Category Archives: Islam

Strong Beliefs

Posted on July 21, 2012 by Muller

When recently reading with growing interest Patricia Crone’s latest book about The Nativist Prophets of Early Islamic Iran – Rural Revolt and Local Zoroastrianism (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2012) I came across a most unlikely reference, Reinhold Loeffler’s interviews of Boyer … Continue reading →

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An Iranian Blend

Posted on July 16, 2012 by Muller

Up to the so-called Sunni Revival long after the conquest of much of the Islamic World, and foremost Iran, by the Seljuqs in the first half of the 11th century, the religious denomination of Iranians has never been so clear. … Continue reading →

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Three Thousand Years

Posted on June 17, 2012 by Muller

Two years ago, I had written a brief essay on Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) mystic Night Journey to Jerusalem and then further into Heaven which is commemorated by many Muslims today, 27 Rajab, al-’Isrā’ wal-Mi‘rāj. According to the Holy Qur’an (Q17:1) … Continue reading →

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A Culture of Ambiguity

Posted on December 4, 2011 by Muller

It is a daring hypothesis which is outlined in this year’s second eye-opener by Verlag der Weltreligionen (after Angelika Neuwirth’s tour de force of a European approach to the Qur’an; see my review here), Thomas Bauer’s Other History of Islam. … Continue reading →

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Religious Minorities after the Revolution

Posted on March 13, 2011 by Muller

The different Iranian/Persian Empires have ever been home of a large variety of religious dominations, besides Sunni and Shi’a Muslims, in particular Jews (who can be traced for more than 2500 years); Christian Apostolic Armenians, Nestorian Assyrians, Catholic Chaldeans; Buddhists, … Continue reading →

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