The Arabic Version of the Liber Denudationis: How Fāṭimid Controversies Shaped Medieval European Views of Islam
This article investigates an Arabic critique of Islam known as The Book of Clarity with Regard to the Truth (Kitāb al-Wāḍiḥ bi-al-ḥaqq; shortened to Clarity in Truth), composed by the Muslim convert to Coptic Christianity known as Būluṣ ibn Rajāʾ (c. 950s - after 1012). The article examines his biog...
| Published in: | Islam and Christian-Muslim relations |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis
[2020]
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| In: |
Islam and Christian-Muslim relations
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| Further subjects: | B
Muslim conversion to Christianity
B Coptic Church B Clarity in Truth B Egypt B biography of Muḥammad B Būluṣ ibn Rajāʾ B Book of Denuding B Qur’an B Latin Translations B Hadith B Fāṭimids B Liber Denudationis B Western Christian views of the Qur’an B Eastern Christian views of Islam B Christian Arabic networks B Apostasy B intra-Islamic polemics |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) |
| Summary: | This article investigates an Arabic critique of Islam known as The Book of Clarity with Regard to the Truth (Kitāb al-Wāḍiḥ bi-al-ḥaqq; shortened to Clarity in Truth), composed by the Muslim convert to Coptic Christianity known as Būluṣ ibn Rajāʾ (c. 950s - after 1012). The article examines his biography, the historical processes that led to the composition of his work, and his use of Islamic sources, which subsequently made a considerable impact on Western Christian views of Islam. Previously, Clarity in Truth was only known in its Latin translation as the Book of Denuding (Liber Denudationis), and the circumstances of its authorship, historical origins and original content have been contested by scholars. This article answers questions about the author Būluṣ ibn Rajāʾ and his Arabic text, investigates his use of Islamic sources to support his arguments, and highlights how Clarity in Truth’s arguments were disseminated into the western European environment. Overall, this historical analysis explains the process by which intra-Islamic polemics were integrated into Christian Arabic literature and later disseminated via Eastern Christian networks into medieval Europe, consequently shaping their views of the Qur’an and Islam. |
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| ISSN: | 1469-9311 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Islam and Christian-Muslim relations
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/09596410.2021.1872925 |