For Prophet and Tsar: Islam and Empire in Russia and Central Asia - Softcover

Crews, Robert D.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0674032233 ISBN 13: 9780674032231

Verlag: Harvard University Press, 2009

Inhaltsangabe

Islam and Empire in Russia and Central Asia

Über diesen Titel

Críticas:

"For Prophet and Tsar is an original and revelatory book. Clearly written and well researched, it sheds new light on the complex interplay between the imperial state and its Muslim subjects in a way that may illuminate contemporary debates about how to secure the allegiances of Muslim populations in modern Western states." - Orlando Figes, New York Review of Books "Crews provides an important corrective to the usual understanding of Russia's imperial rule over its Muslim peoples... With this rich and subtle book, Crews forces us to rethink our current Manichean division of the world into us and them." - Ronald Grigor Suny, Moscow Times "[An] original and insightful book... Crews's research, much of it conducted in the newly accessible archives of provincial Russian places such as Ufa and Kazan, is of huge relevance to the present day." - The Economist"

Reseña del editor:

Russia occupies a unique position in the Muslim world. Unlike any other non-Islamic state, it has ruled Muslim populations for over five hundred years. Though Russia today is plagued by its unrelenting war in Chechnya, Russia's approach toward Islam once yielded stability. In stark contrast to the popular "clash of civilizations" theory that sees Islam inevitably in conflict with the West, Robert D. Crews reveals the remarkable ways in which Russia constructed an empire with broad Muslim support. In the eighteenth century, Catherine the Great inaugurated a policy of religious toleration that made Islam an essential pillar of Orthodox Russia. For ensuing generations, tsars and their police forces supported official Muslim authorities willing to submit to imperial directions in exchange for defense against brands of Islam they deemed heretical and destabilizing. As a result, Russian officials assumed the powerful but often awkward role of arbitrator in disputes between Muslims. And just as the state became a presence in the local mosque, Muslims became inextricably integrated into the empire and shaped tsarist will in Muslim communities stretching from the Volga River to Central Asia. For Prophet and Tsar draws on police and court records, and Muslim petitions, denunciations, and clerical writings--not accessible prior to 1991--to unearth the fascinating relationship between an empire and its subjects. As America and Western Europe debate how best to secure the allegiances of their Muslim populations, Crews offers a unique and critical historical vantage point.

Über diese Auflage

• Verlag: Harvard University Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0674032233
• ISBN 13: 9780674032231
• Einband: Tapa blanda
• Anzahl der Seiten: 480