The Islamic Middle East Tradition and Change

This is an account of the origins, nature, and evolution of Islam. It is also an exploration of the cultures of the Middle East where Islam originated fourteen centuries ago and of the Arab, Persian and Turkish societies where it remains a powerful force. Islam and the cultures in which it arose are inseparably linked, and, as the author shows, need to be understood in the context of each other.

Charles Lindholm is a University Professor at Boston University, before which he taught anthropology at Barnard College and at Columbia and Harvard Universities. His previous books include Generosity and Jealousy (1982), Culture and Identity: The History, Theory, and Practice of Psychological Anthropology (2000) and Is America Breaking Apart? (reprint edition 2001).

List of Illustrations

viii

Preface to the Second Edition

xi

Acknowledgements

xvii

Glossary

xx

Part I Introduction

The Middle East: Assumptions and Problems

3

(14)

The Middle East in Western Eyes

3

(4)

Where is the Middle East?

7

(3)

Equality and Individualism as Central Values

10

(7)

Part II Preconditions for Egalitarian Individualism

Ways of Living

17

(16)

The Ecological Framework

17

(2)

The Bedouin Option

19

(3)

Shepherds and Confederacies

22

(3)

Independent Farmers of the Mountains

25

(3)

The Dialectic of Desert and Sown

28

(5)

Traditions of Authority and Freedom

33

(16)

Continuities with Jahiliyya

33

(3)

Emissaries and Exemplars: Types of Prophecy

36

(5)

The Legacy of Gilgamesh

41

(5)

The Limits of Authority

46

(3)

The Social Construction of Egalitarianism

49

(16)

Ibn Khaldun's Theory of Authority

49

(4)

Group Feeling: the ``Band of Brothers''

53

(2)

Middle Eastern Kinship and Descent

55

(4)

Complications in the Model

59

(6)

Part III State and Society: Prophets, Caliphs, Sultans, and Tyrants

The Prophetic Age

65

(19)

The Rise of Islam

65

(8)

The Reconfiguration of Ordinary Life under Islam

73

(5)

The State in Early Islam

78

(3)

Tensions and Divisions

81

(3)

Early Struggles for Authority

84

(21)

The Rule of the Righteous

84

(4)

Movements of Religious Resistance: Kharijites and Shi'ites

88

(2)

Maintaining Secular Domination

90

(6)

The Abbasid Rebellion

96

(4)

The New Hierarchy of the Courtier

100

(5)

Sacred and Secular Rulers

105

(15)

The Quest for the Redeemer: the Qarmati

105

(2)

Pragmatic Tribesmen: Buyids and Seljuks

107

(5)

The Religious Option

112

(8)

Novelties and Continuities

120

(19)

The Ottoman Exception

120

(7)

Other Experiments: Cavaliers and Assassins

127

(4)

Reprise: the Uses and Abuses of Government

131

(8)

Part IV Sacred Power: Reciters, Lawyers, Incarnations, and Saints

The Essentials of Islam

139

(12)

The Authority of the Quran and the Necessity of Practice

139

(7)

The Problem of Salvation

146

(2)

The Charisma of the Prophet

148

(3)

Recapturing the Sacred Past: the Power of Knowledge

151

(16)

The Authority of History

151

(4)

Legalism in Islam

155

(5)

The Education of the Scholarly Elite

160

(3)

Resistance to the Authority of the Learned

163

(4)

The Partisans of Ali

167

(14)

The Charisma of Ali

167

(3)

The Two Faces of Shi'ism

170

(3)

Shi'ite History: Acquiescence and Rebellion

173

(5)

Khomeini's Revolution

178

(3)

Sufism in Practice

181

(13)

In Search of the Beloved

181

(4)

Ecstasy and Remembrance

185

(3)

The Cosmic Order

188

(2)

The Spiritual Division of Labor

190

(4)

The Contradictions of Saintly Authority

194

(19)

The Cult of Saints

194

(4)

The Delegitimization of Sufism

198

(2)

The Exaggeration of Charisma

200

(3)

Ambiguities of Selflessness

203

(3)

Islamists and Sufis

206

(7)

Part V Dilemmas of Subordination

Slaves, Eunuchs, and Blacks

213

(15)

Gelded Warriors: Slaves and Clients

213

(3)

Race and Inferiority

216

(3)

The Categorization of Human Types

219

(5)

Noble Slaves, Base Freemen

224

(4)

The Ambiguities of Women

228

(17)

Women in Middle Eastern Consciousness

228

(6)

History, Culture, and Misogyny

234

(3)

Quandaries of Patrilineality

237

(4)

The Dangers of Female Sexuality

241

(4)

Escapes from Distinction: Love and Friendship

245

(14)

Romantic Love

245

(6)

Love Between Men

251

(2)

`I Am You': Idealized Friendship

253

(6)

Part VI Conclusion

Problems and Possibilities

259

(13)

The Command of the Powerful

259

(6)

Egalitarian Individualism and Despotism

265

(3)

Resistance to Authority

268

(4)

Chronology of Events

272

(11)

Notes

283

(19)

References

302

(13)

Index

315

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The Islamic Middle East Tradition and Change

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials

FREE SHIPPING

Rent More, Save More! Use code: BBRENTAL

5% off 1 book, 7% off 2 books, 10% off 3+ books

The Islamic Middle East Tradition and Change

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials

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