Paula Sanders

France and Islam: Introduction

Recent global events have focused attention on the Islamic world and encouraged the resurgence of the unfortunate stereotypes of Muslims as fanatical and Islam as a religion with a proselytizing zeal structured by the jihad, or holy war.� But many of the historical connections that the juxtaposition of France and Islam conjure up—the Crusades, orientalism, or the postcolonial “banlieues” and immigrant ghettos—are also associated with France initiating or participating in conflict and violence, be it military, political, social, or cultural. France’s relations with Islam have always been difficult, at times hostile, at others more conciliatory, but a historiographical preoccupation with the most confrontational dimensions of the relationship obscures its complexity and diminishes the ambiguous roles of the players involved. The choice of the terms France and Islam to describe what follows is, of course, a conceptual anomaly: France signifying a state or nation, Islam a religion. Even if at an earlier stage of their relationship France, as a major Catholic country, had religious connotations, over time the significance of the term has shifted from Christian state to secular nation, whereas Islam has remained for the West a signifier of religion. Retaining these two terms, in spite of the evolution of their linguis tic and cultural significance, is thus emblematic of the West’s present

Ritual, Politics, and the City in Fatimid Cairo

In 358 AH, the Fatimid general Jawhar conquered Egypt on behalf of the caliph al-Mu`izz and began the construction of the new capital of Cairo, thus beginning a two century long period of Fatimid rule in the region. The Fatimids were Isma`ilis, Shi’ites who believed that their caliph was not only descended from Fatima daughter of Muhammad and her husband `Ali but was also the imam, the spiritual heir to Muhammad and the rightful leader of Islam. Histories of the Fatimid period have traditionally focused upon political or religious history, cataloguing the turbulent events of the age. However, Paula Sanders, in Ritual, Politics and the City in Fatimid Cairo, takes a new approach to the Fatimids. Analyzing mostly Mamluk sources, she asserts that ritual within Fatimid society served as a means of legitimizing caliphal rule, negotiating power and denoting status. Moreover, as the political and religious situation changed, so too did the rituals. Of course, ritual was not unique to the Fatimids but the significance of ritual to this dynasty, especially within the “ritual city” of Cairo, causes Sanders to investigate what was unique about Fatimid ritual and what it can tell us about the society in which it emerged. After a brief but useful introduction to the tumultuous history of the Fatimid caliphs and wazirs, Sanders first examines the use of protocol and symbolism within the Fatimid court, especially in comparison to that of the Abbasid court. While outwardly similar, the Fatimid protocols of homage and salute took on a religious as well as a socio-political meaning that resulted from the role of the Isma`ili caliph as both political leader and imam. Indeed, the caliph was central both spatially and symbolically to the Fatimid court and everything from his clothes to his insignia of authority took on enhanced meaning. Spatial proximity to the caliph both established caliphal authority and also denoted status, while symbols