Streamed Conference “The Qurʾān and Syriac Christianity: Recurring Themes and Motifs” December 5-7

Streamed Conference “The Qurʾān and Syriac Christianity: Recurring Themes and Motifs” December 5-7

Poster_Conference_The_Quran_and_Syriac_Christianity

The study of the Qurʾān in light of pre-Islamic Syrian Christian texts has a long tradition among Western scholars. Indeed, the profound significance of Syriac for a better understanding of the Quran has been a recurring theme in academic exchanges. Still, despite the importance of Syriac, a conference devoted to the relation of the Qurʾān with Syrian Christian traditions has yet to take place. In line with existing scholarship, the conference The Qurʾān and Syriac Christianity: Recurring Themes and Motifs takes stock of this trend while providing new profound insights into the continuities of the Qurʾān with Syriac Christianity.This three-day international conference pioneers in its focus on the relationship between the Qurʾān and pre-Islamic Syriac Christianity. By taking recurring themes and motifs as a starting point, the conference emphasizes differences between the Quran and Syrian Christian traditions as well. As the conference seeks to investigate how the Qurʾān reacts to pre-Islamic Syrian Christian traditions, approaches to be taken and themes to be addressed during the three-day event include:

1. The Qurʾān ‘ s employment and reshaping of themes and motifs known from Syrian Christianity from the advent of Syriac literature to the emergence of East (Nestorian) and West (Jacobite, Miaphysite) Syrian traditions

2. The Qurʾān’s conversation with pre-Islamic West or East Syrian traditions in particular

3. The co-relation of Meccan and Medinan layers of the Qurʾān according to the Nöldekean chronology or its further refinements by Angelika Neuwirth and Nicolai Sinai with West or East Syrian traditions

4. The relationship of the intra-qurʾānic parallels with divergent Syriac traditions

To explore the co-relation of the Quran with Syriac traditions, the conference brings together an international group of specialists in Syriac Christianity, Eastern Christianity, and Semitic Studies more broadly, experts in comparative religions and religious studies, as well as scholars of the Quran , Islamic theology, and Islamic Studies. This wide range of presented fields provides us with an opportunity to analyze the connections of the Qurʾān to pre-Qurʾānic Syrian Christian traditions from different angles and with diverse methodological tools. The conference also serves as a meeting place for early career scholars and established, senior academics.

Research presentations will be streamed online and can be accessed upon pre-registration. To register, please contact Bilal Badat: bilal.badat @zith.uni-tuebingen.de

The conference is organized by Ana Davitashvili .

Conference posters →

Conference time table →

Conference Abstracts →

International Conference: Epigraphy, the Qur’an, and the Religious Landscape of Arabia

Conference

Official_Poster_Epigraphy_ConferenceThe University of Tübingen Qur’an as a Source for Late Antiquity Research Project team announces “Epigraphy, the Qur’an, and the Religious Landscape of Arabia” to be held September 8–10, 2022. This three-day international conference will bring together specialists in epigraphy as well as scholars of the Qurʾān with the aim of exploring how recent epigraphic and archaeological findings and research have been changing our understanding of the Qurʾān and the Arabian religious, cultural, and political landscape.

A wide range of archaeological finds is rapidly expanding our knowledge of the pre-Islamic cultural milieu and the political structures of the Arabian Peninsula during Late Antiquity, and thereby of the Qur’ān’s cultural context. This material can offer a complementary reading to the literary accounts on pre-Islamic Arabia, which were mostly composed outside Arabia, or long after the late antique period. Accordingly, the conference seeks to integrate new archaeological finds with ongoing studies on the genesis of the Qur’ān, its Arabian background, and the broader cultural milieu of pre-Islamic Arabia with a special focus on “late” Late Antiquity at the dawn of Islam. Themes to be addressed include, but are not limited to:

  1. Religious Identities and Religious Landscape
  2. Naming God in pre-Islamic Arabia
  3. Ethnicity and literacy
  4. Cultic continuity

Bearing in mind the fluidity of identities and traditions during Late Antiquity, we also accommodate papers that do not fall into these exact categories. We believe there is a growing need to make the recent exciting discoveries of scholars working on the Qur’ān and Arabia more widely accessible to historians who may not have a solid background in archaeology and epigraphy. Aiming to foster discussion between scholars, each panel will be paired with a specialist on the Qur’ān or on the wider history of Arabia.

The research presentations will be open to the public upon timely pre-registration and streamed online.

For registration, please contact Dr. Bilal Badat: bilal.badat@zith.uni-tuebingen.de.

See the Conference Poster and Online Program here.