Why wasn't Islam the rallying point and battle cry of the anti-colonial movement in the Sudan? Why did the mainstream political parties and the first military regime maintain the 'secular' political structures of the colonial state? Why did the influential parties opt for an 'Islamic constitution' in the 1960s? Why did Nimeiry's regime change is course? This work attempts to answer these and related questions.
Three key issues are addressed within the framework of the relationship between Islam, society and politics: the manifestation of Islam in the particular context of Sudanese society; the politicisation / repoliticisation of Islam and the Islamicisation of politics; and the mechanisms that influence the rise of a specific Islamicist force or enhance calls for Islamicisation.

The theme of the conference presented in this work, Islam in a changing world: Europe and the Middle East, held in Copenhagen in June 1996, was the compatibility between Islam and universal norms and values, and the perspectives for dialogue and mutual understanding. Special attention was given both to the common features of today's Islamic groups and to differences between them. Patterns of internal Islamic co-operation and conflict were discussed, as were the ways in which political Islam influences the socio-political developments in the Middle East. Finally, the interaction between political Islam and the post-1989 challenges and opportunities of Euro-Mediterranean co-operation was also covered.

The Waqf (pious endowment in Islam) fulfilled vital political, social and economic functions. Reiter presents a picture of the role of Islam in mandatory Je.0rusalem through the resources of the Waqf. The Waqfs, as owners of 80% of the land in the old city of Jerusalem, and their socio-political influence, lie at the root of the present debate about the character and future of this Holy City. The prevalent image of institutionalized corruption within the Waqf system, involving beneficiaries, administrators and members of the elite is not completely supported by the findings ofthe present study.

The waqf (pious endowment) was a major Islamic institution in Jerusalem under British Mandate and it fulfilled vital political, social and economic functions. This book considers how the waqf adapted to modern times and reflects on its role in Islamic life in Jerusalem in the light of the political debate between the Palestinian Arab national movement and the Jewish Zionist movement. One of the weaknesses of Islamic endowments was the lack of proper supervision of their administration. The image of institutionalized corruption within the waqf system, involving beneficiaries, administrators, qadis and members of the elite, however, is not completely supported by the findings of the present study. Alongside cases of neglect and poor administration of waqf in Mandatory Jerusalem, there were numerous instances of estates being properly maintained and well managed. The waqfs own 80 per cent of the land in the Old City of Jerusalem, and their socio-political influence lies at the root of the present debate about the character and future of this holy city.

The theme of the conference presented in this work, Islam in a changing world: Europe and the Middle East, held in Copenhagen in June 1996, was the compatibility between Islam and universal norms and values, and the perspectives for dialogue and mutual understanding. Special attention was given both to the common features of today's Islamic groups and to differences between them. Patterns of internal Islamic co-operation and conflict were discussed, as were the ways in which political Islam influences the socio-political developments in the Middle East. Finally, the interaction between political Islam and the post-1989 challenges and opportunities of Euro-Mediterranean co-operation was also covered.

Orientalism, Zionism and Academic Practice explores the field of Israeli Middle East and Islamic Studies (MEIS) sociologically and politically, as a window onto the relationship between Orientalism, Zionism and academia. The book draws special attention to neoliberal discourse and praxis in everyday higher education, the interests of scholars, and the political form that commercialisation takes in specific disciplinary and geopolitical conditions by deconstructing structural and historical presuppositions and effective ideologies that overdetermine this junction of academia, orientalism and Zionism. The multi-layered study draws on various scholarly traditions and offers new evidence for, and insights in, historical and cultural-discursive discussions. It highlights paradigmatic gaps in reading Saidian orientalism, re-evaluates the origins and evolution of the local field, contributes to the study of everyday academic culture in the social sciences and humanities (SSH), and unveils the presupposed and the unsaid of the general and the specific field, exploring the intersection of an orientalist expertise, in a settler-colonial society, and everyday academic capitalism. The expertise of this sociological and discursive study make it an invaluable resource for academics and students interested in Israel and Middle East studies, Higher Education and the Sociology of Academia.

The Kuwaiti population includes around 100,000 people - approximately 10 per cent of the Kuwaiti nationals -whose legal status is contested. Often considered `stateless', they have come to be known in Kuwait as biduns, from `bidun jinsiyya', which means literally `without nationality' in Arabic. As long-term residents with close geographical ties and intimate cultural links to the emirate, the biduns claim that they are entitled to Kuwaiti nationality because they have no other. But since 1986 the State of Kuwait, has considered them `illegal residents' on Kuwaiti territory. As a result, the biduns have been denied civil and human rights and treated as undocumented migrants, with no access to employment, health, education or official birth and death certificates. It was only after the first-ever bidun protest in 2011, that the government softened restrictions imposed upon them. Claire Beaugrand argues here that, far from being an anomaly, the position of the biduns is of central importance to the understanding of state formation processes in the Gulf countries, and the ways in which identity and the boundaries of nationality are negotiated and concretely enacted.

A Times Higher Education Book of the Year Uprisings spread like wildfire across the Arab world from 2010 to 2012, fueled by a desire for popular sovereignty. In Tunisia, Egypt, Syria, and elsewhere, protesters flooded the streets and the media, voicing dissent through slogans, graffiti, puppetry, videos, and satire that called for the overthrow of dictators and the regimes that sustained them. Investigating what drives people to risk everything to express themselves in rebellious art, The Naked Blogger of Cairo uncovers the creative insurgency at the heart of the Arab uprisings. "A deep dive into the cultural politics of the Arab uprisings...Kraidy's sharp insights and rich descriptions of a new Arab generation's irrepressible creative urges will amply reward the effort. Reading Kraidy's accounts of the politically charted cultural gambits of wired Arab youth rekindles some of the seemingly lost spirit of the early days of the Arab uprisings and offers hope for the future." -Marc Lynch, Washington Post "The Naked Blogger of Cairo is a superb and important work not just for scholars but for anyone who cares about the relationships between art, the body, and revolution." -Hans Rollman, PopMatters

The rise of merchant capital in Mecca conditioned the development of Meccan social, economic, religious, and political structure. Mahmood Ibrahim traces the roots of capitalism from the emergence of merchants as the main force in Mecca through the first civil war in Islam (656-661). Through a rereading of original Arabic sources and drawing from modern scholarship on the subject, Ibrahim offers a new interpretation of the rise of Islam. He argues that Islam contributed certain institutional beliefs and practices that unblocked obstacles and helped merchants gain political and economic hegemony over western Asia. Ibrahim contends that, with the conquest of Mecca, the newly formed Muslim state spread its control to the rest of Arabia, which mobilized a significant social force and allowed for further expansion outside Arabia, thus extending merchant control to include new surplus-producing regions, a vast network of trade routes, and wider markets. This extensively researched study offers a new interpretation of the history of Islam, including the formation of Islamic society and the unfolding of the first civil war. In offering a better understanding of the Umayyad Caliphate that ruled Islam for a century to come, Ibrahim helps lay the groundwork for understanding the Middle East as it is today. Of interest to scholars of Middle Eastern studies, this important work will be necessary reading for students of Near Eastern and North African history, as well as students of the history of Medieval Europe.

Infibulation is the most extreme form of female circumcision. It plays an important role in the Islamic societies of northeastern Africa. Until now, the social significance and function of this practice has been poorly understood. This has been no less true of Western commentators who have condemned the practice than of relevant governments that have attempted to curb it. In Infibulation, Esther K. Hicks analyzes female circumcision as a cultural trait embedded in a historically traditional milieu and shows why it cannot be treated in isolation as a single issue destined for elimination. In its brief history it has been recognized as a pioneering piece of research with enormous consequences.

As Hicks demonstrates, much of the popular resistance to official efforts to eradicate infibulation has actually come from women. Circumcision constitutes a rite of passage for female children. It initiates them into womanhood and makes them eligible for marriage. Often, this is the only positive status position available to women in traditional Islamic societies. Hicks points out that although female circumcision predates the introduction of Islam into the region, the religious culture has successfully codified infibulation into the structural nexus of marriage, family, and social honor at all socioeconomic levels.

This volume explores various facets of the Islamic search for knowledge. It examines figures as diverse as Abu Najib al-Suhrawardi and Ibn al-'Arabi on the one hand, and Ibn Battuta and Ibn Jubayr on the other. The volume is divided into two main sections - Thought and Travel - but all the essays are linked by the common theme of the quest for knowledge. This collection offers insights which should be of interest all students and scholars of Islamic thought and travel.

This volume explores various facets of the Islamic search for knowledge. It examines figures as diverse as Abu Najib al-Suhrawardi and Ibn al-'Arabi on the one hand, and Ibn Battuta and Ibn Jubayr on the other. The volume is divided into two main sections - Thought and Travel - but all the essays are linked by the common theme of the quest for knowledge.;This collection offers insights which should be of interest all students and scholars of Islamic thought and travel.

Politics in Indonesia describes the attitudes, aspirations and frustrations of the key players in Indonesian politics as they struggle to shape the future. The book focuses on the role of political Islam; Douglas E. Ramage shows that the state has been remarkably successful in maintaining secular political institutions in a predominantly Muslim society. He analyses the way in which political questions are framed with reference to the national ideology, the Pancasila.

From its birth in the 7th century through modern times, the Islamic religion has inspired glorious works of art. This stunning book includes more than four hundred reproductions of treasures of Islamic art that span the world: from southern Europe, along the entire Mediterranean basin to sub-Saharan Africa through the Middle East, India, and Central Asia. Arranged geographically, the objects include paintings, miniatures, ceramics, calligraphy, textiles, carpets, and metal works. Each region is given a thorough introduction that offers historical context and extensive descriptions of its artifacts. Accompanying essays offer guidance in interpreting the many themes that tie these works together, including typology, calligraphy, and religious beliefs. With its large format, exquisite reproductions, and extensive research, this book is a thorough introduction to the Islamic artistic tradition.

This study examines the attitude of Egyptian intellectuals towards the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in modern Egypt. Though acknowledging that Islam is the basis of every aspect of life in Egyptian society, the intellectuals believe that to establish an Islamic state would mean a return to the Middle Ages and that Western values do not necessarily contradict Islam. Without taking advantage of the scientific and technological progress achieved in the West, Egypt cannot solve its social and economic problems and move forward into the 21st century. How far will these liberal intellectuals influence the future in Egypt?

Over the last three decades, Hezbollah has developed from a small radical organization into a major player in the Lebanese, regional, and even international political arenas. Its influence in military issues is well known, but its role in shaping cultural and political activities has not received enough attention. Kanaaneh sheds new light on the organization's successful evolution as a counterhegemonic force in the region's resistance movement, known as "Maqawama". Founded on the idea that Islam is a resisting religion, whose real heroes are the poor populations who have finally decided to take action, Hezbollah has shifted its focus to advocate for social justice issues and to attract ordinary activists to its cause. From the mid-1990s on, Hezbollah has built alliances that allow it to pursue soft power in Lebanon, fighting against both the dominant Shi'ite elites and the Maronite-Sunni, as well as Israeli and US influence in the region. Kanaaneh argues that this perpetual resistance - military as well as cultural and political - is fundamental to Hezbollah's continued success.

The term 'Swahili' describes the Muslim peoples of the East African coast, speakers of Kiswahili or closely related languages, who have historically filled roles as middlemen and merchants, the cosmopolitan products of a trading economy between Africa and the Indian Ocean world. This collection brings together anthropologists working on the greater Swahili world and the issues it confronts, dealing with societies from southern Somalia, northern Mozambique and the Comoro Islands, to Zanzibar and Mafia. The authors discuss a range of contemporary issues such as the shifting roles of Islam on the mainland coast; consumerism, conservation, memory and belonging in Zanzibar; how a Muslim society deals with HIV/AIDS; social change, development and political strategies in the Comoros; and Swahili women in London. The diversity of these themes reflects the diversity of the Swahili world itself: despite a cohesive cultural identity built upon shared practices, religious beliefs and language, the challenges facing Swahili people are multiple and complex. This book comprises articles originally published in the Journal of Eastern African Studies along with some new chapters.

This is a systematic treatment of the religious, intellectual, cultural, and social foundations of Islamic resurgence in the modern Arab World.

This book is the first in-depth study of early Arab immigrants to Britain and provides a unique insight into their everyday lives. During the First World War, several thousand Arab seafarers arrived in a number of British ports; most came from Yemen and the neighbouring parts of Britain's Aden Protectorate. They represent the first significant Muslim communities to settle in Britain. The book focuses on Tyneside because this is the only area for which there are extensive local archival sources. Events on Tyneside are set in their national and international contexts. Throughout the interwar period, declining employment opportunities in shipping brought intense competition for jobs, and the Arab seamen found themselves unwanted guests; discrimination, abuse, regulation and control intensified.

This work focuses on the life and teachings of Islam's most dramatic and controversial mystic, Husayn ibn Mansur - better known as "al-Hallaj". It includes translations of his poetry and prose which are used to supplement contemporary 10th century accounts of the martyr's life. The author assesses the mystic's place in the traditional calling that he represents, and presents his conclusions in a single accessible volume designed for the general reader of religious traditions and philosophies.

The past few decades have seen a burgeoning interest in the manuscript cultures of the Muslim world. The study of manuscripts has brought to light new perspectives on the transmission of texts and larger questions of cultural practices passed down within the learned circles of premodern Muslim societies. The intellectual and literary heritage of Ismaili communities, who form a branch of Shi'i Islam, has until recently been preserved in private and largely inaccessible libraries. This open access volume brings together studies offering insights on different aspects of the manuscript cultures nurtured by Ismaili communities until well after the widespread dissemination of printed books. The range of materials transmitted via these manuscripts in Arabic, Persian and Indic languages also reflects the doctrinal and literary preoccupations of Muslims at large and of other groups from the societies in which Ismailis lived. Hence, the manuscripts bear the imprint of their respective cultural contexts, namely a number of regions from the Near East to Central and South Asia. In addition to engaging with multifaceted problems surrounding the processes of textual transmission, the chapters in this book deal with other connected aspects like codicology, scribal and reading practices, educational and social history, authorship, communal script, religious identity and interactions of ideas across ideological denominations. With contributions from specialists and early-career scholars, the volume will be of interest to those working on textual scholarship, manuscript and literary cultures and Islamic studies. The eBook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by Islamic Publications Ltd.

For Iran, the years since Ayatollah Khomeini's death have been dominated by the need for political consolidataion and economic reconstruction. The book assesses the critical dilemmas of the regime both prior to and since the demise of its first spiritual leader. The vital issues of political succession and constitutional reform are addressed, contributing to an analysis of the structures and politics of power. How these have reflected upon economic policy is considered with close attention being given to the reform policies of Rafsanjani. Foreign policy and security issues are discussed in both regional and global terms and include a study of Iranian defence strategy and its controversial rearmament drive. The final chapter examines the direction and context of all of these major policy areas. It provides an analysis of whether the Islamic Republic truly represents a revolutionary alternative for the Third World or whether in fact it has developed in time to fall within a similar mould to other notable revolutions, casting by the wayside any uniquely Islamic agenda and alternatives.

The former Muslim republics of the USSR are struggling to strike a balance between the legacy of the Soviet regime and the revival of their own, traditional culture. This volume examines the religion, economy and demography of the areas as well as both internal and external relations.

Examines the role of God in medieval Islamic philosophy and theology in a new and exciting way. Renouncing the traditional chronological method of considering Islamic philosophy, Netton uses modern literary modes of criticism derived from structuralism, post-structuralism and semiotics.

A collection of Muslim traditions.