Papers by Louise Gallorini
Approaches to the Study of Pre-Modern Arabic Anthologies Series: Islamic History and Civilization... more Approaches to the Study of Pre-Modern Arabic Anthologies Series: Islamic History and Civilization, Volume: 180 Editors: Nadia Maria El Cheikh and Bilal Orfali Literary anthology is a general category of adab that encompasses a range of compilations which has enjoyed tremendous popularity in Arabic literature, probably like no other literature of the world. The aim of this volume is to raise and discuss questions about the different approaches to the study of pre-modern Arabic anthologies from the perspectives of philology, religion, history, geography, and literature. Contributors: Lyall Armstrong, Carl Davila, Matthew L. Keegan, Boutheina Khaldi, Enass Khansa, Jeremy Kurzyniec, David Larsen, Nathaniel A. Miller, Suleiman A. Mourad, Hans-Peter Pökel, Isabel Toral
Insatiable Appetite: Food as Cultural Signifier in the Middle East and Beyond, 2019
Mysticism and Ethics in Islam (American University of Beirut, 2–3 May 2019) Conference Organizers... more Mysticism and Ethics in Islam (American University of Beirut, 2–3 May 2019) Conference Organizers: Bilal Orfali, Mohammed Rustom, and Radwan Sayyid
Journal of Ethnophilosophical Questions and Global Ethics, 2019
This paper focuses on the general representation of angels in the Qur’ān, and their relationship ... more This paper focuses on the general representation of angels in the Qur’ān, and their relationship to another category of beings in the Islamic worldview, the jinn. A quick review of the works written about angelology in the Islamic world and the presence of jinn as well as an analysis of the Quranic verses will show us that the apparition of Islam was closely linked to the accentuation of the place of angels in the worldview of the believers. This created a shift in the position and role of the jinn, beings
subject of popular belief in pre-islamic Arabia, whereby angels would take on the role of exclusive messengers from the Otherworld, a function which was typical of the jinn in pre-islamic Arabia. Jinn would remain an important feature of the imaginary within the Islamic world, albeit with a modified role.
Conferences by Louise Gallorini
Insatiable Appetite:
Food as a Cultural Signifier
International & Interdisciplinary Conference ... more Insatiable Appetite:
Food as a Cultural Signifier
International & Interdisciplinary Conference of the
Arab-German Young Academy of Sciences and Humanities (AGYA)
12-14 May 2016
Auditorium B1/College Hall
American University of Beirut
The Arab-German Young Academy of Sciences and Humanities (AGYA) has organized an international an... more The Arab-German Young Academy of Sciences and Humanities (AGYA) has organized an international and interdisciplinary conference entitled Insatiable Appetite : Food as a Cultural Signifier in Beirut. AGYA’s goal is to strengthen international cooperation between young Arab and German researchers in the various fields of sciences and humanities, with an interdisciplinary perspective. This conference was organized by Julia Hauser (Assistant Professor of Global History, University of Kassel, Germany), Bilal Orfali (Associate Professor of Arabic, American University of Beirut, Lebanon), and Kirill Dmitriev (Lecturer in Arabic, University of St Andrews, UK). Food in the lens of a common heritage and common challenges : this was the focus of the participants’ lectures and activities held over three days, with the added presence of food historian Charles Perry.
Book Reviews by Louise Gallorini
Reviews by Louise Gallorini
Conference Report: “Approaches to the Study of Pre-Modern Arabic Anthologies”
Held in Beirut on M... more Conference Report: “Approaches to the Study of Pre-Modern Arabic Anthologies”
Held in Beirut on May 10-12th 2018
Conference organised by Abdul Rahim Abu-Husayn and Bilal Orfali
Report written by Louise Gallorini
✶ ✶ ✶
This conference was organised over three days by Abdul Rahim Abu-Husayn and Bilal Orfali. The first day of the conference was held on the premises of the American University of Beirut, after which the Bristol Hotel in Beirut became the venue for the second and third days of the conference.
Nadia Maria El Cheikh (Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences - AUB), Bilal Orfali (Chair of the Department of Arabic and Near Eastern Languages - AUB) and Abdul Rahim Abu-Husayn (Director of the Center for Arts and Humanities - AUB) welcomed participants to this conference on Thursday. This conference, which they had hoped to organise for many years, should result in the publication of the papers presented. The different presentations explored the overwhelming presence of anthologies in pre-modern Arabic literature, a phenomenon unique to this literature, where you may find anthologies and compilations on any kind of subject or following diverse themes, from love, wine, travel, death to music, difficult words and blaming or praising things. What were the reasons for the popularity of the genre, and what was its function? To what extent can they be considered as original works in themselves, how the author’s influence can be traced in his manner and method of compiling? What can be inferred from the chosen excerpts over what has been left out by an author and most of the time lost to us? What can these compilations say on the historical and cultural context? These questions and many others were raised about this genre, and continue to rise for the readers and scholars today.
The conference was composed by eight panels on the following themes: “Emotions”, “Pleasure”, “Faith and Education”, “This is not a tale”, “Poetry”, “Compilation, Authorship and Readership”, and “Geography”. Each panel was followed by an open question session, allowing the audience to participate and engage with the participants. A keynote speech was given by Professor Ramzi Baalbaki of the American University of Beirut on the second day, and an honorary guest speech by Professor Beatrice Gruendler of the Freie Universität of Berlin on the third day, after which the conference was concluded by a dinner.
Conference Presentations by Louise Gallorini
Mi‘rāj literature is an aspect of islamic eschatological literature built upon a few verses of th... more Mi‘rāj literature is an aspect of islamic eschatological literature built upon a few verses of the Qur’ān pertaining to what came to be known as the night journey and heavenly ascension of Prophet Muḥammad. It was then progressively elaborated and extended in hadīth literature until it could be said that it became a literary genre in itself (Tottoli, 2017), with an elaboration on religious figures such as prophets and angels.
Mi‘rāj literature took then a particular importance in sufi literature, and this is what this paper is interested in : “For the Ṣūfīs, the night journey and ascension of the Prophet became the prototype of the soul's itinerary to God as it rises from the bonds of sensuality to the height of mystical knowledge.” (Böwering, 2005). It is this travel as quest for mystical knowledge - reflecting a well known hadīth on travel for the quest for knowledge - that we will be the main focus of this paper, with an early example of sufi literature which is the Kitāb al-miʿrāj attributed to Abū Yazīd al-Bisṭāmī (d. 261/874–5 or 234/848–9), an important sufi figure interestingly known only by works and sayings attributed to him, as no work authored by him exists (Mojaddedi, 2012). The text used is based on R.A. Nicholson’s edition (1926), and this sufi miʿrāj is possibly the earliest sufi work on the theme (El Azma, 1973). We will look into the story itself with its characters, narrative and the symbolic implications derived from a rendering of a sufi master’s ascension in mimesis to the prophetic ascension, as well as the language used, questioning the context and history of this text.
Thesis Chapters by Louise Gallorini
This dissertation is a literary study tracing the roles and functions of angels as characters in ... more This dissertation is a literary study tracing the roles and functions of angels as characters in the Quranic text and pre-Mongol Sufi literature (7th-12th century CE). The first chapter explores the mythopoeic process related to angels in the Quranic text, listing their roles and functions, and how they illustrate one of the main cosmological shifts between pre-islamic belief systems and the islamic belief system. The second chapter traces the evolution of these roles and functions in the tafsīr genre, more specifically the Sufi commentary subgenre, with the examples of commentaries by al-Tustarī (d. 283/896) al-Sulamī (d.412/1021), al-Qushayrī (d.465/1072), Ibn Barrajān (d. 536/1141) and Rūzbihān Baqlī (d.606/1209). Out of these arise two additional functions, not found in the Qurʾān, illustrating an evolution in time in the religious world-view. The third and fourth chapters explores these functions in two different examples of Sufi literature of the same period, and which could be considered as “Quranic commentaries” in a general sense. The third chapter thus explores the presence and functions of angels in Sufi miʿrāj narratives, or tales of celestial ascensions ascribed to Sufi masters, with the two main examples of Abū Yazīd al-Bisṭāmī (d. 261/874-5 or 234/848-9) and Muḥyī al-Dīn Ibn ʿArabī (d. 645/1248). The fourth chapter focuses on angels as they appear in the “Meccan Openings” (al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya) by Ibn ʿArabī. Angels as characters appear thus to embody a specific multi-layered symbolic function in Sufi texts, whereby they become multivalent characters or signs, whether present or absent from the narrative, signifiers for the readers, both inside and outside the text.
http://hdl.handle.net/10938/22446
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Papers by Louise Gallorini
subject of popular belief in pre-islamic Arabia, whereby angels would take on the role of exclusive messengers from the Otherworld, a function which was typical of the jinn in pre-islamic Arabia. Jinn would remain an important feature of the imaginary within the Islamic world, albeit with a modified role.
Conferences by Louise Gallorini
Food as a Cultural Signifier
International & Interdisciplinary Conference of the
Arab-German Young Academy of Sciences and Humanities (AGYA)
12-14 May 2016
Auditorium B1/College Hall
American University of Beirut
Book Reviews by Louise Gallorini
Reviews by Louise Gallorini
Held in Beirut on May 10-12th 2018
Conference organised by Abdul Rahim Abu-Husayn and Bilal Orfali
Report written by Louise Gallorini
✶ ✶ ✶
This conference was organised over three days by Abdul Rahim Abu-Husayn and Bilal Orfali. The first day of the conference was held on the premises of the American University of Beirut, after which the Bristol Hotel in Beirut became the venue for the second and third days of the conference.
Nadia Maria El Cheikh (Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences - AUB), Bilal Orfali (Chair of the Department of Arabic and Near Eastern Languages - AUB) and Abdul Rahim Abu-Husayn (Director of the Center for Arts and Humanities - AUB) welcomed participants to this conference on Thursday. This conference, which they had hoped to organise for many years, should result in the publication of the papers presented. The different presentations explored the overwhelming presence of anthologies in pre-modern Arabic literature, a phenomenon unique to this literature, where you may find anthologies and compilations on any kind of subject or following diverse themes, from love, wine, travel, death to music, difficult words and blaming or praising things. What were the reasons for the popularity of the genre, and what was its function? To what extent can they be considered as original works in themselves, how the author’s influence can be traced in his manner and method of compiling? What can be inferred from the chosen excerpts over what has been left out by an author and most of the time lost to us? What can these compilations say on the historical and cultural context? These questions and many others were raised about this genre, and continue to rise for the readers and scholars today.
The conference was composed by eight panels on the following themes: “Emotions”, “Pleasure”, “Faith and Education”, “This is not a tale”, “Poetry”, “Compilation, Authorship and Readership”, and “Geography”. Each panel was followed by an open question session, allowing the audience to participate and engage with the participants. A keynote speech was given by Professor Ramzi Baalbaki of the American University of Beirut on the second day, and an honorary guest speech by Professor Beatrice Gruendler of the Freie Universität of Berlin on the third day, after which the conference was concluded by a dinner.
Conference Presentations by Louise Gallorini
Mi‘rāj literature took then a particular importance in sufi literature, and this is what this paper is interested in : “For the Ṣūfīs, the night journey and ascension of the Prophet became the prototype of the soul's itinerary to God as it rises from the bonds of sensuality to the height of mystical knowledge.” (Böwering, 2005). It is this travel as quest for mystical knowledge - reflecting a well known hadīth on travel for the quest for knowledge - that we will be the main focus of this paper, with an early example of sufi literature which is the Kitāb al-miʿrāj attributed to Abū Yazīd al-Bisṭāmī (d. 261/874–5 or 234/848–9), an important sufi figure interestingly known only by works and sayings attributed to him, as no work authored by him exists (Mojaddedi, 2012). The text used is based on R.A. Nicholson’s edition (1926), and this sufi miʿrāj is possibly the earliest sufi work on the theme (El Azma, 1973). We will look into the story itself with its characters, narrative and the symbolic implications derived from a rendering of a sufi master’s ascension in mimesis to the prophetic ascension, as well as the language used, questioning the context and history of this text.
Thesis Chapters by Louise Gallorini
http://hdl.handle.net/10938/22446
subject of popular belief in pre-islamic Arabia, whereby angels would take on the role of exclusive messengers from the Otherworld, a function which was typical of the jinn in pre-islamic Arabia. Jinn would remain an important feature of the imaginary within the Islamic world, albeit with a modified role.
Food as a Cultural Signifier
International & Interdisciplinary Conference of the
Arab-German Young Academy of Sciences and Humanities (AGYA)
12-14 May 2016
Auditorium B1/College Hall
American University of Beirut
Held in Beirut on May 10-12th 2018
Conference organised by Abdul Rahim Abu-Husayn and Bilal Orfali
Report written by Louise Gallorini
✶ ✶ ✶
This conference was organised over three days by Abdul Rahim Abu-Husayn and Bilal Orfali. The first day of the conference was held on the premises of the American University of Beirut, after which the Bristol Hotel in Beirut became the venue for the second and third days of the conference.
Nadia Maria El Cheikh (Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences - AUB), Bilal Orfali (Chair of the Department of Arabic and Near Eastern Languages - AUB) and Abdul Rahim Abu-Husayn (Director of the Center for Arts and Humanities - AUB) welcomed participants to this conference on Thursday. This conference, which they had hoped to organise for many years, should result in the publication of the papers presented. The different presentations explored the overwhelming presence of anthologies in pre-modern Arabic literature, a phenomenon unique to this literature, where you may find anthologies and compilations on any kind of subject or following diverse themes, from love, wine, travel, death to music, difficult words and blaming or praising things. What were the reasons for the popularity of the genre, and what was its function? To what extent can they be considered as original works in themselves, how the author’s influence can be traced in his manner and method of compiling? What can be inferred from the chosen excerpts over what has been left out by an author and most of the time lost to us? What can these compilations say on the historical and cultural context? These questions and many others were raised about this genre, and continue to rise for the readers and scholars today.
The conference was composed by eight panels on the following themes: “Emotions”, “Pleasure”, “Faith and Education”, “This is not a tale”, “Poetry”, “Compilation, Authorship and Readership”, and “Geography”. Each panel was followed by an open question session, allowing the audience to participate and engage with the participants. A keynote speech was given by Professor Ramzi Baalbaki of the American University of Beirut on the second day, and an honorary guest speech by Professor Beatrice Gruendler of the Freie Universität of Berlin on the third day, after which the conference was concluded by a dinner.
Mi‘rāj literature took then a particular importance in sufi literature, and this is what this paper is interested in : “For the Ṣūfīs, the night journey and ascension of the Prophet became the prototype of the soul's itinerary to God as it rises from the bonds of sensuality to the height of mystical knowledge.” (Böwering, 2005). It is this travel as quest for mystical knowledge - reflecting a well known hadīth on travel for the quest for knowledge - that we will be the main focus of this paper, with an early example of sufi literature which is the Kitāb al-miʿrāj attributed to Abū Yazīd al-Bisṭāmī (d. 261/874–5 or 234/848–9), an important sufi figure interestingly known only by works and sayings attributed to him, as no work authored by him exists (Mojaddedi, 2012). The text used is based on R.A. Nicholson’s edition (1926), and this sufi miʿrāj is possibly the earliest sufi work on the theme (El Azma, 1973). We will look into the story itself with its characters, narrative and the symbolic implications derived from a rendering of a sufi master’s ascension in mimesis to the prophetic ascension, as well as the language used, questioning the context and history of this text.
http://hdl.handle.net/10938/22446