Persuasive Strategies in Arabic Religious Discourse: Evidence From the Friday Sermons of Dr. Mohammad Rateb Al-Nabulsi

Abstract

The present study aims at examining the persuasion process in Arabic religious discourse. In particular, it seeks to investigate the persuasive strategies used in Friday sermons. The data of the study is elicited from ten randomly selected Friday sermons delivered by Dr. Mohammad Rateb Al-Nabulsi. The study utilizes Connor and Lauer's (1985) model to explore rational, credibility and affective appeals. The findings point out the crucial role of persuasive appeals in enhancing the persuasive impact of the argument. The results reveal that the most frequently used appeals are rational appeals followed by affective and credibility appeals respectively. The analysis records the prevalence of the authority strategy among rational appeals, while showing the speaker's shared interest and point of view is the most pervasive strategy among credibility appeals. Finally, the use of vivid pictures is the most dominant strategy among affective appeals.