The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society in the Near East, 600-1800
Jonathan Berkey surveys the religious history of the peoples of the Near East from approximately 600 to 1800 c.e. After examining the religious scene in the Near East in late antiquity, he investigates Islam's first century, the "classical" period from the accession of the Abbasids to the rise of the Buyid amirs. He then traces the emergence of new forms of Islam in the middle period, deftly showing how Islam emerged slowly as part of a prolonged process.
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Surveys the religious history of the peoples of the Near East from 600-1800.
PrefaceGlossaryMapsPt. IThe Near East before Islam11Introduction32The religions of late antiquity103Arabia before Islam394The early seventh century50Pt. IIThe Emergence of Islam, 600-750555Approaches and problems576The origins of the Muslim community617Early Islam in the Near East708The Umayyad period769The beginnings of sectarianism8310The non-Muslims of early Islam9111The 'Abbasid revolution102Pt. IIIThe Consolidation of Islam, 750-100011112Issues of Islamic identity11313Religion and politics12414Shi'ism13015The formation of Sunni traditionalism14116Asceticism and mysticism15217The non-Muslim communities159Pt. IVMedieval Islam, 1000-150017718The medieval Islamic Near East17919Characteristics of the medieval Islamic world18420A Sunni "revival"?18921Common patterns in social and political organization20322Modes of justice21623The transmission of religious knowledge22424Sufism23125Popular religion248Epilogue25926From medieval to modern Islam261Suggested reading270Index276
