The Islamic Middle East - Charles Lindholm

This is an account of the origins, nature, and evolution of Islam. It is also an exploration of 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. Islam and the cultures in which it arose are inseparably linked and, as the author shows, need to be understood in the context of each other.

The book is divided into six parts. The first describes the problems of viewing the Middle East from a western perspective and discusses the violent consequences of centuries of misunderstanding between Muslim society and the broadly Christian West. The second examines the cultural characteristics of ancient, medieval, and modern Arab societies, focussing on the central notions of individualism, authority, loyalty, and egalitarianism.

In Part III the author describes the rise of Islam, the tensions between secular and religious authority, and the rise and fall of the Muslim empires. He then moves in Part IV to the evolution of Islam itself and to the development of Sufism, Shiism [note: reverse the inverted comma] and other sects and cults. He examines the achievements of Islamic learning and philosophy, and the paradoxes of claims to spiritual ascendancy within the anti–authoritarian ethic of Islam.

In the final parts of the work Professor Lindholm seeks to reconcile negative Middle Eastern attitudes towards blacks, slaves, and women with cultural and Islamic affirmations of the equality of all human beings. In his conclusion he draws together the evidence of history, culture, and religion to consider the paradox of egalitarian peoples living under despotic regimes, and the present prospects for resistance to authority and emancipation from tyranny.

This outstanding synthesis of historical and anthropological perspectives provides a fresh understanding of the nature of Islam and of the Middle East in the past and in the present. It is written with verve and wit, and illustrated with maps and eighteenth– and nineteenth–century lithographs. It is fully referenced and indexed, and includes a glossary and a comparative time line.