ANGELS AND MANKIND: NATURE, ROLE AND FUNCTION OF CELESTIAL BEINGS IN NEAR EASTERN AND ISLAMIC TRADITIONS

Kuehn, S. (Organiser)

Department of Islamic-Theological Studies

Activity: Academic events › Organisation of ...

Description

Angels appear in Near Eastern traditions as manifestations of the transcendent in different contexts. They are often imagined in a semi-human figuration with attributes of the elusive as powerful representatives of the Hidden.
The concept of intermediating angelic and celestial beings between a seen and an unseen sphere is a transconfessional phenomenon, even if the imagination, the representation, and the assessment of their concrete function, their nature, and their role might differ in specific issues. Angelic and celestial beings might be imagined and represented as elusive messengers of the Divine, as transmitters of knowledge and as actors of a divine order in an eschatological context. They might provide humankind with civilization, accompany human beings and protect or punish them. They might even be seen metaphorically as natural or sometimes as ideological forces. They might resemble beautiful human beings, even if they are not humans. Yet because of their ontological in-between-status and their intermediating function between visible and imagined spaces they are highly ambivalent beings.
Islamic traditions provide us with rich materials on angels and celestial beings. However while there are a number of studies about angels in different religious traditions, the specific entanglement of Islamic traditions with regard to substrates of a Near Eastern setting has been studied only rudimentarily.
The international conference Angels and Mankind. Nature, Role and Function of Celestial Beings in Near Eastern and Islamic Traditions seeks to investigate the multiple concepts of Near Eastern and notably Islamic conceptions of nature, role and function of angelic beings by focusing on theological, literary, visual and material representations in the context of Near Eastern traditions.
A point of focus of the conference will be to trace the persistence and inspiring features of religious, literary and artistic expressions in Islamic and Near Eastern traditions. The aim of this conference is to provide, and promote, an interdisciplinary forum for scholars investigating issues that may include questions of the physiology of heavenly beings, the topography and the hierarchical scheme of the heavenly host but also the mission and agency of angels, their nomenclature and iconographic representation in Islamic and Near Eastern sources.

Period	2 Jul 2015 → 4 Jul 2015
Event type	Conference
Location	Beirut, LebanonShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International

Documents & Links

Angels appear in Near Eastern traditions as manifestations of the transcendent in different contexts. They are often imagined in a semi-human figuration with attributes of the elusive as powerful representatives of the Hidden. The concept of intermediating angelic and celestial beings between a seen and an unseen sphere is a transconfessional phenomenon, even if the imagination, the representation, and the assessment of their concrete function, their nature, and their role might differ in specific issues. Angelic and celestial beings might be imagined and represented as elusive messengers of the Divine, as transmitters of knowledge and as actors of a divine order in an eschatological context. They might provide humankind with civilization, accompany human beings and protect or punish them. They might even be seen metaphorically as natural or sometimes as ideological forces. They might resemble beautiful human beings, even if they are not humans. Yet because of their ontological in-between-status and their intermediating function between visible and imagined spaces they are highly ambivalent beings. Islamic traditions provide us with rich materials on angels and celestial beings. However while there are a number of studies about angels in different religious traditions, the specific entanglement of Islamic traditions with regard to substrates of a Near Eastern setting has been studied only rudimentarily. The international conference Angels and Mankind. Nature, Role and Function of Celestial Beings in Near Eastern and Islamic Traditions seeks to investigate the multiple concepts of Near Eastern and notably Islamic conceptions of nature, role and function of angelic beings by focusing on theological, literary, visual and material representations in the context of Near Eastern traditions. A point of focus of the conference will be to trace the persistence and inspiring features of religious, literary and artistic expressions in Islamic and Near Eastern traditions. The aim of this conference is to provide, and promote, an interdisciplinary forum for scholars investigating issues that may include questions of the physiology of heavenly beings, the topography and the hierarchical scheme of the heavenly host but also the mission and agency of angels, their nomenclature and iconographic representation in Islamic and Near Eastern sources.