Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2015 April 22

= April 22 =

Maps
Can anyone please point me to a map that meets the following criteria: I want it to form the basis of a map illustrating various things about the Palestine campaign of WWI. GoldenRing (talk) 13:04, 22 April 2015 (UTC)
 * Shows the area covered by North-East Egypt (at least including Cairo), Israel, Lebanon and South-West Syria (at least including Damascus);
 * Shows the Dead Sea, Sea of Galilee, Jordan river and Suez canal in reasonable detail;
 * Does not have current borders, or the borders are easily removable; showing the 1914 borders would also be acceptable;
 * Preferably has no place names on it;
 * Is under CC-BY or similar license.
 * Maps now in the public domain would also, of course, be useful. GoldenRing (talk) 13:15, 22 April 2015 (UTC)
 * File:Middle_East_topographic_map-blank.svg -- Jayron 32 13:21, 22 April 2015 (UTC)
 * Many thanks. GoldenRing (talk) 08:08, 23 April 2015 (UTC)

Nicaraguan civil war
The article on Wikipedia does not seem complete. I was wondering about how the autonomous eastern Caribbean regions (mostly black vs. national majority Mestizo) played during the war? (as an aside, anyone know the name of the casino hotel near Managua airport?)120.62.4.247 (talk) 15:04, 22 April 2015 (UTC)
 * There's a little bit of information at Mosquito Coast. -- Jayron 32 15:42, 22 April 2015 (UTC)
 * And the only information I can find at Wikipedia on a Nicaraguan Casino is Pharaoh's Casino. -- Jayron 32 15:44, 22 April 2015 (UTC)
 * And that's indeed near the Augusto C. Sandino International Airport. Deor (talk) 18:08, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

A good critical history or two of early Islam along the lines of Biblical criticism
I've read various books by writers like Geza Vermes who put Jesus's reported and likely sayings into the context of the Judaism of his era, books that explain John the Baptist's ministry, and the fact that he still has his own followers (or did until recently) that view him as their prophet, not Jesus as their messiah. Also there's the notion that Paul created Chritianity by changing Jesus's role from that of a Jewish teacher to savior god synthesized with John's gnostic ideas and pagan myths like the Isis/Osiris Adonis and Tammuz, and speculation that the destruction of the Temple and the end of James' ministry led to the final schism between Jews and Christians with the destruction of the Jewish community of Jesus's followers still in Jerusalem. (This is prolog, not a set of points I'm looking to have debated)

What I'm interested in is a readable scholarly (not sectarian, pro- or con- !) work, or a few, that address the Pagan, Jewish and Christian millieu of pre-Muslim Arabia, the origins of the Kaaba, Khadija's role in Muhammad's ministry, the nature and recording of his utterances from a critical (as in biblical criticism) standpoint, and those of his immediate followers up to the Sunni-Shia split. I am interested in things like the idea that certain Muslim beliefs in regard to Jesus (such as that Jesus was not himself physically crucified, but that it was an image) may originate in no-longer existing Arabian Christian communities. Thanks. μηδείς (talk) 18:19, 22 April 2015 (UTC)
 * I think the "Arabian religion" article in Encyclopedia Britannica covers at least some of your questions regarding the pre-Islam Arabian polytheists. Also, this page, although obviously 90 years old, deals with some of the issues regarding Christian influence on Muhammad. I do remember reading, that Muhammad had been in contact with Bahira, who was a monk of some Eastern Christian variety, and that his beliefs regarding Jesus do reflect the views of some of the Eastern Christians. Unfortunately, from what I remember reading, the documentary history about early Arabian religion is sparse in the extreme, at least compared to some other similar religions, and the history of Muhammad's early life independent of Islam ain't much better. The Classical Heritage in Islam by Franz Rosenthal deals with the Classical impact on Islam, which is probably at least to close to being the Christian impact, I hope anyway, and Greek and Arabic: Essays on Islamic Philosophy by Richard Walzer does much the same. I don't know if the Britannica article has a bibliography, but the Hastings Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics has a similar article, although it might have some very outdated material, and it does cite some sources. That's all I can think of quickly though. John Carter (talk) 19:03, 22 April 2015 (UTC)


 * Thanks. I contacted my local library, but the reference librarian (with whom I am very familiar) advised me that the local branch only had encyclopedic reference works which she knew would not satisfy me.  I m still looking for specific works which people can recommend from experience.  (And the last time I saw the Encyclopaedia Britannica in hardcover was in 1986.  What I have read are either very sectarian accounts or Will Durant's The Age of Faith which is close to what I am looking for in style, but is about a century out of date, and nowhere near as deep or technical as I'd like. I'll check with the library about the other sources, thanks. μηδείς (talk) 21:57, 22 April 2015 (UTC)
 * This is a long shot, μηδείς, but The Cartoon History of the Universe series by Larry Gonick features very extensive Reference Lists/Bibliographies, which might well include works relevant to your interest: Volume 3 covers the rise of Islam – I have it (and Vols 1 & 2) at home, but I won't be leaving work for at least 6 hours so I can't check it right now.
 * (Incidentally, I'll also be interested in any suggestions that other editors can give – I've read extensively (at a popular level) around the origins of Judaism and Christianity, but likewise haven't encountered much about Islam.) {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 212.95.237.92 (talk) 12:55, 23 April 2015 (UTC)
 * Medeis and IP 212.95..., there is a lot less critical scholarship on early Islam than on early Christianity because while western Christianity has largely accommodated itself to humanism and the Enlightenment, mainstream Islam largely has not. Therefore, most Islamic scholars do not question religious dogma.  Also, those who might want to take a critical approach run a serious risk of being charged with heresy or blasphemy, which can have fatal consequences.  That said, you might take a look at the references at the bottom of our article Disputed issues in early Islamic history.  When you get hold of the most recent sources listed there, check their references as well.  Because your area of interest is so marginalized, you are unlikely to find an authoritative reference and will probably need to read a selection of scholarly papers.  Marco polo (talk) 13:31, 23 April 2015 (UTC)


 * Thanks,, the article historiography of early Islam linked to at the disputes article has proved helpful. I found it odd there wouldn't at least be 20th century English and 19th Century German scholarship on the topics.  I have ordered a few titles. μηδείς (talk) 21:32, 23 April 2015 (UTC)


 * No God but God by Reza Aslan meets at least some of your requirements. --ColinFine (talk) 12:43, 24 April 2015 (UTC)
 * Thanks,, I have placed it on order. μηδείς (talk) 19:43, 24 April 2015 (UTC)
 * Also two books that may guide you as to what to read:
 * The lives of Muhammad by Kecia Ali (a very quick read)
 * Narratives of Islamic Origins by Fred Donner (more scholarly; well regarded, but Donner does have views that are not universally accepted)
 * Abecedare (talk) 19:56, 24 April 2015 (UTC)


 * Tom Holland's 2012 book In the Shadow of the Sword (2012) takes a critical approach to the rise of Islam in the context of the empires of Late Antiquity. Holland is not an academic and the book has come in for some criticism, it is at least an attempt at what you're looking for. --Nicknack009 (talk) 09:19, 27 April 2015 (UTC)
 * The Very Short Introduction series is a useful critical overview of many topics, the one on Islam may be worth looking at. --Viennese Waltz 09:54, 27 April 2015 (UTC)