From the origins of Muhammad's prophetic movement through the
development of Islam's principal branches to the establishment of
the Umayyad dynasty, the concept of authority has been central to
Islamic civilization. By examining the nature, organization, and
transformation of authority over time, Dabashi conveys both
continuities and disruptions inherent in the development of a new
political culture. It is this process, he argues, that accounts for
the fundamental patterns of authority in Islam that ultimately
shaped, in dialectical interaction with external historical
factors, the course of Islamic civilization.
The book begins by examining the principal characteristics of
authority in pre-Islamic Arab society. Dabashi describes the
imposition of the Muhammadan charismatic movement on pre-Islamic
Arab culture, tracing the changes it introduced in the fabric of
pre-Islamic Arabia. He examines the continuities and changes that
followed, focusing on the concept of authority, and the formation
of the Sunnite, Shiite, and Karajite branches of Islam as political
expressions of deep cultural cleavages. For Dabashi, the formation
of these branches was the inevitable outcome of the clash between
pre-Islamic patterns of authority and those of the Muhammadan
charismatic movement. In turn, they molded both the unity and the
diversity of the emerging Islamic culture. "Authority in Islam
"explains how this came to be.
Dabashi employs Weber's concept of charismatic authority in
describing Muhammad and his mode of authority as both a model and a
point of departure. His purpose is not to offer critical
verification or opposition to interpretation of historical events,
but to suggest a new approach to the existing literature. The book
is an important contribution to political sociology as well as the
study of Islamic culture and civilization. Sociologists, political
scientists, and Middle Eastern specialists will find this analysis
of particular value.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!