Collection(s) : Bibliothèque de l'Ecole des hautes études, section des sciences religieuses
Paru le 01/02/2021 | Broché 221 pages
Public motivé
The 'Alawï religion, known for most of its history by the name Nusayriyya, emerged in Iraq over a millennium ago. An esoteric, syncretistic religion with a close affinity to Shī'ī Islam, its origins are shrouded in obscurity. Over time, beliefs and rituals deriving from paganism, Zoroastrianism and Christianity were grafted to the radical Shī'ī substrate, giving the religion its distinctive character. Throughout their history the 'Alawīs were a persecuted religious minority, but in the 1970s they came to power in Syria and retained absolute rule until recently. There is also a significant population in Hatai Province in southern Turkey.
Arising from the authors' long-standing interest in the 'Alawiī religion, this anthology offers for the first time a selection from the distinctive literature of the mysterious religion. The book opens with a detailed introduction setting the background for the themes it will cover : the mystery of the divinity in the 'Alawiī faith ; rituals and ceremonies ; calendar and festivals ; the doctrine of reincarnation ; initiation into the divine mysteries and the esoteric circle ; and finally, the identity and self-definition of the religion's followers vis-à-vis Islam and other religions.
Meir M. Bar-Asher is Professor of Islamic Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a member of the Department of Arabic Language and Literature at this university. Among his publications are Scripture and Exegesis in Early Shi'ism (1999) and The Nusayri-'Alawi Religion : An Enquiry into Its Theology and Liturgy (2002, with A. Kofsky) ; Les Juifs dans le Coran (2019).
Aryeh Kofsky is Professor of Comparative Religion in the Department of Israel Studies, the University of Haifa. Among his publications are Eusebius of Caesarea Against Paganism (2000) ; The Nusayri-'Alawi Religion : An Enquiry into Its Theology and Liturgy (2002, with M. M. Bar-Asher) ; Syriac Idiosyncrasies : Theology and Hermeneutics in Early Syriac Literature (2010, with S. Ruzer).
