"Flawless . . . [Makdisi] reminds us of the critical declarations of secularism which existed in the history of the Middle East."—Robert Fisk, The Independent Today's headlines paint the Middle East... Read More
Description
"Flawless . . . [Makdisi] reminds us of the critical declarations of secularism which existed in the history of the Middle East."—Robert Fisk, The Independent
Today's headlines paint the Middle East as a collection of war-torn countries and extremist groups consumed by sectarian rage. Ussama Makdisi's Age of Coexistence reveals a hidden and hopeful story that counters this clichéd portrayal. It shows how a region rich with ethnic and religious diversity created a modern culture of coexistence amid Ottoman reformation, European colonialism, and the emergence of nationalism.
Moving from the nineteenth century to the present, this groundbreaking book explores, without denial or equivocation, the politics of pluralism during the Ottoman Empire and in the post-Ottoman Arab world. Rather than judging the Arab world as a place of age-old sectarian animosities, Age of Coexistence describes the forging of a complex system of coexistence, what Makdisi calls the "ecumenical frame." He argues that new forms of antisectarian politics, and some of the most important examples of Muslim-Christian political collaboration, crystallized to make and define the modern Arab world.
Despite massive challenges and setbacks, and despite the persistence of colonialism and authoritarianism, this framework for coexistence has endured for nearly a century. It is a reminder that religious diversity does not automatically lead to sectarianism. Instead, as Makdisi demonstrates, people of different faiths, but not necessarily of different political outlooks, have consistently tried to build modern societies that transcend religious and sectarian differences.
Today's headlines paint the Middle East as a collection of war-torn countries and extremist groups consumed by sectarian rage. Ussama Makdisi's Age of Coexistence reveals a hidden and hopeful story that counters this clichéd portrayal. It shows how a region rich with ethnic and religious diversity created a modern culture of coexistence amid Ottoman reformation, European colonialism, and the emergence of nationalism.
Moving from the nineteenth century to the present, this groundbreaking book explores, without denial or equivocation, the politics of pluralism during the Ottoman Empire and in the post-Ottoman Arab world. Rather than judging the Arab world as a place of age-old sectarian animosities, Age of Coexistence describes the forging of a complex system of coexistence, what Makdisi calls the "ecumenical frame." He argues that new forms of antisectarian politics, and some of the most important examples of Muslim-Christian political collaboration, crystallized to make and define the modern Arab world.
Despite massive challenges and setbacks, and despite the persistence of colonialism and authoritarianism, this framework for coexistence has endured for nearly a century. It is a reminder that religious diversity does not automatically lead to sectarianism. Instead, as Makdisi demonstrates, people of different faiths, but not necessarily of different political outlooks, have consistently tried to build modern societies that transcend religious and sectarian differences.
Details
- Price: $29.95
- Pages: 312
- Publisher: University of California Press
- Imprint: University of California Press
- Publication Date: 21st September 2021
- Trim Size: 6 x 9 in
- Illustration Note: 3 maps
- ISBN: 9780520385764
- Format: Paperback
- BISACs:
HISTORY / Middle East / General
SOCIAL SCIENCE / Ethnic Studies / General
POLITICAL SCIENCE / World / Middle Eastern
RELIGION / Ecumenism & Interfaith
Reviews
"A major achievement. . . . This is historical analysis whose reframing of the past genuinely helps to offer possibilities for imagining future forms of coexistence."- World History Connected
- Arab Studies Quarterly"Offers a fresh look at the making of the modern Arab world. Given the plethora of studies that focus on contemporary wars and sectarian violence, this well-researched study employs Arabic and Western resources that challenge the prevailing perceptions about the region and its people. . . . An outstanding study with insight about the agency of Arab intellectuals, thinkers and people at large who, despite twentieth-century local and global violence, persist in struggling for a better world. This is a must-read for all scholars and students of Middle East and cultural studies."
- International Journal of Middle East Studies"What Makdisi has accomplished here is truly impressive. . . .It is my hope that as it spreads in classrooms and in public discourse, The Age of Coexistence will serve the final blow to Western-based stereotypes of a Middle East rife with senseless violence, authoritarianism, and strict religious rule."
- Journal of Historical Geography"This is clearly an essential book. . . . There are many lessons to learn from this study with regard to how regions and their peoples, their ethno-religious identities, and their politics are approached, investigated, and narrated."
- Bustan: The Middle East Book Review"One of the salient contributions of the Age of Coexistence is how Makdisi writes a history that the existing scholarship has either taken for granted or failed to critically examine. . . . Indispensable reading for graduate students entering the field of Middle Eastern history."
- Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations"Beyond the excellent historical work in which Makdisi engages, his profound rewriting of narratives of sectarianism and coexistence will have a great impact on readers’ understanding of the modern Middle East. . . . Offers hope for an existence that does not distinguish between Muslim and non-Muslim or Jew and non-Jew but aims to humanize those who have been seen as inferior."
- Peter Beinart"A hugely important corrective to widespread stereotypes about relations between Muslims, Christians and Jews before Israel's creation."
- Arab Studies Quarterly"An outstanding study with insight about the agency of Arab intellectuals, thinkers and people at large who, despite twentieth-century local and global violence, persist in struggling for a better world. This is a must- read for all scholars and students of Middle East and cultural studies."
- Survival: Global Politics and Strategy"Seeking to counter contemporary perceptions of the Middle East as a region riven by sectarian strife, Makdisi examines the ‘culture of coexistence’ which he believes prevailed in the Ottoman Empire and in the post-Ottoman Arab world, despite its religious diversity."
- Middle East Journal"This book is a must read for anyone interested in the Middle East’s present and who might be hopeful for the region’s future."
Author Bio
Table of Contents
List of Maps
Acknowledgments
Note on Transliteration
Introduction: The Ecumenical Frame
Part I
1. Religious Difference in an Imperial Age
2. The Crucible of Sectarian Violence
3. Coexistence in an Age of Genocide
Part II
4. Colonial Pluralism
5. Sectarianism and Antisectarianism in the
Post-Ottoman Arab World
6. Breaking the Ecumenical Frame: Arab and Jew
in Palestine
Epilogue
Notes
Works Cited
Index
Acknowledgments
Note on Transliteration
Introduction: The Ecumenical Frame
Part I
1. Religious Difference in an Imperial Age
2. The Crucible of Sectarian Violence
3. Coexistence in an Age of Genocide
Part II
4. Colonial Pluralism
5. Sectarianism and Antisectarianism in the
Post-Ottoman Arab World
6. Breaking the Ecumenical Frame: Arab and Jew
in Palestine
Epilogue
Notes
Works Cited
Index
"Flawless . . . [Makdisi] reminds us of the critical declarations of secularism which existed in the history of the Middle East."—Robert Fisk, The Independent
Today's headlines paint the Middle East as a collection of war-torn countries and extremist groups consumed by sectarian rage. Ussama Makdisi's Age of Coexistence reveals a hidden and hopeful story that counters this clichéd portrayal. It shows how a region rich with ethnic and religious diversity created a modern culture of coexistence amid Ottoman reformation, European colonialism, and the emergence of nationalism.
Moving from the nineteenth century to the present, this groundbreaking book explores, without denial or equivocation, the politics of pluralism during the Ottoman Empire and in the post-Ottoman Arab world. Rather than judging the Arab world as a place of age-old sectarian animosities, Age of Coexistence describes the forging of a complex system of coexistence, what Makdisi calls the "ecumenical frame." He argues that new forms of antisectarian politics, and some of the most important examples of Muslim-Christian political collaboration, crystallized to make and define the modern Arab world.
Despite massive challenges and setbacks, and despite the persistence of colonialism and authoritarianism, this framework for coexistence has endured for nearly a century. It is a reminder that religious diversity does not automatically lead to sectarianism. Instead, as Makdisi demonstrates, people of different faiths, but not necessarily of different political outlooks, have consistently tried to build modern societies that transcend religious and sectarian differences.
Today's headlines paint the Middle East as a collection of war-torn countries and extremist groups consumed by sectarian rage. Ussama Makdisi's Age of Coexistence reveals a hidden and hopeful story that counters this clichéd portrayal. It shows how a region rich with ethnic and religious diversity created a modern culture of coexistence amid Ottoman reformation, European colonialism, and the emergence of nationalism.
Moving from the nineteenth century to the present, this groundbreaking book explores, without denial or equivocation, the politics of pluralism during the Ottoman Empire and in the post-Ottoman Arab world. Rather than judging the Arab world as a place of age-old sectarian animosities, Age of Coexistence describes the forging of a complex system of coexistence, what Makdisi calls the "ecumenical frame." He argues that new forms of antisectarian politics, and some of the most important examples of Muslim-Christian political collaboration, crystallized to make and define the modern Arab world.
Despite massive challenges and setbacks, and despite the persistence of colonialism and authoritarianism, this framework for coexistence has endured for nearly a century. It is a reminder that religious diversity does not automatically lead to sectarianism. Instead, as Makdisi demonstrates, people of different faiths, but not necessarily of different political outlooks, have consistently tried to build modern societies that transcend religious and sectarian differences.
- Price: $29.95
- Pages: 312
- Publisher: University of California Press
- Imprint: University of California Press
- Publication Date: 21st September 2021
- Trim Size: 6 x 9 in
- Illustrations Note: 3 maps
- ISBN: 9780520385764
- Format: Paperback
- BISACs:
HISTORY / Middle East / General
SOCIAL SCIENCE / Ethnic Studies / General
POLITICAL SCIENCE / World / Middle Eastern
RELIGION / Ecumenism & Interfaith
"A major achievement. . . . This is historical analysis whose reframing of the past genuinely helps to offer possibilities for imagining future forms of coexistence."– World History Connected
– Arab Studies Quarterly"Offers a fresh look at the making of the modern Arab world. Given the plethora of studies that focus on contemporary wars and sectarian violence, this well-researched study employs Arabic and Western resources that challenge the prevailing perceptions about the region and its people. . . . An outstanding study with insight about the agency of Arab intellectuals, thinkers and people at large who, despite twentieth-century local and global violence, persist in struggling for a better world. This is a must-read for all scholars and students of Middle East and cultural studies."
– International Journal of Middle East Studies"What Makdisi has accomplished here is truly impressive. . . .It is my hope that as it spreads in classrooms and in public discourse, The Age of Coexistence will serve the final blow to Western-based stereotypes of a Middle East rife with senseless violence, authoritarianism, and strict religious rule."
– Journal of Historical Geography"This is clearly an essential book. . . . There are many lessons to learn from this study with regard to how regions and their peoples, their ethno-religious identities, and their politics are approached, investigated, and narrated."
– Bustan: The Middle East Book Review"One of the salient contributions of the Age of Coexistence is how Makdisi writes a history that the existing scholarship has either taken for granted or failed to critically examine. . . . Indispensable reading for graduate students entering the field of Middle Eastern history."
– Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations"Beyond the excellent historical work in which Makdisi engages, his profound rewriting of narratives of sectarianism and coexistence will have a great impact on readers’ understanding of the modern Middle East. . . . Offers hope for an existence that does not distinguish between Muslim and non-Muslim or Jew and non-Jew but aims to humanize those who have been seen as inferior."
– Peter Beinart"A hugely important corrective to widespread stereotypes about relations between Muslims, Christians and Jews before Israel's creation."
– Arab Studies Quarterly"An outstanding study with insight about the agency of Arab intellectuals, thinkers and people at large who, despite twentieth-century local and global violence, persist in struggling for a better world. This is a must- read for all scholars and students of Middle East and cultural studies."
– Survival: Global Politics and Strategy"Seeking to counter contemporary perceptions of the Middle East as a region riven by sectarian strife, Makdisi examines the ‘culture of coexistence’ which he believes prevailed in the Ottoman Empire and in the post-Ottoman Arab world, despite its religious diversity."
– Middle East Journal"This book is a must read for anyone interested in the Middle East’s present and who might be hopeful for the region’s future."
List of Maps
Acknowledgments
Note on Transliteration
Introduction: The Ecumenical Frame
Part I
1. Religious Difference in an Imperial Age
2. The Crucible of Sectarian Violence
3. Coexistence in an Age of Genocide
Part II
4. Colonial Pluralism
5. Sectarianism and Antisectarianism in the
Post-Ottoman Arab World
6. Breaking the Ecumenical Frame: Arab and Jew
in Palestine
Epilogue
Notes
Works Cited
Index
Acknowledgments
Note on Transliteration
Introduction: The Ecumenical Frame
Part I
1. Religious Difference in an Imperial Age
2. The Crucible of Sectarian Violence
3. Coexistence in an Age of Genocide
Part II
4. Colonial Pluralism
5. Sectarianism and Antisectarianism in the
Post-Ottoman Arab World
6. Breaking the Ecumenical Frame: Arab and Jew
in Palestine
Epilogue
Notes
Works Cited
Index