Islam Translated: Literature, Conversion, and the Arabic Cosmopolis of South and Southeast Asia (South Asia Across the Disciplines)

The Spread Of Islam Eastward Into South And Southeast Asia Was One Of The Most Significant Cultural Shifts In World History. As It Expanded Into These Regions, Islam Was Received By Cultures Vastly Different From Those In The Middle East, Incorporating Them Into A Diverse Global Community That Stretched From India To The Philippines. In Islam Translated, Ronit Ricci Uses The Book Of One Thousand Questions -- From Its Arabic Original To Its Adaptations Into The Javanese, Malay, And Tamil Languages Between The Sixteenth And Twentieth Centuries -- As A Means To Consider Connections That Linked Muslims Across Divides Of Distance And Culture. Examining The Circulation Of This Islamic Text And Its Varied Literary Forms, Ricci Explores How Processes Of Literary Translation And Religious Conversion Were Historically Interconnected Forms Of Globalization, Mutually Dependent, And Creatively Reformulated Within Societies Making The Transition To Islam. Islam Translated Will Contribute To Our Knowledge Of This Region Of The Muslim World That Remains Crucially Important To World Affairs. -- Book Jacket. An Arabic Cosmopolis? -- Translation -- On Translation And Its Untranslatability -- The Book Of Samud: A Javanese Literary Tradition -- The Tamil Ayira Macala: Questions And Marvels -- Seribu Masalah: The Malay Book Of One Thousand Questions -- Conversion -- Cosmopolitan In Translation: Arabic's Distant Travels -- Conversion To Islam And The Book Of One Thousand Questions -- A Jew On Java, A Model Malay Rabbi, And A Tamil Torah Scholar : Representations Of Abdullah Ibnu Salam And The Prophet In The Book Of One Thousand Questions -- Conclusion -- The Arabic Cosmopolis Of South And Southeast Asia. Ronit Ricci. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Cover ......Page 1 Contents......Page 8 List of Illustrations......Page 10 Preface......Page 12 Acknowledgments......Page 14 List of Abbreviations......Page 18 1. Introduction: An Arabic Cosmopolis?......Page 24 Part One: Translation......Page 52 2. On “Translation” and Its Untranslatability......Page 54 3. The Book of Samud: A Javanese Literary Tradition......Page 89 4. The Tamil Āyira Macalā: Questions and Marvels......Page 121 5. Seribu Masalah: The Malay Book of One Thousand Questions......Page 152 Part Two: Conversion......Page 174 6. Cosmopolitan in Translation: Arabic’s Distant Travels......Page 176 7. Conversion to Islam and the Book of One Thousand Questions......Page 206 8. A Jew on Java, a Model Malay Rabbi, and a Tamil Torah Scholar: Representations of Abdullah Ibnu Salam and the Prophet in the Book of One Thousand Questions......Page 239 Part Three: Conclusion......Page 266 9. The Arabic Cosmopolis of South and Southeast Asia......Page 268 Bibliography......Page 296 Index......Page 322 Arabic cosmopolis? -- Translation -- On "translation" and its untranslatability -- The Book of Samud: a Javanese literary tradition -- The Ayira Macala: Tamil questions and marvels -- Seribu Masalah: the Malay Book of One Thousand Questions -- Conversion -- Cosmopolitan in translation: Arabic's distant travels -- Conversion to Islam and the Book of One Thousand Questions -- A Jew on Java, a model Malay rabbi, and a Tamil Torah scholar -- The Arabic cosmopolis of South and Southeast Asia In "Islam Translated", the author uses the "Book of One Thousand Questions" as a means to consider connections that linked Muslims across divides of distance and culture. This book examines the circulation of this Islamic text and its varied literary forms.