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The shrines of the 'Alids in medieval Syria

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  • Book

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

Title The shrines of the 'Alids in medieval Syria : Sunnis, Shi'is and the architecture of coexistence / Stephennie Mulder.
Publisher Edinburgh : Edinburgh University Press
Creation Date [2014]
Notes Issued also in print.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 275-285) and index.
Content 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
Series Edinburgh studies in Islamic art
Extent 1 online resource (xiv, 297 pages) : illustrations, maps.
Language English
Copyright Date ©2014
National Library system number 997010707380005171
MARC RECORDS

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