Antony Black
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199533206
- eISBN:
- 9780191714498
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199533206.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Early Christianity saw church and state as separate. Early Islam conceived a single 'umma under a single caliphate. It prescribed an all-embracing Shari'a. But after Constantine Christianity brought ...
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Early Christianity saw church and state as separate. Early Islam conceived a single 'umma under a single caliphate. It prescribed an all-embracing Shari'a. But after Constantine Christianity brought church and state together. In the Byzantine East, the emperor was assigned a divine mission. The Western church insisted on the clergy's independence. Some in the West tried to subordinate state to church, or vice versa; but the main trend was towards separation, and political thought became more secular. In Islam, the 'ulama became separate from the sultan but the relationship was not defined. Orthodox Jurists sought reintegration of religion and government. Separation between religion and politics in principle found little support. Christians, who had started as pacifists, adopted holy war and religious persecution; Muslims favoured limited toleration. There was thus both convergence and divergence between the two cultures: church and state.Less
Early Christianity saw church and state as separate. Early Islam conceived a single 'umma under a single caliphate. It prescribed an all-embracing Shari'a. But after Constantine Christianity brought church and state together. In the Byzantine East, the emperor was assigned a divine mission. The Western church insisted on the clergy's independence. Some in the West tried to subordinate state to church, or vice versa; but the main trend was towards separation, and political thought became more secular. In Islam, the 'ulama became separate from the sultan but the relationship was not defined. Orthodox Jurists sought reintegration of religion and government. Separation between religion and politics in principle found little support. Christians, who had started as pacifists, adopted holy war and religious persecution; Muslims favoured limited toleration. There was thus both convergence and divergence between the two cultures: church and state.
Reuven Firestone
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195154948
- eISBN:
- 9780199849239
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195154948.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
While there is no evidence to date that the indigenous inhabitants of Arabia knew of holy war prior to Islam, holy war ideas and behaviors appear already among Muslims during the first generation. ...
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While there is no evidence to date that the indigenous inhabitants of Arabia knew of holy war prior to Islam, holy war ideas and behaviors appear already among Muslims during the first generation. This book focuses on why and how such a seemingly radical development took place. Basing the hypothesis on evidence from the Qurʾān and early Islamic literary sources, this book locates the origin of Islamic holy war and traces its evolution as a response to the changes affecting the new community of Muslims in its transition from ancient Arabian culture to the religious civilization of Islam.Less
While there is no evidence to date that the indigenous inhabitants of Arabia knew of holy war prior to Islam, holy war ideas and behaviors appear already among Muslims during the first generation. This book focuses on why and how such a seemingly radical development took place. Basing the hypothesis on evidence from the Qurʾān and early Islamic literary sources, this book locates the origin of Islamic holy war and traces its evolution as a response to the changes affecting the new community of Muslims in its transition from ancient Arabian culture to the religious civilization of Islam.
Reuven Firestone
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199860302
- eISBN:
- 9780199950621
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199860302.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
Holy war, defined for this study as war authorized or even commanded by God, is a fundamental part of biblical religion and a core institution of the Hebrew Bible. Jews of antiquity engaged in wars ...
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Holy war, defined for this study as war authorized or even commanded by God, is a fundamental part of biblical religion and a core institution of the Hebrew Bible. Jews of antiquity engaged in wars considered to be divinely sanctioned, but after crushing defeats against the Roman Empire this kind of response to communal threat became so self-destructive that Jewish leaders devised a means of removing holy war from the repertoire of Jewish political actions. The result was the tendering of two interpretive instruments, normative for nearly two thousand years, which would prevent Jewish zealots from declaring holy war and thus endangering the community. The exegesis was possible within a particular historical context, but times change. The transformations brought about by modernity required Jews to re-examine the traditional rabbinic prohibition against war in the light of the times. Within a hundred years the traditional safeguards were effectively removed for the majority of religious Jews that continued to take Jewish traditional exegesis seriously. This full process, from removing holy war from possibility to reviving holy war as a paradigm for action, is the topic of this study.Less
Holy war, defined for this study as war authorized or even commanded by God, is a fundamental part of biblical religion and a core institution of the Hebrew Bible. Jews of antiquity engaged in wars considered to be divinely sanctioned, but after crushing defeats against the Roman Empire this kind of response to communal threat became so self-destructive that Jewish leaders devised a means of removing holy war from the repertoire of Jewish political actions. The result was the tendering of two interpretive instruments, normative for nearly two thousand years, which would prevent Jewish zealots from declaring holy war and thus endangering the community. The exegesis was possible within a particular historical context, but times change. The transformations brought about by modernity required Jews to re-examine the traditional rabbinic prohibition against war in the light of the times. Within a hundred years the traditional safeguards were effectively removed for the majority of religious Jews that continued to take Jewish traditional exegesis seriously. This full process, from removing holy war from possibility to reviving holy war as a paradigm for action, is the topic of this study.
Michael Davies
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- April 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199242405
- eISBN:
- 9780191602405
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199242402.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
Like Thomas Sherman’s Part 2, which rewrites The Pilgrim’s Progress to rid it of romantic ‘froth’, Bunyan’s Badman and The Holy War too could in no way be mistaken as mere ‘romances’. Despite being ...
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Like Thomas Sherman’s Part 2, which rewrites The Pilgrim’s Progress to rid it of romantic ‘froth’, Bunyan’s Badman and The Holy War too could in no way be mistaken as mere ‘romances’. Despite being less critically acclaimed and less popular than The Pilgrim’s Progress, Badman and The Holy War are much more accomplished theological narratives. The Pilgrim’s Progress, Part II presents Bunyan’s ideal readers of The Pilgrim’s Progress and demonstrates that Bunyan’s theological and doctrinal beliefs did not mellow between the publication of The Pilgrim’s Progress and his Part II.Less
Like Thomas Sherman’s Part 2, which rewrites The Pilgrim’s Progress to rid it of romantic ‘froth’, Bunyan’s Badman and The Holy War too could in no way be mistaken as mere ‘romances’. Despite being less critically acclaimed and less popular than The Pilgrim’s Progress, Badman and The Holy War are much more accomplished theological narratives. The Pilgrim’s Progress, Part II presents Bunyan’s ideal readers of The Pilgrim’s Progress and demonstrates that Bunyan’s theological and doctrinal beliefs did not mellow between the publication of The Pilgrim’s Progress and his Part II.
Sohail H. Hashmi and James Turner Johnson
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199755042
- eISBN:
- 9780199950508
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199755042.003.0000
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter defines “just war,” “holy war,” and “jihad.” It traces the evolution of the just war tradition in the West and of the jihad tradition in Islam. It considers how both just war and jihad ...
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This chapter defines “just war,” “holy war,” and “jihad.” It traces the evolution of the just war tradition in the West and of the jihad tradition in Islam. It considers how both just war and jihad relate to holy war.Less
This chapter defines “just war,” “holy war,” and “jihad.” It traces the evolution of the just war tradition in the West and of the jihad tradition in Islam. It considers how both just war and jihad relate to holy war.
Brinda Charry
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199755042
- eISBN:
- 9780199950508
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199755042.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter analyzes the rhetorical and discursive strategies deployed by early modern English writers in their texts on holy war and what paying attention to these strategies will tell us about how ...
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This chapter analyzes the rhetorical and discursive strategies deployed by early modern English writers in their texts on holy war and what paying attention to these strategies will tell us about how the general reader’s attitudes to holy war were shaped. This chapter juxtaposes texts that belong to very different genres—John Foxe’s martyrology, Acts and Monuments, first published in 1563; and Francis Bacon’s An Advertisement Touching a Holy War, a fictional dialogue on holy war written in 1622-23 in the scholarly humanist tradition. Both of these works address the question of holy war against the Ottoman Turks..Less
This chapter analyzes the rhetorical and discursive strategies deployed by early modern English writers in their texts on holy war and what paying attention to these strategies will tell us about how the general reader’s attitudes to holy war were shaped. This chapter juxtaposes texts that belong to very different genres—John Foxe’s martyrology, Acts and Monuments, first published in 1563; and Francis Bacon’s An Advertisement Touching a Holy War, a fictional dialogue on holy war written in 1622-23 in the scholarly humanist tradition. Both of these works address the question of holy war against the Ottoman Turks..
Sohail H. Hashmi (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199755042
- eISBN:
- 9780199950508
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199755042.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This book explores the development of ideas of morally justified or legitimate war in Western and Islamic civilizations. Historically, these ideas have been grouped under three labels: just war, holy ...
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This book explores the development of ideas of morally justified or legitimate war in Western and Islamic civilizations. Historically, these ideas have been grouped under three labels: just war, holy war, and jihad. The twenty chapters of this book explore two broad questions: What historical evidence exists that Christian and Jewish writers on just war and holy war and Muslim writers on jihad knew of the other tradition? What is the evidence in treatises, chronicles, speeches, ballads, and other historical records, or in practice, that either tradition influenced the other? The book surveys the period from the rise of Islam in the early seventh century to the present day. Part One surveys the impact of the early Islamic conquests upon Byzantine, Syriac, and Muslim thinking on justified war. Part Two probes developments during the Crusades. Part Three focuses on the early modern period in Europe and the Ottoman Empire, followed by analysis of the era of European imperialism in Part Four. Part Five brings the discussion into the present period, with chapters analyzing the impact of international law and terrorism on conceptions of just war and jihad.Less
This book explores the development of ideas of morally justified or legitimate war in Western and Islamic civilizations. Historically, these ideas have been grouped under three labels: just war, holy war, and jihad. The twenty chapters of this book explore two broad questions: What historical evidence exists that Christian and Jewish writers on just war and holy war and Muslim writers on jihad knew of the other tradition? What is the evidence in treatises, chronicles, speeches, ballads, and other historical records, or in practice, that either tradition influenced the other? The book surveys the period from the rise of Islam in the early seventh century to the present day. Part One surveys the impact of the early Islamic conquests upon Byzantine, Syriac, and Muslim thinking on justified war. Part Two probes developments during the Crusades. Part Three focuses on the early modern period in Europe and the Ottoman Empire, followed by analysis of the era of European imperialism in Part Four. Part Five brings the discussion into the present period, with chapters analyzing the impact of international law and terrorism on conceptions of just war and jihad.
Tomaž Mastnak
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520226357
- eISBN:
- 9780520925991
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520226357.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
This chapter explains the difference between holy war and crusade. A key feature of the great social transformation of the eleventh century has been termed as entry into the new world. The reformed ...
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This chapter explains the difference between holy war and crusade. A key feature of the great social transformation of the eleventh century has been termed as entry into the new world. The reformed church had recognized the military profession, and Christian arm bearers found an employment pleasing to god. Holy war in its broadest sense is war conceived of as a military action directly related to religion, and it predates not only crusades but Christianity as well. Christendom was a community of powers and nations united by their shared religion. Christendom and crusade came into existence together, and Christendom began to show recognizable traits in the peace of god and truce of god endeavors. The representation of crusades as a response of Latin Christians to jihad has been rejected, and the two are strictly not comparable. As a war in the service of the church, the crusade was a theocratic rather than a theological war. Not every holy war is a crusade.Less
This chapter explains the difference between holy war and crusade. A key feature of the great social transformation of the eleventh century has been termed as entry into the new world. The reformed church had recognized the military profession, and Christian arm bearers found an employment pleasing to god. Holy war in its broadest sense is war conceived of as a military action directly related to religion, and it predates not only crusades but Christianity as well. Christendom was a community of powers and nations united by their shared religion. Christendom and crusade came into existence together, and Christendom began to show recognizable traits in the peace of god and truce of god endeavors. The representation of crusades as a response of Latin Christians to jihad has been rejected, and the two are strictly not comparable. As a war in the service of the church, the crusade was a theocratic rather than a theological war. Not every holy war is a crusade.
Reuven Firestone
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195154948
- eISBN:
- 9780199849239
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195154948.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
This book is a study of the origins of the concept and application of warring defined now as “holy war” in the earliest period of Islamic history. It examines questions such as when and under what ...
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This book is a study of the origins of the concept and application of warring defined now as “holy war” in the earliest period of Islamic history. It examines questions such as when and under what circumstances did the concept first appear in Islam and as the result of what historical, political, religious and social factors did it mature into classical expressions. It also examines its antecedents in pre-Islamic Arabian civilization. Part I centers on Arabia, particularly in the pre-Islamic period. Part II focuses on the Qurʾān as the earliest Islamic text and transition marker from pre-Islamic Arabian civilization to the religio-cultural civilization that became Islam. Part III looks on the tradition literature of Islam in the prophetic sunna and the biographical literature of Muḥammad.Less
This book is a study of the origins of the concept and application of warring defined now as “holy war” in the earliest period of Islamic history. It examines questions such as when and under what circumstances did the concept first appear in Islam and as the result of what historical, political, religious and social factors did it mature into classical expressions. It also examines its antecedents in pre-Islamic Arabian civilization. Part I centers on Arabia, particularly in the pre-Islamic period. Part II focuses on the Qurʾān as the earliest Islamic text and transition marker from pre-Islamic Arabian civilization to the religio-cultural civilization that became Islam. Part III looks on the tradition literature of Islam in the prophetic sunna and the biographical literature of Muḥammad.
Reuven Firestone
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195154948
- eISBN:
- 9780199849239
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195154948.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
This chapter examines the preconceived notions about the various topics and subtopics to be studied and establishes the approach employed. From the conquest of Spain in the early 8th century to the ...
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This chapter examines the preconceived notions about the various topics and subtopics to be studied and establishes the approach employed. From the conquest of Spain in the early 8th century to the siege of Vienna by the Ottoman Turks in 1683, Islam represented a threat to the existence of Christendom. Islam's achievement in all scientific and intellectual fields during its heyday in the Middle Ages caused a reaction in the West that considered Islam as cruel, evil, and uncivilized. Although holy war is defined most broadly as any religious justification for engaging in war, it does not necessarily presume a connection of military activity to religious purposes, though it is often the case. The particular expressions of holy war found in the Islamic world tend to be referred to in the West as jihād. Jihād derives from the root j.h.d, meaning to strive, exert oneself, or take extraordinary pains.Less
This chapter examines the preconceived notions about the various topics and subtopics to be studied and establishes the approach employed. From the conquest of Spain in the early 8th century to the siege of Vienna by the Ottoman Turks in 1683, Islam represented a threat to the existence of Christendom. Islam's achievement in all scientific and intellectual fields during its heyday in the Middle Ages caused a reaction in the West that considered Islam as cruel, evil, and uncivilized. Although holy war is defined most broadly as any religious justification for engaging in war, it does not necessarily presume a connection of military activity to religious purposes, though it is often the case. The particular expressions of holy war found in the Islamic world tend to be referred to in the West as jihād. Jihād derives from the root j.h.d, meaning to strive, exert oneself, or take extraordinary pains.
John Tolan, Gilles Veinstein, and Henry Laurens
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691147055
- eISBN:
- 9781400844753
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691147055.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, World Medieval History
This chapter is devoted to the development of the concepts of jihad, Crusade, and reconquista. It shows that, in both Christian and Muslim territories, ideologies of holy war were often used to ...
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This chapter is devoted to the development of the concepts of jihad, Crusade, and reconquista. It shows that, in both Christian and Muslim territories, ideologies of holy war were often used to justify conquest of the “infidels.” These ideologies glorified war waged for the “true” religion but rarely ruled out political and military alliances with princes belonging to rival faiths. Nor did they prevent princes from setting aside a protected but subaltern place for religious minorities. Hence, although the ideology of holy war served to justify or celebrate one victory or another, the chapter argues that religion was often an a posteriori explanation for a conflict that had many other causes.Less
This chapter is devoted to the development of the concepts of jihad, Crusade, and reconquista. It shows that, in both Christian and Muslim territories, ideologies of holy war were often used to justify conquest of the “infidels.” These ideologies glorified war waged for the “true” religion but rarely ruled out political and military alliances with princes belonging to rival faiths. Nor did they prevent princes from setting aside a protected but subaltern place for religious minorities. Hence, although the ideology of holy war served to justify or celebrate one victory or another, the chapter argues that religion was often an a posteriori explanation for a conflict that had many other causes.
Rebecca Mitchell
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780300208894
- eISBN:
- 9780300216493
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300208894.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, Russian and Former Soviet Union History
This chapter explores how questions of national identity and patriotism took center stage with the outbreak of war in 1914. For Nietzsche’s orphans, the cultural heritage upon which musical ...
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This chapter explores how questions of national identity and patriotism took center stage with the outbreak of war in 1914. For Nietzsche’s orphans, the cultural heritage upon which musical metaphysics was based became particularly problematic, leading to attempts to redefine contemporary German militarism as “Prussian” in contrast to the “German” values embodied in past cultural achievements. Russia’s salvific task in this “Holy War” (it was argued) was to save all humanity from the evils of “Prussianism”. The impact of growing exclusive nationalism is assessed in relation to all three composers, who failed to reunify society: Scriabin through his death in 1915; Rachmaninoff through his pessimistic outlook on events; and Medtner through his now unacceptable “German” identity.Less
This chapter explores how questions of national identity and patriotism took center stage with the outbreak of war in 1914. For Nietzsche’s orphans, the cultural heritage upon which musical metaphysics was based became particularly problematic, leading to attempts to redefine contemporary German militarism as “Prussian” in contrast to the “German” values embodied in past cultural achievements. Russia’s salvific task in this “Holy War” (it was argued) was to save all humanity from the evils of “Prussianism”. The impact of growing exclusive nationalism is assessed in relation to all three composers, who failed to reunify society: Scriabin through his death in 1915; Rachmaninoff through his pessimistic outlook on events; and Medtner through his now unacceptable “German” identity.
Tomaz Mastnak
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520226357
- eISBN:
- 9780520925991
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520226357.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
This book's provocative analysis of the roots of peacemaking in the Western world elucidates struggles for peace that took place in the high and late Middle Ages. The author traces the ways that ...
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This book's provocative analysis of the roots of peacemaking in the Western world elucidates struggles for peace that took place in the high and late Middle Ages. The author traces the ways that eleventh-century peace movements, seeking to end violence among Christians, shaped not only power structures within Christendom but also the relationship of the Western Christian world to the world outside. The unification of Christian society under the banner of “holy peace” precipitated a fundamental division between the Christian and non-Christian worlds, and the postulated peace among Christians led to holy war against non-Christians.Less
This book's provocative analysis of the roots of peacemaking in the Western world elucidates struggles for peace that took place in the high and late Middle Ages. The author traces the ways that eleventh-century peace movements, seeking to end violence among Christians, shaped not only power structures within Christendom but also the relationship of the Western Christian world to the world outside. The unification of Christian society under the banner of “holy peace” precipitated a fundamental division between the Christian and non-Christian worlds, and the postulated peace among Christians led to holy war against non-Christians.
Reuven Firestone
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195154948
- eISBN:
- 9780199849239
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195154948.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
This chapter examines sources used in this study and provides an outline of pre-Islamic thinking about issues related to warring in order to establish paradigms against which developing Islamic views ...
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This chapter examines sources used in this study and provides an outline of pre-Islamic thinking about issues related to warring in order to establish paradigms against which developing Islamic views are analyzed. The evidence suggests that in pre-Islamic Arabia, armed aggression between nomadic tribes and between nomads and settled populations was a normal part of life. The economic and social benefits of warring were reason enough for the powerful to engage in the act of war, while the weak had no alternative but to protect themselves though preemptive aggression, or alliances. In Islamic texts, the sense of the jāhiliya in reference to the pre-Islamic period tends to emphasize only the cruelty, barbarism, and anarchy that Islam wished to associate with Arabia before the coming of Muḥammad and the Qurʾān.Less
This chapter examines sources used in this study and provides an outline of pre-Islamic thinking about issues related to warring in order to establish paradigms against which developing Islamic views are analyzed. The evidence suggests that in pre-Islamic Arabia, armed aggression between nomadic tribes and between nomads and settled populations was a normal part of life. The economic and social benefits of warring were reason enough for the powerful to engage in the act of war, while the weak had no alternative but to protect themselves though preemptive aggression, or alliances. In Islamic texts, the sense of the jāhiliya in reference to the pre-Islamic period tends to emphasize only the cruelty, barbarism, and anarchy that Islam wished to associate with Arabia before the coming of Muḥammad and the Qurʾān.
Peter Sarris
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199261260
- eISBN:
- 9780191730962
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199261260.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
This chapter returns to the East and details the growing social, economic and military destabilisation of the Near East in the late sixth and seventh centuries. Warfare between Byzantium and Persia ...
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This chapter returns to the East and details the growing social, economic and military destabilisation of the Near East in the late sixth and seventh centuries. Warfare between Byzantium and Persia spiralled out of control until the Emperor Heraclius finally defeated his rival Khusro II, declaring a ‘Holy War’ against Persia to redeem the True Cross which the Persians had seized with the capture of Jerusalem. These years of warfare left the two empires vulnerable to the Arab armies of Islam that swept out of the desert in the 630s, destroying the Empire of Persia and driving the Romans into Asia Minor. The emergence and development of Islam as a religion and the Arabs as a people are examined, and these phenomena placed in a broader late antique context.Less
This chapter returns to the East and details the growing social, economic and military destabilisation of the Near East in the late sixth and seventh centuries. Warfare between Byzantium and Persia spiralled out of control until the Emperor Heraclius finally defeated his rival Khusro II, declaring a ‘Holy War’ against Persia to redeem the True Cross which the Persians had seized with the capture of Jerusalem. These years of warfare left the two empires vulnerable to the Arab armies of Islam that swept out of the desert in the 630s, destroying the Empire of Persia and driving the Romans into Asia Minor. The emergence and development of Islam as a religion and the Arabs as a people are examined, and these phenomena placed in a broader late antique context.
Michael Philip Penn
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199755042
- eISBN:
- 9780199950508
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199755042.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
As the first Christians to encounter Islam, Syriac authors preserve the earliest Christian depictions of Muslims, Islam, and the conquests. Syriac writers also present the unusual circumstance of a ...
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As the first Christians to encounter Islam, Syriac authors preserve the earliest Christian depictions of Muslims, Islam, and the conquests. Syriac writers also present the unusual circumstance of a group interpreting not their victory, but their defeat as the outcome of a holy war. This chapter examines how Syriac Christian responses to these questions developed over time and across literary genres. It investigates how early Christian communities interpreted and reinterpreted the Islamic conquests and how their writings constructed images, rhetorical strategies, and stereotypes that later Christian writers would further elaborate.Less
As the first Christians to encounter Islam, Syriac authors preserve the earliest Christian depictions of Muslims, Islam, and the conquests. Syriac writers also present the unusual circumstance of a group interpreting not their victory, but their defeat as the outcome of a holy war. This chapter examines how Syriac Christian responses to these questions developed over time and across literary genres. It investigates how early Christian communities interpreted and reinterpreted the Islamic conquests and how their writings constructed images, rhetorical strategies, and stereotypes that later Christian writers would further elaborate.
Tomaž Mastnak
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520226357
- eISBN:
- 9780520925991
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520226357.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
This chapter provides an introduction to the concept of holy war, beginning by highlighting the fact that peace is the central issue of power, and that holy peace was no different. At the close of ...
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This chapter provides an introduction to the concept of holy war, beginning by highlighting the fact that peace is the central issue of power, and that holy peace was no different. At the close of the tenth century and commencement of the eleventh, the pax Dei, a peace movement carried out in the name of god, emerged in the territories that today make up central France. The pax Dei then led to the treuga Dei—the truce of god. Protection of the church and the church property, of church dignitaries, of clerics and monks, and of livestock was the primary focus of all meetings seeking to establish the peace of god. The peace movement did not ban altogether, but limited, the sphere of licit use of arms. The crusade was the consummation of the peace movement and the realization of its ideals. Holy war in its broadest sense is war conceived of as a military action directly related to religion.Less
This chapter provides an introduction to the concept of holy war, beginning by highlighting the fact that peace is the central issue of power, and that holy peace was no different. At the close of the tenth century and commencement of the eleventh, the pax Dei, a peace movement carried out in the name of god, emerged in the territories that today make up central France. The pax Dei then led to the treuga Dei—the truce of god. Protection of the church and the church property, of church dignitaries, of clerics and monks, and of livestock was the primary focus of all meetings seeking to establish the peace of god. The peace movement did not ban altogether, but limited, the sphere of licit use of arms. The crusade was the consummation of the peace movement and the realization of its ideals. Holy war in its broadest sense is war conceived of as a military action directly related to religion.
James Turner Johnson
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199755042
- eISBN:
- 9780199950508
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199755042.003.0020
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This concluding chapter surveys earlier contributions to the comparative ethics of war in Western and Islamic civilizations and places the current book in the context of this literature. It considers ...
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This concluding chapter surveys earlier contributions to the comparative ethics of war in Western and Islamic civilizations and places the current book in the context of this literature. It considers how the chapters of this book contribute to an understanding of the evolution of the just war and jihad traditions over time, and how each relates to the idea of holy war. It also summarizes the conclusions we may draw on the mutual influences of each tradition on the other as they developed over time.Less
This concluding chapter surveys earlier contributions to the comparative ethics of war in Western and Islamic civilizations and places the current book in the context of this literature. It considers how the chapters of this book contribute to an understanding of the evolution of the just war and jihad traditions over time, and how each relates to the idea of holy war. It also summarizes the conclusions we may draw on the mutual influences of each tradition on the other as they developed over time.
Reuven Firestone
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199860302
- eISBN:
- 9780199950621
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199860302.003.0017
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This section summarizes the research of the previous chapters and brings the historical analysis to a close. The Religious Zionist community remains tightly knit and self-reinforcing, so despite its ...
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This section summarizes the research of the previous chapters and brings the historical analysis to a close. The Religious Zionist community remains tightly knit and self-reinforcing, so despite its detractors even from within, a well-organized core succeeds in sustaining what was in some ways a hermetic interpretive stance. Partly in order to remain on track in the face of opposition, frustration and anxiety, it radicalized and became even more inward-looking. While it once captured the imagination of many outside the community, its influence has since declined, but not its fervour.Less
This section summarizes the research of the previous chapters and brings the historical analysis to a close. The Religious Zionist community remains tightly knit and self-reinforcing, so despite its detractors even from within, a well-organized core succeeds in sustaining what was in some ways a hermetic interpretive stance. Partly in order to remain on track in the face of opposition, frustration and anxiety, it radicalized and became even more inward-looking. While it once captured the imagination of many outside the community, its influence has since declined, but not its fervour.
Reuven Firestone
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195154948
- eISBN:
- 9780199849239
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195154948.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
This chapter summarizes earlier findings and situates them in the historical context by linking the development of the Islamic holy war idea with changes in the social structure and the worldview of ...
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This chapter summarizes earlier findings and situates them in the historical context by linking the development of the Islamic holy war idea with changes in the social structure and the worldview of the new Muslim community. The transition from the mundane (or materially-driven) fighting in pre-Islamic Arabia to the sacred, divinely sanctioned warring of Islam occurred during a short period. It was the period following the Hijra in 622 C.E. that the sense of personal identity of Muḥammad and his followers came increasingly to be felt in religious rather than kinship affiliations. It was this transference in conjunction with the growth in solidarity engendered by a severed outside threat, particularly the history of conflict between Meccans and early Muslims, which allowed the possibility of war based on a religious kinship.Less
This chapter summarizes earlier findings and situates them in the historical context by linking the development of the Islamic holy war idea with changes in the social structure and the worldview of the new Muslim community. The transition from the mundane (or materially-driven) fighting in pre-Islamic Arabia to the sacred, divinely sanctioned warring of Islam occurred during a short period. It was the period following the Hijra in 622 C.E. that the sense of personal identity of Muḥammad and his followers came increasingly to be felt in religious rather than kinship affiliations. It was this transference in conjunction with the growth in solidarity engendered by a severed outside threat, particularly the history of conflict between Meccans and early Muslims, which allowed the possibility of war based on a religious kinship.
