Abbot ʿĔnbāqom and Islam : the historical-theological significance of Anqäs’ä Amin’s contribution to Christian-Muslim engagement in sixteenth century Ethiopia

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dc.contributor.advisorMuller, Retiefen_ZA
dc.contributor.advisorMcRoy, Andrewen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorBekele, Yohannesen_ZA
dc.contributor.otherStellenbosch University. Faculty of Theology. Dept of Systematic Theology and Ecclesiology.en_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2022-08-16T07:39:04Z
dc.date.accessioned2023-01-16T12:39:24Z
dc.date.available2022-08-16T07:39:04Z
dc.date.available2023-01-16T12:39:24Z
dc.date.issued2022-08
dc.descriptionThesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2022.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractENGLISH ABSTRACT: Abbot ʿĔnbāqom (1470-1565) was a Yemeni convert to Christianity. He witnessed Ethiopia's Islamic conquest by Ahmad Ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi (Ahmad Grāñ) in the sixteenth century. Many churches and monasteries were destroyed during the military incursions, and Christians were confronted with the choice of conversion or death, with many apostatising. ʿĔnbāqom addressed this threat by writing to Grāñ to refrain and convert to Christianity, resulting in considerable correspondence with the Imam. One of the letters evolved into a Christian edition entitled Anqäs’ä Amin (The Door of Faith). This pastoral work was a call to the remnant of Christians to persevere in their faith in Christ, including a plea to those who had left the Christian fold to return. ʿĔnbāqom additionally played a prominent role in translation projects and the restoration of ecclesiastical and other literature destroyed during the invasion. This study attempts to evaluate ʿĔnbāqom’s impact on, and contribution to, Christian-Muslim engagement in sixteenth century Ethiopia. This is a historical research with a focus on ʿĔnbāqom’s magnum opus work Anqäs’ä Amin. The second chapter provides a background to the Christian-Muslim engagement before and during ʿĔnbāqom’s time in Ethiopia, followed by a chapter outlining an intellectual biography of the Abbot through the primary use of a hagiographical source in the reconstruction of his life, by creating a distinction between the ʿĔnbāqom of history and Saint of faith. Chapter four focuses on ʿĔnbāqom’s writings, especially Anqäs’ä Amin. Chapter five and six examine selected themes of the pre-modern monk's theological approach to Islam and Christian-Muslim engagement. In the past Anqäs’ä Amin has been unwarrantedly dismissed as an insignificant work. This research not only analyses Anqäs’ä Amin, but also highlights its significance, and the substantial contribution ʿĔnbāqom made. His reflections on Islam were quite ahead of his time, as attested by the most recent scholarship on the Qur’an. He had constructed his argument by starting with the Qur’anic witness of previous Scriptures and Christian doctrines, and he had explained Christian theology through the use of, and in contradistinction to, Islamic Scripture. He raised the superior position of Jesus as portrayed in the Qur’an in his engagement with Muslims. In addition, this research focuses on the neglected missiological dimensions developed by ʿĔnbāqom during his response to the military Islamic conquest. ʿĔnbāqom pioneered Christian reading of the Qur’an in sixteenth-century Ethiopia, and was the first to translate the Islamic Scripture into Ge’ez. Finally, ʿĔnbāqom’s writings had a two-fold pedagogical role: • translating Christianity to Muslims • interpreting Islam to Christiansen_ZA
dc.description.abstractAFRIKAANSE OPSOMMIG: Abt ʿĔnbāqom (1470-1565) was 'n Jemenitiese bekeerling tot die Christendom. Hy was ‘n ooggetuie van Ethiopië se Islamitiese verowering deur Ahmad Ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi (Ahmad Grāñ) in die sestiende eeu. Baie kerke en kloosters is tydens hierdie militêre invalle vernietig, en Christene is gekonfronteer met die keuse van bekering tot Islam of dood, met die gevolg dat baie afvallig geword het. ʿĔnbāqom het hierdie bedreiging aangespreek deur aan Grāñ te skryf om hom tot inkeer te roep en hom aanbeveel om hom tot die Christendom te bekeer, wat aansienlike korrespondensie met die Imam tot gevolg gehad het. Een van die briewe het uiteindelik 'n Christelike weergawe geword met die titel Anqäs’ä Amin (Die deur van geloof). Hierdie pastorale werk was 'n oproep aan die oorblyfsel van Christene om te volhard in hul geloof in Christus, asook 'n pleidooi aan diegene wat die Christelike geloof verlaat het om terug te keer. ʿĔnbāqom het ook 'n prominente rol gespeel in vertalingsprojekte en die herstel van kerklike en ander literatuur wat tydens die inval vernietig is. Hierdie studie poog om ʿĔnbāqom se impak op, en bydrae tot, Christen-Moslem-betrokkenheid in sestiende eeuse Ethiopië te evalueer. Hierdie is historiese navorsing met 'n fokus op ʿĔnbāqom se magnum opus werk, Anqäs’ä Amin. Die tweede hoofstuk bied agtergrond tot die Christen-Moslem interaksies voor en tydens ʿĔnbāqom se tyd in Ethiopië, gevolg deur 'n hoofstuk wat 'n intellektuele biografie van die Abt uiteensit deur die primêre gebruik van 'n hagiografiese bron in die rekonstruksie van sy lewe, deur 'n onderskeid te skep tussen die ʿĔnbāqom van die geskiedenis en die Heilige figuur van Christelike tradisie. Hoofstuk vier fokus op ʿĔnbāqom se geskrifte, veral Anqäs’ä Amin. Hoofstuk vyf en ses ondersoek uitgesoekte temas van hierdie pre-moderne monnik se teologiese benadering tot Islam en Christen-Moslem interaksie. In die verlede is Anqäs’ä Amin ten onregte as 'n onbeduidende werk afgemaak. Hierdie navorsing is nie net ‘n analise van Anqäs’ä Amin nie, maar beklemtoon ook die belangrikheid daarvan, en die aansienlike bydrae wat ʿĔnbāqom gemaak het. In sy nadenke oor Islam was hy sy tyd redelik vooruit, soos getuig deur die mees onlangse navorsing oor die Koran. Hy het sy argument gevorm deur te begin met die Koran se getuienis oor ouer geskrifte en Christelike leerstellings, en hy het Christelike teologie verduidelik deur gebruik te maak van die Islamitiese Skrif en in teenstelling daarmee. Hy het die verhewe posisie van Jesus soos uitgebeeld in die Koran in sy gesprek met Moslems geopper. Daarbenewens fokus hierdie navorsing op die verwaarloosde missiologiese dimensies wat deur ʿĔnbāqom ontwikkel is as deel van sy reaksie op die militêre Islamitiese verowering. ʿĔnbāqom het baanbrekerswerk gedoen vir ‘n Christelike lees van die Koran in sestiende-eeuse Ethiopië, en hy was die eerste wat die Islamitiese Skrif in Ge'ez vertaal het. Ten slotte, ʿĔnbāqom se geskrifte het dus 'n tweeledige pedagogiese rol gehad: • die vertaling van Christenskap aan Moslems • die interpretasie van Islam aan Christeneen_ZA
dc.description.versionDoctoralen_ZA
dc.format.extentxii, 227 pages : illustrations (color), map (color)
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/125876
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.publisherStellenbosch : Stellenbosch Universityen_ZA
dc.rights.holderStellenbosch Universityen_ZA
dc.subjectAbboten_ZA
dc.subjectChristianity and other religions -- Islamen_ZA
dc.subjectIslam -- Relations -- Christianityen_ZA
dc.subjectAnqäs’ä Aminen_ZA
dc.subjectEthiopiaen_ZA
dc.subjectUCTDen_ZA
dc.titleAbbot ʿĔnbāqom and Islam : the historical-theological significance of Anqäs’ä Amin’s contribution to Christian-Muslim engagement in sixteenth century Ethiopiaen_ZA
dc.typeThesisen_ZA
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Doctoral Degrees (Systematic Theology and Ecclesiology)