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In pieces drawn from over the course of his distinguished career, pre-eminent historian Roy Mottahedeh explores such diverse topics as the social bonds that connected people in the early Islamic Middle East, the transmission of learning in the Muslim world, religious and ethnic toleration in the past and in the present, and the theme of ‘wonders’ in The Thousand and One Nights. His essays extend from the early Islamic period through the medieval era and on to modern times. A number concern Iran, the country of his father’s birth, and again Mottahedeh’s studies range widely, including Persian panegyric poetry, the origins of the city of Kashan, and Shi‘ite political thought. Speaking to contemporary concerns, he also touches upon voting rights, academic freedom, and censorship. Intended not only for those in Islamic studies but for students of history and interested lay readers, there are introductions to each section written with the non-specialist in mind, and these sections progress from more general topics to those more specialized. In the Shadow of the Prophet thus reflects Mottahedeh’s desire that the Islamic world and its history become better understood so that cooperation between Muslims and non-Muslims might become the order of the day.

Drawn from the first-hand accounts of eyewitnesses, Roy Mottahedeh's gripping account of Islam and politics in revolutionary Iran is widely regarded as one of the best records of that turbulent time ever written. The true story of a young mullah, his life in the sacred shrine city of Qom, and the dramatic events of the 1979 Revolution, this enthralling account paints a vivid picture of contemporary Iran, while providing a panoramic survey of Muslim, Shi'ite and Persian culture from the Middle Ages to the present day. From the ancient time of Zoroaster to the world of Khomeini, this sweeping saga interweaves biography with history, politics and religion to offer new levels of understanding into Iran past, present and future. Written with feeling, sympathy and clarity, Professor Mottahedeh's compelling and highly readable account offers a unique insight into one of the most significant players on the contemporary world stage.

"This masterful portrait of an Islamic society undergoing a great social upheaval has become one of the most significant contributions to our understanding of pre-modern Islamic history. Loyalty and Leadership in an Early Islamic Society concentrates on the Buyid dynasty that ruled in Iran and Iraq during the 10th and II centuries, a period when the Abbasids were in decline and power had fallen into the hands of military groups who could not legitimise it in the same way as the Caliphs. From this confusion emerged a new Muslim society whose essential interests differed from those of the transient and limited dynasty that had preceded it. Roy Mottahedeh's classic account, here re-issued in a new paperback edition reveals how this Islamic society succeeded in functioning in a stable manner despite the absence of certain political institutions familiar in the West. He focuses on the individuals in society - rather than on the groups that they constituted - and examines their relations with one another and the manner in which these relations created moral communities which co-existed in a fairly well articulated system. In terms of loyalty, obligation and leadership Mottahedeh shows how these communities sustained a resilient and self-renewing social order that served as a model for Islamic societies throughout the Middle East in the succeeding centuries. Roy Mottahedeb is Gurney Professor of History at Harvard University and Chair of the Committee on Islamic Studies at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies He is the author of the much acclaimed Mantle of the Prophet."--Bloomsbury Publishing.

In pieces drawn from over the course of his distinguished career, pre-eminent historian Roy Mottahedeh explores such diverse topics as the social bonds that connected people in the early Islamic Middle East, the transmission of learning in the Muslim world, religious and ethnic toleration in the past and in the present, and the theme of ‘wonders’ in The Thousand and One Nights. His essays extend from the early Islamic period through the medieval era and on to modern times. A number concern Iran, the country of his father’s birth, and again Mottahedeh’s studies range widely, including Persian panegyric poetry, the origins of the city of Kashan, and Shi‘ite political thought. Speaking to contemporary concerns, he also touches upon voting rights, academic freedom, and censorship. Intended not only for those in Islamic studies but for students of history and interested lay readers, there are introductions to each section written with the non-specialist in mind, and these sections progress from more general topics to those more specialized. In the Shadow of the Prophet thus reflects Mottahedeh’s desire that the Islamic world and its history become better understood so that cooperation between Muslims and non-Muslims might become the order of the day.

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A revealing look at Islamic social institutions in Gaza and the West Bank Many in the United States and Israel believe that Hamas is nothing but a terrorist organization, and that its social sector serves merely to recruit new supporters for its violent agenda. Based on Sara Roy's extensive fieldwork in the Gaza Strip and West Bank during the critical period of the Oslo peace process, Hamas and Civil Society in Gaza shows how the social service activities sponsored by the Islamist group emphasized not political violence but rather community development and civic restoration. Roy demonstrates how Islamic social institutions in Gaza and the West Bank advocated a moderate approach to change that valued order and stability, not disorder and instability; were less dogmatically Islamic than is often assumed; and served people who had a range of political outlooks and no history of acting collectively in support of radical Islam. These institutions attempted to create civic communities, not religious congregations. They reflected a deep commitment to stimulate a social, cultural, and moral renewal of the Muslim community, one couched not only—or even primarily—in religious terms. Vividly illustrating Hamas's unrecognized potential for moderation, accommodation, and change, Hamas and Civil Society in Gaza also traces critical developments in Hamas's social and political sectors through the Second Intifada to today, and offers an assessment of the current, more adverse situation in the occupied territories. The Oslo period held great promise that has since been squandered. This book argues for more enlightened policies by the United States and Israel, ones that reflect Hamas's proven record of nonviolent community building.

As religiously grounded moral arguments have become ever more influential factors in the national debate-particularly reinforced by recent presidential elections and the creation of the faith-based initiative office in the White House-journalists' ignorance about theological convictions has often worked to distort the public discourse on important policy issues. Pope John Paul II's pronouncements on stem-cell research, the constitutional controversies regarding faith-based initiatives, the emerging participation of Muslims in American life-issues like these require political journalists in print and broadcast media to cover religious contexts that many admit they are ill-equipped to understand. Put differently, these news events reflect subtle theological nuances and deep faith commitments that shape the activities of religious believers in the public square. Inasmuch as a faith tradition is an active or significant participant in the public arena, journalists will need to better understand the theological sources and religious convictions that motivate this political activity. The current national discourse has brought faith and its relationship to public policy to the forefront of our daily news. Since 1999, the Ethics and Public Policy Center, through the generosity of the Pew Charitable Trusts, has hosted six conferences for national journalists to help raise the level of their reporting by increasing their understanding of religion, religious communities, and the religious convictions that inform the political activity of devout believers. This book contains the presentations and conversations that grew out of those conferences.