Project Details
Projekt
The Recitation of Sacred Texts - Formative Exchange Processes between Syriac-Aramaic Singing Traditions and the Recitation of the Qur´an
Subject Area
Islamic Studies, Arabian Studies, Semitic Studies
Term
from 2016 to 2019
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 281786037
Religious live in the Near East is still characterized by cultic practice. In the case of Islam it is embedded in a ceremonial body language considered to be the most distinctive expression of Islamic identity. It is performed privately as well as in public space. The high significance of this both cultic and identity political self-expression of the Islamic religion is being realized more recently. Yet, a comprehensive study of its origin and historical development is still missing.The Qur'an's recitation practice clearly points to an origin from a milieu which was shaped by Oriental Church Music. This form of vocal practice itself is widely unexplored, but what is agreed upon is that both forms of recitation with a cantilena, that of the Qur'an and that of the Oriental churches, are built on a similar set of rules related to music, grammar and rhetoric. For that reason both traditions need to be studied in tandem. Due to favorable circumstances two highly qualified researchers at Freie Universität being prepared to carry out this collaborative venture and the overdue project can finally be realized.
DFG Programme
Research Grants
