Islam in Armenian Literary Culture

The Armenians’ perspectives on and perceptions of Islam are some of the
earliest and integral parts of Near Eastern interactive history, yet the
subject remains in virtual obscurity. A novel and extensive study,
<i>Islam in Armenian Literary Culture. Texts, Context, Dynamics</i> is a
maiden voyage into this unchartered territory and an overdue task in
regional, Armenian and Interfaith studies. In view of the broad temporal
and thematic peripheries, multiple aspects and complicated problematics,
primarily Armenian texts – such as hitherto unknown manuscripts and/or
indirectly familiar literature – are given high priority and cited. They
are analyzed in their social, cultural and political contexts in dynamic
processes. For greater clarity and ease of navigation, the book is
organized around three main themes: the “Armenian Mahmet”, the “Armenian
Ghurans”, and the “Armenian <i>Pax Islamica</i>”, from the seventh to
the twenty-first centuries. These are also arguments, tools of analysis
and major chapters in the book.