Alexandria Digital Research Library

The Speculum of Divine Justice and Obedience in Christian and Islamic Mirrors for Princes

Author:
Puignau, Maria del Rosario Jazmín
Degree Grantor:
University of California, Santa Barbara. Religious Studies
Degree Supervisor:
Juan Campo
Place of Publication:
[Santa Barbara, Calif.]
Publisher:
University of California, Santa Barbara
Creation Date:
2014
Issued Date:
2014
Topics:
Islamic Studies, Religion, Comparative, and Middle Eastern Studies
Keywords:
Mirror
Obedience
Righteousness
Kingship
Princes
Justice
Genres:
Online resources and Dissertations, Academic
Dissertation:
Ph.D.--University of California, Santa Barbara, 2014
Description:

Most contemporary scholarship affirms that the Christian and Islamic medieval political imperative was about the preservation of order and stability. We considered this characterization insufficient, given the treatment of the concept of religious and political justice by medieval thinkers in both traditions. In fact, Christian and Islamic political theologies stress that the rulers of their respective communities should 'mirror' divine justice. They also emphasize the need to obey the ruler for the sake of preserving order in their societies. The present study then argues that there is an inconsistency between the emphases on political obedience on the one hand, and the religious imperative of political justice on the other. As a result, Islamic and Christian thought is permeated with a certain degree of anxiety that made more than one Muslim or Christian author uncomfortable. This dissertation is a study of such anxiety. We first survey the influence of Greek and Persian philosophical heritage, centered in harmony and stability for both traditions, as found in the Eastern political concept of the "Circle of Justice". Second, we contrast this influence with the religious meaning of justice as religious righteousness, a theological imperative found in both traditions, and represented in Islam under the maxim of "commanding good and forbidding evil". To do so, we focus on Christian and Islamic Mirrors for Princes up to the 16th century, a literary genre known as part of the political and theological discourse in both traditions. The major contribution of this study is to show the commonalities in Christian and Islamic political theology, particularly in their treatment of the key religious and political values of justice and obedience.

Physical Description:
1 online resource (312 pages)
Format:
Text
Collection(s):
UCSB electronic theses and dissertations
ARK:
ark:/48907/f3kw5d6k
ISBN:
9781321568455
Catalog System Number:
990045118810203776
Rights:
Inc.icon only.dark In Copyright
Copyright Holder:
Maria del Rosario Puignau
File Description
Access: Public access
Puignau_ucsb_0035D_12359.pdf pdf (Portable Document Format)