The medieval Middle East is often described as a multiconfessional place inhabited by Christians, Muslims, Jews, Manichaeans, Zoroastrians, pagans, and others. These groups, scholars demonstrate, manifested complex modes of cohabitation, exchange, negotiations with law, conflict, and resilience under Islamic governance. The ways this religious diversity was perceived by non-Muslim communities, however, need further study. Considering the voluminous theological, apologetic, and debate literature, some scholars argue that the religious diversity in the medieval Middle East was construed especially by Christians as a mix of one form of orthodoxy and many heresies. Others point at the possibility of some early steps in the development of religious pluralism–harmonious co-existence of different religions. The current article revisits the question of religious diversity in the medieval Middle East. Through a detailed reading of the Syriac Chronicle of Zuqnin (8th c.), it highlights the role licit and illicit practice played in the articulations of religious diversity in the medieval Middle Eastern countryside.

中文翻译：

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从祖克宁的叙利亚编年史看中世纪早期中东的宗教多样性

中世纪的中东经常被描述为一个多信仰的地方，居住着基督徒、穆斯林、犹太人、摩尼教、琐罗亚斯德教、异教徒等。学者们证明，这些群体在伊斯兰治理下表现出复杂的共存、交流、法律谈判、冲突和恢复模式。然而，非穆斯林社区如何看待这种宗教多样性，还需要进一步研究。考虑到大量的神学、护教学和辩论文献，一些学者认为中世纪中东的宗教多样性尤其被基督徒解释为一种正统教义和许多异端的混合体。其他人则指出了宗教多元化发展的一些早期步骤的可能性——不同宗教的和谐共处。本文重新审视中世纪中东的宗教多样性问题。通过详细阅读叙利亚文祖克宁编年史（公元 8 世纪），它强调了合法和非法行为在中世纪中东乡村宗教多样性表达中所发挥的作用。