Stephan Procházka

Das Buch behandelt die Dialekte der arabischen Minderheit in den beiden sudturkischen Provinzen Adana und Mersin. Diese gehoren samtlich zur syrisch-palastinensischen Dialektgruppe, haben aber aufgrund der langen Isolation und des fehlenden Einflusses der arabischen Hochsprache Eigenheiten bewahrt, die in anderen Regionen bereits verschwunden sind. Den Schwerpunkt der Studie bildet eine umfassende Darstellung der Grammatik des Dialekts der Alawiten, welche die bei weitem grosste arabophone Gemeinschaft dieser Region darstellen. Des Weiteren enthalten sind ein Kapitel uber den intensiven Sprachkontakt zum Turkischen, ein Glossar bisher nicht belegter Worter sowie eine Sammlung von Originaltexten in Transkription und deutscher Ubersetzung. Diese Texte geben einen guten Eindruck von Phraseologie und Syntax der Dialekte, vermitteln aber auch ethnologisch interessante Einblicke in das Alltagsleben sowie die religiosen Anschauungen (z.B. Heiligenkult, Seelenwanderung) der alawitischen Gemeinde in Kilikien.

Die arabischen Dialekte der Çukurova (Südtürkei)

Gisela Procházka-Eisl

The book is the first detailed study on the Nusayri-Alawi community of Cilicia available in a Western language. The Alawis are an Arabic speaking religious minority of ca. 300,000 people living in the Turkish provinces of Adana and Mersin. The book contains chapters devoted to the history of Alawi settlement, the community's identity and social structures, and prejudices they have to face from the majority population. Also covered are religious practices like feasts and beliefs like metempsychosis. The heart of the book is an analysis of the numerous Alawi sanctuaries. Long-term field research enabled the authors to document a vital, highly mobile practice of saint veneration performed at continuously changing sacred places. Besides a catalogue of nearly 200 shrines and several detailed case-studies there are chapters on the age and origins of the sacred places, the rites performed there, and the structure of the pilgrims. A major aim of the study is to present the local Alawi saint veneration in a broader Islamic context by describing the "sacred landscape", analyzing current changes and tendencies, and discussing the paramount role of women in the practice of saint veneration and in the perceived sacredness of the holy places.

The Nusayri-Alawi Community of Cilicia (Southern Turkey) and Its Sacred Places

The Plain of Saints and Prophets

This dictionary undertakes, for the first time, to group the substantives and adjectives in the Arabic Koran by topics, with glosses in English. The categories are partly derived from nature such as Astronomy, Metals or Human Sexuality, partly they reflect the great themes of the text, such as Guidance and Straying or Obedience and Disobedience. An English index enables the user to check if a certain concept occurs and how it is expressed in the Arabic Koran.-- Provided by publisher.

Stephan Procházka

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