Papers by Johanne Louise Christiansen
Journal of the International Qur'anic Studies Association, 2019
CHAOS: Skandinavisk tidsskrift for religionshistoriske studier, 2020
Religionsvidenskabelig Skriftrække
I denne artikel præsenterer jeg noget data for Religionsvidenskabeligt Tidsskrifts virke de sidst... more I denne artikel præsenterer jeg noget data for Religionsvidenskabeligt Tidsskrifts virke de sidste 40 år (1982-2022) og især Hans Jørgen Lundager Jensens diverse bidrag hertil. Med fokus på formalia analyserer jeg Religionsvidenskabeligt Tidsskrifts henvisningspraksis gennem tiden fra et systemteoretisk perspektiv baseret på Roy A. Rappaport arbejde. Igennem analysen diskuterer jeg udvikling, adaptationer og ikke mindst maladaptationer af dette henvisningssystem, samt Hans Jørgen Lundager Jensens rolle i sådanne systemiske processer.
Religionsvidenskabelig Skriftrække
Dette første nummer af Religionsvidenskabelig Skriftraekke er et festskrift. Ligesom selve ordet ... more Dette første nummer af Religionsvidenskabelig Skriftraekke er et festskrift. Ligesom selve ordet 'fest' bygger skriftet her bro fra det højtideligt-højstemte til det lystigt-larmende. Sigtet med udgivelsen og dens 29 selvstaendige bidrag er at fejre Hans Jørgen Lundager Jensens virke som professor i Religionsvidenskab på Aarhus Universitet samt at markere hans nye status som pensionist. Overgange påkalder sig opmaerksomhed. Udgivelsen er monstrøs i betydningen sammensat. Den består af en raekke essays; visse straeber efter den akademiske form og tone, mens andre er causerende, prunkende, panegyriske. Hvad der binder disse bidrag sammen, er deres faelles ønske om at dvaele ved en faglig begejstring, som har fået naering af drøftelser med Hans Jørgen Lundager Jensen. Faktisk har 'begejstring' netop vaeret vores (redaktionens) kortnavn for projektet-først på ideplanet og siden i diverse korrespondancer samt filmapper. Termen er den bedste til at indfange vores holdning til og stadige energi-tilflydning fra udgivelsens modtager. Skriftet er opdelt i fire tematiske afdelinger. Den første, "Tidens krumninger", handler i bred forstand om myter og om fortaelleglaedens evige genkomst. Den anden, "Bitre urter, usyret brød", angår trangen til systematik og struktur som vaesentligt element i den menneskelige tilvaerelsestolkning og i den religionsvidenskabelige analyse heraf. Den tredje, "Den lange sommer", udforsker fryd, vellyst og hygge som tematiske konstanter i Hans Jørgen Lundager Jensens forfatterskab (og livsudfoldelse). Den fjerde, "Herlighedens nedstigning", tager udgangspunkt i Hans Jørgen Lundager Jensens interesse for ritualer og pligtfølelser for institutioner og traditioner. Overskrifterne til de fire afdelinger er plukket i Hans Jørgen Lundager Jensens laerde, klare og poetiske doktordisputats Den fortaerende ild. Strukturelle analyser af narrative og rituelle tekster i Det Gamle Testamente (2000); festskriftsbidragene bevidner, at denne vaegtige bog samt de øvrige 200 (t-o h-u-n-d-re -d-e) af Hans Jørgen Lundager Jensens udgivelser har sat sig dybe spor i dansk religionsforskning. Bidragene demonstrerer samtidig, at mennesket Hans Jørgen Lundager Jensen og hans begejstring for sit fagstof har smittet generationer. Herfor skylder vi tak. Tak siger vi ligeledes de 29 bidragydere; en saerlig skal gå til professor emerita Kirsten Nielsen for ildhu og korrekturlaesning af manuskriptet i sin helhed. Vi håber, at udgivelsen må vaere laesere til gavn og til glaede.
Islamic History and Thought 26 Series Editor Jack Tannous Manolis Ulbricht Jan Just Witkam Islami... more Islamic History and Thought 26 Series Editor Jack Tannous Manolis Ulbricht Jan Just Witkam Islamic History and Thought provides a platform for scholarly research on any geographic area within the expansive Islamic world, stretching from the Mediterranean to China, and dated to any period from the eve of Islam until the early modern era. This series contains original monographs, translations (Arabic, Persian, Syriac, Greek, and Latin) and edited volumes.
Encyclopedia of the Bible Online
Religionsvidenskabeligt Tidsskrift, 2015
Let a denote an ideal in a regular local (Noetherian) ring R and let N be a finitely generated R-... more Let a denote an ideal in a regular local (Noetherian) ring R and let N be a finitely generated R-module with support in V (a). The purpose of this paper is to show that all homomorphic images of the R-modules Ext j R (N, H i a (R)) have only finitely many associated primes, for all i, j ≥ 0, whenever dim R ≤ 4 or dim R/a ≤ 3 and R contains a field. In addition, we show that if dim R = 5 and R contains a field, then the R-modules Ext j R (N, H i a (R)) have only finitely many associated primes, for all i, j ≥ 0.
Religionsvidenskabeligt Tidsskrift, Jun 15, 2017
Philippe Provençals Moderne islam-lille idéhistorie er en blandet laeseoplevelse. På den ene side... more Philippe Provençals Moderne islam-lille idéhistorie er en blandet laeseoplevelse. På den ene side giver bogen, i forhold til dens størrelse, en ganske detaljeret gennemgang af den 'moderne islams' udvikling, de historiske forudsaetninger herfor og centrale personer, såsom Rifāʿa al-Ṭahṭāwī (d. 1873), Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī (d. 1897), Muḥammad ʿAbduh (d. 1905), Rashīd Riḍā (d. 1935), Qāsim Amīn (d. 1908), Ḥasan al-Bannāʾ (d. 1949), Sayyid Abū l-Aʿlā Mawdūdī (d. 1979) og Sayyid Quṭb (d. 1966). Igennem bogen bidrager forfatteren også med nogle nye og yderst brugbare oversaettelser af uddrag fra disse centrale personers vaerker. På den anden side er det svaert at finde ud af hvem denne bog er henvendt til. Provençal skriver selv: Formålet er altså at formidle den teologiske, idéhistoriske og religionshistoriske udvikling i den valgte periode [ca. 1820-1970], den islamiske teologiske baggrund for ideerne, og hvordan denne teologi er blevet forandret som følge af nyere tildragelser og påvirkninger […]. Jeg vil simpelt hen [sic!] beskrive udviklingen ved at kommentere og analysere et udvalg af centrale kilder (2016, 7).
Religionsvidenskabeligt Tidsskrift, Mar 11, 2016
In this article, I propose that Peter Sloterdijk's etymological definition of áskesis as an 'exer... more In this article, I propose that Peter Sloterdijk's etymological definition of áskesis as an 'exercise' is useful when approaching the Qur'ānic attitude(s) to ascetic practices, including in particular the text's references to vigils. From a close reading of two passages in sūrat l-muzzammil (Q 73:1-9, 20), I argue for a chronological development in the Qur'ānic invitations to vigil practices. In this way, the Qur'ānic articulations of vigils can be understood as two types of ascetic 'training programmes', developing from the Prophet's own extraordinary initiation practice to a more general 'maintenance' practice for the ordinary believer. Such a development appears to be consistent with the overall historical frame of Muḥammad's prophetic career. By opening for a broader understanding of 'asceticism', the Qur'ān can be seen as taking part in a general ascetic tendency of the Axial Age. DANSK RESUME: I denne artikel foreslår jeg, at Peter Sloterdijks etymologiske definition af áskesis som en 'øvelse', kan hjaelpe os forstå Koranens attitude(r) til asketiske praksisser, heriblandt isaer tekstens referencer til vigilier. Igennem en naerlaesning af to passager i sūrat l-muzzammil (K 73,1-9.20) argumenterer jeg for en kronologisk udvikling i de koraniske opfordringer til vigilie-praksisser. Hvis man forstår de koraniske italesaettelser af vigilier som to typer asketiske 'traeningsprogrammer', er dette en udvikling fra Profetens egen ekstraordinaere initiationspraksis til en mere generel 'vedligeholdelsespraksis' for den almindelige troende. En sådan udvikling synes at vaere i overensstemmelse med den generelle og overordnede historiske ramme for Muḥammads profetiske karriere. Ved at åbne for en bredere forståelse af begrebet 'askese' kan Koranen derved ses som deltagende i en generel asketisk tendens i Aksetiden.
Religion, 2019
In the field of history of religion, the Qurʾān and early Islam often seem to be ignored in discu... more In the field of history of religion, the Qurʾān and early Islam often seem to be ignored in discussions of asceticism and cultural evolution. With the usage of Peter Sloterdijk's definition of áskēsis as 'training', this article proposes a new way to understand the qurʾānic attitude(s) to ascetic practices. By seeing the text's articulations of vigils as two types of ascetic training programs, I argue that a hypothetical chronological development of the vigils takes place, and that this development illustrates a shift from the Prophet's own extraordinary 'improvement' to a more general 'maintenance' practice for the ordinary believer. That the Qurʾān calls the believers to participate in such training programs may also explain the text's divergent approach to other religious traditions' ascetic practices. Through Sloterdijk's definition of asceticism, it is made clear that the Qurʾān in its own way partakes in and negotiates the overarching ascetic tendency of its time.
Arabica, 2015
Darkness (ẓulumāt) as a Koranic literary image has not been systematically analyzed, even though ... more Darkness (ẓulumāt) as a Koranic literary image has not been systematically analyzed, even though it is connected to fundamental Koranic topics such as understanding, salvation and the omniscience of God. The aim of this article is to argue for a close reading of the occurrences of ẓulumāt in the Koran and to discuss their metaphorical usage. By joining cognitive metaphor theories with the Koranic material, the article contributes to a new understanding of how and why modes of darkness are applied in the Koran. In the article, I argue for a six-fold classification of the occurrences, in which the utilization of particularly two conceptual metaphors, a mental state is darkness and protection is darkness appear. The former is employed to explain the imperative difference between belief and unbelief through the binary pair of darkness and light, whereas the latter is chosen to elucidate the omniscience of the Koranic God.
Religionsvidenskabeligt Tidsskrift
English abstract: In this article, I pose the question of whether and to what extent processional... more English abstract: In this article, I pose the question of whether and to what extent processional practices are treated in the Qur’an and early Sunnī ‘pietist’ Islamic traditions. I argue that the demonstrative and participative type of procession is relevant in relation to the Islamic pilgrimage (hajj), in particular to the circumambulation (ṭawāf) around the Kaʿba; but also that certain aspects of this ritual complex generated some ideological uneasiness among the Qur’anic community (Q 2:158; 8:35). As such, the Qur’an contains a negotiation between an axial ideal of anti-procession and an aim of long-time durability of the text and ‘Qur’anic religion’. Not criticising the earlier ritual practices too much may have been a pragmatic strategy to incorporate as many adherents as possible. As long as the conducting of prayer was at the center of the ritual, circumambulation could also be accepted. Dansk resume: I denne artikel stiller jeg spørgsmålet om, hvorvidt og i hvilken grad Ko...
Religionsvidenskabeligt Tidsskrift
Religionsvidenskabeligt Tidsskrift
Religionsvidenskabeligt Tidsskrift
English abstract: The Qurʾān is both a holy scripture and a holy object. As the latter, certain r... more English abstract: The Qurʾān is both a holy scripture and a holy object. As the latter, certain rules pertain to it as a physical book, including rules of placement, disposal, and ritual purity. In this article, we discuss the material aspects of the Qurʾān, the transition from the physical version to the digital or ‘appified’ version, and which religious practices are transferred, adapted, or entirely dropped in this transition, forming the point of depature for our study. The article is based on an ongoing qualitative study of the attitudes of 13 Danish-Muslim informants regarding the physical as well as the digital Qurʾān. From this data, we argue that the transition between these two types of media caused several new issues to be considered by our informants, for example, concerning rules of purity when dealing with a Qurʾān app. Dansk resume: Koranen er både en hellig tekst og et helligt objekt. Som en fysisk bog findes der derfor diverse regler, som muslimer skal tage højde fo...
Journal of Qur'anic Studies
The Qur'an contains various types of repetition. One of them is the formula, a sequence of wo... more The Qur'an contains various types of repetition. One of them is the formula, a sequence of words or roots that occurs more than once in a text corpus. The formula as a literary feature is applied differently throughout the Qur'anic text. In the later material, for example, formulae often function as so-called clausulae, i.e. concluding rhymed phrases of a long verse or passage that transform the discourse to a metatextual level. In this study, I suggest, through formulaic and semantic field analysis, that the Qur'an strategically uses such repeated formulae and clausulae as a versatile rhetorical tool to persuade its listeners of fundamental tenets that form part of the Qur'anic worldview: the formula is an indicator of a specific worldview, a carrier of this worldview's key messages. Through a case study of the 40 yuḥibbu/ lā yuḥibbu ( God loves/does not love) formulae in the Qur'an, the article shows that this short repeated phrase is used continually to re...
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Papers by Johanne Louise Christiansen