Synopses & Reviews
This collection offers a pioneering new account of the relationship between literature and other cultural forms in Late Imperial Russia and Revolutionary Russia. The contributors here recontextualize Russian literature, and rethink the relations between literature and other cultural forms. The
book examines a number of, in Bourdieu's term, "cultural fields" in late Imperial Russia: science and objectivity, national and personal identity, and consumerism and commercial culture. Including contributions from leading specialists in Russian literature, cultural history, and cultural theory,
this stimulating, original, and controversial book will be a vital resource for all those interested in Russian culture during "the age of Revolution."
Review
"Reuven Firestone has produced a book that should have been produced a long ago"--Journal of Near Eastern Studies
"In this book, Firestone had presented an attractive thsis which very much deserves to be read and debated by all who are interested in the subject."-- The Muslim World
"Firestone has done an admirable thing: he has written a brief, readable, carefully delineated, and scholarly study of a concept that is often bandied about in discussions of Islamic thought without reference to historical development or context."-- Journal of Near Eastern Studies
Synopsis
While there exists 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 his hypothesis on evidence from the Qur'an and early Islamic literary sources, Firestone 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.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 175-185) and indexes.
About the Author
Reuven Firestone is Professor of Judaism and Islam and Director of the Graduate School of Judaic Studies at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.