Part Four Contextualization 2

Part Four Contextualization 2

The evolution of religious life with considering orthodoxy and teachings from the time period 1000- 1500

In chapters twenty, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five, and twenty-six Berkey explores the evolution of religious life by focusing on what is considered orthodoxy at the time as well as teachings. Chapter twenty details the institutionalization of the Sunni Revival, resulting in Seljuk rulers sponsoring sunni institutions to foster community and deter threats such as Isma’ili Shi’ism. Chapter twenty three emphasizes how religious authority was sustained through the Madras college which standardized Islamic teachings which eventually formed the ‘Ulama’. Chapter twenty-four focuses on the institutionalization and popularization of Sufism which originated from mystical associations called Tariqas that were centered on the teachings of Shaykh and were popularized by al-Ghazali. Chapter twenty-five contrasts the doctrines of Islamic scholars with popular piety during the time period 1000-1500 which focused on the saints, Sufi masters, and local holy sites. Chapter twenty-six tracks the shift between the fragmented medieval Islamic world to the early modern period which was dominated by gunpowder empires such as the Safavids that, unlike medieval empires, integrated the ‘ulama’ into their bureaucracy.

Adrian Fuentes

The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society in the Near East, 600-1800 by Jonathan P. Berkey

Cambridge University

2003

Academic Monograph

English

Contextualization