The Shrines of the 'Alids in Medieval Syria
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Stephennie Mulder
About this book
The first illustrated, architectural history of the ‘Alid shrines, increasingly endangered by the conflict in Syria
The ‘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.
Topics
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Frontmatter
i -
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Contents
v -
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List of Figures and Maps
vi -
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Series Editor’s Foreword
xi -
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Acknowledgements
xii -
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INTRODUCTION. ‘A Road for All Muslims’
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CHAPTER 1. A Mashhad at Balis
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CHAPTER 2. Aleppo: An Experiment in Islamic Ecumenism
63 -
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CHAPTER 3. Eclectic Ecumenism: The Cemetery of Bab al-Saghir in Damascus
114 -
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CHAPTER 4. Perpetual Patronage: Four Damascene ’Alid Shrines
186 -
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CHAPTER 5. A Landscape of Deeds: ’Alid Shrines and the Construction of Islamic Sacred Topography
247 -
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CONCLUSION. A Time of Miracles
267 -
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Bibliography
275 -
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Illustration Acknowledgements
286 -
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Index
288
