The Emergence of Islam in its Arabian Context

Announced by the University of Pittsburgh

Speaker: Valentina Grasso

At the dawn of the seventh century, an Arabian named Muhammad channeled his political and religious knowledge into a prophetic message, adapting it to Arabia. At the same time, Muhammad molded Arabian elements for the broader public of Late Antiquity. This talk will investigate the political and religious landscape of the Arabian Peninsula at the time of the emergence of Islam to appreciate the cultural context in which the latest scriptural tradition rose and how it integrated preexisting beliefs and practices. The religious frameworks of the regions surrounding the Hijaz (where Mecca and Medina are found) played a major role in shaping the context in which the Quran emerged. As such, Islam was neither a rupture nor an alien product in the region. Because of the transience of the legitimization process at the time, it was only when the Arabians managed to 'legitimize' their identity that they succeeded in establishing a socio- political apparatus, paving the way for the shaping of the Islamicate "Medieval" World.