Constructing and Contesting Holy Places in Medieval Islam and Beyond

This volume brings together thirteen case studies devoted to the establishment, growth, and demise of holy places in Muslim societies, thereby providing a global look on Muslim engagement with the emplacement of the holy. Combining research by historians, art historians, archaeologists, and historians of religion, the volume bridges different approaches to the study of the concept of “holiness” in Muslim societies. It addresses a wide range of geographical regions, from Indonesia and India to Morocco and Senegal, highlighting the strategies implemented in the making and unmaking of holy places in Muslim lands.

Contributors: David N. Edwards, Claus-Peter Haase, Beatrice Hendrich, Sara Kuehn, Zacharie Mochtari de Pierrepont, Sara Mondini, Harry Munt, Luca Patrizi, George Quinn, Eric Ross, Ruggero Vimercati Sanseverino, Ethel Sara Wolper.

Andreas Görke, Ph.D. (2001, University of Hamburg), Habilitation (2010, University of Basel), is Senior Lecturer in Islamic Studies at the University of Edinburgh. He has published widely on the Biography of the Prophet Muhammad, Method and Theory in the Study of Early Islam, Hadith, and Qur’anic exegesis.

Mattia Guidetti, Ph.D. (2006, University of Venice) is associate professor in Islamic art history at the University of Bologna. His publications cover religious architecture in the early Islamic period and the history of the reception of objects from Islamic lands in early modern Europe.