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Close Relationships

Incest and Inbreeding in Classical Arabic Literature. Library of Middle East History v. 9

By (author) Jan Van Gelder
Format: Hardback
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, United Kingdom
Imprint: I.B. Tauris
Published: 24th Mar 2005
Dimensions: w 156mm h 234mm d 18mm
Weight: 585g
ISBN-10: 1850438552
ISBN-13: 9781850438557
Barcode No: 9781850438557
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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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Van Gelder's erudite and entertaining study is an important contrbution not only to our knowledge of classical Arabic literature but also to our understanding of the history of human sexuality.' - Everett Rowson, author of 'Homoeroticism in Classical Arabic Literature' 'Professor van Gelder has brought together a truly remarkable amount of information on a subject almost wholly unexamined previously. ' - C.Edmund Bosworth, Fellow of the British Academy, Professor Emeritus of Arabic Studies, Univeristy of Manchester 'Geert Jan van Gelder's book is an erudite and highly readable tour de force of Islamic civilisation, and the aspect he explores, even though it might be lesser know, is vital for understanding the traditonal working of the genealogical system in the Islamic world, which continues to hold its importance until the present day.' - Ulrich Marzolph, Professor of Islamic Studies, University of Gottingen' DIE WELT DES ISLAMS 'a scholarly masterpiece'