Der lange Schatten der Hidschra

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»The long shadow of the Hijra. A comparison between Islam and Christianity in terms of a history of theology« The current debate on Islam is often dominated by the question of why the socio-cultural development of Islamic-influenced regions since the beginning of modern times has lagged behind the Christian-influenced Western world. Given the comparable socio-economic conditions in the Middle Ages, it is reasonable to assume that the divergent socio-cultural development of the two regions could have its roots in the different mentalities of their respective populations. Since in traditional societies mentality was decisively influenced by religion, the present study looks into and compares the medieval history of theology of the two religions. First, the medieval development of the Caliphate and the Islamic legal and educational system is presented and how it is interwoven with Islamic beliefs. To illustrate the theological context, this is followed by a presentation of the idea of God and divine predestination. This in turn is followed by a presentation of the development of the corresponding topics in Western Christianity. In the subsequent comparison of the developments of Sunni Islam with those in Western Christianity, the reasons for the divergent development are analysed. The author concludes that the socio-cultural backwardness of Islamic regions is due to decisions of Islamic theology during the Middle Ages.