MARC record from Internet Archive

LEADER: 03791pam a2200433 i 4500
001 12261353
005 20161219173235.0
008 160916s2016 scu b 001 0 eng
010 $a 2016028744
020 $a9781611176780$qhardcover
020 $a1611176786$qhardcover
024 $a40026502908
035 $a(OCoLC)ocn949866160
035 $a(OCoLC)949866160
035 $a(NNC)12261353
040 $aDLC$beng$erda$cDLC$dYDXCP$dBTCTA$dBDX$dOCLCO$dOCLCF$dOCLCO$dNhCcYBP
042 $apcc
050 00 $aBP195.I8$bH64 2016
082 00 $a297.8/22$223
084 $aREL000000$aREL037000$2bisacsh
100 1 $aHollenberg, David,$eauthor.
245 10 $aBeyond the Qurʼān :$bearly Ismāʻīlī taʼwīl and the secrets of the prophets /$cDavid Hollenberg.
264 1 $aColumbia, South Carolina :$bUniversity of South Carolina Press,$c[2016]
300 $axiv, 176 pages ;$c24 cm
336 $atext$btxt$2rdacontent
337 $aunmediated$bn$2rdamedia
338 $avolume$bnc$2rdacarrier
520 $a"Ismailism, one of the three major branches of Shiism, is best known for taʼwil, an esoteric, allegorizing scriptural exegesis. Beyond the Qurʼan: Early Ismaili taʼwil and the Secrets of the Prophets is the first book-length study of this interpretive genre. Analyzing sources composed by tenth-century Ismaili missionaries in light of social-science theories of cognition and sectarianism, David Hollenberg argues that the missionaries used taʼwil to instill in acolytes a set of symbolic patterns, forms, and "logics." This shared symbolic world bound the community together as it created a gulf between community members and those outside the movement. Hollenberg thus situates taʼwil socially, as an interpretive practice that sustained a community of believers. An important aspect of taʼwil is its unconventional objects of interpretation. Ismaili missionaries mixed Qurʼanic exegesis with interpretation of Torah, Gospels, Greek philosophy, and symbols such as the Christian Cross and Eucharist, as well as Jewish festivals. Previously scholars have speculated that this extra- Qurʼanic taʼwil was intended to convert Jews and Christians to Ismailism. Hollenberg, departing from this view, argues that such interpretations were, like Ismaili interpretations of the Qurʼan, intended for an Ismaili audience, many of whom converted to the movement from other branches of Shiism. Hollenberg argues that through exegesis of these unconventional sources, the missionaries demonstrated that their imam alone could strip the external husk from all manner of sources and show the initiates reality in its pure, unmediated form, an imaginal world to which they alone had access. They also fulfilled the promise that their imam would teach them the secrets behind all religions, a sign that the initial stage of the end of days had commenced. Beyond the Qurʼan contributes to our understanding of early Ismaili doctrine, Fatimid rhetoric, and, more broadly, the use of esoteric literatures in the history of religion"--$cProvided by publisher.
504 $aIncludes bibliographical references and index.
650 0 $aIsmailites$xHistory.
630 00 $aQurʼan$xCriticism, interpretation, etc.$xHistory.
650 7 $aRELIGION / General.$2bisacsh
650 7 $aRELIGION / Islam / General.$2bisacsh
630 07 $aQurʼan.$2fast$0(OCoLC)fst01842877
650 7 $aIsmailites.$2fast$0(OCoLC)fst00980134
655 7 $aCriticism, interpretation, etc.$2fast$0(OCoLC)fst01411635
655 7 $aHistory.$2fast$0(OCoLC)fst01411628
776 08 $iElectronic version:$aHollenberg, David.$tBeyond the Quran.$dColumbia, South Carolina : University of South Carolina Press, 2016$z9781611176797$w(DLC) 2016042971$w(OCoLC)958625709
852 00 $bglx$hBP195.I8$iH64 2016