George Makdisi has brought together six of the most distinguished scholars in the field to explore the religion and culture of medieval Islam. This is an original and stimulating exchange. Makdisi's introductory essay focuses on the interaction between religion and culture in classical Islam and Christendom, Merlin Swartz analyses the homilies of Ibn al-Jawazi, Irfan Shahid considers the implications of the Arabic character of the Koran, George Saliba assesses Ash'arite thought in astrology and astronomy, Roger Arnaldez reflects on the religious cultures of medieval Islam, and Mahmoud Ayoub draws together the common historic threads of Muslim-Jewish and Muslim-Christian popular worship. W. Montgomery Watt concludes the volume by addressing the question of the future of Islam, posing a parallel with the Judaic reaction to Hellenistic culture.
Richard Hovannisian is a Guggenheim Fellow and has received many honors for his scholarship, civic activities, and advancement of Armenian Studies. His biographical entries are included in Who's Who in America, Who's Who in the World, Writers' Directory, and a number of other scholarly and literary reference works. Dr. Hovannisian is a founder and three-time president of the Society for Armenian Studies and represented the State of California on the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education (WICHE) from 1978 to 1994. He serves on the board of directors of nine scholarly and civic organizations, including the Facing History and Ourselves Foundation; the International Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide; International Alert; the Foundation for Research on Armenian Architecture; and the Armenian National Institute (ANI).