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The Islamic Middle East: An Historical Anthropology
This is an account of the origins, nature, and evolution of Islam. It explores the cultures of the Middle East in which Islam originated fourteen centuries ago and of the Arab, Persian and Turkish societies where it remains a powerful force. The author describes the rise of Islam and the Muslim empires, and shows how the evolution of Islam led to the development of Sufism and Shiism [ reverse the inverted comma]. He examines the achievements of Islamic learning and philosophy, and seeks to reconcile Middle Eastern attitudes attitudes towards slaves and women with Islamic affirmations of egalitarianism. This synthesis of historical and anthropological perspectives provides a new understanding of Islam and of the Middle East. It is illustrated with maps and lithographs, is fully referenced and indexed, and includes a glossary and a comparative time line.
352 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1996
About the author
Charles Lindholm
15 books7 followersB.A., Ph.D., Columbia University.
Professor Lindholm is an anthropologist with a strong interest in social theory and psychology, as well as area interests in the Middle East, South Asia, and the United States. He did his original fieldwork in Northern Pakistan among one of the largest tribal groups in the world: the Pukhtun. He researched the relationship between social organization and emotion, as well as politics, kinship, and the role of religion in this strongly Muslim society. His work led to an ethnographic study, Generosity and Jealousy (1982), and to a collection of essays entitled Frontier Perspectives (1996). He followed this up with a book on the culture and history of the United States, Is America Breaking Apart? (1999 coauthored with John K. Hall). He has also published Charisma (1990), as well as a number of articles on charismatic leadership and romantic love, and Culture and Identity: The History,Theory and Practice of Psychological Anthropology (2001). His most recent book Middle East: Tradition and Change (2003) argues that the Middle East, like the United States, is characterized by a pervasive ethic of equality, rendering actual relationships of authority especially fraught with tension. His current interests include anthropology of performance and the social construction of authenticity.
Professor Lindholm is an anthropologist with a strong interest in social theory and psychology, as well as area interests in the Middle East, South Asia, and the United States. He did his original fieldwork in Northern Pakistan among one of the largest tribal groups in the world: the Pukhtun. He researched the relationship between social organization and emotion, as well as politics, kinship, and the role of religion in this strongly Muslim society. His work led to an ethnographic study, Generosity and Jealousy (1982), and to a collection of essays entitled Frontier Perspectives (1996). He followed this up with a book on the culture and history of the United States, Is America Breaking Apart? (1999 coauthored with John K. Hall). He has also published Charisma (1990), as well as a number of articles on charismatic leadership and romantic love, and Culture and Identity: The History,Theory and Practice of Psychological Anthropology (2001). His most recent book Middle East: Tradition and Change (2003) argues that the Middle East, like the United States, is characterized by a pervasive ethic of equality, rendering actual relationships of authority especially fraught with tension. His current interests include anthropology of performance and the social construction of authenticity.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 12, 2021
A comprehensive and insightful account of Islam in its Middle Eastern context. An encyclopedia of Islam of sorts
November 22, 2010
In Chapter 15, The Ambiguities of Women, Lindholm argues that the inferior status of women in Islam is not based on its religious tenets, but stems from historical and cultural traditions.
He provides background in a section titled, "Women in Middle Eastern Consciousness":
In terms of popular attitudes, women are seen as "a separate human species that is naturally stupid, lazy, untrustworthy, polluting, obstinate, emotional, willful, talkative, greedy, and innately immoral" (228). All inferior or negative traits can be described as feminine. If men did not keep women under control the world would be destroyed.
Women's inferiority is legally encoded. Men can obtain divorce easily, women not at all. A woman's testimony is worth half that of a man. A woman is worth only half the blood-money of a man. Women inherit lesser shares of their patrimony, if they inherit at all. However, the law does prohibit female infanticide and women whose husbands divorce them are supposed to get their dowries back.
In contrast, Sunni Islam uses feminine imagery to portray the unity of the Islamic community. Sufism also has a positive attitude toward women.
Lindholm also draws an interesting parallel between contemporary political changes and the declingin status of women, arguing that there was a "correlation between increasing governmental authoritarianism and the solidification of the sexual hierarchy" (234) starting in the Abbasid period. "The widespread institutionalization of concubinage... undercut the claims of a man's legitimate wives just as rulers undercut the claims of their kinsmen by the recruitment of slaves armies and bureaucracies".
He provides background in a section titled, "Women in Middle Eastern Consciousness":
In terms of popular attitudes, women are seen as "a separate human species that is naturally stupid, lazy, untrustworthy, polluting, obstinate, emotional, willful, talkative, greedy, and innately immoral" (228). All inferior or negative traits can be described as feminine. If men did not keep women under control the world would be destroyed.
Women's inferiority is legally encoded. Men can obtain divorce easily, women not at all. A woman's testimony is worth half that of a man. A woman is worth only half the blood-money of a man. Women inherit lesser shares of their patrimony, if they inherit at all. However, the law does prohibit female infanticide and women whose husbands divorce them are supposed to get their dowries back.
In contrast, Sunni Islam uses feminine imagery to portray the unity of the Islamic community. Sufism also has a positive attitude toward women.
Lindholm also draws an interesting parallel between contemporary political changes and the declingin status of women, arguing that there was a "correlation between increasing governmental authoritarianism and the solidification of the sexual hierarchy" (234) starting in the Abbasid period. "The widespread institutionalization of concubinage... undercut the claims of a man's legitimate wives just as rulers undercut the claims of their kinsmen by the recruitment of slaves armies and bureaucracies".
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews