Detail from Athār al-Muẓaffar (The Exploits of the Victorious), Iran, 16th c. (Chester Beatty Library Per 235, f. 132a; from Persian Miniatures, V. Loukonin and A. Ivanov (Parkstone International, 2014), 145).
Scholars now widely recognize the numerous continuities between the religion, culture, politics, and society of Late Antiquity and that of early Islam, and are devising fresh ways to better understand the Qur’an through interdisciplinary studies of the late antique cultural context in which the Qur’an was revealed and the Muslim umma emerged. Now Mizan, a digital initiative dedicated to encouraging informed public discourse and scholarship on the culture and history of Muslim societies, has launched a new collaborative online forum for study of the Qur’an and Late Antiquity:
http://www.mizanproject.org/forum-conflict-and-convergence-in-late-antiquity/
The short essays in this forum are dedicated to reflection upon the contemporary challenges and prospects for discovery and innovation in the study of the Qur’an and early Islam, particularly as they stand at a nexus of convergence with Judaism, Christianity, and other traditions. Visitors to the forum can learn more about some of the most significant aspects of current research into the continuities between Late Antiquity and formative Islam from a variety of theoretical and practical perspectives.
The leader of Mizan, Michael Pregill, is Interlocutor in the Institute for the Study of Muslim Societies and Civilizations at Boston University. He is Chair of IQSA’s Publications and Research Committee, Co-Chair of IQSA’s Qur’an and Late Antiquity Program Unit, and Head Editor of the Journal of the International Qur’anic Studies Association. He will be presenting his paper, “Scriptural Virtuosity and the Qur’an’s Imperial Context,” at next week’s 2015 IQSA Annual Meeting in Atlanta.
© International Qur’anic Studies Association, 2015. All rights reserved.