Researcher ORCID Identifier
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3955-5807
Document Type
Article
Department
Religious Studies (Scripps), Scripps College
Publication Date
11-14-2023
Disciplines
Religion
Abstract
In 2009, Michael Penn published a transcription and English translation of two Syriac texts, To the Rulers of the World (ܠܘܬ ܪ''ܝܫܢܐ ܕܥܠܡܐ) and Concerning the Entrance before a New Emir (ܕܡܥܠܬܐ ܨܝܕ ܐܡܝܪܐ ܚܕܬܐ). This essay proposes a new historiographical approach to these texts based on the concepts and theoretical apparatus of systems intelligence theory and affect theory. I show how these texts use key Islamic theological and cultural ideas that would affectively resonate with the Muslim authorities while remaining non-objectionable to the orthodoxy of the Assyrian Church of the East. Specifically, I argue that Christians sometimes sought to curry favor with Islamic authorities not so much through logical persuasion, but by creating a sense of affective coherence through attunement to the discursive and theological systems of Islam. Through this strategy, Christians perhaps hoped to gain some small measure of political and religious advantage, especially over and against other Christian jurisdictions, such as the Syrian Orthodox Church. I conclude by discussing what methodological prospects these approaches can offer to the subfield, particularly if combined with other theories that similarly remain underused.
Rights Information
© 2023 Luis J Salés
Terms of Use & License Information
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
DOI
10.3390/rel14111423
Recommended Citation
Salés, Luis Josué, "Ritualized Affective Performances: Syriac Etiquette Guides and Systems Intelligence in Early Christian-Muslim Encounters" (2023). Scripps Faculty Publications and Research. 185.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_fac_pub/185
Comments
Originally published by MDPI and available here: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/11/1423.