Christian Missions and Humanitarianism in the Middle East, 1850-1950 Ideologies, Rhetoric, and Practices

• Main Authors: Okkenhaug, Inger Marie, Sanchez Summerer, Karène
• Format: eBook
• Language: English
• Published: Boston Brill 2020; BRILL
• Edition: 1
• Series: Leiden Studies in Islam and Society
• Subjects: History; History and Archaeology; Humanitarian assistance-Middle East-History; Middle Eastern history; Missions-Middle East-History
• ISBN: 9789004394667; 9004394664
• DOI: 10.1163/9789004434530

From the early phases of modern missions, Christian missionaries supported many humanitarian activities, mostly framed as subservient to the preaching of Christianity. This anthology contributes to a historically grounded understanding of the complex relationship between Christian missions and the roots of humanitarianism and its contemporary uses in a Middle Eastern context. Contributions focus on ideologies, rhetoric, and practices of missionaries and their apostolates towards humanitarian-ism, from the mid-19th century Middle East crises, examining di􀀃ferent missionaries, their society’s worldview and their networks in various areas of the Middle East. In the early 20th century Christian missions increasingly paid more attention to organ-isation and bureaucratisation (‘rationalisation’), and media became more important to their work. The volume seeks to discover and retrace such ‘entangled histories’ for the 􀀄􀀅rst time in an integral perspective. Readership: Those interested in the modern and contemporary history of the Middle East, in religious studies, international relations, scholars, students and practitioners of humanitarianism.