| Introduction. Between the 17th century and early 20th century, Orientalism was too clearly tainted by Judeo-Christian polemics. The term "Judeo-Christian" in itself is a term that ignores nearly a millennium and a half of Semitic history by its exclusion of Islam as a Semitic religion that today outpopulates the "Judeo" by over a billion and is nearly equal to the "Christian" in that most inappropriate term. Though much valuable scholarship was found in that era, the sense of paranoia towards Islam was unambiguous as Orientalist scholarship attempted to discredit Islam upon every level as some illegitimate child of the Semitic tradition. However, in the 21st century, we see a fresh dose of sincere research and analysis as the intentions of the old are discarded in the Orientalist scholarship of the Western world. Along with this sincerity is an attempted resurrection of the 18th and 19th-century anti-Muslim discrimination under an academic disguise. The sincerity must be encouraged and the discrimination dismissed through exchanges of knowledge and definitive evidence. It must now be recognized that the Muslim world is an integral component of the Semitic tradition. For too long have the 1.6 billion Muslims who make up 1/4 of this planet's population been excluded due to either lack of understanding or outright religious discrimination. The Near Eastern Semitic Studies Institute of America (NESSIA) is a pioneering step from the Muslim world into the sphere of Orientalism. The primary goal of NESSIA is to promote understanding of the Muslim world, the religion of Islam, and the Arabic language all in the context of the Semitic linguistic, religious and cultural tradition. It is here that understanding will be promoted, and it is here that misinformation will be thoroughly dismissed. |
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NESSIA. Aside from being an acronym for Near Eastern and Semitic Studies Information Archive, the word nessia has deep meaning in the Semitic linguistic tradition. In Hebrew, it is נשיא (nâsî') meaning "prince" from the root נשא (nâsâ) which denotes elevation and praise. In Genesis 17:20 God says about Ishmael the son of Abraham: שׁנים עשׂר נשׂיאם יוליד ונתתיו לגוי גדול ...shenêym `âsâr nesî'im yûlîd w'netattiyuv li-goy gâdûl "..twelve princes shall he beget and I will make him a great nation". In Aramaic the word נשיא (nasîyâ) is the reflexive reduplicate for exalt, lifting up and/or carrying away as found in the Book of Daniel chapter 11: ונשׂא ההמון ...v'nisâ' ha-hâmûn "And when the crowd carries away.." Syriac, which is a late form of Aramaic adopted by the early Palestinian Christian communities, is the point in the Semitic linguistic tradition where a change in the second consonant of this root is seen as the Shîn is rendered into the Syriac Samchet which is analogous to the Hebrew letter Samech. In the Syriac Gospel of John 6:6, the word is used to mean substantiating or proving something: ܗܕܐ ܕܝܢ ܐܡܪ ܒܕ ܡܢܤܐ hadeâ dayn âmar kad m'naseâ... "And this he said to prove..." In Arabic, the word نصية (nasîyah) contextually means the best of a nation as used in the phrase النَّصِيَّةُ من القومِ (an-nasîyatû min al-qawm). In the classical Arabic lexicon, Qâmûs al-Muhît of the Persian linguist al-Fayrûzâbâdî it states: النَّصِيَّةُ من القومِ: الخِيارُ an-nasîyatû min al-qawm: al-khiyâr "...The nasîyatû from a nation: The finest" It was thus applied to the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) by his fellow Arabs due to his reputation for honesty and respect. It is recorded in Ibn Hishâm's authoritative Prophetic biography that Mâlik bin Namat addressed the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم): يا رسول الله نصية من همدان yâ rasûlallâh, nasîyatu[n]-min hamdân... "O Messenger of God, Thou choicest from Hamdân..." About this epithet, Ibn al-Athîr states in volume 5 of his an-Nihâyatû fî Gharîb al-Hadîth w-al-Athar: "The finest of a nation. This means the finest of their most esteemed ones who are leaders and dignitaries..." Thus, the broad spectrum of meanings for NESSIA contributes to the theme of dignity, picking up (the truth), and, most importantly, proof. |
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| Semite. The modern political context has seen many misapplications of this term. Linguistically, the word "Semite" is derived from the name of Noah's firstborn, Shem, whose birth is mentioned in the Book of Genesis 5:32. This name is derived from the early Semitic root for "name" which can also mean "noteworthy" contextually. Today, cognates from this root are found in Hebrew as שם (shem), in Arabic as إسم (ism) and in Syriac as ܫܡܐ (shmâ). Historically, Semites are peoples who adopted the languages of the region such as Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew, Chaldee, Nabatean and some of their later branches such as Syriac and Arabic. It is commonly understood that Semites are the peoples descended from Shem, such as Jews and Arabs. However, this ethnic and racial definition is both difficult and figment as is the concept of race itself. This lack of understanding is the source of much of the ethnic conflagration which has tragically consumed the region. With the passing of roughly the past 10 millennia, the Semitic linguistic tradition has enriched the historical writings of this region. These writings are now rendered to us via the dedication and inspiring tenacity of the world's archaeologists. NESSIA is dedicated to the research, analysis and presentation of information regarding those very archaeological jewels of civilization recorded in the Semitic linguistic tradition. |
| Understanding Islam. At 1.3 billion, Islam is the world's second-largest religion. That's 1/4 of the human race. Yet, Islam is probably the least understood of all religions. Unfortunately, today it is the most relentlessly maligned, as well. The aim of this website is to increase mutual respect and understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims. Additionally, this site will present definitive and clear refutations against anti-Islamic misinformation, and invite the antagonists to bring forth their evidence. |