Muslim Shrines Research Articles

Mapping the Tekkes and Türbes in Western Thrace: A New Contribution to the Old Literature

Sufis, particularly the Alevi and Bektashi communities, tend to be overlooked within in Western Thrace, where Muslim identity is dominated by Orthodox Islam (i.e., Sunnism) for both cultural and political reasons. Consequently, the sacred places of groups that are perceived to be heterodox are, similar to these groups themselves, rendered invisible and many times deliberately left to obscurity. The present study combines bibliography and fieldwork to locate and derive information about Sufi tekkes [lodges], türbes [Muslim shrines], and cemevis [gathering places] in Western Thrace to broaden the future scope of research on the material culture and beliefs of those marginalized communities.

Social and Economic Aspects of the Kuhmarim–Sehwalim Mazar in Khotan

Abstract Historical sources and recent data testify to the important role of the mazar pilgrimage in Uyghur daily life. The article deals with pilgrimage to Kuhmarim (alt. Köhmarim), a mazar ‘Muslim shrine’ close to Khotan, largely based on fieldwork by the authors who visited the shrine on separate occasions in 2009, 2015 and 2016. The shrine’s current status is unclear, but here we describe the pilgrimage as it was just before 2017. That was the year that the international community started receiving increasingly disturbing reports of the mass detention of Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other Muslim Turkic-speaking ethnic minorities in China. Given developments in the Uyghur homeland during the past few years, whereby hundreds or even thousands of mosques have been flattened to the ground together with the systematic destruction of numerous family tombs and holy shrines, this might be seen as a historical account of pilgrimage patterns, which still are not fully explored.

Shrines Unyielding: Inter-Asian Networks and the Enduring Power of Sacred Spaces

Abstract This essay examines modern states’ strategic destruction and patronage of Muslim shrines to consolidate majoritarian power. Drawing on Rian Thum’s notion of shrines as “durable sacred geography,” it conceptualizes shrines as active historical agents embedded in expansive transnational networks. Their extensive sacred geography enables shrines to persist as generative fulcrums that sustain meaning by bridging heterogeneous times and spaces despite tumultuous change. Challenging prevalent views of shrines as passive symbols, the essay delineates how the flexible reassembly of tradition across far-reaching networks empowers shrines to endure as pivotal arenas of ritual contestation from the medieval era into modernity. Their astounding continuity relies on mobilizing expansive geographies to creatively reconfigure tradition across eras.

Предки Ураз Мухаммед-хана в истории Казахского ханства

Research objectives: To consider information from historical sources about the ancestors of Uraz-Muhammad khan and elucidate of their role in the history of the Kazakh Khanate of the 15th–16th centuries. Research materials: The work “Jami al-tawarikh” by Kadyr Ali-bek, medieval written historical sources, and historical research literature on the history of the Kazakh Khanate of the 15th–16th centuries. Results and scientific novelty: This paper presents information from historical sources about the ancestors of Uraz-Muhammad Khan and shows the role of each of them in the history of the Kazakh Khanate of the 15th–16th centuries. The name of his great-great-grandfather, Zhanibek Khan, was associated with education itself in the middle of the 15th century national state, the Kazakh Khanate. The great-grandfather of Uraz-Muhammad khan Zhadik-khan died in the struggle for the unification of the lands of the Kazakhs. His grandfather Shigai Khan, for a short time in the early 1580s, was the supreme ruler of the Kazakh Khanate. It is very important to note that Shigai Khan laid the foundation of the dynasty that ruled the Kazakhs for more than 200 years until the abolition of the khan’s power by the Russian Empire in the 19th century. The father of Uraz-Muhammad Khan Ondan-Sultan died defending the lands of the Kazakhs from the Kalmaks and had the honor of being buried in the Muslim shrine of the nomadic Turks –the mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi. In conclusion, it is clear that the ancestors of Uraz-Muhammad played an important role in the history of the Kazakh Khanate.

Qur'anic Reminiscences in the Cultural Space of I.A. Bunin's Creativity

In the centuries-old history of the development of mankind, the culture of space and time of the East was understood and comprehended in different ways. Contemplating and feeling the East, adopting the ideas and provisions of the Holy Scriptures of the Koran, as the great and immutable truths of mankind, Bunin creates his own interpretation of what he saw, where the value orientations of the East become the main object of his attention. This article highlights the important components of the metaphysics of Bunin's literary text, analyzes the specifics of the embodiment of Qur'anic motifs in the writer's work, emphasizes the importance of I. Bunin's use of the codes and ciphers of the Holy Book of Muslims, clarifies the features of the embodiment of the semantic contents of the Qur'an in the writer's poetic heritage. The article deals with verses that are directly consonant with the theme of Qur'anic surahs and verses, reveals the exact adherence of verses to the Qur'anic meaning and reveals their additional meanings, analyzes poems that are an original continuation of the subject matter of the source. Structurally, all the "eastern" texts of Bunin are presented in the figurative and linguistic elements of his poetics, the construction of the stanza, a special syntax, repetitions, pauses give them a special solemnity and majesty. Poetically penetrating the world of important Muslim shrines, Bunin pushes the boundaries of space and time, creating in his poems a synthesis of East-West culture.

Sacred Place and Sacred Time in the Medieval Islamic Middle East: A Historical Perspective

Sacred Place and Sacred Time in the Medieval Islamic Middle East: A Historical Perspective

About the Wealth of Muslim Shrines in South Asia: The Circulation of the Saints’ Cloths

The fabrics offered to Muslim saints in South Asia in different ritual contexts are an essential resource for the functioning of their shrine (institution built around their tomb), as providers of symbolic and monetary wealth. Initially, these fabrics carry an estimable value, that of the market where the commercial transactions take place. But, as soon as they are offered to the saint, they enter, a priori, in a regime of non-market circulation where their value becomes invaluable, since they allow to exchange a “little thing” (a piece of cloth) for a “great thing” (the miracle of a saint) and that they “imbue” themselves during this transaction of the potency of the saint. However, the life of these fabrics does not stop at this double exchange (merchant then non-merchant). They then circulate between different actors, thus continuing to (re)produce social relationships in the sphere of non-market transactions, or new monetary wealth in that of market transactions. The ethnographic description of the trajectories of the fabrics will open on three analyses: the types of transfers based on the conceptual framework of Alain Testart and Christophe Darmangeat, a reflection on the “biography of things” (Igor Kopytoff) and an analysis of the nature of goods in line with Maurice Godelier’s “surrogate-objects of men and gods”.

Muslim Shrines in Palestine: The Case of Joseph's Shrine Through the eyes of Pre-Twentieth Century Voyagers, Geographers and Pilgrims

This article presents a comprehensive and critical historical, architectural and cultural review of a Muslim Shrine in Palestine, known as Joseph's Shrine, located near the ancient Palestinian city of Shikmu (Shechem, Tell Balata ), northeast of Nablus, Palestine. A key heritage site in Palestine, the current structure is constructed within the tradition of Islamic shrines in Palestine. The shrine consists of a cenotaph tomb, housed in a domed building, with an adjoining courtyard. The shrine has also been subject to architectural changes and restoration projects over the centuries, as evidenced in the writings of pilgrims, travellers and geographers visiting the region from the fourth to nineteenth centuries. The article argues that, while the remains of Joseph are not found at the site, the shrine itself is important within the religious and cultural heritage of Palestine, representing Ottoman-Islamic architectural aspects of this heritage.

Rethinking efficacy: People’s perception of ritual healing and trance religious practices at shrines in Pakistan

Ritual healing is one of the core topics in anthropology and is also important in psychology. The key aim of this study is to investigate and explore the understanding of religious perspectives of ritual healing and trance practices in Muslim shrines in Pakistan. Several studies have been conducted to highlight the shrines in Muslim countries to demonstrate the Sufi tradition in Islam, where the followers seek healing and use the Sufi saints as intermediaries for the fulfillment of their desires. In Pakistan, the shrine of Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar provides a vital cultural, religious, psychological, and social resource where people get involved in religious rituals and trances. A sample of 70 devotees was randomly interviewed with the help of qualitative research methods such as semi-structured and in-depth interviewed, key informants included observation were used for data collection. The major focus of this study is on the religious rituals of healing and the overall assumption that people engage in this practice according to their socio-cultural needs, and followers of the shrine in the living community seek healing rituals to address their social ailments as well as physical and emotional problems. They engage in different types of rituals, including trances, with different objectives. The research goal is to discover the chief motive of devotees who visit the shrine for the rituals and religious practices. These findings of this study propose that shrine ritual healing is powerful not so much because of the specific practice of exorcist rituals, but because the practice is associated with sacred activities and religious rituals performed by thousands of people throughout the years.

A Muslim Shrine in Tunisia

In the North-Tunisian town of Testour one can observe the role of the saint most respected in Testour society: Sidi Ali el Arian. People visit his shrine to make individual offerings and for collective celebrations, especially the annual festival known as a zerda. Sidi Ali’s main role is that of a protector of the people of Testour and their enterprises, and many legends and tales recount his successes in those domains from health to politics. The appeal to Sidi Ali requires a visit to the shrine where the petitioner offers a prayer to God and leaves a modest offering and may burn a candle. An annual festival occurs in the spring and involves the sacrifice of cattle and a communal meal on the resulting meat, and a collective celebration involving drumming, singing, and dancing with occasional trancing.

The formation of Muslim communities in Chinaand the Muslim shrines in Yinchuan (Ningxia-Hui autonomous region, China)

The formation of Muslim communities in Chinaand the Muslim shrines in Yinchuan (Ningxia-Hui autonomous region, China)

THE SHRINE OF SUFI RAJAB AND THE PLACE OF SAFEKEEPING OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD’S KHIRQA IN THE LEZGIN VILLAGE OF HRYUG 
 (ARABIC EPIGRAPHY OF MEDIEVAL MUSLIM SHRINES)

The article presents the results of a study of Arabic inscriptions from a medieval Muslim shrine, located in the mountainous Lezgin village of Hryug, South Dagestan. The rich epigraphy of Hryug has not been studied until recently.The author introduces a new material of contents of the revealed Arabic construction-related inscriptions of the Muslim shrine of Sufi Rajab, located in the outskirts of the village. The discovery of the text, dated 16th century, made it possible to learn about the building of a special construction in Hryug. The building was conducted in 1565‒66 by the members of local religious elite and designed for safekeeping an Islamic relic (khirqa), which is directly mentioned in the said text. The inscription contains the names of all seven men, involved in the building of the shrine. Among them was supposedly an Arab, as indicated by the Arabic name (kunyia) Abu Hurayira. Typical Sufi references in the inscription, such as khirqa, the name of the Sufi Rajab, who directed the construction, the Sufi’s abode (khanaqah) and even details of a Sufi religious ritual, lead to a firm conclusion that this shrine was part of a Sufi complex in Hryug, likely belonging to Khalwatiya tariqa. Sufi Rajab himself was presumably a follower of Khalwatiya, which penetrated from the neighbouring Shirvan. Newly obtained scientific data on Sufism in Dagestan in the 16–17th century allow us to attribute a number of famous sheikhs and religious figures of the late medieval Dagestan to the Sufi order of Khalwatiya.The Hryug shrine was renovated more than once, as evidenced by the preserved construction-related inscriptions of 17th and 19th centuries. After the burial of Sufi Rajab in the shrine, it acquired his name among the people; and for keeping khirqa, in the last quarter of the 17th century a new building was built. Members of the local religious elite, also being skilled workers (usta), took part in its construction. Two of them (a father and a son) are mentioned in other inscriptions of the Samur region.

Custodianship of Shahidganj in colonial Lahore: Land, land use and the formation of religious community, 1850–1936

This article presents the history of the administration and management of the Lahore Shahidganj, a site that was disputed between Muslims and Sikhs, from 1850 to 1936. Drawing on a rare and detailed record of land bequest, management of the Shahidganj site by its ‘unreformed’ Sikh mahants from 1850 to 1928, and representations by Anjuman-i Islamia and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), this article accounts for almost 100 years of history of development, use of and ambitions for this site. This highly textured account of personal and familial interests, urban land use and Sikh and Muslim shrine worship and orthodoxy at the Shahidganj is one of very few long-ranging studies of religious endowments in colonial India. The dispute over Shahidganj has largely been understood through the lenses of symbolic association and communal politics; this study complicates the understanding of formation of community at this place of worship in colonial north India by focusing on the nature and significance of custodial control over the site under colonial law and administrative practice. It demonstrates public participation and use of this religious site to be contingent on the rights and practices of custodians, both real and prospective. This article complicates the view that places of worship in colonial India were inherently accessible and supported the formation of religious publics, instead demonstrating how religious uses of the Shahidganj site were managed and deeply contested.

Reciprocity or Conflict: Interconfessional Situation around Muslim Shrines in the Crimea

The research discusses the problem of interconfessional communication and traditions of sharing sacred places on the Crimean peninsula which have been reflected both in literary sources and memories. Social and demographic changes in the 20th century (forced migrations, Soviet state policy in religion, repatriation) caused the complete extinction of interreligious practices of sharing. In recent years, Muslim shrines have obtained not only religious symbolism, but also a political meaning in the discourse of belonging to the place and historical rights for the territory between divergent social actors.

Sovereign Violence: Temple Destruction in India and Shrine Desecration in Iran and Central Asia

AbstractWas the destruction of Sufi and ‘Alid saint shrines as a rite of conquest in Iran and Central Asia a phenomenon comparable to the desecration of temples in war in India? With this question in mind, this essay examines the changing nature of Islamic kingship in premodern Iran and Central Asia and compares it to developments in Indic kingship. It begins with the thesis that the decline of the caliphate and the rise of Muslim saints and shrines in thirteenth-century Iran and Central Asia led to a new form of “shrine-centered” sovereignty practiced by the rulers of these regions. This development, in turn, gave rise to a notable pattern in which Muslim kings threatened or attacked the shrines of their enemies’ patron saints in times of war. A focus on this ritual violence, which remains neglected in the studies of Islamic iconoclasm and jihad, reveals how the protocols of violence and accommodation that governed these Muslim milieus became analogous to those enacted by Indic kings who also sacked temples of rival sovereigns in times of war. With the spread of Muslim shrines and the related belief that the “real” sovereign was not the caliph but the enshrined saint, Islam and Hinduism developed comparable grammars of “gifting” and “looting.” This argument allows for a new, transcultural perspective to examine the premodern history of India, Iran, and Central Asia, connected by the rise of Muslim saints and their shrines.

Contesting the Sacred at Muslim Shrines in India: Conflict and Retrieval in the “Spiritual” Arena

Studies conducted at Muslim shrines in India have often examined the level of social harmony between Muslims and Hindus. Such studies have been invaluable to the study of pilgrimage shrines in India. While there have been various explorations of the Nizamuddin shrine in Delhi, India, there has been no analysis of the village called the Nizamuddin basti which surrounds the Nizamuddin shrine complex. This paper will examine the Nizamuddin basti in relation to the construction of a Hindu cremation ground called the Samshan Ghat and the Shiv Mandir and their impact on local Muslims. My analysis explores how the construction of the Samshan Ghat and the Shiv Mandir were considered by local Muslims as threatening the spiritual integrity of the Nizamuddin basti. Furthermore, I examine how a local Muslim healer was able to diminish the apparent spiritual threat there.

“This is our little hajj”: Muslim holy sites and reappropriation of the sacred landscape in contemporary Bosnia

ABSTRACTBosnian Muslims’ understandings of Islam and relationships with the sacred landscape have undergone significant transformations since the dissolution of socialist Yugoslavia. I explore these transformations as I analyze discourses and debates on what constitutes “correct” Islamic tradition in Bosnia today, when Muslim practice has been exposed to a global Islamic orthodoxy and entangled in new supraregional hierarchies of power, values, and moral imagination. I specifically focus on how intracommunal Muslim politics intertwines with contemporary Bosnian Muslim shrine pilgrimages.

Northern Mali’s ‘city of saints’ suffers rebel fury

History dating as far back as the 5th century is literally being chipped away with pick axes and shovels at the hands of an extremist rebel faction in northern Mali. Holy Muslim shrines in the ancient city of Timbuktu have become targets of the Ansar Dine. For the Islamist faction, the Sufishrines are a form of idolatry.

INFORMAL & FORMAL DEVELOPMENTS ON THE PREMISES OF SUFI SHRINES IN PUNJAB

Built environment of Muslim shrines in the province of Punjab, Pakistan is incessantly changing. This phenomenon is gone faster from the year 1980 onward with the re-construction of Data Darbar Complex1 in Lahore. It has set new trends for extension of Sufi shrines and their attached buildings, under administrative control of the Auqaf & Religious Affairs Department, Government of Punjab2 . This paper focuses the process of development works taken up on the premises of Muslim shrines in Punjab. For convenience, the developments in the built environment of Sufi shrines have been categorized into two main heads i.e. Informal & Formal. Informal developments are contributions of the both; devotees and the gaddi nashins, whereas Formal developments are carried out by the administrative department i.e. Auqaf, after going through the process of proper designing and construction. The impetus and motives behind such interventions and additions vary in nature depending upon the Sufi, location and scale of shrine, number of visitation, income received, political standing etc. Studying these Informal and Formal developments, a modus operandi was devised based on the data available with the Punjab Auqaf Department and the mutawallies. After identifying such shrines in Punjab, studies were carried out to reach the conclusions. Transformation of such sacred spaces was sensitively evaluated to trace out the changed ambience of newly constructed shrines. Finally, the impact of these informal and formal developments on the socio-religious and built environment of shrines has been delved. Keywords: Shrine, environment, interventions, heritage, restoration, sacred space, mosque, waqf properties.

The legacy of Islam in Somnath

AbstractSince the sack of Somnath by Maḥmūd of Ghazna in 1025–26, Somnath has been a byword for religious orthodoxy, intolerance and conflict between Muslims and Hindus. Yet looking further than Maḥmūd's greed for the temple's gold and later the Delhi sultans' appetite for territory, Somnath and most other towns of Saurashtra had long-established settlements of Muslims engaged in international maritime trade. The settlers, while adhering to their own values, respected their hosts and their traditions and enjoyed the support of the local rajas. It is only in recent years that Hindu nationalist parties have revived the story of Maḥmūd to evoke resentment against the era of Muslim domination, with the aim of inducing communal tensions and gaining political power. The inscriptions and many mosques and Muslim shrines in this Hindu holy city and its vicinity bear witness to the long history of harmonious co-existence between Hindus and Muslims. This paper explores the Muslim culture of Somnath by studying its major mosques. Through an analytic exploration of the typology of the mosques of Saurashtra, the paper demonstrates that while the old centres of power in Gujarat lay outside Saurashtra it is in Somnath and its neighbouring towns that numerous mosques dating from prior to the sultanate of Gujarat still stand. These monuments help illuminate our understanding of early Muslim architecture in Gujarat and its aesthetic evolution from the time of the peaceful maritime settlements to the establishment of the Gujarat Sultanate.