06 — The Neomartyr Under Islam
Abo belongs to a wider phenomenon: Christians martyred for apostasy from Islam in the early Islamic period. This section treats that phenomenon soberly and comparatively — the legal structure of the convert-martyrdom and its parallels, above all the martyrs of ninth-century Córdoba — and the particular purpose of Sabanisdze’s Life in strengthening the Georgian Church under Arab domination.
Tradition: Georgian Orthodox
Per METHODOLOGY §4, the neomartyr-under-Islam theme is handled here theologically and historically, never as anti-Muslim polemic. The first file sets Abo within the comparative pattern of the convert-martyr — the specific legal fact of the apostasy penalty, and the near-contemporary parallel of the Córdoba martyrs — treating the phenomenon soberly and naming its historiographical debates. The second file turns to Sabanisdze’s own purpose: the Life was written to strengthen the Georgian Christians under Arab pressure, and this ecclesial and national function is part of what the text is.
Files
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| the-pattern-of-the-convert-martyr.md | The wider phenomenon of Christians martyred for apostasy from Islam — sober, contextual, comparative (the Córdoba martyrs) |
| sabanisdze-and-the-georgian-church-under-pressure.md | The Life’s purpose — strengthening the Georgian Christians under Arab domination; the ecclesial context |
See Also
- 04 — The Martyrdom — Abo’s own martyrdom and its sober framing
- St. Laura of Córdoba — a contemporary Western parallel among the martyrs of al-Andalus