Paraenetic Character od Modern Islamic Prose

Poland, ID CLEaR2015-221b;

Paraenetic literature  encompasses didactic literature, which propagates adequate and morally correct manner of action. One of features of paraenesis is its normativism, which proposed models of ideal heroes, characteristic for a given social background. Paraenetic literature has its roots in Ancient Greece. In the subsequent centuries Christianity, drawing from the ancient canon of an ideal man, proposed moral values and ideal heroes, hitherto unknown. At the same time, what Christianity did in the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Baroque, was develop new genres that aimed at conveying paraenetic content. The concept of aesthetic role of literature as opposed to it utilitarian character was created as late as in Romanticism.

In the Arab world the utilitarian and aesthetic functions stood hand in hand from the very beginning. Only in the 20^th century the perception of the role of a literary work  changed, as a result of European influence. In the 80s a movement described as “Islamic literature” emerged. This genre has a didactic function and aims at forming attitudes and moral behavior patterns that go in line with the rules of Islam. This paper analyses and models of heroes, who are inspired by the Prophet Muhammad and face modern dangers and challenges, resulting from the Western pressure.

Key words:  literature, Islam, Islamic literature, Arab world