Goodbye to the Despot: Feldman on Islamic Law in the Ottoman Empire

2010 ◽  
Vol 35 (01) ◽  
pp. 219-242
Author(s):  
Molly Greene
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Ottoman Empire ◽  
Islamic Law ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Constitutional History ◽  
Islamic History ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Of

Noah Feldman's 2008 book, The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State, provides a sweeping review of the constitutional history of the Islamic polity that connects the past to developments in the Middle East today. The Ottoman Empire is vital to his argument. This essay critically evaluates Feldman's treatment of the Ottoman period, within the larger context of Islamic history, and in so doing considers the understudied constitutional history of the empire. Without denying the importance of the ulema and the shari'a, it argues that the empire was a hybrid of many different traditions and the centrality of Islamic law should not be overstated.

Juridical Pan-Islam at the Height of Empire

2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 253-257
Author(s):  
Nurfadzilah Yahaya
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Middle East ◽  
South Asia ◽  
Ottoman Empire ◽  
Legal History ◽  
Islamic Law ◽  
Late Nineteenth Century ◽  
Islamic Studies ◽  
History Of ◽  
Late Nineteenth

Abstract Located at the intersection of four regions, the Middle East, East Asia, Central Asia, and South Asia, Afghanistan is a country whose legal history is sure to be diverse and exciting at the confluence of multiple legal currents. In the book Afghanistan Rising: Islamic Law and Statecraft between the Ottoman and British Empires, Faiz Ahmed shows how Afghanistan could be regarded as a pivot for Islamic intellectual currents from the late nineteenth century onward, especially between the Ottoman Empire and South Asia. Afghanistan Rising makes us aware of our own assumptions of the study of Islamic law that has been artificially carved out during the rise of area studies, including Islamic studies. Ahmed provides a good paradigm for a legal history of a country that was attentive to foreign influences without being overwhelmed by them. While pan-Islamism is often portrayed as a defensive ideology that developed in the closing decades of the nineteenth century in reaction to high colonialism, the plotting of Afghanistan's juridical Pan-Islam in Ahmed's book is a robust and powerful maneuver out of this well-trodden path, as the country escaped being “landlocked” mainly by cultivating regional connections in law.

Битвазапрошлое:храмсвятогоГеоргия вИзраавэпицентре церковно-политическойборьбыконцаXIXв.

2019 ◽  
pp. 256-281
Author(s):  
E.M. Kopot`
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Ottoman Empire ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Russian Empire ◽  
Foreign Affairs ◽  
Late 19Th Century ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Russian Empire ◽  
First Time ◽  
The Church

The article brings up an obscure episode in the rivalry of the Orthodox and Melkite communities in Syria in the late 19th century. In order to strengthen their superiority over the Orthodox, the Uniates attempted to seize the church of St. George in Izraa, one of the oldest Christian temples in the region. To the Orthodox community it presented a threat coming from a wealthier enemy backed up by the See of Rome and the French embassy. The only ally the Antioch Patriarchate could lean on for support in the fight for its identity was the Russian Empire, a traditional protector of the Orthodox Arabs in the Middle East. The documents from the Foreign Affairs Archive of the Russian Empire, introduced to the scientific usage for the first time, present a unique opportunity to delve into the history of this conflict involving the higher officials of the Ottoman Empire as well as the Russian embassy in ConstantinopleВ статье рассматривается малоизвестный эпизод соперничества православной и Мелкитской общин в Сирии в конце XIX века. Чтобы укрепить свое превосходство над православными, униаты предприняли попытку захватить церковь Святого Георгия в Израа, один из старейших христианских храмов в регионе. Для православной общины он представлял угрозу, исходящую от более богатого врага, поддерживаемого Римским престолом и французским посольством. Единственным союзником, на которого Антиохийский патриархат мог опереться в борьбе за свою идентичность, была Российская Империя, традиционный защитник православных арабов на Ближнем Востоке. Документы из архива иностранных дел Российской Империи, введены в научный оборот впервые, уникальная возможность углубиться в историю этого конфликта с участием высших должностных лиц в Османской империи, а также российского посольства в Константинополе.

The New Islamic State

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farhad Khosrokhavar
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Imagined Community ◽  
The West ◽  
Patriarchal Family ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
The Creation

The creation of the Islamic State in Iraq and Sham (ISIS) changed the nature of jihadism worldwide. For a few years (2014–2017) it exemplified the destructive capacity of jihadism and created a new utopia aimed at restoring the past greatness and glory of the former caliphate. It also attracted tens of thousands of young wannabe combatants of faith (mujahids, those who make jihad) toward Syria and Iraq from more than 100 countries. Its utopia was dual: not only re-creating the caliphate that would spread Islam all over the world but also creating a cohesive, imagined community (the neo-umma) that would restore patriarchal family and put an end to the crisis of modern society through an inflexible interpretation of shari‘a (Islamic laws and commandments). To achieve these goals, ISIS diversified its approach. It focused, in the West, on the rancor of the Muslim migrants’ sons and daughters, on exoticism, and on an imaginary dream world and, in the Middle East, on tribes and the Sunni/Shi‘a divide, particularly in the Iraqi and Syrian societies.

The Role of the Constitutional Court in the Development of the Rule of Law in Kosovo

2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 274-313
Author(s):  
Enver Hasani
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Constitutional History ◽  
Constitutional Courts ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Of ◽  
Communist Countries

Kosovo’s Constitutional Court has played a role of paramount importance in the country’s recent history. The author uses a comparative analysis to discuss the role of the Court in light of the work and history of other European constitutional courts. This approach sheds light on the Court’s current role by analyzing Kosovo’s constitutional history, which shows that there has been a radical break with the past. This approach reveals the fact that Kosovo’s current Constitution does not reflect the material culture of the society of Kosovo. This radical break with the past is a result of the country’s tragic history, in which case the fight for constitutionalism means a fight for human dignity. In this battle for constitutionalism, the Court has been given very broad jurisdiction and a role to play in paving the way for Kosovo to move toward Euro-Atlantic integration in all spheres of life. Before reaching this conclusion, the author discusses the specificities of Kosovo’s transition, comparing it with other former communist countries. Among the specific features of constitutionalism in Kosovo are the role and position of the international community in the process of constitution-making and the overall design of constitutional justice in Kosovo. Throughout the article, a conclusion emerges that puts Kosovo’s Constitutional Court at the forefront of the fight for the rule of law and constitutionalism of liberal Western provenance.

scholarly journals KONTRIBUSI POSITIF ORIENTALISME: KAJIAN ATAS REINHART DOZY (1820-1883 M)

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 85
Author(s):  
Ghulam Falach
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Islamic Law ◽  
Great Influence ◽  
Literary Work ◽  
Comprehensive Understanding ◽  
Islamic History ◽  
Library Research ◽  
History Of ◽  
And Function ◽  
Islamic Civilization

The main focus of Orientalist thought is nothing but to reconstruct and influence Islamic civilization. Their enthusiasm to activate orientalism is increasingly challenged by the presence of Islam as a religion that has followers of most of the world's population. One of the actions of orientalism towards the Islamic world is to start a research movement on the Qur'an and al-Hadith which are the basis of the law and guidelines of Muslims. Not far from the critics of the Qur'an and al-Hadith, they also deconstructed aspects of the development of science, Islamic law, and even the originality of Islamic history. Some famous orientalism figures, one of them is Reinhart Dozy, a famous orientelism from the Netherlands with the concept of literacy in the history of Islamic civilization in Spain. Even though he received a lot of criticism and appreciation from both orientalists and Muslim thinkers, his literary work has had a great influence on Islamic civilization. The discussion steps of this study are entirely carried out using qualitative research that is library research. To be more useful and function properly, this paper is equipped with an explanation using the method of description, interpretation and analysis of data in each discussion. This is done, none other than to focus the discussion to produce a consistent and comprehensive understanding.

scholarly journals Caliphatism in the period of decline and collapse of the Ottoman Empire

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 327-337
Author(s):  
Svetlana A Kirillina ◽  
Alexandra L Safronova ◽  
Vladimir V Orlov
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
South Asia ◽  
Ottoman Empire ◽  
Muslim World ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
Historical Role ◽  
Muhammad Rashid Rida ◽  
Political Actions

The article analyses the historical role of the movement for defenсe of the Caliphate, which emerged in various regions of the Muslim world as a response to weakening and fall of the Ottoman Empire. The authors also focus on the social and political discussions of the 1920s - 1930s about the destiny of Muslim unity and the role of the future Caliphate. The article also deals with the transformation of conceptions of the Caliphate in the works of eminent ideologists and politicians of the Muslim world - Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, Abd al-Rahman al-Kawakibi, Muhammad Rashid Rida and Abul Kalam Azad. The authors give an overview of the history of Caliphatist congresses and conferences of 1920s - 1930s. The aims and tasks of the Caliphatist movement among the Muslims of South Asia are also under study. The article examines the reaction of the South Asian princely elites to the weakening of the Ottoman state and explores the interrelation between pro-Ottoman sentiments of Caliphatists and the radicalization of anti-colonial struggle of Indian Muslims. A special attention is given to the role of leaders of Indian Caliphatists in preparation of the antiBritish uprisings in North-Western Hindustan. The authors also examine common and specifi c features of views and political actions of advocates and supporters of the Caliphate in the Middle East and in the Islamic communities of South Asia. The analysis of the source data reveales several patterns of reaction of Muslims in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia to the repudiation of the Caliphate by the Republican Turkey.

History & Constitution

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luigi Lacchè
Keyword(s):  
Common Core ◽  
Public Law ◽  
Global Perspective ◽  
Alexis De Tocqueville ◽  
History Taking ◽  
Constitutional History ◽  
The Past ◽  
Global Constitutionalism ◽  
History Of ◽  
Different Levels

This volume gathers together 25 essays dedicated to the history of four important constitutional experiments (France, Belgium, Switzerland and Italy). While it considers these experiments and developments in the 19th and 20th centuries, comparative constitutional history, nevertheless, offers the possibility of obtaining a wider purview. It is in this sense that we can speak of the myth of the English constitution pervading the discourses and language of the French liberals, of Belgium being referred to as “Little England” in Italy, and the Modell Deutschland as increasingly becoming an object of fascination for Italian scholars of public law. In the 1830s Alexis de Tocqueville analysed the situation in Switzerland and compared the different kinds of federalism present in America and in Europe. A European comparative constitutional history, taking up a global perspective, can help us to better decipher two very important issues pertinent to our times: first, for assessing the identity and the constitutional substance of a living common core of the European constitutional traditions; and second, for considering constitutional history as a useful tool to address different levels of global constitutionalism and new trends of governance. History & Constitution offers not only insights into the past, but also provides some guidelines for the future.

Sami Zubaida, Law and Power in the Islamic World. New York: I. B. Tauris, 2004, 248 pp., $55, £35, ISBN 1-86064-865-7.

2004 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 856-858
Author(s):  
Eric Kaufmann
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Social History ◽  
Islamic Law ◽  
Islamic World ◽  
History Of

Sami Zubaida's Law and Power in the Islamic World is a fascinating politico-social history of the relations between Islamic law and the procession of political masters who have ruled the Middle East since the Prophet's death. One message is clear: the notion of an omnipotent shariءa, passed from caliph to caliph for fourteen centuries, is a myth held by both Islamist radicals and their Western critics.

Arab Nationalism and National Socialist Germany, 1933–1939: Ideologic and Strategic Incompatibility

1980 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 351-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis Nicosia
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
League Of Nations ◽  
Recent History ◽  
National Socialist ◽  
Arab Nationalism ◽  
The Past ◽  
Winston Churchill ◽  
The Future ◽  
History Of

When Winston Churchill visited Palestine in March, 1921, the debate over the future of Palestine and the recriminations over the broken promises of the past were at a fever pitch. It had become clear that British control over Palestine would be formalized by a League of Nations Mandate which would then irnplement the provisions of the Balfour Declaration. In Haifa, a delegation of Muslim and Christian Arabs met with Churchill to express their views on the intensifying conflict in Palestine. Churchill was given a prophetic warning, the accuracy of which has been of profound significance in the recent history of the Middle East:Today the Arabs belief in England is not what it was.… If England does not take up the cause of the Arabs, other powers will. From India, Mesopotamia, the Hedjaz andPalestine the cry goes up to England now. If she does not listen, then perhaps Russia will take up their call some day, or perhaps even Germany.

The Future of the Past

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoine Borrut
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Eighth Century ◽  
Historical Writing ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Future ◽  
History Of ◽  
Methodological Problems ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Early Islamic ◽  
Sacred History

Writing the history of the first centuries of Islam poses thorny methodological problems, because our knowledge rests upon narrative sources produced later in Abbasid Iraq. The creation of an “official” version of the early Islamic past (i.e., a vulgate), composed contemporarily with the consolidation of Abbasid authority in the Middle East, was not the first attempt by Muslims to write about their origins. This Abbasid-era version succeeded when previous efforts vanished, or were reshaped, in rewritings and enshrined as the “official” version of Islamic sacred history. Attempts to impose different historical orthodoxies affected the making of this version, as history was rewritten with available materials, partly determined by earlier generations of Islamic historians. This essay intends to discuss a robust culture of historical writing in eighth-century Syria and to suggest approaches to access these now-lost historiographical layers torn between memory and oblivion, through Muslim and non-Muslim sources.

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