Contemporary muslim apocalyptic literature religion and politics 9780815631958. Apocalyptic literature is a genre of prophetical writing that developed in postexilic jewish culture and was popular among millennialist early christians apocalypse. Important sources for the research of muslim apocalyptic literature are, e. Apocalyptic as literature the term apocalypse has become a common designation for a type of su. The biblical style of writing seems to have inspired a number of nonbiblical writings. The traditional view holds that john the apostleconsidered to have written the gospel and epistles by the same namewas exiled on patmos in the aegean archipelago during the reign of emperor domitian, and wrote the revelation there. Madelung, the sufydnl between tradition and history, studia islamica, 63 1986, pp. Does postapocalyptic literature have a nondystopian. The muslim apocalyptic writers could find little endofdays thinking in the quran with the exception of the sequence of quran 17.
The bible contains several important segments of apocalyptic literature that include isaiah 5666 and ezekiel 3748 both referred to as proto apocalyptic, daniel 712, and revelation 422. Contemporary muslim apocalyptic literature syracuse. Jihad 2005, and contemporary muslim apocalyptic literature 2005. Apocalyptic literature has features in common with both prophecy and poetry. Like prophecy, apocalyptic literature may speak to the future of gods people and a coming day of judgment. In this book, taylor provides an excellent summary of what apocalyptic. Abbas amanats apocalyptic islam and iranian shiism is worth buying if you have a strong interest in iranian apocalyptic or islamic apocalyptic more broadly, as there arent many books out there which provide significant background on the issue. Collins apocalyptic literature from the dictionary.
Print books, apocalyptic christian fiction, christian. A study of contemporary apocalyptic and postapocalyptic narrative by hyongjun moon the university of wisconsinmilwaukee, 2014 under the supervision of professor peter y. Cook suggests that islam began as an apocalyptic movement and has retained a strong apocalyptic and messianic trend. He begins with definitions of apocalypticism and apocalyptic literature as he introduces readers to the social and historical worlds of the apocalyptic groups. The book takes place in three parts, world without end, the year 22, and the last american.
David cook, contemporary muslim apocalyptic literature request. Understanding apocalyptic literature time to complete. Expectations that the world is soon to end are rife throughout the contemporary muslim world. All content included on our site, such as text, images, digital downloads and other, is the property of its content suppliers and protected by us and international laws. While the unsurprising dissimilarities between revelation and extrabiblical apocalyptic literature are convincing enough to this writer that revelation should not be considered a part of the apocalyptic genre, the internal genreidentification is dispositive. There is a type of writing known as apocalyptic literature.
Contemporary muslim apocalyptic literature available in paperback. Among the plethora of books on jihad published since 911, david cooks stands out in its. The apocalyptic books of the bible are some of the hardest to read, study, understand, and teach. He is the author of contemporary muslim apocalyptic literature. Request pdf david cook, contemporary muslim apocalyptic literature. The use of the term apocalyptic to define a particular type of prophetic utterance is a development of judaeochristian studies, in which a need was felt to mark a distinction between the ancient prophets and the pseudonymous ones who flourished mainly in the intertestamental period.
Apocalyptic literatu re is a genre of prophetical writing that developed in postexilic jewish culture and was popular among millennialist early christians. The apocalyptic literature produced by majlisi, and later writers up to the twentieth century, was influential not only in keeping. This has been due, in the first place, to the distorted interpretation of books like daniel and revelation which is prevalent among. Recommended short reading list fiction and nonfiction books by muslim authors most of the books listed below can be found at either. End of the world literature postapocalyptic fiction on. It emerged as a new genre of literature in early jewish tradition commencing sometime in the third century bce. Or the book of the revelation is replete with such apocalyptic imagery, the four horsemen, for example, or the bowls pouring out judgment. Earth abides has been published in over 20 different languages and has not been out of print since publication in 1949. Contemporary muslim apocalyptic literature by david cook in djvu, fb3, rtf download e book. The problem has been trying to agree about what characterizes these books. Contemporary muslim apocalyptic literature religion and. Apocalypse literature now, and then writers have been imagining the end of the world since soon after it began, but todays practitioners deliver a new kind of bleakness toby lichtig.
It may feel as though weve hit peak doomsday, bookswise, but theres still plenty of potential left. Noahs ark and the flood that wiped earth clean of wicked mankind is an early example of postapocalyptic writing but the modern genre of end of the world literature can be traced back two centuries to mary shelleys the last man published in 1826. How to read and teach the apocalyptic literature of the bible. The apocalyptic significance of the rise of islam is twofold. Contemporary muslim apocalyptic literature provides at least some of the answers to the barbarous, seemingly suicidal acts of this islamic state. Apocalyptic literature developed as a distinctly jewish genre. Cook is noted among scholars of islam for his diligent reading and clear translations of islamic texts. Two further books, understanding jihad and contemporary muslim apocalyptic literature, were published during 2005. I recently read an excellent book on how to study and teach these apocalyptic sections of the bible. The phrase apocalyptic literature is used to describe some of the noncanonical writings called the apocrypha. Cook makes the puzzling visions and symbols intelligible to modern readers. He trenchantly discusses the influence of nonislamic sources on contemporary muslim apocalyptic writing, tracing antisemitic strains in islamist thought in part to western texts and traditions. Apocalyptic literature, literary genre that foretells supernaturally inspired cataclysmic events that will transpire at the end of the world. David cooks interests include the study of early islam, muslim apocalyptic literature and movements for radical social change, dreams, historical astronomy, judeoarabic literature and west african islam.
An apocalypse is a genre of revelatory literature with a narrative framework in which a revelation is mediated by an otherworldly being to a human recipient, disclosing a transcendent reality which is both temporal, insofar as it envisages eschatological salvation, and spatial, insofar as it involves another, supernatural world. University of california press and contemporary muslim apocalyptic literature syracuse. Apocalyptic literature, 1 international standard bible. Apocalyptic islam and iranian shiism library of modern. Others reach much the same position through a consideration of leading new testament concepts. I might also recommend it for those who simply have a strong interest in iranian history, as this. This judiciously balanced, accessibly written, and highly relevant book looks closely at a. An introduction to the interpretation of apocalyptic.
And in addition to these darker things, the bright things, such as the new jerusalem descending out of heaven. Stewart is the literal definition of a classic, at least when it comes to the postapocalyptic genre. Apocalyptic literature introduction definition and meaning. Theyre also interesting because people have used these books in an unusual way in the modern period. Contemporary muslim apocalyptic literature books library. Following last weeks icelandic ashpocalypse, we look at disasters great and small in literature. Although apocalyptic visions and predictions have long been part of classical and contemporary islam, this book is the first scholarly work to cover this disparate but influential body of writing. The books that form the apocrypha are included in some bibles between the old and new testaments.
Apocalyptic literature is a specific form of prophecy, largely involving symbols and imagery and predicting disaster and destruction. After completing all reading, go back and answer all of the questions in the study questions guide for this chapter. Apocalypse literature now, and then books the guardian. A product of the judeochristian tradition, apocalyptic literature is characteristically pseudonymous. David cook is an american historian and professor of the history of islam at rice university. Nowhere is the biblical text stranger than in the apocalyptic literature of the old and new testaments. This belief is usually accompanied by the idea that civilization will soon come to a tumultuous end due to some sort of catastrophic global event. The postapocalyptic flood in literature doesnt seem to be receding anytime, nor should it. Understanding jihad by david cook paperback university of. Iraq as the focus for apocalyptic scenarios combating terrorism. Things can always be worse and you can rely on novelists to put that phrase into cold, hard words on the page. The book covers the earliest sources on martyrdom including those from the jewish.
Any attempt at a correct understanding of these important passages necessitates some understanding of the nature of apocalyptic literature and how. Apocalyptic writing resources american bible society. Over the next 100 years, muslim armies would conquer most of the middle east, north africa, and spain. Apocalypticism is the religious belief that there will be an apocalypse, a term which originally referred to a revelation, but now usually refers to the belief that the end of the world is imminent, even within ones own lifetime. Contemporary muslim apocalyptic literature religion.
The first known record of apocalyptic literature is. It is the only biblical book that is wholly composed of apocalyptic literature. Islamic eschatology is the aspect of islamic theology concerning ideas of life after death, matters of the soul, and the day of judgement, known as yawm alqiyamah arabic. Apocalyptic literature encyclopedia of the bible bible. Several issues muddy efforts to land on a definition of the. Two of the most interesting books in the bible are the books of daniel and revelation. Simon winchester describes the eruption of krakatoa in.
Paik few periods have witnessed so strong a cultural fixation on apocalyptic calamity as the present. Contemporary muslim apocalyptic literature by david cook. Apocalyptic literature frequently contains strange descriptions and bizarre imagery. Contemporary muslim apocalyptic literature religion and politics through a combination of wideranging primary sources and detailed textual analysis, cook examines muslim apocalyptic writings and their significance in current events. His most recent books are understanding jihad and contemporary muslim apocalyptic literature. Classic post apocalyptic novels for the modern reader. As above indicated, all these take the book of daniel as their model, and imitate it more or less closely. Arguably, the whole bible is apocalyptic in this sense of being revelation from god. The book of revelation is not apocalyptic literature. Apocalyptic or apocalypticism is a slippery term used in at least three different ways. Apocalyptic thinking has been called the child of prophecy in a new idiom. It is the book interpreting apocalyptic literature by richard taylor. Like poetry, apocalyptic literature uses symbols and intense images to describe realities that. The misunderstanding of the context and form of apocalyptic literature has led to much misinterpretation and doctrinal conflict over the years.