Zitationsvorschlag

Dramatic Islamic Preaching: A Close Reading of ʿAmr Khālid, in Dorpmüller, Sabine et al. (Hrsg.): Religion and Aesthetic Experience: Drama—Sermons—Literature, Heidelberg: Heidelberg University Publishing, 2018 (Heidelberg Studies on Transculturality, Band 4), S. 149–170. https://doi.org/10.17885/heiup.416.c5917

Identifier (Buch)

ISBN 978-3-947732-02-9 (Softcover)
ISBN 978-3-947732-01-2 (Hardcover)
ISBN 978-3-947732-03-6 (PDF)

Veröffentlicht

13.12.2018

Autor/innen

Jan Scholz

Dramatic Islamic Preaching: A Close Reading of ʿAmr Khālid

Abstract This chapter focuses on a rhetorical technique used by different Islamic preachers on the basis of the prominent example of ʿAmr Khālid, namely the mimetic telling of stories within his sermons. It provides a detailed analysis of his dramatic technique and of the effects it produces. For this analysis, I have chosen a close reading of a short passage from one of his programmes. The advantage of this approach is that it allows for a detailed discussion of the narrative and performative techniques used. The theoretical analysis builds on crucial concepts of the so-called Greco-Roman rhetorical tradition (which modern European rhetorical theory is a part of). However, the reason for recourse to this theoretic tradition is not only due to the fact that it provides a useful theoretical frame. Instead, as I point out, the Greco-Roman (or European) tradition has considerably influenced modern Arabic rhetorical manuals as well. Connecting the theoretical rhetorical reflections with some insights from the field of neuroscience, I argue that the analysed rhetorical techniques provide a particular form of religious aesthetic experience, which is geared towards bringing the past to the present, making it experienceable for modern listeners today.