From the Birth of Empire to the Modern State
Exploring the concept of sovereignty within Islamic society, this book provides a thorough examination from the origins of Islam to contemporary issues. It delves into the interplay between political authority and theological principles, offering insights into how these elements shape governance and societal structures in the Islamic context.
Exploring the political dimensions of Sufism, this volume examines its dual role as both a spiritual outlook and a social institution within Muslim societies. It highlights Sufism's influence on the societal and theological aspects of Islam throughout history, addressing themes such as charismatic authority, state relations, and the politics of sainthood. The collection of articles encourages new scholarly reflections on Sufism's adaptability to political changes and its significant contributions to ongoing debates about the intersection of politics and religion in Islam.
This study examines the role of the state in the construction of knowledge in Islamic civilization in its early classical period (third/ninth and fourth/tenth centuries). Different voices representing different social groups - savants, littérateurs, religious scholars, state officials - all brought their particular conception of knowledge to bear on the formation of the various branches of knowledge known to Islamic civilization. Reading the works of various branches of knowledge alongside the administrative encyclopedia of Qudāma b. Ja'far (d. 337/948), a state official in the employ of the Abbasid dynasty, has served to highlight the particular point of view of the state in the intellectual and cultural dialogue of the day. At the same time, this approach has shown Islamic civilization to be as much a dialogue of values between the different social groups of the day as a series of events or collection of ideas.