Friday, July 22, 2022
Imagining Antiquity in Islamic Societies is now available!
Edited by Stephennie Mulder
In the aftermath of the deliberate destruction of cultural heritage pursued by Islamist groups like ISIS, many observers have erroneously come to associate Islamic doctrine and practice with such acts. This book explores the diverse ways Muslims have engaged with the material legacies of ancient and pre-Islamic societies, as well as how Islam’s own heritage has been framed and experienced over time.
Long before the emergence of ISIS and other so-called Islamist iconoclasts, and perhaps as early as the rise of Islam itself, Muslims imagined Islamic and pre-Islamic antiquity and its localities in myriad ways: as sites of memory, spaces of healing, or places imbued with didactic, historical and moral power. This volume presents thirteen essays by leading scholars that address the issue of Islamic interest in the material past of the ancient and Islamic world, with essays examining attitudes about antiquarianism in the Islamic world from medieval times to the present. This is a new collection of articles previously available in issues of International Journal of Islamic Architecture.
Part of Intellect's Critical Studies in Architecture of the Middle East series
