Online Lecture: "Conversion to Islam in Central Asia in Narratives from Local Sources"
2. Februar 2021, von AAI Webmaster
On Feb. 02, 2021, Jürgen Paul (AAI, UHH) will hold the third lecture in the Lecture Series on the History and Culture of Central Asia. His lecture will discuss
"Conversion to Islam in Central Asia in Narratives from Local Sources."
Abstract:
Studying conversion means two things: studying what may have gone on, and studying what is being narrated. The second can be more important since it can lead to insight about which meaning conversion took among the converted and their descendants.
In the case of the Islamisation of Central Asia following the Arab conquest in the early 8th century, we have three local sources: Narshakhī’s History of Bukhara, the Qandiyya for Samarqand, and the Faḍā’il-i Balkh for that city. Moreover, there is the report of the conversion of Satuq Bughra Khan, the legendary ancestor of the Qarakhanids, for which we have a written version in Jamāl Qarshī going back to a 11th-century source.
In the presentation, I want to discuss the reports from these sources. My thesis is that these sources, even though their conversion stories are clearly “legendary”, nevertheless show that conversion in most cases was a social affair, it took place in groups, it was linked to the social, political and financial context, and the sincerity of conversion is discussed in exactly this context.
The Lecture Series is a joint project by the İmam Bukhari International Scientific Research Center under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Asien-Afrika-Institut of Universität Hamburg. To register, please send an e-mail to Natalie Kontny (natalie.kontny@uni-hamburg.de).
This lecture will take place from 1-3 pm CET.