The shrines of the 'Alids in medieval Syria : Sunnis, Shi'is and the architecture of coexistence / Stephennie Mulder.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mulder, Stephennie F., author.

Series:

Edinburgh studies in Islamic art.

Edinburgh studies in Islamic art

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Landscapes in art.

Islamic shrines--Syria--History--To 1500.

Islamic shrines.

Sacred space--Syria--History--To 1500.

Sacred space.

Alids--History--To 1500.

Alids.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiv, 297 pages) : illustrations, maps.

Place of Publication:

Edinburgh : Edinburgh University Press, [2014]

Summary:

The first illustrated, architectural history of the ‘Alid shrines, increasingly endangered by the conflict in SyriaThe ‘Alids (descendants of the Prophet Muhammad) are among the most revered figures in Islam, beloved by virtually all Muslims, regardless of sectarian affiliation. This study argues that despite the common identification of shrines as ‘Shi’i’ spaces, they have in fact always been unique places of pragmatic intersectarian exchange and shared piety, even - and perhaps especially - during periods of sectarian conflict. Using a rich variety of previously unexplored sources, including textual, archaeological, architectural, and epigraphic evidence, Stephennie Mulder shows how these shrines created a unifying Muslim ‘holy land’ in medieval Syria, and proposes a fresh conceptual approach to thinking about landscape in Islamic art. In doing so, she argues against a common paradigm of medieval sectarian conflict, complicates the notion of Sunni Revival, and provides new evidence for the negotiated complexity of sectarian interactions in the period.Beautifully illustrated with over 120 colour imagesThe first study of Syrian ‘Alid shrines as critical sites of Islamic pious practice in some of Islam’s most important citiesUses architecture to present a more nuanced understanding of the history of sectarianismUtilises an unusually wide range of source materials including medieval Arabic textual sources, spatial and architectural analysis, archaeological investigation, epigraphy and GPS survey

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

List of Figures and Maps

Series Editor’s Foreword

Acknowledgements

INTRODUCTION. ‘A Road for All Muslims’

CHAPTER 1. A Mashhad at Balis

CHAPTER 2. Aleppo: An Experiment in Islamic Ecumenism

CHAPTER 3. Eclectic Ecumenism: The Cemetery of Bab al-Saghir in Damascus

CHAPTER 4. Perpetual Patronage: Four Damascene ’Alid Shrines

CHAPTER 5. A Landscape of Deeds: ’Alid Shrines and the Construction of Islamic Sacred Topography

CONCLUSION. A Time of Miracles

Bibliography

Illustration Acknowledgements

Index

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 275-285) and index.

ISBN:

1-4744-7116-1

OCLC:

1301547392