Close Relationships: Incest and Inbreeding in Classical Arabic Literature (Library of Middle East History): v. 9 - Hardcover

Gelder, Jan Van

 
9781850438557: Close Relationships: Incest and Inbreeding in Classical Arabic Literature (Library of Middle East History): v. 9

Synopsis

Close Relationships is Geert Jan van Gelder's groundbreaking and comprehensive study of the diverse facts and opinions concerning incest and close-kin marriage found in literary and non-literary pre-modern Arabic texts. The pre-Islamic Arabs knew about the dangers of inbreeding; the Qur'an formulates the basic principles of marriage impediments in Islam, which were elaborated by generations of jurists. Incest is a motif found in lampoons, anecdotes, stories, legends, dream interpretation, and polemics with other religions, in particular the Zoroastrians, who in pre-Islamic times allegedly recommended next-of-kin marriage. Many of the relevant passages are presented as English translations in this richly documented book.

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About the Author

Geert Jan van Gelder is Laudian Professor of Arabic at the University of Oxford. He is a specialist in mediaeval Arabic belles-lettres and has published several books and many articles on Arabic poetry, poetics and prose genres.

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