Muslims and Others in Sacred Space

This collection of seven essays offers wide-ranging and in-depth studies of locations sacred to Muslims, of the histories of these sites (real or imagined), and of the ways in which Muslims and members of other religions have interacted peaceably in sacred times and spaces. The volume begins with a discussion by David Damrel of the official, hostile, Muslim attitude toward practices at shrines in South Asia. Lance Laird then presents a case study of a shrine holy to Palestinian Christians, who identify its patron as St. George, as well as to Palestinian Muslims, who believe that its patron is al Khadr. Ethel Sara Wolper illustrates how al Khadr's patronage was used also to show Muslim connections to Christian sites in Anatolia, and JoAnn Gross's essay explores oral and written traditions linking shrines in Tajikistan to traditional Muslim locations and figures. A chapter by the late Thomas Sizgorich examines how Christian and Muslim authors used monastic settings to reimagine the relationship between the two religions, and Alexandra Cuffel offers a study of attitudes towards the mixing of religious groups in religious festivals in eleventh- to sixteenth-century Egypt. Finally, Eric Ross shows how the Layenne Sufi order incorporates a singular combination of Christian and Muslim figures and festivals in its history and practices. Muslims and Others in Sacred Space will be an invaluable resource to anyone interested in the complex meanings of sacred sites in Muslim history.

Preface and Acknowledgements; Contributors; Frontispiece; Introduction - Peter Gottschalk; Chapter 1, Baraka Besieged - David Damrel; Chapter 2, Boundaries and Baraka - Lance D. Laird; Chapter 3, Christmas in Camb?r?ne, or how Muhammad Begets Jesus in Senegal - Eric Ross; Chapter 4, Environmental Disasters and Political Dominance in Shared Festivals and Intercessions among Medieval Muslims, Christians and Jews - Alexandra Cuffel; Chapter 5, Khidr and the Politics of Place - Ethel Sara Wolper; Chapter 6, Foundational Legends, Shrines, and Isma'ili Identity in Gorno-Badakhshan, Tajikistan - Jo-Ann Gross; Chapter 7, Monks and their Daughters - Thomas Sizgorich; Index

Professor of Religious Studies, College of Charleston