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Belonging to the Los Ñetas gang means, in part, observing a certain number of rules that are transcribed in the Liderato, the Ñetas' book. These rules are accompanied by trial procedures, the mesas disciplinarias, and a series of sanctions for anyone who transgresses them. Yet, while the Ñetas have elaborated a complex legal order to settle internal conflicts, trials are rarely used. Are Ñetas rules poorly enforced, or ineffective? What is the nature of these rules? Can we speak of Ñetas law? And what use is it, if it is little applied in cases of conflict? This starting point will be the occasion to present a multi-sited ethnography carried out over four years among the Ñetas. I'll be looking back at the history of this gang, which originated in Puerto Rico and spread to the United States, Ecuador and Spain, as well as its internal transformation. By questioning the place of the law within criminal societies, I will show how the work of interpreting these rules enables the Ñetas to develop practices of self-improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Kitāb al-Aġānī (The Book of Songs) devotes a long section to the life of Abū l-ʿAtāhiya, with perhaps the following question in mind: how could the most famous representative of ascetic poetry face such insistent accusations of zandaqa ? A discreet apology for the poet, the text of al-Iṣfahānī shows us that the duplicity for which he has been blamed results more from his paradoxical position as a both an ascetic and a courtier than from his otherwise fluctuating religious creeds. This reading is to be found only in the Kitāb al-Aġānī , as the great dictionaries of the following centuries erased the ambiguities and inconsistencies of Abū l-ʿAtāhiya's life, in order to construct the figure that is familiar to us today: that of a man who, after a dissolute youth, converted and devoted himself exclusively to calling his contemporaries to turn their actions towards the hereafter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study seeks to re-examine Ibn al-Jawzī's (d. 597/1201) censure of Sufism in his Talbīs Iblīs , a widely-known and frequently cited, but rarely carefully considered work. The article finds that Talbīs Iblīs ' chapter devoted to Sufism does indeed constitute a scathing condemnation of the Sufi tradition, which is however by no means comprehensive and requires moreover certain specifications and clarifications. For example, is Ibn al-Jawzī's criticism mostly limited to Sufi conduct and practice, especially in public, rather than their ideas and beliefs, and likewise does he use his criticism to highlight commendable forms of piety and mysticism, revealing that he held on to a notion of pristine ascetical and mystical piety himself, which should nonetheless not be mistaken for Sufism. In any case, whether and to what degree one is able to immerse oneself in such forms of piety is according to Talbīs Iblīs to a large extent determined by one's natural circumstances. Résumé: Cette étude cherche à réexaminer la censure du soufisme par Ibn al-Jawzī (mort en 597/1201) dans son Talbīs Iblīs , ouvrage largement connu et fréquemment cité, mais rarement soigneusement étudié. L'article constate que le chapitre de Talbīs Iblīs consacré au soufisme constitue en effet une condamnation cinglante de la tradition soufie, qui n'est cependant nullement exhaustive et nécessite en outre certaines spécifications et clarifications. Par exemple, la critique d'Ibn al-Jawzī se limite principalement à la conduite et à la pratique les plus rigides, en particulier en public, plutôt qu'à leurs idées et croyances, et de même utilise-t-il sa critique pour mettre en évidence la forme louable de piété et de mysticisme, révélant qu'il tenait bon lui-même à une notion de piété ascétique et mystique immaculée, qui ne doit cependant pas être confondue avec le soufisme. En tout cas, savoir si et dans quelle mesure on est capable de se plonger dans de telles formes de piété est selon Talbīs Iblīs ' déterminé dans une large mesure par les circonstances naturelles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the Qurʾānic references to al-muhājirūn as an expression of a world renouncing current in the early Qurʾānic movement. Throughout the Qurʾān the muhājirūn are idealized for their willingness to leave their homes, wealth, and families behind in order to emigrate in the path of God. Traditionally, these emigrants have been interpreted through the lens of later Muslim exegesis as referring to the early believers who accompanied Muhammad on his emigration from Mecca to Medina in 622. In general, however, there is little evidence to suggest that the Qurʾān is referring to a specific historical emigration event. Based on the theoretical framework of Peter Sloterdijk and Mary Douglas, this article argues that the Qurʾānic employment of the root h-j-r basically centers on an ascetic distancing from worldly attachments, and that this uprooting into a new mobility denotes a central aspect of the piety of the early Qurʾānic movement. Résumé: Cet article examine les références coraniques aux muhājirūn en tant qu'expression d'un courant de renoncement au monde dans le premier mouvement coranique. Tout au long du Qurʾān, les muhājirūn sont idéalisés pour leur volonté de laisser derrière eux leurs maisons, leurs richesses et leurs familles afin d'émigrer dans la voie de Dieu. Traditionnellement, ces émigrants ont été perçus à travers le prisme de l'exégèse musulmane ultérieure comme faisant référence aux premiers croyants qui ont accompagné Mahomet lors de son émigration de La Mecque à Médine en 622. En général, cependant, il y a peu de preuves pour suggérer que le Qurʾān fait référence à un événement historique spécifique d'émigration. En se basant sur le cadre théorique de Peter Sloterdijk et Mary Douglas, cet article soutient que l'emploi de la racine h-j-r dans le Qurʾān est essentiellement centré sur un éloignement ascétique des attachements mondains, et que ce déracinement vers une nouvelle mobilité dénote un aspect central de la piété du premier mouvement Qurʾān. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In his significant Arabic translation and interpretation of the Pauline Epistles and the Acts of the Apostles, Bišr b. al-Sirrī used muʿtazila to translate Pharisee throughout his work. This paper elaborates upon the multiple difficulties in revealing the connotations of muʿtazila in Bišr’s work from the middle of the third/tenth century. Furthermore, it offers an explication of his particular use of this term by taking into consideration several aspects, especially the nuance of ascetic piety. Dans sa traduction arabe et son interprétation des Épîtres de Paul et des Actes des Apôtres, Bišr b. al-Sirrī a utilisé le terme muʿtazila pour traduire « pharisien » tout au long de son ouvrage. Cet article développe les multiples difficultés à révéler les connotations de muʿtazila dans l’ouvrage de Bišr à partir du milieu du troisième/dixième siècle. En outre, il présente une explication de son utilisation particulière de ce terme en prenant en considération plusieurs aspects, en particulier la nuance de la piété ascétique. This article is in German. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores Muslim attitudes towards asceticism in the second/eighth and third/ninth centuries by examining the famous Prophetic hadith: "Every community has its monasticism, and the monasticism of my community is ǧihād." The hadith serves as a lens for assessing several broader phenomena, including early Muslim views of Christian monasticism, the rejection of celibacy in Islamic culture, and the promotion of a new code of sexual ethics in the post-conquest Middle East-what this article terms the "second sexual revolution of Late Antiquity." It concludes by presenting several accounts of Christian monks who converted to Islam and joined the ǧihād, as well as Muslim soldiers who converted to Christianity and became monks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IN THE FOURTH CENTURY BLAESILLA (A.D. 364-384) WAS PROBABLY THE FIRST RECORDED CASE OF DEATH DUE TO ANOREXIA. WE DO NOT POSSESS ANY WRITINGS OF THE WOMAN HERSELF, EXCEPT A LETTER BY PAULA, THE MOTHER OF BLAESILLA, OF HER VISIT TO THE HOLY LAND (EP. 45).1-2 FASTING AND COMPLETE STARVATION WERE POPULAR AMONG CERTAIN YOUNGER WOMEN OF THE PATRISTIC AGE IN THE FOURTH CENTURY IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jerome travelled widely in East and West. Being a vir trilinguis, who was fluent in Greek and Latin and also knew Hebrew (and a few Syrian words), he was familiar with life in the desert and the cities. His letters make clear what living in the desert meant for him, and the same is true for life in the contemporary towns and cities. Thoroughly edu-cated in classical and biblical culture, he pictures the desert and the city in a rather peculiar manner, by placing them in the history of Rome and Israel with the addition of exegetical interpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The distinction between religion and spirituality, as it is increasingly understood in the contemporary sociology of religion, has led to a reconsideration of the relation between the individual and his/her own body. In the Christian ambit, and especially in the Catholic sphere, the traditional religious attitude has always been that of emphasizing the dichotomy between soul and body, setting a hierarchy that puts the soul in a position superior to the body's, according to an ascetic approach that, particularly in the Middle Ages, foresaw the "mortification of the body". In the contemporary spiritualist perspective, body and soul are seen as profoundly united, and the previous dichotomy seems to leave room for a more serene and less conflictual connection with one's body: spirituality relates to the sacred by leaving room for (and deriving from) emotions, feelings, the physical and the sexual, and takes a holistic view of human nature. Such a shift from the religious dimension to the spiritual dimension in the relationship with one's body can be observed not only in popular culture but also within Catholicism itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]