The Cult of Saints among Muslims and Jews in Medieval Syria
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Oxford University Press
Published:14th Nov '02
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
This accessible study is the first critical investigation of the cult of saints among Muslims and Jews in medieval Syria and the Near East. Through case studies of saints and their devotees, discussion of the architecture of monuments, examination of devotional objects, and analysis of ideas of 'holiness', Meri depicts the practices of living religion and explores the common heritage of all three monotheistic faiths. Critical readings of a wide range of contemporary sources - travel writing, geographical works, pilgrimage guides, legal writings, historical sources, hagiography, and biography - reveal a vibrant religious culture in which the veneration of saints and pilgrimage to tombs and shrines were fundamental.
This is a book of scholarly value that should prove important as a source for the more specialized study of individual cults and their sites. It is also distinctly thought-provoking and thus takes a worthy place in the ongoing study of the theological and sociological interrelationships of Jews, Christians and Muslims in the Middle East. * Bulletin of The Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies *
[Meri] examines aspects of the cult of saints with impeccable objectivity and admirable clarity, employing to the full his impressive mastery of the primary sources, in Arabic, Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic ... his meticulous attention to detail is one of the strongest features of this work in academic terms. * Transcendent Philosophy *
a model of scholarship * James E. Lindsay, Al-Masaq *
Meri has written a fascinating volume which deserves to be consulted by all specialists in Islamic Studies and which, because of its careful structure and lucidity, will appeal to a much wider audience as well. * Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society *
a richly descriptive...valuable [and] fine monograph * Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Volume 70/1 *
ISBN: 9780199250783
Dimensions: 223mm x 143mm x 24mm
Weight: 539g
342 pages