The Yaresan

The Yaresan
Author: M. Reza Hamzeh'ee
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 336
Release: 2021-10-11
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 3112400909

The series Islamkundliche Untersuchungen was founded in 1969 by the Klaus Schwarz Verlag. Since then, it has become one of the most important venues for publications in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies. Its more than 350 volumes cover a wide range of topics from the history, culture and societies of the Middle East and North Africa as well as neighboring regions in central, south and southeast Asia.

Sufism in the Secret History of Persia

Sufism in the Secret History of Persia
Author: Milad Milani
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 227
Release: 2014-10-14
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1317544587

Sufism formed one of the cultures of resistance which has existed in the social fabric of Persia since antiquity. Such resistance continues to manifest itself today with many looking to Sufism as a model of cooperation between East and West, between traditional and modern. 'Sufism in the Secret History of Persia' explores the place of Sufi mysticism in Iran's intellectual and spiritual consciousness through traditional and contemporary Sufi thinkers and writers. Sufism in the Secret History of Persia examines the current of spirituality which extends from the old Iranian worship of Mithra to modern Islam. This current always contains elements of gnosis and inner knowing, but has often provided impetus for socio-political resistance. The study describes how these persisting pre-Islamic cultural and socio-religious elements have secretly challenged Muslim orthodoxies and continue to shape the nature and orientation of contemporary Sufism.

Religions of Iran

Religions of Iran
Author: Richard Foltz
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 400
Release: 2013-11-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1780743092

A sweeping new work exploring Iran’s cultural import and influence on each of the world’s major religions Today it is Iran's association with Islam that commands discussion and debate. But this perception obscures a far more influential and complex relationship with religion. Iran has in fact played an unparalleled role in shaping all the world religions, injecting Iranian ideas into the Jewish, Buddhist, Christian, and Muslim traditions. This vivid and surprising work explores the manner in which Persian culture has interacted with and transformed each world faith, from the migration of the Israelites to Iran thousands of years ago, to the influence of Iranian notions on Mahayana Buddhism and Christianity. Travelling through thousands of years of history, Richard Foltz offers a vital and fresh account of our spiritual heritage in this fascinating region.

Yari Religion in Iran

Yari Religion in Iran
Author: S. Behnaz Hosseini
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 210
Release: 2022-02-21
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9811664447

This book sheds light on the cultural traits and religious beliefs of the Yārsan community. By incorporating historical and ethnographic research on Yārsan community in west and North of Iran, fieldwork and meticulous analysis of religious texts and international literature, it reveals contemporary aspects of Yārsan culture and life that are lesser known to the wider public, and provides insights into their lives, traditions and prospects for the future. With researchers from inside Iran and all over the world, this book offers a new look at Yārsan.

Kurdish Culture and Society

Kurdish Culture and Society
Author: Lokman I. Meho
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 384
Release: 2001-02-28
Genre: History
ISBN: 0313016801

Unique, timely, and up-to-date, this volume is the first comprehensive bibliography on Kurdish culture and society. Compiled to help students, educators, researchers, and policy makers find relevant information with ease, the book includes more than 930 items in four major languages--Arabic, English, French, and German. This work covers the fields of anthropology, archaeology, art, communication, demography, travel, economy, education, ethnicity, health, journalism, language, literature, migration, music, religion, social structure, urbanization, and women's studies. The volume includes books and book chapters, journal articles, Ph.D. dissertations, conference papers, articles in dictionaries and encyclopedias, and important Web sites. Essays provide an overview of Kurdish society as well as surveys of Kurdish life in Syria, the former Soviet Union, Europe, and Lebanon. An invaluable guide for researchers interested in the Kurds and Kurdistan, this book will aid in the location of information that is highly diverse and scattered. With its focus on a timely subject, this book fills a major gap in the bibliographic literature.

From the Ashes of Angels

From the Ashes of Angels
Author: Andrew Collins
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 434
Release: 2001-09-01
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1591439043

Provides convincing evidence that angels, demons, and fallen angels were flesh-and-blood members of a giant race predating humanity, spoken of in the Bible as the Nephilim. • Indicates that the earthly paradise of Eden was a realm in the mountains of Kurdistan. • By the author of Gateway to Atlantis. Our mythology describes how beings of great beauty and intelligence, who served as messengers of gods, fell from grace through pride. These angels, also known as Watchers, are spoken of in the Bible and other religious texts as lusting after human women, who lay with them and gave birth to giant offspring called the Nephilim. These religious sources also record how these beings revealed forbidden arts and sciences to humanity--transgressions that led to their destruction in the Great Flood. Andrew Collins reveals that these angels, demons, and fallen angels were flesh-and-blood members of a race predating our own. He offers evidence that they lived in Egypt (prior to the ancient Egyptians), where they built the Sphinx and other megalithic monuments, before leaving the region for what is now eastern Turkey following the cataclysms that accompanied the last Ice Age. Here they lived in isolation before gradually establishing contact with the developing human societies of the Mesopotamian plains below. Humanity regarded these angels--described as tall, white-haired beings with viperlike faces and burning eyes--as gods and their realm the paradise wherein grew the tree of knowledge. Andrew Collins demonstrates how the legends behind the fall of the Watchers echo the faded memory of actual historical events and that the legacy they have left humanity is one we can afford to ignore only at our own peril.

"God First and Last". Religious Traditions and Music of the Yaresan of Guran

Author: Yiannis Kanakis
Publisher: Harrassowitz
Total Pages: 188
Release: 2020-04-24
Genre:
ISBN: 9783447114240

The Yaresan or Ahl-e Haqq are a relatively large minority group whose religion originates in the border regions between Iran and Iraq. As members of traditional Yaresan communities are becoming more visible in the West, both as diaspora groups and in academia, there is an increasing demand for reliable information about their background. Academic interest is also growing. Recent scholarly publications, however, tend to assume a fundamental knowledge of the Yaresan tradition, which is not easy to glean from existing sources. This is made more complicated by the very real differences between the European world view and that of traditional Yarsanism. For that reason and because music plays an unusually prominent role in Yaresan observance, it was decided to combine the authors' work on religious traditions and music respectively in two volumes. In doing so the religious realities of the traditional Yaresan of the Guran region is communicated by quoting extensively from interviews with community members. The first volume also offers a survey of other religious traditions that are thought to have been influential in shaping modern Yarsanism.

The Kurds and Kurdistan

The Kurds and Kurdistan
Author: Lokman I. Meho
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 374
Release: 1997-06-25
Genre: History
ISBN: 0313032203

As the Kurdish question becomes more prominent in Middle Eastern politics, it is attracting attention from the media, the academic community, and governmental and non-governmental organizations. Swamped with questions from the press and academic departments, students of Kurdish topics have needed a comprehensive bibliography on the Kurds. This book meets that need. An introductory essay provides users with general background information on the Kurds and Kurdistan. With over 800 entries, the annotated bibliography provides information on the most important works about the Kurds and Kurdistan published from World War II through 1996. Emphasizing recent titles, the book focuses on English-language scholarly works. Arranged in topical chapters, the book opens with a section on general works, then covers travel works, history and archaeology, politics, minorities and religion in Kurdistan, society, economy, language and education, literature and folklore, and culture and arts.

The Kurds

The Kurds
Author: Sebastian Maisel
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2018-06-21
Genre: History
ISBN:

This indispensable resource for Western readers about the Kurds—an ancient indigenous group that exemplifies diversity in the Middle East—examines their history, politics, economics, and social structure. The Kurds: An Encyclopedia of Life, Culture, and Society provides an insightful examination the Kurds—from their historical beginning to today—through thematic and country-specific essays as well as important primary documents that allow for a greater understanding of the diversity and pluralism of the region. This single-volume work looks at the Kurds from a variety of angles and disciplines, including history, anthropology, economics, religion, geography, and musicology, to cover the ethnic populations of the original Kurdish homeland states as well as of the diaspora. The book evaluates sources in Kurdish (both Kurmanci and Sorani) in addition to information of Arabic, Persian, and Turkish origin to present broad, up-to-date coverage that will serve nonspecialist readers, high school and college students, and professionals, journalists, politicians, and other decision makers who require accurate perspectives on Kurdish history and culture. Additionally, an entire section of the book provides excerpts of primary sources selected for their importance to Kurdish history and identity. These 20 primary source excerpts are accompanied by introductions and analysis that enable readers to fully appreciate their political, religious, and cultural importance.

Oral Literature of Iranian Languages: Kurdish, Pashto, Balochi, Ossetic, Persian and Tajik: Companion Volume II

Oral Literature of Iranian Languages: Kurdish, Pashto, Balochi, Ossetic, Persian and Tajik: Companion Volume II
Author: Ulrich Marzolph
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 426
Release: 2010-05-19
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0857718142

A new History of Persian Literature in 18 Volumes. Persian literature is the jewel in the crown of Persian culture. It has profoundly influenced the literatures of Ottoman Turkey, Muslim India and Turkic Central Asia and been a source of inspiration for Goethe, Emerson, Matthew Arnold and Jorge Luis Borges among others. Yet Persian literature has never received the attention it truly deserves. A History of Persian Literature answers this need and offers a new, comprehensive and detailed history of its subject. This 18-volume, authoritative survey reflects the stature and significance of Persian literature as the single most important accomplishment of the Iranian experience. It includes extensive, revealing examples with contributions by prominent scholars who bring a fresh critical approach to bear on this important topic. This companion volume deals with two of the most under-researched areas of study in the Modern Iranian field: the Persian oral and popular literature of Iran, Tajikistan and Persian-speaking Afghanistan on the one hand; and the written and oral literatures of the Kurds, Pashtuns, Baloch and Ossetians on the other.