Closely connected with the above presented problems were many more detailed ones which also occupied the minds of the mentioned scholars

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439 Andrzej Czapkiewicz

TTie Views ofthe Arab Medieval Philologists on Language and its Origin

The standpoints of the Arab medieval philologists, or more precisely, of the medieval scholars of different kind and different origins who lived between the Vll/VIII-th cc. and the end of the XV-th and who wrote in Arabic, conceming the emergence of language oscillated between

the view based on Koran, II, 30 that language was wholly created by God and revealed by

Him to Adam and then through the latter one to men and the looking on it as a result of a

purely human agreement. Between these two extremes there were those who promoted the

idea of language as of a product of the divine-human cooperation and who differed among

themselves as to the God's role in this cooperation. However, the majority of scholars

admitted all these alternatives as possible origins of language having stated that there were

no convincing arguments or proofs which would defmitely speak for the rightess of any of

them.

The consideration on the origin of languages included also the speculations conceming the

time of the emergence and the question which language appeared as first in the world?

According to some of the scholars, the time of the emergence of language coincided with the

appearance of Adam in the Paradise, while some maintained that language was only

transmitted to him by an extinct generation which existed before him. As for the language which was to have appeared as first, a group of scholars considered Arabic as such, but some of them were of the opinion that all different languages appeared at one time.

Closely connected with the above presented problems were many more detailed ones which

also occupied the minds of the mentioned scholars. Some of their views in those respects as

well as their proposed solutions of some of them seem surprisingly modem. To mention here

only e. g. their definition of word as a phonic sign of the object denoted by it, their

awareness of the complexity of its stmcture: the phonic denoting part and the denoted object, their considerations on the character of the relation between the two which, again, oscillated from its naturalness through intuitiveness manifesting itself in the phonetics and structure of the word, to arbitrariness, or finally their considerations concerning the problem to what actually do the words point: to an abstract idea of the denoted object, to its mental notion, or to the concrete denoted object itself? It is also impossible here to pass over in silence their presentiment, if only a vague one, of the surface and deep stmctures.

The frames of this summary do not permit the enumeration of many other interesting details which include other precursoric linguistic ideas. But, already this what has been presented

above seems sufficient to become a one more interesting leaf to the history of general

linguistics.

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Pessah Shinar

Islamic Orthodoxy and Profane Arabic Literature: A Paradoxical Relationship

Despite qur'änic and (largely) prophetic condemnation of poets and poetry (especially

lampoons) as ymn-inspired and untruthful, [xjetry dominated cultural life and served as

effective medium in partisan strife under Umayyads, became basis of Arabic philology, a tool for qur'änic exegesis and a constituent element of "polite" secular literature, adab. The present paper

1) lists 5 factors facilitating Islamic legitimation as follows: Prophet's favour of poets supporting his cause, paucity of idolatrous allusions in jähili poetry, partial adoption of pagan

muruwwa virtues by Islamic ethics, immense prestige of the qasida and role of amatory

prelude, nasib, in developement of profane love poetry;

2) finds that attitudes of outstanding religious scholars towards the poetic art comprise enjoyment of poems and love-songs (Ibn ' Abbäs, fiiqahä' of Medina and Mekka), expertise in ancient poetry and versification (Imäm al-Shäfi'O, producing of secular prose (adab) and compiling of a poetic anthology (Ibn Qutayba), literary criticism based on esthetic criteria exclusive of moral consideration (qädi al-Jurjäni), composing codes or repertories of courtly love (zähirite theologians Ibn Dä'üd and Ibn Hazm), rejection of prevailing view of stylistic inimitability of Qur'än (i'jäz) and assertion that great jähili and islamic poets could match qur'änic style but were "deflected" by God from doing so (Ibn Hazm, Imäm al-Haramayn al-JuwaynO, qualified approval of poetry with allowance of "lying" (i. e. use of hyperbole

— Imäm al-GhazzälO, factual presentation (Ibn Khaldün), combining of sacred and secular

Arabic studies in Islamic universities (example: Zaytüna 'älim al-Khadir b. al-Husayn, later Rector of al-Azhar);

3. compares the above with rabbis' stand on profane love poetry, as expressed in two

instances:

a) final admission of Song of Songs to biblical canon thanks to Rabbi ' Aqiba and to the

use of allegorical interpretation;

b) responsum by Maimonides prohibiting the listening to profane love-songs;

4. compares the above with negative attitude of the early Church towards the literary legacy of pagan Greece, especially the homeric epics, finds that criticism of Homer for presenting

his gods as anthropomorphic and their conduct as unedifiying was already voiced by pagan

philosophers (Xenophanes, Plato), yet legacy was studied and taught to the end of Byzantium thanks to Stoic system of allegorization of ancient myths, selection of texts ad usum delphini

and the needs of the rhetorical schools, but preservation was mainly due to the three

Cappadocian Fathers, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Gregory of Nyssa,

themselves deeply imbued with pagan Greek culture;

5. concludes that, unlike the above Jewish and Christian instances, foremost exponents of

Islamic orthodoxy felt no need to allegorize and/or expurgate in order to legitimize jähifi poetry and islamic profane literature as an integral part of their cultural heritage, nor did they

consider it improper to study, compose or enjoy such literature, and that in fact Sunni

scholars appear to have continued to do so almost to the present time.

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Section 8

Franz Rosenthal

Aesopic Fables in Arabic Translation

On the basis of a small collection of Aesopic fables in an Istanbul manuscript, apparently dating from the fifteenth century, the problems of the translation and transmission of Greek popular literature are discussed and illustrated by some of these fables.

Susanne Enderwttz

Tadler, Boten, Denunzianten im öazal

Von den vielen Nebenakteure, die die arabische Dichtung bevölkern, ist m. W. bisher nur

den "zwei Freunden" aus der altarabischen Qaside ein eigener Aufsatz gewidmet worden.

Dabei gibt es gerade in der arabischen Liebesdichtung eine kaum überschaubare Anzahl von

Personen, die, sei's helfend, sei's hindernd, sei's gefragt, sei's ungebeten, sei's offen, sei's

heimlich, in den Bund zwischen den beiden Hauptakteuren eingreifen: Vater und Onkel,

Brüder und weibliche Verwandte, Freunde und Nachbam, Ratgeber und Tadler, Boten und

Späher, Feinde, heimliche Hasser, Neider, Lügner und Denunzianten.

Daß dieser ganz Pulk allgegenwärtiger Figuren bisher noch keiner, es sei denn einer rein

deskriptiven, Betrachtung unterzogen wurde, mag vor allem daran liegen, daß es sich hier um

Klischees zu handeln scheint, die unverändert oder doch nahezu unverändert aus der

vorislamischen in die umaiyadische und abbasidische Dichtung übergingen. Eine nähere

Betrachtung, durchgeführt im Vergleich zwischen der frühislamischen und der abbasidischen

Liebesdichtung und exemplifiziert an den Dichtem 'Umar b. abi Rabi'a (gest. um 712) und

al-'Abbäs b. al-Ahnaf (gest. um 804), zeigt indessen, daß diese Figuren durchaus entwick¬

lungsfähig sind. 'Umar begegnet dem Tadler ('ädil) seines Liebesverhältnisses mit

spielerischer Leichtigkeit, entzieht ihn mehrfach durch Namensnennung seiner traditionellen Anonymität und konzediert ihm, indem er ihn als freundlichen Ratgeber (näsih) apostrophiert, die gute Absicht. Al-'Abbäs hingegen antwortet seinem Tadler mit schroffer Zurückweisung,

deutet die Anonymität des Tadlers in Omnipräsenz um und sieht ihn mehr mit dem

Denunzianten (wä§0 als mit dem Ratgeber verwandt. Ein entsprechender Unterschied

zwischen den beiden Dichtem läßt sich auch für den Boten (rasül) und die Feinde (a dä')

unterschiedlicher Art, den Neider (häsid) und Hasser (kääih), den Denunzianten (wä§0 und

Lügner (kädib), konstatieren. Die Übermittlung einer Botschaft an die Geliebte bedarf bei

Abbäs einer weit umsichtigeren Planung als bei 'Umar, denn seine Boten sind häufiger

perfide Naturen, und seine Feinde finden sich öfter unter den engsten Vertrauten.

Die auffallend schematisch-systematische Feindseligkeit der Abbäs'schen Nebenfiguren geht

nicht nur und nicht einmal primär auf die Individualität des Autors zurück, sondem hat ihre

ganz konkrete und genau kalkulierte Funktion, al-'Abbas spricht für die höfische

Gesellschaft, die vielen. Dichtem wie ihm, Musikem und Gelehrten, den sozialen Aufstieg

bietet und die sich nicht wesentlich durch Herkunft und Vermögen definiert, sondem durch

ihren Seelenadel, dessen höchster Ausdmck das Lieben ist. Das Lieben indessen gewinnt

seine Besonderheit, seine Kontur und seinen Wert erst auf dem Hintergmnd derer, die nicht

lieben können oder wollen. Es setzt den Liebenden ab von der kleinlichen Rationalität, die

das Lieben als nutzlose Beschäftigung tadelt, weil sie den empfangenen Lohn nicht ein¬

zuschätzen vermag. Es nimmt zugleich den Charakter eines kostbaren Gutes an, weil es

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Neider und Mißgünstige, wie sie sonst nur im Umlcreis von Status und Reiclitum auftreten, auf den Plan ruft. Es befördert schließlich die Selbstkultivierung des Liebenden, weil ihn die Anwesenheit der Feinde, die störend zwischen ihn und die Geliebte treten, zur unablässigen

Wachsamkeit und Diskretion zwingt. Die Distanzierung des Dichters von seinen Tadlem, die

Anerkennung seiner Liebe als Objekt des Neids durch die Mißgünstigen und seine

Selbstdisziplin angesichts der vielen Feinde, dies zusammen macht ungeachtet seiner

Genealogie und seines Besitzstandes eines unzweifelhaft klar: Seine isolierte Position inmitten einer Umgebung von Neid, Lüge und Betrug ist nicht ein Schicksal, das ihn niederdrückt, sondem eins, das ihn emporhebt.

ULF Haxen

Ibn Sana' al-Mulk (c. 1155-1210) WaSsäh and Literary Theorist

The ars poetica, Där at-Tiräz fT 'amal al-muwaääahät, by the Egyptian magistrate and literary theorist Ibn Sanä' al-Mulk is a treasury of information in respect to technique and aesthetic evaluation of the enigmatic poetic genre of Andalusia, the muwaSSaha. A lyric composition

which was immensely popular, in the salon as well as in the street, among Jews, Arabs and

Mozarabs of 10th-13th century Spain.

Based on the two extant manuscripts of Leiden and Cairo, Jawdat Rikaby published a critical

edition of Där at-Tiräz, Damascus 1949. In 1962 Emilio Garcia Gömez issued a full

translation in Spanish (Al-Andalus, vol 27) of the theoretical part of the treatise, which consists of three sections: (1) the ars poetica proper (2) an anthology of 34 muwaSäahät by Andalusian poets and (3) a collection of Ibn Sanä' al-Mulk's own muwaääah-poetry (modestly referred to as "mere shadows of the genuine Andalusian lyrics"), 35 in all.

Fifty years prior to Jawdat Rikaby's edition of Där at-Tiräz, Martin Hartmann discussed Ibn

Sanä' al-Mulk's treatise, in a rather condescending manner. But Hartmann was the first to

present a detailed description and literary treatment of muwassah-poetry — and its sister

genre, the zajal. He culled his material from various Jewish and Arabic anthologies, and he was the first to take the then unpublished ars poetica by Ibn Sanä' al-Mulk into account in the

monograph. Das arabisehe Strophengedicht (Das MuwaSSah), Weimar 1897.

Half a century later — and one year before Jawdat Rikaby's critical edition of Där at-Tiräz

— Samuel Miklos Stem wrote his epochmaking study, "Les vers finaux en espagnol dans les

muwaSSahs hispano-hfebraiques: une contribution ä l'histoire du muwas§ah et ä l'fetude du

vieux dialecte espagnol 'mozarabe'" (Al-Andalus, vol 13). Stem exfxjunded and refined his views on the subject in his doctoral thesis (1950), publ. Oxford 1974 and in "Les Chansons mozarabes", Palermo 1953. His works reflected a far more sympathetic attitude towards the

Andalusian genre than Hartmann did. And Stem managed to give a consistent presentation

of the complex questions, as far as the genesis and development of the muwaääaha are

concemed, in conjunction with a thorough attempt to decipher the so-called kharja, a

refrain-like estribillo in old Romance, attached to the Hebrew (or Arabic) main stem of the poem, and written in Hebrew or Arabic characters. Both scholars have since been reckoned among the advocates of an Arabico-Persian theory of origin, as apposed to the contenders of a Romance school of thought. Stem, however, was less dogmatic than generally claimed: "A

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443

vrai dire, les deux theories de Hartmann et Ribera (representing "the Romance school") quoique, ä premifere vue, elles semblent se contredire, ne s'excluent pas forcfement. On peut

concevoir que le musammat (a Persian strophic form with an abbb pattem) en prfeparant le

chemin pour une pofesie strophique, a rendu plus facile la rfeception de la forme populaire romane, le muwaSSah" (Vers fmaux op.cit.).

Stem's theories have been elaborated further by J. M. Sola-Solfe, Corpus de poesia mozarabe,

Barcelona 1973, in which attention is given to the role of the Hebrew muwaSSaha as a

ferment in the evolutionary process of the muwaSSah-genre as a whole. In so doing Sola-Solfe revives the theories of Jose Maria Milläs Vallicrosa, who, incidentally was the first to inter¬

prete some Romance kharjas in Yehuda Ha-Levi's muwaSsahat, "Sobre los mäs antiguos

versos en lengua castellana", Sefarad, vol VI, and Fransisco Cantera, "Versos espafioles en

las muwaSSahas hispano-hebreas" Sefarad, vol. IX. The cautious suggestions by the two

scholars as to the role of the Jews provoked a strong objection from Garcia Gömez, on a

rather passionate note.

It is extremely important that the "Hebrew approach" be reconsidered in the muwaSSaha/

kharja discussion, which in the last decades has stagnated in barren speculations as to quanti¬

tative versus syllabic-accentual metrics, Arabic ('arüd) contra Romance scansion etc. (Gorton,

Jones, Semah, Garcia Gömez and others). For a more balanced view reference is given to

James T. Monroe and David Swiatlo, "Ninety-three Arabic Hargas in Hebrew MuwaSSahs:

Their Hispano-Romance Prosody and Thematic Features", JAOS, vol. 97.

As far as the prosodie and stmctural analysis of the muwaSSaha and kharja are concemed, it is of utmost significance that Ibn Sana' al-Mulk's treatise is taken into consideration. Där at-Tiräz delivers cmcial hints to the musico-instmmental ("cross-rhythmical") influence on muwaSSah-prodosy in the interrelationship between refrain (kharja) and the richly faceted strophic architecture (rhyme and rhythm) of the main corpus of the strophic composition.

(For further reading see Richard Hitchcock, The Kharjas, A Critical Bibliography, London 1977.)

Arie Schippers

Descriptions of Apples in the Tradition ofthe "Elegants" or zurafa'

Some Remarks on Hebrew Andalusian Poetry in Relation to Arabic Poetry

In the eleventh century A. D. there existed a school of Jewish poets who lived in Andalusia

and who constituted virtually the only Jewish community in the Arabic world which

succeeded in developing their own form of non-religious poetry in the Arabic manner. The

Jewish poets followed in the footsteps of their Oriental Arabic colleagues, poets from the

East, such as al-Mutanabbi (915-955), Abu Tammam (806-846) and Abu Nuwas (750-815).

Among these Jewish poets, whose main activities can be dated to the eleventh and the first

half of the twelfth century, four poets attained an eminent position. These are Shemuel

ha-Nagid (993-1056); Shelomo ibn Gabirol (1021-1055); Moshe ibn Ezra (1055-1138) and

Yehudah ha-I^vi (1074-1141). They are the four most important representatives of the

Hebrew Andalusian school.

In the poems of these four Hebrew Andalusian poets, there are isolated descriptions of fmit, A. Wezler/E. Hammerschmidt (Hrsg.): Proceedings of the XXXII Intemational Congress for Asian and Norüi African Studies, Hamburg, 25th-30üi August 1986 (ZDMG-Suppl. 9).

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e. g. of apples and pears. The apple was a very popular motif, as it was regarded as the

symbol of love. In this short article we will therefore deal with only this one aspect of

Hebrew Andalusian poetry, namely its imitation of the description of fruit as developed within the tradition of the "elegants", or the ^urqß'.

The style of poetry which uses various descriptions of fruit came to prominence during the

time of Abu Nuwäs (750-815).

In the descriptive poems conceming fmit, we find reminiscences of the wine scene during

which fmit is served, which were also scenes popular in love poetry — usually part of the

wine scene because the cup bearer, a young boy or girl, often denoted as a gazelle or roe, is the object of someone's love passion. Descriptions of nature scenes, gardens and flowers

commonly served as a background of the drinking scene.

Less than a century after Abu Nuwäs the author of the Book ofthe Embroidered Cloth (Kitäb

al-Muwashshä) entered the realm of Arabic literature. He was called Abu 1-Tayyib

Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Ishäq ibn Yahyä ibn al-Washshä' and he lived between 855 and

936. His book contains a form of code which deals with the manners and customs of the

so-called zurafa'. The book also contains prescriptions in order to regulate the way they had to follow in love affairs.

In order to illustrate the background behind the ideas and themes of the apple poems in

Hebrew Andalusian poetry, we will give an example from an apple description as represented

in the Race Course of the Red Wine (Halbat al-Kumayt) by Shams al-Din Muhammad ibn

al-Hasan al-Nawäji (1383-1455; a collector of poetry of earlier centuries) (Cairo 1299/1882, p. 257):

2. Käna -l-hawä qad damma min ba 'difurqatin/

bi-hä khaddu ma shuqin 'ilä khaddi 'äshiqi.//

2. It is as though, even after the departure.

Love has combined in it (i. e. the apple) the cheek of the beloved with the cheek of the lover.

The green colour of the apple refers to the greensickness of the lover who suffers from the

cmelty of his beloved; the red colour has to do with the beloved who becomes ashame, when

the lover kisses him on his cheeks. We will see how Moshe ibn Ezra adopted this motif and

made an almost literal translation of the second hemistich of line 2 of this poem in his poem nr. 227 (diwän I, ed. H. Brody, Berlin 1935, p. 331):

2. H(a)shabti-hu be-shuryäroq we-'ädom I

qebusim bo penS häshuq we-hoshSq. II

2. As I observe (an apple) in which red and

green are joined, I think I see the faces of lover

and beloved combined in it.

This is only one example from my lecture. For more detailed information and further

examples: see my article on this subject, forthcoming in the Joumal of Semitic Studies.

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445 Hilary Kilpatrick

The Frame ofthe Kitäb al-Aghänt

This paper forms part of a larger study of the Kitäb al-Aghänt (Book of Songs) of Abu

1-Faraj al-Isfahani (d. 363/972-973). The/lg/ia/ifis constructed round a framework of songs, hence its name; it falls into two main parts, connected with each other by a contrasting section. The first part is based on the list of the hundred best songs originally drawn up for Härun al-Rashid and later revised, and when this list is exhausted al-Isfahani treats other famous groups of songs. In the second part it is al-Isfahani's own choice of memorable songs which determines the succession of articles. In both parts each introductory song is followed

by an article on the poet and composer responsible for its words and music, provided they

have not been treated earlier. From the beginning the author is concemed not merely to

establish the correct words and melodies of the songs but also to provide biographical notes on the poets and composers and other background information of relevance.

In the contrasting section al-Isfahani resorts to an organisational method similar to the one he employs in the earlier Maqätil al-Tälibiytn, where it is a list of names which determines the order of the articles. In the Aghäntht makes use of the list of names of members of the mling house who had a reputation as musicians, devoting articles to them in chronological order.

Most of the articles in the Aghänt zxt biographically oriented, but three other focusses can be distinguished: on historical events, relationships, or lines of poetry. It is suggested that an analysis of the Aghäni articles would reveal that they are all focussed in one of the four ways mentioned. In the second part of the work, based on al-Isfahäni's own selection of songs, the adab principle of elegant variation in the choice of subjects appears to be at work, and the author takes care to include substantial articles at regular intervals.

In the execution of the plan of the Aghäni & small number of inconsistencies can be detected;

these, together with the incomplete state of the preface and last article and the absence of a

biographical article on Abü Nuwäs, point to the AghäntnoX having been completed. What

little can be established about the last years of al-Isfahani's life is consistent with this conclusion.

Shmuel Moreh

The 'Khayäl" as a Medieval Arabic Theatre

Scholars of Muslim Shadow plays considered the term "Khayäl" or "khiyäl" as a shortened term of khayäl al-zill (shadow play). Few scholars who noticed the difference between these two terms couldn't understand the type of performances the term khayäl meant in Medieval Arabic literary and historiographic sources.

With the rise of Islam, theatrical elements, both Hellenistic and Persian continued to influence the cultural life. The Hellenistic farce and the Persian hobbyhorse (kurraf) and masked actors (samäja), were developed in the Islamic period, especially during the 'Abbasid. During the eighth century C. E. the kurraj which was called in Arabic khayäl (statue) of a horse with

which players (mukhannathün) performed various plays (hikayät), was given to the plays

themselves, thus the player was called khayäli. During the tenth century C.E. when the sha- A. Wezler/E. Hammerschmidt (Hrsg.): Proceedings of the XXXII Intemational Congress

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dow play was introduced from the Far East to the Muslim World, the word ?/'// (shadow) was added to the term khayäl (play). Thus the Arab got the term khayäl al-^ill for the shadow play theatre. The actors of both khayäl (life theatre) and khayäl al-^ill were called khayäli and mukhäyil.

The khayäl performance was played in various occasions, both in palaces and markets, with

props and dress, gestures and accents adequate to the dramatis personae. It was generally a short plot, in prose or poetry, played either with dance or in proper imitation of various personalities and characters. Some of the khayäl performances were improvisations, others

were written or performed regularly with no wide scope of improvisation. Many plays were

acted by single actor who exchanged sharp retorts with his audience, or pick up some persons among his audience to perform the play, while some plays were played by troupe of actors.

From the fourteenth century onwards, live actor of khayäl was called muhabbai and the

master of the guild was called Rayyis al-muhabbazin.

Jacob M. Landau

Popular Arabic Plays. 1909

The paper discusses an Arabic manuscript, entitled Kashf al-sitär 'an baladiyyät Ahmad

al-Fär. Its author used to perform at the head of a troupe in Cairo during the years

immediately preceding the First World War. The manuscript, possibly an autograph, is dated 1909. It comprises a five-act play and four one-act ones, all in the vemacular.

The importance of these texts is highlighted by the relative scarcity of available original plays in the Arab vemacular of Egypt. These were rarely printed and chiefly used for reference by theatrical troupes; hence texts of plays wich were discontinued have very frequently been lost.

As with popular farces elsewhere, the elements of humor and ridicule are achieved via the

comedy-of-manners and the comedy-of-situation. On the former level, the behavior of most

dramatis personae is tmly characteristic and the mannerisms of out-of-towners especially well-presented. Others are mocked as well; al-Fär, too, gets the bmnt of abuse — indicating that the playwright and troupe-director could laugh at himself The comic element prevails

even more frequently on the latter level, in unexpected situations: misunderstandings of

identity, mistaken assumptions, misinterpretations of meaning and futile attempts at getting the better of somebody else.

It is conversation, however, that serves al-Fär best: Puns are provided; intended misunder¬

standings are based on differences of pronunciation in various localities, social classes, or

origin; Italian phrases and words are employed, ä propos and mal-a-propos. This is

highlighted in the text, which is written throughout in several colloquial dialects.

Another comic feature of this popular theatre is obscene words and obliquely lewd

suggestions. These expressions are occasionally balanced, however, by phrases in praise of

the virtues of female modesty and of Islam in general. As to the former, obedience to one's

husband is enjoined and wives are wamed not to leave home even briefly without their

husbands' permission; should one of them kiss another man, her lips will bum in hell. As to the latter, suitable references are often made to Islam, no doubt in order to "insure" the

author and his troupe against the wrath of pious Muslims at the otherwise lighthearted

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frivolous contents. Moreover, a shaykh is duly consulted about the rules of women's comportment outside the home.

(The entire paper will be published in the Joumal of Arabic Literature, vol. XVII (1986).)

Fadlou Shehadi

Al-Kindi's Philosophy of Music

Theoretical Knowledge is the primary goal of the philosopher in the study of music,

according to al-Kindi. But the philosopher is also like a physician who uses knowledge to heal and maintain a state of health. These two goals, the theoretical and the applied, reflect the two goals or two main subdivisions of philosophy as a discipline.

Theoretical knowledge of any kind seeks the 'illah or causal principle. To discover this for music, the philosopher has to know the connections that link music to the general scheme of

things. In al-Kindi's view, music is relevantly connected to the metaphysical elements, to

astronomical, astrological and meteorological phenomena, and in the animal kingdom to the

specific characteristics that music corresponds to or can produce.

Similarity (mushäkalah; or correspondence, munäsabah) is the most pervasive causal

principle. In this al-Kindi is thoroughly Greek, but especially Pythagorean in stressing the astral connections and in assuming that there is an affinity binding the various segments of

the Kosmos. Moreover, in the relations between music and the animal kingdom, al-Kindi

introduces efficient causality, along with the principle of correspondence, to cover the effects of music.

To illustrate, consider the C-string on the lute (al-zir). This is the thinnest and highest in pitch, and therefore, of the four basic elements, it has affinity with fire; "It is all soul and no body." This is unlike the A-string, al-bam, which is all body and no soul. It is the thickest

and lowest in pitch, and thus akin to earth. Of the seasons, the C-string corresponds to

summer, the A-string to winter.

Al-Kindi makes further connections with the quarters of the moon, quarters of the month, of the day, quarters of the falak and of the Zodiak; with the ages of man, the basic organs of the body, its humours, its functions such as the digestive, the retentive; with the powers of

the mind such as the rational, the imaginative, memory; with psychological moods and

character traits such as courage, cowardice, patience.

Then there are connections of a different sort. For example, the Indians developed an

instrument, the kankanah, which has one string, for they found that the cause of the world is the One Cause of the manifold. Thus they tightened one string and one fret. Furthermore, the one is a root number, and the self is one. Correlations are also made between the beliefs of other people and the musical instruments they created.

The philosopher who knows all these extra musical facts about music is in the same position as the physician. He can now use his knowledge of the entire elaborate scheme of connections to custom tailor his treatment, to know what to administer, how, to whom and at what time, in order to achieve both physical and psychological health.

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in tlie pursuit of both therapy and enjoyment. Thus the double task of philosophy, the theoretical and the practical, as it pertains to music, can finally come to rest.

Alan S. Kaye

Some Historical Remarks on Juba Arabic and Ki-Nubi

The paper examined some aspects of Juba Arabic and stressed the similarities and differences

with the Ki-Nubi (Arabic) of Kenya and Uganda, basically in terms of vocabulary. It also

• offered some parallels to Chadian and Nigerian Arabic dialects.

For example, the word for "tree" serves as an interesting illustration. Heine's book on Nubi (1982) records lakäta for this, but all of my informants pronounced lääta, pl. laatä, which makes its etymology more obscure. This lexeme may be diachronically analyzed as follows:

lääta begins with the Arabic definite article /- followed by the Arabic word for "wood",

hatab, which had probably become xatab in pre-Ki-Nubi (as parallels consider the changes

of Proto-Semitic *h and *i > Hebrew h), as happens in some other dialects. The x then, due to a pidgin's and a Creole's desire to make fricatives into stops, > k, giving now *lkätab.

There is a loss of emphasis (so well known from Chadian Arabic) now giving *lkätab. When

the final consonant deletes, one obtains *lkäta (final consonant deletion is a regular

characteristic of Ki-Nubi and rural forms of Juba Arabic). The initial consonant cluster is now

resolved to a far more usual (= normal) CV CV CV pattem (so common for pidgins and

Creoles anyhow) giving lakäta. Now, due to some inexplicable reason (i.e., anomalous sound change), the Iki deletes, giving the pronunciation lääta.

It should be noted that there is another word for "tree", viz. Seder, pl. Sederä, which has Idi as the reflex of the /Jiim/ (discussed in A.S.Kaye, Chadian and Sudanese Arabic in the Light

of Comparative Arabic Dialectology (1976) paralleling Sejara in Juba Arabic (some people

in Juba know the broken plural aSfaar as well).

Other lexical items prove that Ki-Nubi and Juba Arabic are cousins, deriving ultimately from the same type of proto-language in the greater southem or south-central Sudanese area, e.g., sedegu "sneeze". This is the common verb for "sneeze" in Ki-Nubi, also used in some

varieties of Juba Arabic. Educated forms of Juba Arabic use, however, atas or atis. The

historical development of sedegu is via semantic reinterpretation. Although colloquial

Sudanese Arabic dialects use sedeg for "believe, approve" , when one is expressing an opinion about something and someone else (in close proximity) abmptly sneezes, the one expressing the opinion says sadag alhaklg « sedeg elhaklg "he is confirming or sanctioning (approving) the tmth". This appears to be an excellent isogloss for Ki-Nubi and Juba Arabic and seems to be unknown elsewhere in the Sudan (there is a most interesting European parallel to this development, viz., Yiddish er nist oyfen emes, "he is sneezing on the tmth").

Khalil I. Semaan

The Arabian Tribe: Social Organization in Pre-lslamic Arabia

Arab geneologists maintain that the Arabians all go back to Abraham, and that their

organizational was patriarchal: "The groups were all patriarchal tribes, formed by

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sub-divisions of an original stock, on the system of kinship through male descent. "

This paper proposes to examine critically this theory with reference to works of Westem

scholars who have dealt with the subject, showing that this geneological unity is nothing more than a fiction growing out of cases of local unity; the great scheme of the tribes all coming from a common ancestor is but a development of the "Pension List" of 'Umar, as Sprenger pointed out. In the Shu'ubiyya movement, when the Arabians asserted their supremacy in the new religion of Islam as a privileged people all members of which were to received pensions

from the state out of the spoils of conquest and who alone were to serve in the works of

conquest and administration, it became imperative to have authoritative lists of Arabian tribes.

'Umar had these lists made up. This was a source of inteminable fabrications as well as a

process which provided the later geneologists with abundance of material for linking up the various Arab tribes into one great family whose root was Abraham.

Martin Robbe

Die Palästinafrage nach dem zweiten Weltkrieg Akteure, Irueressen, Regelungsansätze und -Versäumnisse

Nach dem zweiten Weltkrieg trafen in Palästina, das britisches Mandatsgebiet war,

gegensätzliche Interessen und Bestrebungen aufeinander: Das arabische Volk von Palästina

kämpfte, sich der weltweiten Bewegung für nationale und soziale Befreiung einordnend, für

einen eigenen Staat; die politischen Zionisten arbeiteten — Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts hatten sie damit begonnen — auf einen "Judenstaat" (Th. Herzl) hin; für Juden, die den faschisti¬

schen Massenmord überlebt hatten — Hunderttausende befanden sich in Palästina, andere

warteten in Europa auf eine Klämng ihres Schicksals —, war eine neue Heimat zu finden.

Das Ergebnis: die ohnehin existente arabisch-jüdische Kluft wuchs; Zionisten gingen zudem

gegen Briten und nichtzionistische Juden vor. Die Auseinandersetzungen nahmen Bürger¬

kriegscharakter an. Die Briten sahen sich nicht mehr in der Lage, ihre Mandatsherrschaft

aufrechtzuerhalten, und tmgen die Angelegenheit der UNO vor.

Die UNO entschied sich im Herbst 1947 mit der erforderlichen Zweidrittelmehrheit dafür

(Resolution 181), Palästina zu teilen und einen jüdischen sowie einen arabisch-palästinensi¬

schen Staat zu schaffen. Das Gebiet von Jemsalem sollte intemationalisiert werden. Es war

dies als Kompromiß gedacht. Keine Seite bekam alles, was sie forderte, doch erhielten das

arabisch-palästinensische wie das jüdische Volk in Palästina die Möglichkeit, ihr nationales Selbstbestimmungsrecht zu realisieren. Die USA und die UdSSR stimmten für die Resolution 181. Gemeinsamkeiten aus der Zeit, in der sie als Alliierte den Faschismus niedergemngen hatten, erwiesen sich, obgleich bereits der kalte Krieg heraufzog, noch als tragfahig genug,

um in der Bewältigung einer Problematik zusammenzuwirken, die durch die britische

Kolonialpolitik wie den faschistischen Massenmord an Juden heraufbeschworen worden war.

Eine Chance bot sich, die Palästinafrage friedlich zu lösen. Sie blieb ungenutzt. Die

arabischen Staaten, damals von rechten Kräften repräsentiert, versagten sich dem

Kompromiß. Sie vergaben dadurch auch die Möglichkeit, einen arabisch-palästinensischen

Staat zu schaffen. Die Zionisten waren mit der UN-Resolution einverstanden; auch die

Extremisten in ihren Reihen — hofften sie doch, das zugesprochene Staatsgebiet als

Startposition nutzen zu können, um das von ihnen erstrebte Großisrael zu schaffen. Die

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jüdische Führung proldamierte einseitig Israel, wenngleich einige ihrer Vertreter, darunter

N. Goldmann, dafür plädierten, den Termin zu verschieben, um vielleicht doch noch zu

einem Ausgleich mit den Arabem zu gelangen. Die UNO, der sich verschärfende kalte Krieg

lähmte sie weitgehend und Großbritannien zeigte sich nicht kooperationsbereit, war nicht in der Lage, den Beschluß in seiner Komplexität, die seinen Wert ausmachte, durchzusetzen.

Ein arabisch-israelischer Krieg brach aus. Die Israelis eigneten sich in ihm einen Teil des

Territoriums an, das die UNO für den zu gründenden arabisch-palästinensischen Staat

vorgesehen hatte. Von dem, was übrigblieb, nahm Jordanien das Westjordangebiet, während

der Ghazastreifen als autonomes Gebiet Ägypten zufiel.

Aus der ungelösten Palästinafrage ging der Nahostkonflikt hervor. Verantwortlich dafür

zeichneten Kräfte des Imperialismus, der arabischen Reaktion sowie des politischen

Zionismus. Die Leidtragenden waren die Palästinenser; ohne eigenen Staat wurden sie zu

einem Volk von Flüchtlingen. Ihre Eigenstaatlichkeit ist unabdingbar, um zu einer politischen Nahostregelung zu gelangen.

N. H. Hovhannesian

Irregularities in the Development of Arab Countries and their Consequences (1950-1970)

Irregularities in development became apparent in the fact that Arab countries did not succeed in simultaneously achieving poltical independence, as a result of which they had to cope with different problems, which favoured not a decrease, but an increase of the remoteness between

them. The formation of about twenty Arab states brought forth an abundance of state forms

both monarchical and republican, which is also an expression of the law of irregular

development. Arab countries are distinguished by a diversity of socio-economic formations

and stmctures. Tribal and feudal relations predominate in one group (Saudi Arabia, Yemen

Arab Republic, Unites Arab Emirates, Katar), in the second group, survivals of feudal

relations are potent side by side with the development of capitalist relations (Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, etc.), in the third, capitalist relations dominate (the Lebanon, Tunisia). In conse¬

quence of such irregularity in development, in the mid- 1960' s a group of states with socialist

orientation were formed as Algeria, Syria, People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, Libia,

Iraq and Egypt (until the beginning of the 1970's).

Thus it follows:

Firstly, as a result of irregular development nowadays, in our opinion, the process of

estrangement of Arab countries from each other prevails rather than the process of their

rapprochement.

Secondly, the creation of separate states, consolidation of their sovereignty, establishment of clear-cut and strictly guarded frontiers, creation of national markets, etc. brought forth a situation where under a preservation of the general feelings of belonging to the Arab nation,

each Arab in concrete cases appears as an Algerian, Tunisian, or Iraqi, etc.. Nowadays the

concept of sovereignty of each Arab country is so consolidated that Arabs are very zealous of being acknowledged in interrelations not only with non-Arab, but with Arab states as well.

Thirdly, the law of irregular development forces a new approach to the problem of Arab

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4SI

unity. Its realization (if the final aim — creation of a united Arab state — is meant) in the presence of different socio-economic and political structures in different Arab countries, will entail great difficulties and does not seem to be possible in the near future. And now, as it

seems, unity of action rather than a movement towards the creation of a united Arab state

should be implied under Arab unity.

Fourthly, irregular development is one of the reasons of discord and cleavage in the Arab

world, it gives a clue to understand existing contradictions, motives of formation of this or that grouping in the contemporary Arab world.

Fifthly, it also gives a clue to understanding the nature of relations of Arab countries with socialists and westem states.

A. N. iMANGin^IEVA

Conceming Arab Emigrant Literature

Against the background of traditional Arab culture Arab emigrant literature by virtue of its

very essence showed itself to be innovative, largely reviewing the themes, genres and lan¬

guage of its characters and forming a tributary to the mainstream of modem Arab literature.

The emigration was caused by the militarist and police regime which prevailed in the Ottoman

Empire culminating under Abdul Hamid (1876-1908) when bmtal political repressions,

persecutions and terror became common occurrence. This situation was aggravated by

economic backwardness which led to the impoverishment of the population and discrimination against the Christians. The emigrants included progressive educated individuals trained either in Arab places of study or in Russian, French or British mission-schools. Among them stand out such literary figures as Amin ar-Reihani, Jebran Halil Jebran, Mikhail Nuayme and Nasib Arida.

In their new conditions of life, away from censorship and police terror, the Arab emigrants strove to preserve their traditions and their native language and to develop their national literature.

In an effort to achieve still greater cohesion abroad, they united to from various clubs and societies. Hence, the emergence in the United States of various Arab societies — religious, philantrophic and literary.

Emigrant writers knew it was necessary to establish an organization to play an active role in the life of the Arab emigration and the maintain close ties with the Arab world.

That was a well-known literary association Ar-Rabita al-Kalamiyya (Association of the Pen) organized under the chairmanship of J. H. Jebran in April 1920. Around this organization

rallied M. Nuayme, A. D. Haddad, N. Arida, R. Ayub and other well-known prosewriters

and poets all of whom became literary innovators.

The unification was also furthered by newly established newspapers and magazines which

were edited by the most progressive and most socially active members of the Arab

intelligentsia. Kavkab Amerikan (The Star of America, 1892, New York), Jarida al-Huda

(The Right Path, 1898, Philadelphia) As-Saih (Traveller, 1912, New York), Al-Funun (Art,

1912, New York), Al-Alim as-Suri (Syrian World, 1926, New York) make up a far from full

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list of the Arab emigrant periodicals opened in the United States.

Emigrant writers strove to help their people realize the necessity of social changes. This applies, for instance, to novellas by M. Nuayme included in the collections "Perhaps it Happened, Perhaps it Didn't" (Kana ma Kana, Beirut, 1937) and "The Noble" (Akabir, Beirut, 1956). He portrayed the difficult life of the fellaheen ("The Noble"), of a stone mason ("A Present"), of an Arab emigrant ("Cuckoo Clock"), the oppressed position of an Eastem women ("Her New Year" and "A Barren Women"). Similar problems are highlighted in many works by Jebran and ar-Reihani ("Broken Wings", "A Tear", "A Smile"). A colossal merit of all the three writers is their stmggle against religious differences and the intransi¬

gence of the religious fanatics. Suffice it to recall the stories "The Devil", "Grazy Yuhanna"

and "Infidel Halil" by Jebran.

The new ideological and social orientation of the emigrant literary works predetermined their authors' refusal to follow the old literary canons and a search for new artistic means and methods.

The direct basis of Arab emigrant literature was formed by the philosophical, sociological and

aesthetic achievements of European cultures. The natural result was the deep influence of

European literature itself.

The Arab emigrant writers could not begin with realism because of the low level of their

countries literary development and the pressure of old literary canons and authorities.

Beginning from enlightment and naive realism emigrant writers subsequently tumed to

sentimentalism, and afterwards to romanticism. They were predominantly drawn by works

of English romantics — Shelley and Wordsworth. The motifs and uplift of their poems found

a ready response in the consciousness and sentiments of Jebran and ar-Reihani naturally, all these motifs were adopted by the Arab writers in a complex, "refracted" form.

The emigrant writers leamed a great deal from the American romanticists Emerson, Therean

and Whitman, especially as regards the interpretation of the role of a poet and poetry in

society.

Above all, the powerful influence of Russian classical literature shall be noted here. Some

Arab writers, among them Nuayme, Arida and Haddad were greatly influenced by democratic

ideas of Chemyshevsky and Dobrolyubov, the new aesthetic principles of Belinsky, the great

creations of Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, Turgenev, Tolstoy and others.

The Syrian-American school of writers renewed Arab literature with respect to themes, genres and language. They tumed it in the direction of realism, making it reflect the life of Arab society.

GÜNTER Barthel

Transformation and Transition in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia

Many of the oil-producing countries in the Arabian Peninsula have been able to take on a new look, owing to the substantial influx of petrodollars which have given them considerable economic weight in the world today.

However, the transformation peculiar to these states are not merely confined to economic A. Wezler/E. Hammerschmidi (Hrsg.): Proceedings ofthe XXXII Inlemational Congress for Asian and North African Sludies, Hamburg, 25lh-30th Augusl 1986 (ZDMG-Suppl. 9).

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growth and its indicators. Far more apparent are the changes in the socio-economic systems.

Though these are not fundamentally new, they must surely qualify as unique when regarded under universal historical dimension in view of the rapidity of the transitions and diversity

of the specific forms. Whereas the comparable change-over from feudalism to capitalism in

European countries partially lasted over several centuries, and was at times an extremely harrowing experience for most of the population, this period has been shortened in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to a quarter of a century. In contrast to Europe, where revolutionary upri¬

sings and power struggles accompanied the advent of the new social order, mostly in head-on collision with outmoded pattems of ownership and mle, in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia capitalist relations have so far pervaded the existing social base in a nonviolent manner. In the course of this development theocratic power has remained in the hands of the feudal forces, who are

gradually becoming quasi-capitalists. The monarchistically and feudally determined

superstmcture, which more often than not impeded progress in Europe, has unobtmsively yet

extensively encouraged the development of the capitalist mode of production in both countries

as well as in the other Gulf emirates. Most people living in the region have thus been

catapulted out of medieval ignorance and widespread poverty into a modem age, all too often geared solely towards the consumption of products.

Interestingly enough, next to one of the omnipotent clan leaders or reputable merchants

having political and economical influence at the beginning of the 20th century let the abundant sinecures slip by that were around after the Second World War, particularly in the 70s and 80s.

Giant petro-chemical and heavy industry complexes, assembly plants for motor vehicles, and major building materials companies, established in the late 70s and early 80s, demonstrate the

development adequat to the material fundaments of capitalist relations of production. The

mling monarchs with their family clans were the backbone and, at the same time the main

beneficiary of this process.

However, a competitor and partner is moving in, whose ancestors were involved with

commercial capital. A number of industrial capitalists have emerged from the group of

families that control the whole market in both countries. They remained faithful to trade and, chiefly, import business, but became also engaged in the manufacture of consumer and capital goods as well as in banking.

Besides the bourgeoisie a large stratum of domestic wage-eamers and salaried employees

arised who were tom out, however half-heartedly, from their roots in pre-capitalist de¬

pendence. Only few of its members are employed in material production, and there is little awareness among this group of a leap to a new form of exploitation, since their standard of living has obviously improved.

Lx)THAR Rathmann

Conditions of Labour and Trade Unions under Wafdist Administration in Egypt

(1942-43)

This historiographic on the Wafdist Administration when it came into office in the spring of

the critical year of the war 1942 is extensive in comparison with other periods of modem

Egyptian history. Nevertheless you can find only few serious publications on the conditions A. Wezler/E. Hammerschmidt (Hrsg.): Proceedings of the XXXll Intemational Congress for Asian and North African Studies, Hamburg, 25th-30th August 1986 (ZDMG-Suppl. 9).

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of Labour, the role of the trade unions and the offical policy towards the Labour movement.

More light on the matter cast two documents, till now unpublished:

— A very comprehensive and confidental report by T. E. Evans, Second Secretary of the

British Embassy in Cairo on Conditions of Labour and Trade Unions. Received in

Foreign Office, London, 28th July, 1944.

— A report on Trade Unionism in the Middle East by M. L Zein Ed-Din, received in

Foreign Office, London, the same time. Zein Ed-Din was the head of the private

Chauffeurs' Union and a member of the Intemational Transport Workers Federation.

To take into consideration the following main lines of the Egyptian Trade Union movement during the Second World War are visible:

1. Up to the Wafdist Administration in 1942 there was in Egypt no real Labour legislation.

After the signature of the treaty of 1936 the Third Wafdist Govemment promised extensive labour legislation: But the Wafd-Administration fell in the end of 1937 and the programme had to be postponed.

2. On the occasion of the opening of Parliament on the 30th March 1942, Nahhas Pascha

outlined his so-called Govemment Labour Programme. In September it was promulgated. The

main part of the Labour legislation was the Syndicates Law.

In 1942 in Egypt were registered 311 Trade Unions, among them 205 Craft Unions and 106

Factory Unions with a total membership of about 100 000.

The principal provisions of the Wafdist Syndicates Law were as follows:

— A Syndicate is defined as an organisation the object of which is to protect and

promote the interests of the workers, to defend their rights and improve their material and social conditions.

— Workers engaged in industrial and commercial enterprises may form syndicates.

— Foreigners permanently resident in Egypt are eligible for membership provided their

number does not exceed one quarter of the total of numbers.

— Registered syndicates of trades of industries concurring in the production of the same

goods may form federations, which shall have the same rights and obligations as

syndicates.

That doesn't sound bad in comparison with former Labour Legislation. But in decisive

questions Nahhas Pascha was completely in line both with the British authorifies, the British

Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Egyptian Industries representing partly the

capitalist wing of the Wafd Party.

So the following restrictions were not abolished:

— Meeting of the unions could only be held with the authority of the Public Security

Department;

— Govemment officials and agricultural workers were debarred from forming syndicates;

— Syndicates were forbidden to deal with political questions;

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— The Minister of Social Affairs could dissolve any union guilty of organising strikes;

— A comprehensive federation of syndicates of different trades or industries might not

be registered.

3. According to a census of industrial establishment taken in June 1942 in agreement with the

terms of the Industrial Convention of Labour statistics 284584 workers were directly

connected with manufacturing processes and approximately more than 300 000 in transport.

To this figure must be added the very large number of unskilled workers trained by the

British Army. This means in context with the growing number of unions and strikes Labour became an essential political factor.

When the Palace and the Wafd were gathering their forces for their off-post-poned trial of

strength, both sides paid special attention to labour:

But his pronounced Fascist leanings caused him to be regarded with suspicion even among

Labour elements that he had formerly controlled.

The Wafd was more successful than the Palace in its effort to control Trade Unions. It was estimated by reliable sources that the Wafd influenced about 40 per cent of the Trade Union membership in Egypt, that was about 42 000 registered members.

A third group constituted so-called Independent Unions, not connected with the Palace, the Wafd or other political groups.

This was the situation when after the end of the Second Worid War the Trade Unions made

a new start in their struggle for a decisive improvement of Labour conditions.

Athanasius Th. Photopoulos

The Arabic and Islamic Studies in Modem Greece

In 1453 Constantinople was occupied by the Turks and the Greek nation lived under the

Turkish domination for almost 400 years. Continueing in the Byzantine tradition the various

scholars and clergymen (Pachomios Russanos, Anastasios Gordios, Nektarios Terpos) wrote

essays and published books against the religion of Islam. These writers emphasized the

religious controversy and ignored the contributions of the Islamic civilisation to humanity and the importance of the classical heritage in Islam. The interest not only on religion but also on other aspects of the Arabic and Islamic world began about the end of the 18th century.

Below follows a brief account of the main intellectual works of the modem Greeks on Arabic and Islamic subjects.

/. History. The study of Arabic history began in Alexandria of Egypt, in 1928, by

Christophoros Nomikos, who published the book "Introduction to the history ofthe Arabs".

He also published the book "Orient and Islam" and "Arabic historical studies", for which he used Arabic and European sources. There are several essays and books on related subjects:

the capture of Athens by the Saracens (Dem. Kambouroglus), the Moslem sources about the

city of Amorium (P. Karolides), the capture of Crete by the Arabs (V. Christides, N.

Tomadakes, V. Kalaintzakis etc.), the Turks and Arabs Philhellenes during the Greek war

of Independence 1821 (Sp. Loukatos), the Arab historian Ibn Athir (Al. Savvides), the

economy of the Arabs in the Middle Ages (L. Choumanides) etc. There are books on the

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mcxlem history of some countries of the Middle East.

//. Philosophy. Prof. Gregorius Ziakas published: "Aristotle in Arabic tradition".

///. Religion. There are related publications of the first great islamologist Eugenius

Michaelides (1885-1975), who lived in Alexandria of Egypt. The most significant scholar on

Islam in Greece is Gregorius Ziakas, professor at Thessaloniki. He has published books on

Islamic religion, the mystic poetry and the Coran. Very interesting are the essays on the

dervishes (VI. Mirmiroglu), the sources of Islam (P. Fouyas), Muhammad Iqbal (D.

Stathopoulos), the polemics of Byzantine theologians against Islam (Ev. Sdrakas), the oracular

texts of the Greek scholars and clergymen (Ast. Argyriou, Al. Karyotoglu). The orthodox

bishop A. Jannulatos wrote an extensive book titled "Islam, a general survey".

/V. Art. There are only very few essays mainly on the arabic (cufic) decorative elements of some Byzantine monuments of Greece (G. Soteriou, M. Gitakos). The specialist Papadopoulos published his voluminous and richly illustrated book on the Moslem art.

V. Lexicography-Grammar-Language. A. Dictionaries: — Greek-Arabic 1) By Gerassimos

Pendakes (1885). 2) By Ph. Glytsis in collaboration with the Egyptian Rachman. —

Arabic-Greek, by Artemios Thalassinos and Samuel Camel. Other related publications:

"Arabic chrestomathy containing elements of the Arabic language" by St. Athanassiades: "the

new practical method for the leaming of the written and colloquial Arabic" by Od.

Spanakides; "The assistant of the arabist: terms and phrases of the written Arabic" by Ph.

Gysis; "Origin of the Arabic alphabet as arithmetic system" by Eug. Michaelides; "Arabic method", a teach yourself book compiled by Aly Nur (for Greeks).

VL Mathematics-Physics. Alexandros Karatheodoris (1833-1906) translated the unpublished text of the Arab mathematician Nasr ed-din el Tussi. Ev. Stamatis wrote about the discovery

of some works of Archimedes among the manuscripts of Patna (India). G. Arvanitakis wrote

(in France) two essays on the chronometry of the Moslems.

VIL Geography. In 1808, Demetrius Alexandrides edited in Vienna a part of Abulfeda's

Geography. There are essays of A. Miliarakis and St. Kordossis on El Edrisi's geographical work.

VIII. Translations. 1) From European languages on several subjects: history (Wash. Irving),

religion (E. Dermenghem), philosophy-poetry (R. Nicholson), politics (Max. Rodinson), art

(E. Gmbe, P. Bamboroug). 2) From Arabic (or from translations into European languages).

— The Coran by G. Pendakis (1878) from Arabic; from France or English by M. Zographou-

Meraneou (1964) and by Zoi Milili (1980). — "The 1001 nights" were translated from Italian and published in Venice three times in the 18th century. Between the years 1921-1930 Kostas Trikoglides translated a great part of the work from Arabic in 7 volumes. He also translated

from Arabic poems and novels. (Another famous translator of Arabic and Persian poems was

St. Karatheodoris). The "Book of Sindbad" was reprinted 25 times in Modem Greece. There are many popular editions of "1001 nights".

Information: 1) Arabic and Islamic subjects, mainly historic, are taught at the University of

Crete (Prof D. Gutas). 2) In Athens a Society of Greek-Arabic studies was founded and pu¬

blishes the joumal "Graeco-arabica" (vol. I-III).

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Klaus Boekels

Edition von neumandäischen Texten mit einem Personalcomputer

Das Neumandäische ist ein ostaramäischer Dialekt, der von der religiösen Minderheit der

Mandäer gesprochen wird, die in den Flußläufen des Euphrat und Tigris, im heutigen Iran

und Irak, beheimatet ist. Durch den Druck des Islam und Zwangsumsiedlungen ist es eine

zum Aussterben verurteilte Sprache. Der Dialekt steht dem Talmudisch-Aramäischen sehr

nahe, steht aber eigenständig gegenüber dem klassischen Mandäisch, das in dieser

gnostischen Sekte noch als Kultsprache gepflegt wird.

Mit dem Entschluß von Prof. Macuch, von ihm im Iran gesammelte Aufzeichnungen des

gesprochenen Dialekts neben unzulänglich geschriebenen, zu Beginn dieses Jahrhunderts in

mandäischer Schrift erschienenen irakischen Texten aus J. De Morgan, Etudes linguistiques, lie partie: Textes mandaites (Mission scientifique en Perse V), Paris 1904, S. 273-286) zu

veröffentlichen, wird dieser Dialekt erstmalig der Öffentlichkeit in Form von Texten

zugänglich gemacht. Die Veröffentlichung sollte mit Hilfe eines Personalcomputers erstellt

werden, um die Kosten und den Aufwand niedrig zu halten. Die Aufgabe, die sich mir hier

zunächst stellte, bestand darin, die normalisierten Texte in der phonetischen Umschrift in den

Personalcomputer einzugeben. Hierzu waren einige Probleme zu lösen, wie die Ausgabe von

den sonst nicht gebrauchten phonetischen Zeichen auf dem Computer und deren Ausgabe auf

dem Drucker. Beides wurde gelöst, indem ein RAM-font-fähiger Drucker und Monitor

eingesetzt wurde in denen diese Zeichen speziell definiert wurden. Als Textprogramm wurde WordPerfect gewählt. Von diesem Textprogramm wurden dann die Texte in das Datenverwal¬

tungsprogramm dBase übemommen und aus ihnen über ein Programm automatisch eine

Konkordanz erstellt.

Nach der automatischen Erstellung einer vollständigen Konkordanz wurden in dBase die

verschiedenen vorkommenden Worte nach dem mandäischen Alphabet über ein dafür

erstelltes Sortierprogramm geordnet und mehrfaches Vorkommen ein- und desselben Wortes

ausgezählt und die identischen Einträge gelöscht. Diese Datei stellte die Ausgangsform für

die Erstellung des Glossars dar. Nachdem darin jede Form bestimmt und Bedeutung und

etwaige Bemerkungen eingetragen worden waren, wurde hieraus wiedemm über ein speziell

hierfür geschriebenes Programm direkt die Rohform des Glossars hergestellt. Nachdem diese

überarbeitet worden war, konnten die Einfühmng und die Grammatische Skizze, bei der die

vollständige Konkordanz nützliche Dienste leistete, bearbeitet werden. Die Arbeit mit dem

Computer erfordert gegenüber der herkömmlichen Bearbeitung einiges Umdenken. So liegt

die Hauptaufgabe bei der Erstellung eines durchgängigen Konzeptes, das alle Sonderfälle

kategorisiert und mitberücksichtigt, so daß diese Aufgabe dann in Form eines Programms

vom Computer abgearbeitet werden kann. Während der Arbeit erwies es sich z.B. als sehr

aufwendig, an sich kleine Unstimmigkeiten oder Fehler zu beheben, da diese dann vom

Programm durchgängig durchgeführt wurden und sich auf das gesamte vom Programm

bearbeitete Material erstreckten, andererseits konnten sonst äußerst aufwendige Sortier- und

Selektierprozeduren in kürzester Zeit bewerkstelligt werden. Die Chrestomatie mit den

mandäischen Texten neben einer deutschen Übersetzung werden noch in diesem Jahr

erscheinen.

A. Wezler/E. Hammerschmidt (Hrsg.): Proceedings of the XXXU Intemational Congress for Asian and North Afriean Studies, Hamburg, 25th-30th August 1986 (ZDMG-SuppI. 9).