Protestants, Gender and the Arab Renaissance in Late Ottoman Syria

by Deanna Ferree Womack

Overview

The Ottoman Syrians – residents of modern Syria and Lebanon – formed the first Arabic-speaking Evangelical Church in the region. This book offers a fresh narrative of the encounters of this minority Protestant community with American missionaries, Eastern churches and Muslims at the height of the Nahda, from 1860 to 1915.
Drawing on rare Arabic publications, it challenges historiography that focuses on Western male actors. Instead it shows that Syrian Protestant women and men were agents of their own history who sought the salvation of Syria while adapting and challenging missionary teachings. These pioneers established a critical link between evangelical religiosity and the socio-cultural currents of the Nahda, making possible the literary and educational achievements of the American Syrian Mission and transforming Syrian society in ways that still endure today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781474436724
Publisher:	Edinburgh University Press
Publication date:	12/01/2020
Series:	Alternative Histories
Pages:	424
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x (d)

About the Author

Deanna Ferree Womack is Assistant Professor of History of Religions and Multifaith Relations at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology and director of the Leadership and Multifaith Program (LAMP) in Atlanta. Ordained in the Presbyterian Church (USA), Womack has lectured and published widely on the subjects of Arab Protestantism, mission history, world Christianity and Christian-Muslim relations. 'Protestants, Gender and the Arab Renaissance in Late Ottoman Syria' is her first book. Womack is co-editor, with Philip Forness, of the Edinburgh Studies in Middle Eastern Christianity series.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Notes on Translation

Illustrations

Abbreviations

Introduction

1. Evangelical Awakening: Becoming Protestant in the Arab Renaissance

2. "Publishing" the Gospel, Reading the Nahda: Protestant Print Culture in Late Ottoman Syria

3. A Feminist Awakening? Evangelical Women and the Arab Renaissance

4. Ministers and Nahdawi Masculinity: The Beirut Church Controversy

5. Syrian Women with a Mission: Preaching the Bible and Building the Protestant Church

Conclusion

Glossary

Appendix A: Syrian Protestant Genealogies

Appendix B: American Missionary Families and Dates of Service

Appendix C: Founding Members of the Evangelical Independent Church of Beirut, 1894

Appendix D: Biblewomen Employed by the British Syrian Mission: 1860-1914

Appendix E: Statistical Comparison: Biblewomen of the British and American Missions

Appendix F: Publications of Syrian Women at the American Mission Press, Beirut

Bibliography

Index

What People are Saying About This

Deanna Womack presents a brilliant study of Syrian Protestants in the Nahda, the late nineteenth-century Arabic literary awakening, while examining how printed essays, books, and sermons shaped communal and devotional life. By featuring Syrian Protestant women, in particular, as prolific writers of the nahda, Womack blazes trails in the fields of Middle Eastern gender history and World Christianity alike.

University of Pennsylvania Heather J. Sharkey

Deanna Womack presents a brilliant study of Syrian Protestants in the Nahda, the late nineteenth-century Arabic literary awakening, while examining how printed essays, books, and sermons shaped communal and devotional life. By featuring Syrian Protestant women, in particular, as prolific writers of the nahda, Womack blazes trails in the fields of Middle Eastern gender history and World Christianity alike.

Editorial Reviews

Deanna Womack presents a brilliant study of Syrian Protestants in the Nahda, the late nineteenth-century Arabic literary awakening, while examining how printed essays, books, and sermons shaped communal and devotional life. By featuring Syrian Protestant women, in particular, as prolific writers of the nahda, Womack blazes trails in the fields of Middle Eastern gender history and World Christianity alike.

University of Pennsylvania Heather J. Sharkey

Protestants, Gender and the Arab Renaissance in Late Ottoman Syria makes an important contribution to the field. It provides an engaging, thoughtful examination of the nahda period. It offers a compelling analysis and an innovative take on the dynamics between the American missionaries and local population by identifying the agency and input of Protestant Syrians in general and Protestant Syrian women evangelists in particular to both the history of Ottoman Syria and the history of Protestant Christianity in the region.

The Journal of World Christianity Volume 10, Issue 1 - Fruma Zachs

In this stimulating book, Deanna Ferree Womack shines a bright light on the religious experience of Syrian Protestants in order to show how a relatively small church community participated in a large cultural moment that was sweeping through the Middle East.

Mission Studies 37 (2020) - Stanley H. Skreslet

The book is a must-read, not only for those interested in the history of missions in the Ottoman Empire, but also for those examining self-identification through religion and socio-cultural commitment.

Theological Review - Uta Zeuge-Buberl

"Deanna Womack presents a brilliant study of Syrian Protestants in the Nahda, the late nineteenth-century Arabic literary awakening, while examining how printed essays, books, and sermons shaped communal and devotional life. By featuring Syrian Protestant women, in particular, as prolific writers of the nahda, Womack blazes trails in the fields of Middle Eastern gender history and World Christianity alike." — Heather J. Sharkey, University of Pennsylvania

From the Publisher