Download

Download Full Text (942 KB)

Description

Genealogy is one of the most important and authoritative organising principles of Muslim societies.

From the Prophet’s day to the present, ideas about kinship and descent have shaped tribal, ethnic, sectarian and other identities. An understanding of genealogy is therefore vital to our understanding of Muslim societies, particularly with regard to the generation, preservation and manipulation of genealogical knowledge.

This book addresses the subject through a range of case studies that link genealogical knowledge to the particular circumstances in which it was created, circulated and promoted. They stress the malleability of kinship and memory, and the interests this malleability served.

Table of Contents

Key Features

  • Draws on primary sources from across the Middle East, the Maghreb, and Sub-Saharan Africa, ranging from works of the classical Arabic heritage to oral testimonies gained from fieldwork
  • Questions how genealogical knowledge has been generated, how it has empowered political and religious elites and how it has shaped understandings about the past – including those of modern scholars
  • Examines the authenticity, legitimacy and institutionalisation of genealogical knowledge
  • Looks at the bases for sectarian, tribal, ethnic and other identities
  • Explores hierarchy and grounds for prestige and infamy

Publication Information

Aga Khan University-ISMC; Edinburgh University Press, 2014

Series

Exploring Muslim Contexts

Volume

5

ISBN

9780748644971

Keywords

Geneaology

Volume 5: Genealogy and Knowledge in Muslim Societies : Understanding the Past

Share

COinS