Cosmopolitanisms in Muslim Contexts: Perspectives from the Past

This book looks at moments in world history when cosmopolitanism pervaded Muslim societies. Cosmopolitanism is a key concept in social and political thought, standing in opposition to closed human group ideologies such as tribalism, nationalism and fundamentalism. Recent discussions of it have been situated within Western self-perceptions. Now, this volume explores it from Muslim perspectives. These 9 essays focus on how cosmopolitan ideas and actions have been enacted by specific Muslim societies and cultures throughout history. The contributors explore the tensions between regional cultures, isolated enclaves and modern nation-states. The contributors include Felicitas Becker, Thomas Kuehn, Ariel Salzmann, Iftikhar Dadi and Muhammed Khalid Masud. It choses models from 4 areas: the Swahili coast, the Ottoman Empire/Turkey, Iran and Indo-Pakistan, showing the differences and similarities between areas. Each region is covered in 2 chapters, providing a basis for comparison.