A Survey of Swahili Islamic Epic Sagas

A Survey of Swahili Islamic Epic Sagas PDF

Author: Jan Knappert

Publisher:

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13:

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A brief review of all of the known Swahili epic poems and some other narrative songs, the 48 alphabetically listed entries contain summaries of the poems and offer some limited critical comment. Also included is an introduction explaining the history of the tradition and the research methods of the author.

The Story of Swahili

The Story of Swahili PDF

Author: John M. Mugane

Publisher: Ohio University Press

Published: 2015-07-15

Total Pages: 338

ISBN-13: 0896804895

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Swahili was once an obscure dialect of an East African Bantu language. Today more than one hundred million people use it: Swahili is to eastern and central Africa what English is to the world. From its embrace in the 1960s by the black freedom movement in the United States to its adoption in 2004 as the African Union’s official language, Swahili has become a truly international language. How this came about and why, of all African languages, it happened only to Swahili is the story that John M. Mugane sets out to explore. The remarkable adaptability of Swahili has allowed Africans and others to tailor the language to their needs, extending its influence far beyond its place of origin. Its symbolic as well as its practical power has evolved from its status as a language of contact among diverse cultures, even as it embodies the history of communities in eastern and central Africa and throughout the Indian Ocean world. The Story of Swahili calls for a reevaluation of the widespread assumption that cultural superiority, military conquest, and economic dominance determine a language’s prosperity. This sweeping history gives a vibrant, living language its due, highlighting its nimbleness from its beginnings to its place today in the fast-changing world of global communication.

On the Poetics of the Utendi

On the Poetics of the Utendi PDF

Author: Clarissa Vierke

Publisher: LIT Verlag Münster

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 723

ISBN-13: 3643800894

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Originally published as author's thesis (doctoral)--BIGSAS, Bayreuth, 2009.

Religious Perspectives in Modern Muslim and Jewish Literatures

Religious Perspectives in Modern Muslim and Jewish Literatures PDF

Author: Glenda Abramson

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 354

ISBN-13: 9780415350211

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This book brings together fascinating discussions of the way in which Muslim and Jewish beliefs and practices are represented in modern literary texts of poetry, fiction and drama. The chapters collected here consider elements of the expression of Judaism and Islam in modern literature. Key topics such as religious ideas and teachings, aspects of mysticism, the tenets of religion, uses made of sacred texts, religion and popular culture and reflections of religious controversies are covered. While there is an embodied comparative element to the chapters, the essays are not confined by comparisons and cover a wide range of the literary expression of religious issues. With contributions from a group of international scholars, all of whom are experts in the field and each of whom has brought a particular perspective to the topic, this book is a significant contribution to, and will stimulate further research on, the various literatures treated, reflection on comparative work on these two cultural traditions, and new interest in literary expressions of religion and religiousness in general.

Tracing Language Movement in Africa

Tracing Language Movement in Africa PDF

Author: Ericka A. Albaugh

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2018-01-10

Total Pages: 400

ISBN-13: 0190657561

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The great diversity of ethnicities and languages in Africa encourages a vision of Africa as a fragmented continent, with language maps only perpetuating this vision by drawing discrete language groups. In reality, however, most people can communicate with most others within and across linguistic boundaries, even if not in languages taught or learned in schools. Many disciplines have looked carefully at language movement and change on the continent, but their lack of interaction has prevented the emergence of a cohesive picture of African languages. Tracing Language Movement in Africa gathers eighteen scholars together to offer a truly multidisciplinary representation of language in Africa, combining insights from history, archaeology, religion, linguistics, political science, and philosophy. The resulting volume illuminates commonalities and distinctions in these disciplines' understanding of language change and movement in Africa. The volume is empirical -- aiming to represent language more accurately on the continent -- as well as theoretical. It identifies the theories that each discipline uses to make sense of language movement in Africa in plain terms and highlights the themes that cut across all disciplines: how scholars use data, understand boundaries, represent change, and conceptualize power. The volume is organized to reflect differing conceptions of language that arise from its discipline-specific contributions: that is, tendencies to study changes that consolidate language or those that splinter it, viewing languages as whole or in part. Each contribution includes a short explanation of a discipline's theoretical and methodological approaches to language movement and change to ensure that the chapters are accessible to non-specialists, followed by an illustrative empirical case study. This volume will inspire multidisciplinary conversations around the study of language change in Africa, opening new interdisciplinary dialogue and spurring scholars to adapt the questions, data, and method of other disciplines to the problems that animate their own fields.

The Penguin Dictionary of Islam

The Penguin Dictionary of Islam PDF

Author: Azim Nanji

Publisher: Penguin UK

Published: 2008-04-24

Total Pages: 323

ISBN-13: 0141920866

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Islam today is a truly global faith, yet it remains somewhat of an enigma to many of us. Each and every day our newspapers are saturated with references to Islam; Quran, Taliban, Hijab, Fatwa, Allah, Sunni, Jihad, Shia, the list goes on. But how much do we really understand? Are we, in fact, misunderstanding? The Penguin Dictionary of Islam provides complete, impartial answers. It includes extensive coverage of the historical formations of the worldwide Muslim community and highlights key modern Muslim figures and events. Understanding Islam is vital to understanding our world and this text is the definitive authority, designed for both general and academic readers.

Muslims beyond the Arab World

Muslims beyond the Arab World PDF

Author: Fallou Ngom

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2016-06-01

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 0190279885

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Muslims beyond the Arab World explores the vibrant tradition of writing African languages using the modified Arabic script ('Ajami) alongside the rise of the Muridiyya Sufi order in Senegal. The book demonstrates how the development of the 'Ajami literary tradition is entwined with the flourishing of the Muridiyya into one of sub-Saharan Africa's most powerful and dynamic Sufi organizations. It offers a close reading of the rich hagiographic and didactic written, recited, and chanted 'Ajami texts of the Muridiyya, works largely unknown to scholars. The texts describe the life and Sufi odyssey of the order's founder, Shaykh Ahmadu Bamba Mbakke (1853-1927),his conflicts with local rulers and Muslim clerics and the French colonial administration, and the traditions and teachings he championed that permanently shaped the identity and behaviors of his followers. Fallou Ngom evaluates prevailing representations of the Muridiyya movement and offers alternative perspectives. He demonstrates how the Mur?ds used their written, recited, and chanted 'Ajami materials as an effective mass communication tool in conveying to the masses Bamba's poignant odyssey, doctrine, the virtues he stood for and cultivated among his followers-self-esteem, self-reliance, strong faith, work ethic, pursuit of excellence, determination, nonviolence, and optimism in the face of adversity-without the knowledge of the French colonial administration and many academics. Muslims beyond the Arab World argues that this is the source of the resilience, appeal, and expansion of Muridiyya, which has fascinated observers since its inception in 1883.

Martyrdom in Islam

Martyrdom in Islam PDF

Author: David Cook

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2007-01-15

Total Pages: 228

ISBN-13: 9780521615518

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