Islam: The View from the Edge

by Richard Bulliet

Overview

This concise revisionist account of the historical evolution of Islamic society breaks new ground by going beyond the caliph and the capital. Bulliet offers a lucid understanding of how and why Islam continues to be rooted in the social structures of the vast majority of people who live far from the political locus and do not see the caliphate as essential in their lives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780231082181
Publisher:	Columbia University Press
Publication date:	05/16/1995
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.23(w) x 9.27(h) x 1.03(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Richard W. Bulliet is professor of history at Columbia University. A former Guggenheim fellow, he is the editor of The Columbia History of the Twentieth Century and author of The Camel and the Wheel. He is also the author of four novels of mystery and intrigue.

Table of Contents

Foreword, by Olivier Roy
Acknowledgments
Introduction to the American Edition: A Euro-American Debate Over Islam
Introduction
1. Muslim Americans: A Religious Minority Like Any Other?
2. The Mosque Controversies: Moral Offense and Religious Liberty
3. The Anti-Sharia Movement
4. The Face of Anti-Muslim Populism
5. Forcing the First Amendment: American Exporting of Religious Freedom
Conclusion
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Middle East scholar and writer Richard Bulliet offers an insightful and provocative look at the historical evolution of Islamic religious authority. It is this authority that will have ultimate impact on the future of the Middle East, and yet contemporary historians have largely ignored its influence in the social structure of the people it governs. Bulliet describes how a view "from the edge" shows diverse groups of people coming together in institutional, doctrinal, and social cohesion, not because of great empires, but because of the leadership of religious scholars and moral guides. This book should be of interest to students of both religion and politics, particularly since Westerners tend to misunderstand the religious motivations behind a country's actions.

Mary Deeley

Bulliet (history, Columbia U.) reviews the evolution of authority in the history of Islam, and contends that despite the recent successes of fundamentalist leaders, the future of Islam rests with individuals and small groups far from the power centers, who are synthesizing their faith with the modern world. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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