Islamic Law Speaker Series: “The Imam of the Christians: The World of Dionysius of Tel-Mahre, c. 750–850” with Philip Wood, Program in Islamic Law, May 14, 2024 @ 12:30 – 1:30 pm
Posted on February 13, 2024
On Tuesday, May 14, 2024 at 12:30-1:30PM US EST via Zoom, Philip Wood (Aga Khan University) will give a book talk on The Imam of the Christians: The World of Dionysius of Tel-Mahre, c. 750–850 (Princeton University Press, 2021) as part of our Islamic Law Speaker Series. This book examines how Christian leaders adopted and adapted the political practices and ideas of their Muslim rulers between 750 and 850 in the Abbasid caliphate in the Jazira (modern eastern Turkey and northern Syria). Focusing on the writings of Dionysius of Tel-Mahre, the patriarch of the Jacobite church, Wood describes how this encounter produced an Islamicate Christianity that differed from the Christianities of Byzantium and western Europe in far more than just theology. In doing so, Wood opens a new window on the world of early Islam and Muslims’ interactions with other religious communities. Register today!