scholarship on medieval Christian and Jewish preaching, this book is the first to consider the tradition of pulpit oratory in the medieval Islamic world.

Product details

• Authors: Linda G. Jones, Jones Linda G.
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 30.04.2018
• EAN: 9781108449601
• ISBN: 978-1-108-44960-1
• No. of pages: 312
• Series: Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization; Cambridge Studies in Islamic C; Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Regional and national histories; Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; Islam, HISTORY / Middle East / General, Middle East, General & world history, Religion & beliefs, CE period up to c 1500, History of Religion, Medieval History, c 1000 CE to c 1500, Middle Eastern history, c 500 to c 1000 CE