In Search of the True Religion: Monk Jurjī and Muslim Jurists Debating Faith and Practice

In 1216, a group of monks from the monastery of Mār Simᶜān reportedly visited Aleppo to discuss matters concerning their monastery with the governor. During this visit, a venerable member of the monastic community named Jurjī began discussing monastic life with the emir, the governor's younger brother. Soon, several Muslim jurists joined the gathering. The emir asked them to engage in a religious debate with Jurjī. In the debate, the jurists question the monk about Christian doctrines and practices. While Jurjī answers their questions, he criticizes Islamic teachings, claims, and figures. He also compares the messages and personalities of Christ and Muḥammad, defends the sacraments of Christianity, and examines the laws and scriptures of the Sabaeans, Jews, Christians, and Muslims. This religious dispute survived in dozens of manuscripts. It is a wonderful example of a Christian-Arabic genre that describes medieval Christian-Muslim encounters in the caliphal court. Although these debates may have taken place, the surviving texts which describe them should not be viewed as literal recreations of the encounters. Rather, the texts seem to represent experiences and challenges faced by Christians living under Muslim rule. This genre has been popular among Christians for centuries, and the current text appears to be one of its latest developments. In order to create the most accurate representation of Jurjī's work, this present study scrutinized over a dozen manuscripts, including the oldest extant ones. With this edition and translation, we hope to bring more scholarly attention to this fascinating genre and fantastic debate.