1. EN 266 Comparative Perspectives on Arabic Literature
Cathia Jenainati

2. Geography and language
Focus on Libya, Egypt (Misr), Saudi Arabia, Palestine (Falasteen), Syria and Lebanon
Arab, Arabia, Arabic

3. Arabia

4. Pre-islamic world

5. Bedouin Life (Nomads)

7. Arabs are the Bedouins who settled in the Arabian peninsula
Bedouins are those who remained nomads
Harsh environment with scarce resources;
Ghazu (raids)
Muruwah (chivalric code)
Law of Retribution
Diyafah (hospitality)

8. Muruwah
“Muruwah meant courage, patience, endurance; it consisted of a dedicated determination to avenge any wrong done to the group, to protect its weaker members, and defy its enemies. To preserve the honor of the tribe, each member had to be ready to leap to the defense of his kinsmen at a moment’s notice and to obey his chief without question. …

9. Muruwah
Above all, a tribesman had to be generous and share his livestock and food. … A truly noble Bedouin would take no heed for the morrow, showing by his lavish gifts and hospitality that he valued his fellow tribesmen more than his possessions.... ”
(Muhammad A Prophet of our Time, Karen Armstrong)

10. Diyafah (hospitality)
“Arabian tribesmen view hospitality as a sacred duty; … Elaborate rules governed the granting and termination of hospitality to persons outside the lineage, doubtless in response to the functional significance of the traveller”.
The Places Where Men Pray Together: Cities in Islamic Lands Seventh Through Tenth Centuries,” Paul Wheatley

11. Al Jahiliyya
“violent and explosive irascibility, arrogance, tribal chauvinism.”  (Karen Armstrong)
“Time of Ignorance”

12. What did Islam bring to the Arabs?
Abolished the law of retribution and urged forgiveness
Forbade usury and introduced zakat
Promoted women’s rights in social and economic terms

13. 6 periods of Adab (Literature)
Pre-Islamic period (Jahiliyyah)
The Islamic period (610CE-661CE)
The Umayyad period ( CE)
The Abbasid Dynasty (750CE-1258CE)
The Ottoman Period (1258CE-1789CE) also known as, The Era of Decadence
The Modern Period ( )

14. Comparative perspectives
Read the texts comparatively
Ask questions about the “Arab” component of each
Ask questions about the “Adab” component of each text
Pick up on themes and motifs that characterise the literature of each country and establish a discourse of comparative readings that enables us to analyse the literature discursively

15. Comparative perspectives on
The homeland, the nation and individual space
Religion and mythology
Narrative experiments
Women’s place and women’s space

16. Finally
A note on reading texts in translation