{"product_id":"disenchanting-the-caliphate-hayrettin-ycesoy-9780231209403","title":"Disenchanting the Caliphate: The Secular Discipline of Power in Abbasid Political Thought","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe political thought of Muslim societies is all too often defined in religious terms, in which the writings of clerics are seen as representative and ideas about governance are treated as an extension of commentary on sacred texts. \u003ci\u003eDisenchanting the Caliphate\u003c\/i\u003e offers a groundbreaking new account of political discourse in Islamic history by examining Abbasid imperial practice, illuminating the emergence and influence of a vibrant secular tradition. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eClosely reading key eighth-century texts, Hayrettin Y?esoy argues that the ulema's discourse of religious governance and the political thought of lay intellectuals diverged during this foundational period, with enduring consequences. He traces how notions of good governance and reflections on prudent statecraft arose among cosmopolitan literati who envisioned governing as an art. Competent in nonreligious branches of knowledge and trained in administrative professions, these belletrists articulated and defended secular political practices, reimagining the caliphal realm as politically constituted rather than natural. They sought to improve administrative efficiency and bolster state control for an empire made up of diverse cultures. Their ideas about moral cultivation, temporal reasoning, and governmental rationality endured for centuries as a counterpoint to religious rulership. Drawing on this history, Y?esoy critiques the concept of \"Islamic political thought,\" calling for decolonizing debates about \"secular\" and \"religious\" politics. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTheoretically rich and historically grounded, \u003ci\u003eDisenchanting the Caliphate \u003c\/i\u003eis an insightful and provocative reconsideration of key strands of political discourse in the intellectual history of Muslim societies.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Hayrettin Y?esoy\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0231209401\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780231209403\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Columbia University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/08\/2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 392\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.72lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.21h x 6.14w x 1.00d","brand":"Hayrettin Y?esoy","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44245190869247,"sku":"9780231209403","price":140.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_1769e060-0c40-4699-a9ee-1663f65f559f.jpg?v=1693926651","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/disenchanting-the-caliphate-hayrettin-ycesoy-9780231209403","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}