Nasrānī (Nαζωραιος) and hanīf (εθνικός): studies on the religious vocabulary of Christianity and of Islam

Abstract

The article discusses two key terms in the Quran in connection with the corresponding (cognate or semantically related) terms in the writings of other religious communities in the Near East (Christianity, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Mandaeism, Manichaeism). The investigation leads to a discussion of the religious environment of early Islam and in particular its relationship with Jewish Christianity.