the khorasan group, associated with isis, chose the name “khorasan” due to the historical signifi cance and symbolic value of the region. khorasan, which historically encompasses parts of modern-day iran, afghanistan, turkmenistan, and uzbekistan, was an important center of islamic scholarship and culture during the early islamic period.
by adopting this name, the group seeks to evoke the glory and influence of the historical region, leveraging its renowned legacy to bolster their ideological narrative and recruitment efforts.
the origins of many early islamic scholars and jurists from the khorasan region reflect the historical prominence of this area in islamic intellectual history. during the early islamic centuries, khorasan was a thriving hub of cultural and scholarly activity, attracting and producing numerous influential figures. these scholars, such as bukhari, muslim, abu dawud, and others, contributed significantly to the development of islamic thought, hadith collection, and jurisprudence. despite their non-arab ethnic backgrounds, they adopted arabic names and contributed to arabic literature and islamic sciences, which were conducted in arabic, the lingua franca of the islamic world at that time.
the prevalence of scholars and literary figures from khorasan and their adoption of arabic names highlight the region’s integration into the broader islamic civilization. it also underscores the multicultural and multi-ethnic nature of the islamic golden age, where contributions to islamic knowledge and culture came from diverse backgrounds, unified by the arabic language and islamic faith. this contrasts with the fewer philosophical figures from arab regions like al-kindi, reflecting the unique historical, social, and cultural dynamics of the islamic world.
this topic raises dozens of puzzling questions, which no one has ever volunteered to answer!
germany has historically shown a deep interest in the islamic east, more so than many other european countries. this interest is reflected in its robust tradition of academic studies on arabs and muslims.
the establishment of the enlightenment institute for early islamic history and the qur’an in germany in 2007 as an independent, non-profit research organization highlights this tradition. this institute’s focus helps explain the presence of a significant number of islamic jurists and imams from non-arab regions who have profoundly impacted the arabic language and islamic religion.
despite being persians, afghans, and tajiks, many of these scholars adopted classical arabic as their scholarly language. their names and cultural contributions often align them more closely with the arabs.
the enara institute, through its diverse team of scholars specializing in arabic and semitic studies, linguistics, theology, history, spanish studies, classics, legal history, numismatics, epigraphy, and religious studies, has published significant research on this topic. scholars like karl ohlig, gerd puin, muhammad al-masih, and christopher luxenberg have contributed to this body of work, with findings disseminated in eleven volumes, two of which have been translated into english.
among the “scientific conclusions” reached by the enara institute is the idea that the khorasan region had a substantial population of aramaic speaking arabs, whose origins traced back to the levant. these individuals were originally christians and monotheists, closely aligned with islamic beliefs.
they were forcibly relocated to khorasan to populate the area and secure caravan routes. there was also a jewish presence among them.
to legitimize their presence in khorasan, abbasid-era writings claim that these “arabs of khorasan” were descendants of arab soldiers who invaded the region. however, historical records do not support an arab invasion of khorasan. instead, the enara institute’s research suggests that it might have been the opposite: the arabs in these regions, after converting to islam from christianity, played a significant role in shaping the arab-islamic culture.
this topic is both fascinating and complex, requiring extensive research to fully understand. for those interested in delving deeper, the german enlightenment institute’s website offers more information and resources.