| Revision as of 11:24, 10 April 2006 editJoanneB (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users19,122 edits rv to more balanced and referenced version← Previous edit | Revision as of 12:17, 10 April 2006 edit undoCltFn (talk | contribs)5,944 edits not reallyNext edit → | ||
| Line 3: | Line 3: | ||
| The book presents a study of the roots of the ]ic religion and culture in ] ideas, ], ] and ]. | The book presents a study of the roots of the ]ic religion and culture in ] ideas, ], ] and ]. | ||
| Hagarism begins on the premise that ] historical scholarship on ]'s beginnings should be based on the highest standards of historical and ] and ] research rather than rely on the account of traditional Islamic mythos which has had a tendency to weave dogmatically-based historically irreconcilable and ] accounts of the community's past. Thus, relying exclusively on historical, archeological and ] evidence the authors reconstructs and present what they argue is a historically accurate and supported account of Islam's origins. | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| Historian ] states: | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | :In ''Hagarism'', a 1977 study by Patricia Crone and Michael Cook, the authors completely exclude the Arabic literary sources and reconstruct the early history of Islam only from the information to be found in Arabic papyri, coins, and inscriptions as well as non-Arabic literary sources in a wide array of languages (], ], ], ], ], ], and ]). This approach leads Crone and Cook in wild new directions. In their account, Mecca's role is replaced by a city in northwestern Arabia and Muhammad was elevated "to the role of a scriptural prophet" only about a.d. 700, or seventy years after his death. As for the ], it was compiled in Iraq at about that same late date." | ||
| ⚫ | The early chapters of the book contend that early Islam was a derivation of Messianic Judaism, whose aim was to conquer the Holy Land from the Byzantines with an army composed of Jews and Arabs. The term 'hagarism' refers to the way Muhammad justified the inclusion of the Arabs by emphasizing the common ancestry of the Jews and Arabs from ], through ] for the Jews and ] for the Arabs. Eventually Arabs splintered off from the Jews, and Hagarism continued to develop into what is now Islam: a blend of ], ] and ]. | ||
| The book contends that the traditional stories of the Qu'ran's origin propounded by Muslims are later inventions, not historically accurate, and inconsistent with archaeological and other physical evidence. | |||
| Although this line of research is discounted by Islamic traditionalists, Western scholars have generally applauded Crone and Cook's advances in tracing the origins of Islam. | |||
| ==Bibliography== | |||
| * Oleg Grabar, review, ''Speculum'' '''53''':4 (Oct., 1978), pp. 795-799. : "...brilliant, fascinating, original, arrogant, highly debatable..."; "...the whole construction proposed by the authors lacks entirely in truly historical foundations." | |||
| * Eric I. Manheimer, review, ''The American Historical Review'' '''83''':1 (Feb., 1978), pp. 240-241. : "...the conclusions drawn lack balance. The weights on the scales tip too easily toward the hypercritical side, tending to distract what might have been an excellent study in comparative religion." | |||
| * Michael G. Morony, review, ''Journal of Near Eastern Studies'' '''41''':2 (Apr., 1982), pp. 157-159. : "...this is a thin piece of ''Kulturgeschichte'' full of glib generalizations, facile assumptions, and tiresome jargon. More argument than evidence...." | |||
| * Leon Nemoy, review, ''The Jewish Quarterly Review'' New Ser. '''68''':3 (Jan., 1978), pp. 179-181. : "Many of the question-marks posed by the authors deserve examination and, if possible, a reasonable answer." | |||
| * J. Wansbrough, review, ''Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies'' '''41''':1 (1978), pp. 155-156. | |||
| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
Revision as of 12:17, 10 April 2006
Hagarism: The Making of the Islamic World, 1977, is a book by scholars of the Middle East Patricia Crone and Michael Cook.
The book presents a study of the roots of the Islamic religion and culture in Judeo-Christian ideas, Greek philosophy, Roman law and Persian statehood.
Hagarism begins on the premise that Western historical scholarship on Islam's beginnings should be based on the highest standards of historical and archeological and philological research rather than rely on the account of traditional Islamic mythos which has had a tendency to weave dogmatically-based historically irreconcilable and anachronistic accounts of the community's past. Thus, relying exclusively on historical, archeological and philological evidence the authors reconstructs and present what they argue is a historically accurate and supported account of Islam's origins.
Historian Daniel Pipes states:
- In Hagarism, a 1977 study by Patricia Crone and Michael Cook, the authors completely exclude the Arabic literary sources and reconstruct the early history of Islam only from the information to be found in Arabic papyri, coins, and inscriptions as well as non-Arabic literary sources in a wide array of languages (Aramaic, Armenian, Coptic, Greek, Hebrew, Latin, and Syriac). This approach leads Crone and Cook in wild new directions. In their account, Mecca's role is replaced by a city in northwestern Arabia and Muhammad was elevated "to the role of a scriptural prophet" only about a.d. 700, or seventy years after his death. As for the Qur'an, it was compiled in Iraq at about that same late date."
The early chapters of the book contend that early Islam was a derivation of Messianic Judaism, whose aim was to conquer the Holy Land from the Byzantines with an army composed of Jews and Arabs. The term 'hagarism' refers to the way Muhammad justified the inclusion of the Arabs by emphasizing the common ancestry of the Jews and Arabs from Abraham, through Sarah for the Jews and Hagar for the Arabs. Eventually Arabs splintered off from the Jews, and Hagarism continued to develop into what is now Islam: a blend of Judaism, Samaritanism and Christianity.
Although this line of research is discounted by Islamic traditionalists, Western scholars have generally applauded Crone and Cook's advances in tracing the origins of Islam.
See also
 | This Islam-related article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |
 | This article related to a book about religion is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |