Philip Wood – författare

How Christian leaders adapted the governmental practices and political thought of their Muslim rulers in the Abbasid caliphateThe Imam of the Christians examines how Christian leaders adopted and adapted the political practices and ideas of their Muslim rulers between 750 and 850 in the Abbasid caliphate in the Jazira (modern eastern Turkey and northern Syria). Focusing on the writings of Dionysius of Tel-Mahre, the patriarch of the Jacobite church, Philip Wood describes how this encounter produced an Islamicate Christianity that differed from the Christianities of Byzantium and western Europe in far more than just theology. In doing so, Wood opens a new window on the world of early Islam and Muslims’ interactions with other religious communities.Wood shows how Dionysius and other Christian clerics, by forging close ties with Muslim elites, were able to command greater power over their coreligionists, such as the right to issue canons regulating the lives of lay people, gather tithes, and use state troops to arrest opponents. In his writings, Dionysius advertises his ease in the courts of ʿAbd Allah ibn Tahir in Raqqa and the caliph al-Ma’mun in Baghdad, presenting himself as an effective advocate for the interests of his fellow Christians because of his knowledge of Arabic and his ability to redeploy Islamic ideas to his own advantage. Strikingly, Dionysius even claims that, like al-Ma’mun, he is an imam since he leads his people in prayer and rules them by popular consent.A wide-ranging examination of Middle Eastern Christian life during a critical period in the development of Islam, The Imam of the Christians is also a case study of the surprising workings of cultural and religious adaptation.

Next Move Teacher’s Book contains unit objectives, cross references to other course components, full teacher’s notes, answer keys and extra activities interleaved with the pages of the Students’ Book itself for quick and easy reference. At the end of the Teacher’s Book are the audioscripts for the listening activities in the Students’ Book and a full answer key and audioscripts for the Workbook. In short, everything you need to prepare and teach your classes in one easy reference guide.   

The Teacher’s Resource Multi-ROM contains:

• Grammar and Vocabulary worksheets at two levels of difficulty;• Reading and Listening worksheets at two levels of difficulty;• Writing worksheets offering guided writing practice and model texts;• Speaking worksheets designed for use individually or in pairs.

The final section of the Teacher’s Resource material is a comprehensive collection of Tests which consists of:

• an initial Diagnostic Test to allow teachers to assess how familiar students are with the grammar and vocabulary presented in the Starter Unit;• nine Language Tests to check the grammar, vocabulary and speaking items within each of the nine core units;• three Skills Tests for use after each three units to test general progress, language proficiency and fluency;• an End Of Year Test for use at the end of the course covering items from the whole level;• a full answer key.

Apart from the diagnostic test all the tests are at two levels of difficulty so teachers can test more appropriately and offer the correct level of challenge. All the tests are provided in A and B versions which are different in content as well as in order of presentation.

The Teacher's Resource Multi-ROM also contains the Workbook audio.