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The Resource The republic of Arabic letters : Islam and the European enlightenment, Alexander Bevilacqua

The republic of Arabic letters : Islam and the European enlightenment, Alexander Bevilacqua

Creator
Author
Summary
The foundations of the modern Western understanding of Islamic civilization were laid in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Well after the Crusades but before modern colonialism, Europeans first accurately translated the Qur'an into a European language, mapped the branches of the Islamic arts and sciences, and wrote the history of Muslim societies using Arabic sources. The Republic of Arabic Letters provides the first panoramic treatment of this transformation. Relying on a variety of unpublished sources in six languages, it recounts how Christian scholars first came to a clear-eyed view of Islam. Its protagonists are Europeans who learned Arabic and used their linguistic skills to translate and interpret Islamic civilization. Christians both Catholic and Protestant, and not the secular thinkers of the Enlightenment, established this new knowledge, which swept away religious prejudice and cast aside a medieval tradition of polemical falsehoods. Beginning with the collection of Islamic manuscripts in the Near East and beyond, the book moves from Rome, Paris and Oxford to Cambridge, London and Leiden in order to reconstruct the most important breakthroughs in this scholarly movement. By identifying the individual manuscripts used, The Republic of Arabic Letters reveals how the translators, willing to be taught by Islamic traditions, imported contemporary Muslim interpretations and judgments into the European body of knowledge about Islam. Eventually, their books reached readers like Voltaire and Edward Gibbon, who assimilated not just their factual content but their interpretations, weaving them into the fabric of Enlightenment thought.--
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Extent
xv, 340 pages, 24 unnumbered pages of plates
Contents
  • The Oriental library
  • The Qur'an in translation
  • A new view of Islam
  • D'Herbelot's Oriental garden
  • Islam in history
  • Islam and the enlightenment
Isbn
9780674975927
Instance
Label
The republic of Arabic letters : Islam and the European enlightenment
Title
The republic of Arabic letters
Title remainder
Islam and the European enlightenment
Statement of responsibility
Alexander Bevilacqua
Creator
Author
Subject
Language
eng
Summary
The foundations of the modern Western understanding of Islamic civilization were laid in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Well after the Crusades but before modern colonialism, Europeans first accurately translated the Qur'an into a European language, mapped the branches of the Islamic arts and sciences, and wrote the history of Muslim societies using Arabic sources. The Republic of Arabic Letters provides the first panoramic treatment of this transformation. Relying on a variety of unpublished sources in six languages, it recounts how Christian scholars first came to a clear-eyed view of Islam. Its protagonists are Europeans who learned Arabic and used their linguistic skills to translate and interpret Islamic civilization. Christians both Catholic and Protestant, and not the secular thinkers of the Enlightenment, established this new knowledge, which swept away religious prejudice and cast aside a medieval tradition of polemical falsehoods. Beginning with the collection of Islamic manuscripts in the Near East and beyond, the book moves from Rome, Paris and Oxford to Cambridge, London and Leiden in order to reconstruct the most important breakthroughs in this scholarly movement. By identifying the individual manuscripts used, The Republic of Arabic Letters reveals how the translators, willing to be taught by Islamic traditions, imported contemporary Muslim interpretations and judgments into the European body of knowledge about Islam. Eventually, their books reached readers like Voltaire and Edward Gibbon, who assimilated not just their factual content but their interpretations, weaving them into the fabric of Enlightenment thought.--
Assigning source
Provided by publisher
Cataloging source
MH/DLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorDate
1984-
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Bevilacqua, Alexander
Dewey number
909/.09767
Illustrations
  • illustrations
  • plates
Index
index present
LC call number
CB251
LC item number
.B426 2018
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Islamic civilization
  • Enlightenment
  • Christian scholars
  • Europe
Label
The republic of Arabic letters : Islam and the European enlightenment, Alexander Bevilacqua
Instantiates
Publication
Copyright
Bar code
  • 31223125332701
  • 31223125332719
  • 31223125332784
  • 31223125332776
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 207-327) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
The Oriental library -- The Qur'an in translation -- A new view of Islam -- D'Herbelot's Oriental garden -- Islam in history -- Islam and the enlightenment
Dimensions
25 cm
Extent
xv, 340 pages, 24 unnumbered pages of plates
Isbn
9780674975927
Lccn
2017031813
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations (some color)
http://library.link/vocab/ext/overdrive/overdriveId
bro-copy20180220-054
System control number
(OCoLC)1000526856
Label
The republic of Arabic letters : Islam and the European enlightenment, Alexander Bevilacqua
Publication
Copyright
Bar code
  • 31223125332701
  • 31223125332719
  • 31223125332784
  • 31223125332776
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 207-327) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
The Oriental library -- The Qur'an in translation -- A new view of Islam -- D'Herbelot's Oriental garden -- Islam in history -- Islam and the enlightenment
Dimensions
25 cm
Extent
xv, 340 pages, 24 unnumbered pages of plates
Isbn
9780674975927
Lccn
2017031813
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations (some color)
http://library.link/vocab/ext/overdrive/overdriveId
bro-copy20180220-054
System control number
(OCoLC)1000526856

Subject

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