We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Rehabilitating the Spirituality of Pre-Islamic Arabia: On the Importance of the Kahin, the Jinn, and the Tribal Ancestral Cult.
- Authors
Moreman, Christopher M.
- Abstract
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.
- Subjects
KAHIN, George McTurnan, 1918-2000; HISTORY of Islam; SPIRITUALITY; ANTHROPOLOGY; MUSLIM history
- Publication
Journal of Religious History, 2017, Vol 41, Issue 2, p137
- ISSN
0022-4227
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/1467-9809.12383