Archeology of Islam
Timothy Insoll in eight chapters surveys studies of Islamic Archeology to ascertain what potential there is for learning more from existing and future digs and research.
Unlike the "faux Islam" of Orientalists who presume to generalize about an essence from mostly literature, linguistics, and classic studies, he looks at the material evidence of Mosques, domestic Environment, Death and Burial sites, Community Environment and spaces as well as material and spatial lessons about Muslim Life and `Art, Trade, and Ideas' to find variations on common themes, local adaptation, purposeful evolution and development. Space, time, change, local adaptation all have legitimate and important roles that make many generalities, however useful to simplify or sometimes demonize, seem terribly naïve.
There are interesting bits and observations for the student of Islamic history and cultures with observations about such things as how Hui Chinese gravestones in coastal China used both Arabic and Chinese perhaps to be Muslim without denying their Chinese place while in Java Arabic quite sufficed perhaps because Islam felt less threatened by a dominant civilization. The examples can be interesting; the speculations are designed to make one think and open directions for further study.
Examples are from the entire period of Islamic history and may be of interest to many students of Muslim Civilization.
ISBN-13: 978-0631201151
ISBN-10: 0631201157
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