Jonathan Decter, Brandeis: “In Praise of God, In Praise of Man: Political-theology in Arabic and Hebrew Panegyric"

In the Islamic Mediterranean, Muslim rulers and Jewish leaders were praised in poetic form in Arabic and Hebrew respectively. Interestingly, these panegyrics for men frequently employed the phrases used in the Qur’an and the Hebrew Bible to praise God. This lecture will consider this literary phenomenon in comparative perspective as well as its implications for understanding political culture in the classical Islamic world.

Jonathan Decter is the Edmond J. Safra Professor of Sephardic studies at Brandeis.  Contact Adena Tanenbaum at tanenbaum.8@osu.edu with questions.