Awad Halabi's monograph breaks new ground in uncovering the societal changes contained within Pal... more Awad Halabi's monograph breaks new ground in uncovering the societal changes contained within Palestine's most popular Muslim festival. Focused mainly on the Mandate period, the book charts the festival's reinvention in the early twentieth century as a major vehicle for Palestinian social and political protest. Far from constituting a platform for purely elite concerns, Halabi demonstrates the multiple ways that subaltern actors expressed their concerns and priorities through the festival's rituals.
Review of: Contested Land, Contested Memory: Israel\u27s Jews and Arabs and the Ghosts of Catastr... more Review of: Contested Land, Contested Memory: Israel\u27s Jews and Arabs and the Ghosts of Catastrophe, by Jo Roberts. Toronto, ON: Dundurn Press, 2013. 304 pages. Introduction to p. 264. Appendix to p. 265. Notes to p. 290. Glossary to p. 293. Index to p. 302
Among the many fine contributions of Maimonidean scholarship, this new monograph stands out for i... more Among the many fine contributions of Maimonidean scholarship, this new monograph stands out for its fresh approach and promises to make a lasting impact on the field. In keeping with a growing scholarly trend, Mark Cohen's book situates Maimonides's work within the context of Egyptian and Mediterranean societies. But unlike those studies that examine Maimonides's writings within the framework of Arab thought or Islamic law, Maimonides and the Merchants focuses on the intersection of law and reality in the Mishneh Torah, arguing that Maimonides subtly yet substantively updated the Jewish legal apparatus in order to accommodate economic norms current among medieval Mediterranean traders, Jewish and non-Jewish alike. Cohen draws from a wealth of Genizah documents, Gaonic responsa, and Islamic legal texts to illustrate the nature of the mercantile system that prevailed from at least the tenth century, known in some Gaonic sources as the "custom of the merchants" (hukm al-tujjâr). A key element of this system, generally known in Arabic as qirâd, was defined by its partnership structure, according to which a "passive" partner supplied the primary capital for the joint venture while an "active" partner supplied the labor in the form of travel and trade. The Arab qirâd bore some resemblance to a commercial partnership known in the Talmud as isqa, yet the qirâd differed in that only the silent partner bore any risk for financial loss. This was a distinct advantage in attracting active partners in a commercial network dominated by long-distance trade and, as such, was adopted by most Jewish traders between the tenth and thirteenth centuries, notwithstanding its deviation from Talmudic law. Another perceived advantage to this system was its relatively informal character, allowing partners to make arrangements on the basis of trust and business ties, without requiring contracts to formalize these far-flung and often fluctuating relationships. Both the system of Mediterranean trade and Maimonides's first-hand knowledge of it are well documented and have been known to scholars for decades. Yet Cohen is the first to leverage these historical data in order to examine how they served as a catalyst for legal change. He frames his study with the theoretical question posed by Alan Watson, as to whether legal codes may serve to update the law by closing the gap between conservative legal systems and shifting involvement in conversations about public health, medicine, and scientific motherhood that have been extensively demonstrated in the Arabic press of the era.
This chapter is from the book Jerusalem Interrupted: Modernity and Colonial Transformation 1917-P... more This chapter is from the book Jerusalem Interrupted: Modernity and Colonial Transformation 1917-Present. Most histories of 20th-century Jerusalem published in English focus on the city\u27s Jewish life and neighborhoods; this book offers a crucial balance to that history. On the eve of the British Mandate in 1917, Jerusalem Arab society was rooted, diverse, and connected to other cities, towns, and the rural areas of Palestine. A cosmopolitan city, Jerusalem saw a continuous and dynamic infusion of immigrants and travelers, many of whom stayed and made the city theirs. Over the course of the three decades of the Mandate, Arab society in Jerusalem continued to develop a vibrant, networked, and increasingly sophisticated milieu. No one then could have imagined the radical rupture that would come in 1948, with the end of the Mandate and the establishment of the state of Israel. This groundbreaking collection of essays brings together distinguished scholars and writers and follows the history of Jerusalem from the culturally diverse Mandate period through its transformation into a predominantly Jewish city. Essays detail often unexplored dimensions of the social and political fabric of a city that was rendered increasingly taut and fragile, even as areas of mutual interaction and shared institutions and neighborhoods between Arabs and Jews continued to develop
And I'm just trying to get... Okay. Thank you very much and we're a little behind schedule so... ... more And I'm just trying to get... Okay. Thank you very much and we're a little behind schedule so... Thank you to
Scholars have tended to treat rituals in Islamic societies as static, fixed events, unaffected by... more Scholars have tended to treat rituals in Islamic societies as static, fixed events, unaffected by historical changes, and immune to transformations that disrupt “traditional” relationships between groups in societ
The imposition of British rule in Palestine following World War I did not immediately supplant on... more The imposition of British rule in Palestine following World War I did not immediately supplant one imperial system with another or Ottoman identities with national ones. Examining Palestinian responses to the Turkish war of independence, this article argues that the 1917–22 period should be seen as a “liminal” era suspended between imperial systems. Both Kemalists and Palestinians employed a discourse of loyalty to the Ottoman dynasty, Muslim identity, and resistance to European rule to frame their goals. It was only after the creation of the Turkish Republic and the promulgation of the British Mandate, the author argues, that nationalist identities displaced Ottoman ones for both Turks and Palestinians.
Awad Halabi's monograph breaks new ground in uncovering the societal changes contained within Pal... more Awad Halabi's monograph breaks new ground in uncovering the societal changes contained within Palestine's most popular Muslim festival. Focused mainly on the Mandate period, the book charts the festival's reinvention in the early twentieth century as a major vehicle for Palestinian social and political protest. Far from constituting a platform for purely elite concerns, Halabi demonstrates the multiple ways that subaltern actors expressed their concerns and priorities through the festival's rituals.
Review of: Contested Land, Contested Memory: Israel\u27s Jews and Arabs and the Ghosts of Catastr... more Review of: Contested Land, Contested Memory: Israel\u27s Jews and Arabs and the Ghosts of Catastrophe, by Jo Roberts. Toronto, ON: Dundurn Press, 2013. 304 pages. Introduction to p. 264. Appendix to p. 265. Notes to p. 290. Glossary to p. 293. Index to p. 302
Among the many fine contributions of Maimonidean scholarship, this new monograph stands out for i... more Among the many fine contributions of Maimonidean scholarship, this new monograph stands out for its fresh approach and promises to make a lasting impact on the field. In keeping with a growing scholarly trend, Mark Cohen's book situates Maimonides's work within the context of Egyptian and Mediterranean societies. But unlike those studies that examine Maimonides's writings within the framework of Arab thought or Islamic law, Maimonides and the Merchants focuses on the intersection of law and reality in the Mishneh Torah, arguing that Maimonides subtly yet substantively updated the Jewish legal apparatus in order to accommodate economic norms current among medieval Mediterranean traders, Jewish and non-Jewish alike. Cohen draws from a wealth of Genizah documents, Gaonic responsa, and Islamic legal texts to illustrate the nature of the mercantile system that prevailed from at least the tenth century, known in some Gaonic sources as the "custom of the merchants" (hukm al-tujjâr). A key element of this system, generally known in Arabic as qirâd, was defined by its partnership structure, according to which a "passive" partner supplied the primary capital for the joint venture while an "active" partner supplied the labor in the form of travel and trade. The Arab qirâd bore some resemblance to a commercial partnership known in the Talmud as isqa, yet the qirâd differed in that only the silent partner bore any risk for financial loss. This was a distinct advantage in attracting active partners in a commercial network dominated by long-distance trade and, as such, was adopted by most Jewish traders between the tenth and thirteenth centuries, notwithstanding its deviation from Talmudic law. Another perceived advantage to this system was its relatively informal character, allowing partners to make arrangements on the basis of trust and business ties, without requiring contracts to formalize these far-flung and often fluctuating relationships. Both the system of Mediterranean trade and Maimonides's first-hand knowledge of it are well documented and have been known to scholars for decades. Yet Cohen is the first to leverage these historical data in order to examine how they served as a catalyst for legal change. He frames his study with the theoretical question posed by Alan Watson, as to whether legal codes may serve to update the law by closing the gap between conservative legal systems and shifting involvement in conversations about public health, medicine, and scientific motherhood that have been extensively demonstrated in the Arabic press of the era.
This chapter is from the book Jerusalem Interrupted: Modernity and Colonial Transformation 1917-P... more This chapter is from the book Jerusalem Interrupted: Modernity and Colonial Transformation 1917-Present. Most histories of 20th-century Jerusalem published in English focus on the city\u27s Jewish life and neighborhoods; this book offers a crucial balance to that history. On the eve of the British Mandate in 1917, Jerusalem Arab society was rooted, diverse, and connected to other cities, towns, and the rural areas of Palestine. A cosmopolitan city, Jerusalem saw a continuous and dynamic infusion of immigrants and travelers, many of whom stayed and made the city theirs. Over the course of the three decades of the Mandate, Arab society in Jerusalem continued to develop a vibrant, networked, and increasingly sophisticated milieu. No one then could have imagined the radical rupture that would come in 1948, with the end of the Mandate and the establishment of the state of Israel. This groundbreaking collection of essays brings together distinguished scholars and writers and follows the history of Jerusalem from the culturally diverse Mandate period through its transformation into a predominantly Jewish city. Essays detail often unexplored dimensions of the social and political fabric of a city that was rendered increasingly taut and fragile, even as areas of mutual interaction and shared institutions and neighborhoods between Arabs and Jews continued to develop
And I'm just trying to get... Okay. Thank you very much and we're a little behind schedule so... ... more And I'm just trying to get... Okay. Thank you very much and we're a little behind schedule so... Thank you to
Scholars have tended to treat rituals in Islamic societies as static, fixed events, unaffected by... more Scholars have tended to treat rituals in Islamic societies as static, fixed events, unaffected by historical changes, and immune to transformations that disrupt “traditional” relationships between groups in societ
The imposition of British rule in Palestine following World War I did not immediately supplant on... more The imposition of British rule in Palestine following World War I did not immediately supplant one imperial system with another or Ottoman identities with national ones. Examining Palestinian responses to the Turkish war of independence, this article argues that the 1917–22 period should be seen as a “liminal” era suspended between imperial systems. Both Kemalists and Palestinians employed a discourse of loyalty to the Ottoman dynasty, Muslim identity, and resistance to European rule to frame their goals. It was only after the creation of the Turkish Republic and the promulgation of the British Mandate, the author argues, that nationalist identities displaced Ottoman ones for both Turks and Palestinians.
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