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Library | Item Barcode | Call Number | Material Type | Item Category 1 | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... | 30000010145995 | BP190.5.M3 C66 2007 | Open Access Book | Book | Searching... |
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Summary
Summary
In recent times Islamic martyrdom has become associated with suicide missions conducted by extremists. However, as David Cook demonstrates, this type of martyrdom is very different from the classical definition which condemned suicide and stipulated that anyone who died a believer could be considered a martyr. Ideas about martyrdom have evolved to suit prevailing circumstances, and it is the evolution of these interpretations that Cook charts in this fascinating history. The book covers the earliest sources on martyrdom including those from the Jewish and Christian traditions, discussions about what constituted martyrdom, and differences in attitudes between Sunnis and Shi'ites. A concluding section discusses martyrdom in today's radical environment. There is no other book which considers the topic so systematically, and which draws so widely on the literary sources. This will be essential reading for students of Islamic history, and for those looking for an informed account of this controversial topic.
Reviews 1
Choice Review
Cook (Ria Univ.) critically examines the phenomenon of martyrdom in Islam from the latter's inception down to the present. Because the study grows out of, and is to some extent driven by the phenomenon of suicide in contemporary "radical" Islam, readers might be tempted to question the author's objectivity. The work is nonetheless a valuable contribution to the study of martyrdom and suicide in Islam, based on an analysis of the principal sources in Arabic, especially the Quran, the Hadith literature, and classical legal sources. The work concludes with an examination of suicide in contemporary Islam, including what Cook refers to as "extremist" circles. He concludes that the idea of martyrdom has played a relatively minor role in Islam historically, and that, secondly, up until the modern period suicide has been consistently condemned. Suicide has come to be seen by some as a legitimate form of action only since (roughly) the 1990s. This book contributes significantly to the literature on martyrdom and suicide in Islam, despite the author's pro-Israeli stance, evident in the final chapter. Summing Up: Recommended. All libraries concerned with important trends in modern Islam; upper-level undergraduates through faculty/researchers. M. Swartz Boston University
Table of Contents
| Preface |
| 1 Martyrs in religion |
| 2 Martyrdom in the genesis of Islam |
| 3 Legal definitions, boundaries and rewards of the martyr |
| 4 Sectarian Islam: Sunni, Shi`ite and Sufi martyrdom |
| 5 Martyrs: warriors and missionaries in Medieval Islam |
| 6 Martyrs of love and epic heroes |
| 7 Patterns of prognostication, narrative and expiation |
| 8 Martyrdom in contemporary radical Islam |
| 9 Conclusions |
| Glossary |
| Chronology |
| Appendices |
| Bibliography |
