This talk examines the encounter between early Islamic and Christian traditions of ascetic piety. Focusing on the writings of the Christian monk Isaac of Nineveh (fl. late 7th century), the talk will trace the movement of ideas about asceticism from the Gulf region into Iraq. Along the way, we will see the emergence of a common idiom of ascetic piety – a set of phrases, stories, and ideals shared by Muslims and Christians in the early Islamic world and contested by members of both communities. An examination of this shared idiom challenges scholarly views about the historical relation of Christian and Islamic piety, revealing how Muslim and Christian authors responded to and transformed each other’s understandings of the body, devotion, and asceticism.

John Zaleski is a Research Fellow in the Humanities Research Fellowship for the Study of the Arab World. His research examines the interaction of Muslim and Christian religious and intellectual traditions in the early Islamic world. His current book project, A Common Tongue: Muslims, Christians, and The Formation of a New Language of Asceticism in Early Islam, explores the confluence of early Christian and Muslim writing about ascetic practice.

Speakers
John Zaleski, Humanities Research Fellow, NYUAD