Asadova chexrangiz salim qizi saydullayev nuriddin zayniddin o‘G‘li 35 – O‘zbek theme: idealism in tamburlane the great- the work of christopher marlowe contents

ASADOVA CHEXRANGIZ SALIM QIZI SAYDULLAYEV NURIDDIN ZAYNIDDIN O‘G‘LI 2.35 – O‘ZBEK
Theme: IDEALISM IN TAMBURLANE THE GREAT- THE WORK OF CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE


CONTENTS:

1. INTRODUCTION

2. MAIN PART:

   1. 
      The representation of the Qur’ān before Christopher Marlowe (1564–1593)
      
   2. 
      Christopher Marlowe (1564–1593)
      
   3. 
      Marlowe’s resources and his understanding of Islam
      
   4. 
      The public biblioclasm of the Qur’ān
      
   5. 
      The impact of Tamburlaine
      

3. CONCLUSION

4. REFERENCES

INTRODUCTION

The Qur’ān is the first and most authentic source of Islam. As a book, it is arranged in 114 Suras or chapters. Every chapter is divided into rhymed prose verses in Arabic. The verses of the Qur’ān are, stylistically, to be recited in a perfect and inimitable way. As the Qur’ān was gradually revealed to Prophet Muhammad (570–632), the Prophet began to challenge the polytheistic beliefs that abounded in Mecca and the Arabian Peninsula. His new teaching that there is “No God but Allah (God), Muhammad is the messenger of Allah” led the cities of Mecca and Medina to war – Muhammad and his followers finally triumphant. The Qur’ān’s theology is monotheistic, and it is considered by believers to be the source of the one true religion which reckons among its previous prophets, such as David, Moses, and Jesus. The Islamic doctrine of the Unity of God is in disagreement to the Christian belief of Trinity. God ordered Muslims in the Qur’ān: “Say, we believe in Allah, and that which has been revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and the Tribes, and that which was given to Moses and Jesus, and to the Other Prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and to Him we submit” (3:83). There is a continual insistence upon Unity or monotheism in the Qur’an, and may be said to be the distinctive theology or the foundation-stone of the faith of Islam.
The image of the Qur’ān is distorted in European literature in general and English literature in particular. For centuries, English Christians regarded Mohammed as a false prophet and the Qur’ān as human. Robert Boyle summarizes this popular attitude in his frequently published book in Britain, The Religions of the World (1886). The English consider the Qur’ān as Muhammad’s own composition with full plagiarisms from the old heaven scriptures (Maurice 1886:16). From this allegation, wide-ranging historical, theological, literary and linguistic judgments are portrayed with absolute recurrences which have promoted these statements to facts in the Western legacy.
Marlowe’s Tamburlaine (1589) is a great Elizabethan Oriental play. Marlowe’s reference to the Qur’ān and the Prophet Muhammad is remarkable in two parts of the play. Marlowe calls it the ‘Turkish Alcoran’ to attack the Turkish pride in affronting it. However, to burn the Qur’ān, Marlowe denigrates it, and unfairly falsifies the Prophet Muhammad. Marlowe’s hero Tamburlaine identifies the Qur’ān as an enemy of the Elizabethans. Tamburlaine’s burning of the Qur’ān is a sign of Christian power and victory. The Qur’ānic biblioclasm on London stage was bizarre. The huge flames and vaunting speeches of Tamburlaine show an earthly hell for Muslims in the East with no limits. Tamburlaine asks the Prophet Muhammad to take his revenge just to mock him. The Qur’ān has been frequently and badly misunderstood in Europe. This derogatory treatment betrays Marlowe’s lack of understanding Islam. Though several performances of the play, recently, replace the copies of the Qur’ān by irreligious books, the English Christian Tamburlaine is literarily known as the Qur’ān burner in the English literature.