Rehabilitating the Spirituality of Pre-Islamic Arabia: On the Importance of the Kahin, the Jinn, and the Tribal Ancestral Cult
This article brings into focus the misunderstood and oft-ignored pre-Islamic spirituality of, primarily, the Hejaz and their religious leaders, the kahins, often uncharitably translated as soothsayers. A combination of factors has limited discussion of pre-Islamic religion, including the persistent...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
[2017]
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| In: |
Journal of religious history
Year: 2017, Volume: 41, Issue: 2, Pages: 137-157 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Arabia
/ Spirituality
/ Nature religion
/ Religious leader
/ Fortune-teller
/ Jinn
/ Ancestor cult (motif)
/ Geschichte Anfänge-622
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| RelBib Classification: | AG Religious life; material religion BB Indigenous religions KBL Near East and North Africa |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Publisher) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | This article brings into focus the misunderstood and oft-ignored pre-Islamic spirituality of, primarily, the Hejaz and their religious leaders, the kahins, often uncharitably translated as soothsayers. A combination of factors has limited discussion of pre-Islamic religion, including the persistent rejection by Muslims of pre-Islamic history as a time of ignorance (jahiliyyah) and a Judaeo-Christian bias in Western scholarship. From the perspectives of anthropology and comparative religion, certain conclusions about pre-Islamic spirituality can be derived. Most important among these is that the pre-Islamic Arabs engaged in clearly religious practices revolving around the importance of the tribe and its members, living and dead. This article will hopefully spark a renewed interest in the study of the spirituality and religion of the pre-Islamic Arabs. |
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| ISSN: | 1467-9809 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of religious history
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1111/1467-9809.12383 |
