Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms

Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms PDF Author: Gerard Russell
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1471114724
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 470

Get Book Here

Book Description
Despite its reputation for religious intolerance, the Middle East has long sheltered many distinctive and strange faiths: one regards the Greek prophets as incarnations of God, another reveres Lucifer in the form of a peacock, and yet another believes that their followers are reincarnated beings who have existed in various forms for thousands of years. These religions represent the last vestiges of the magnificent civilizations in ancient history: Persia, Babylon, Egypt in the time of the Pharaohs. Their followers have learned how to survive foreign attacks and the perils of assimilation. But today, with the Middle East in turmoil, they face greater challenges than ever before. In Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms, former diplomat Gerard Russell ventures to the distant, nearly impassable regions where these mysterious religions still cling to survival. He lives alongside the Mandaeans and Ezidis of Iraq, the Zoroastrians of Iran, the Copts of Egypt, and others. He learns their histories, participates in their rituals, and comes to understand the threats to their communities. Historically a tolerant faith, Islam has, since the early 20th century, witnessed the rise of militant, extremist sects. This development, along with the rippling effects of Western invasion, now pose existential threats to these minority faiths. And as more and more of their youth flee to the West in search of greater freedoms and job prospects, these religions face the dire possibility of extinction. Drawing on his extensive travels and archival research, Russell provides an essential record of the past, present, and perilous future of these remarkable religions.

The Oxford Handbook of Global Religions

The Oxford Handbook of Global Religions PDF Author: Mark Juergensmeyer
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199767645
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 674

Get Book Here

Book Description
This is a reference for understanding world religious societies in their contemporary global diversity. Comprising 60 essays, the volume focuses on communities rather than beliefs, symbols, or rites. The contributors are leading scholars of world religions, many of whom are also members of the communities they study.

Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms

Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms PDF Author: Gerard Russell
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1471114724
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 470

Get Book Here

Book Description
Despite its reputation for religious intolerance, the Middle East has long sheltered many distinctive and strange faiths: one regards the Greek prophets as incarnations of God, another reveres Lucifer in the form of a peacock, and yet another believes that their followers are reincarnated beings who have existed in various forms for thousands of years. These religions represent the last vestiges of the magnificent civilizations in ancient history: Persia, Babylon, Egypt in the time of the Pharaohs. Their followers have learned how to survive foreign attacks and the perils of assimilation. But today, with the Middle East in turmoil, they face greater challenges than ever before. In Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms, former diplomat Gerard Russell ventures to the distant, nearly impassable regions where these mysterious religions still cling to survival. He lives alongside the Mandaeans and Ezidis of Iraq, the Zoroastrians of Iran, the Copts of Egypt, and others. He learns their histories, participates in their rituals, and comes to understand the threats to their communities. Historically a tolerant faith, Islam has, since the early 20th century, witnessed the rise of militant, extremist sects. This development, along with the rippling effects of Western invasion, now pose existential threats to these minority faiths. And as more and more of their youth flee to the West in search of greater freedoms and job prospects, these religions face the dire possibility of extinction. Drawing on his extensive travels and archival research, Russell provides an essential record of the past, present, and perilous future of these remarkable religions.

Perspectives on Lived Religion

Perspectives on Lived Religion PDF Author: Nico Staring
Publisher: Papers on Archaeology of the L
ISBN: 9789088907920
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages :

Get Book Here

Book Description
Religion in the ancient world, and ancient Egyptian religion in particular, is often perceived as static, hierarchically organised, and centred on priests, tombs, and temples. Engagement with archaeological and textual evidence dispels these beguiling if superficial narratives, however. Individuals and groups continuously shaped their environments, and were shaped by them in turn. This volume explores the ways in which this adaptation, negotiation, and reconstruction of religious understandings took place. The material results of these processes are termed 'cultural geography'. The volume examines this 'cultural geography' through the study of three vectors of religious agency: religious practices, the transmission of texts and images, and the study of religious landscapes.Bringing together papers by experts in a variety of Egyptological disciplines and other fields of study, this volume presents the results of an interdisciplinary workshop held at the University of Leiden, 7-9 November 2018, kindly funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) Vidi Talent Scheme. The 16 papers presented here discuss the archaeology of religion and religious practices, landscape archaeology and 'cultural geography', and the transmission and adaptation of texts and images, across not only the history of Egypt from the Early Dynastic to the Christian periods, but also in ancient Sudanese archaeology, the Arabian peninsula, early and medieval south-eastern Asia, and contemporary China.

Faith and Power

Faith and Power PDF Author: Bernard Lewis
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199750629
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 231

Get Book Here

Book Description
Bernard Lewis is recognized around the globe as one of the leading authorities on Islam. Hailed as "the world's foremost Islamic scholar" (Wall Street Journal ), as "a towering figure among experts on the culture and religion of the Muslim world" (Baltimore Sun ), and as "the doyen of Middle Eastern studies" (New York Times ), Lewis is nothing less than a national treasure, a trusted voice that politicians, journalists, historians, and the general public have all turned to for insight into the Middle East. Now, Lewis has brought together writings on religion and government in the Middle East, so different than in the Western world. The collection includes previously unpublished writings, English originals of articles published before only in foreign languages, and an introduction to the book by Lewis. Acclaim for What Went Wrong? A New York Times Bestseller "Replete with the exceptional historical insight that one has come to expect from the world's foremost Islamic scholar." --Karen Elliott House, Wall Street Journal Lewis has done us all--Muslim and non-Muslim alike--a remarkable service.... The book's great strength, and its claim upon our attention, [is that] it offers a long view in the midst of so much short-term and confusing punditry on television, in the op-ed pages, on campuses and in strategic studies think tanks." --Paul Kennedy, The New York Times Book Review Acclaim for From Babel to Dragomans "Lewis has long been considered the West's leading interpreter of Mideast culture and history, and this collection only solidifies his reputation."--National Review "For more than four decades, Lewis has been one of the most respected scholars and prolific writers on the history and politics of the Middle East. In this compilation of more than 50 journal articles and essays, he displays the full range of his eloquence, knowledge, and insight regarding this pivotal and volatile region."--Booklist

The World's Living Religions

The World's Living Religions PDF Author: Archie J. Bahm
Publisher: Jain Publishing Company
ISBN: 0875730000
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 384

Get Book Here

Book Description
The World's Living Religions is an authoritative study of comparative religion, Oriental and Occidental, by one of the foremost scholars in the field. It differs from other similar works on the subject in that, in addition to a detailed study of the five major religions -- Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, the book also offers an insight into the lesser known religions, such as Jainism, Vedantism, Taoism, Confucianism and Shintoism.

The Kids Book of World Religions

The Kids Book of World Religions PDF Author: Jennifer Glossop
Publisher: Kids Can Press Ltd
ISBN: 1554539811
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 68

Get Book Here

Book Description
Children's and educational.

Rulers, Religion, and Riches

Rulers, Religion, and Riches PDF Author: Jared Rubin
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 110703681X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 297

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book seeks to explain the political and religious factors leading to the economic reversal of fortunes between Europe and the Middle East.

Religious Minorities in the Middle East

Religious Minorities in the Middle East PDF Author: Anh Nga Longva
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004207422
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 381

Get Book Here

Book Description
Focusing on the situation of both Muslim and non-Muslim religious minorities in the Middle East, this volume offers an analysis of various strategies of resilience and accommodation from a historical as well a contemporary perspective.

Animals and World Religions

Animals and World Religions PDF Author: Lisa Kemmerer
Publisher: OUP USA
ISBN: 0199790671
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 361

Get Book Here

Book Description
Despite increasing public attention to animal suffering, human beings continue to exploit billions of animals in factory farms medical laboratories, and elsewhere. This wide-ranging study shows how spiritual teachings in seven major religious traditions can help people consider their ethical obligations towards other creatures.

Lived Religion in the Ancient Mediterranean World

Lived Religion in the Ancient Mediterranean World PDF Author: Valentino Gasparini
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3110557940
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 647

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Lived Ancient Religion project has radically changed perspectives on ancient religions and their supposedly personal or public character. This volume applies and further develops these methodological tools, new perspectives and new questions. The religious transformations of the Roman Imperial period appear in new light and more nuances by comparative confrontation and the integration of many disciplines. The contributions are written by specialists from a variety of disciplinary contexts (Jewish Studies, Theology, Classics, Early Christian Studies) dealing with the history of religion of the Mediterranean, West-Asian, and European area from the (late) Hellenistic period to the (early) Middle Ages and shaped by their intensive exchange. From the point of view of their respective fields of research, the contributors engage with discourses on agency, embodiment, appropriation and experience. They present innovative research in four fields also of theoretical debate, which are “Experiencing the Religious”, “Switching the Code”, „A Thing Called Body“ and “Commemorating the Moment”.