Public Violence in Islamic Societies: Power, Discipline, and the Construction of the Public Sphere, 7th-19th Centuries CE

This volume explores the use of violence in the construction of Islamic public and private spheres. It contributes to the growing interest in the vital question of Muslim attitudes towards violence.Editors blurb: This volume offers the first hitherto available overview of the role of public violence in the history of Muslim societies. Islam is often perceived as a civilization breeding violence toward the outside. To counter such negative stereotypes, the approach of this volume is to stress the nature of violence as a means of political dominion. The volume demonstrates the diversity of attitudes toward violence within Muslim societies and thus helps to overcome essentialist assumptions about Islamic violence.