Shades of Sulh La rhétorique de la réconciliation arabo-islamique

Sulh is a centuries-old Arab-Islamic peacemaking practice. Diab provides a multidimensional rhetorical study of the features of and necessary conditions for peacemaking discourse. She explores the possibilities and limits of the rhetoric ofsulh as it is used to resolve interpersonal, communal, and (inter)national conflicts—with a case illustrating each of these domains. The cases range from medieval to contemporary times and are analyzed using both rhetorical and critical discourse analyses.

The historical breadth of the cases demonstrates the variegated range of reach ofsulh as a ritual and practice: sulh travels across spheres of activity (juridical, extra juridical, and political/diplomatic); time (medieval, modern, and contemporary); and geopolitical borders (Cairo, Galilee, and Medina). Together, Diab argues, the cases prove that sulh offers a flexible model of discursive spaces for peace and thatsulh has remarkable rhetorical longevity, versatility, and richness. Accordingly, her rhetorical analyses ofsulh shed light on features and necessary conditions of (internal and external) deliberations leading tosulh. Most important, the manuscript extends our exploration of rhetorics of reconciliation, on the one hand, and of Arabic rhetorics, on the other.