Disenchanting the Caliphate: The Secular Discipline of Power in Abbasid Political Thought

Disenchanting the Caliphate provides a new perspective on Islamic political thought by examining the Abbasid imperial practice. It argues that the ulemas discourse of religious governance and the political thought of lay intellectuals diverged during this period, leading to the emergence of a vibrant secular tradition. The book highlights the ideas of cosmopolitan literati who envisioned governing as an art and sought to improve administrative efficiency and bolster state control for an empire made up of diverse cultures. It challenges the concept of "Islamic political thought" and calls for a decolonization of debates about "secular" and "religious" politics.

Format: Hardback
Length: 392 pages
Publication date: 08 August 2023
Publisher: Columbia University Press

The political thought of Muslim societies is often defined in religious terms, with clerics' writings considered representative and ideas about governance treated as an extension of commentary on sacred texts. However, Disenchanting the Caliphate offers a groundbreaking new perspective on political discourse in Islamic history by examining Abbasid imperial practice. Through close reading of key eighth-century texts, Hayrettin Yücesoy argues that the discourse of religious governance and the political thought of lay intellectuals diverged during this foundational period, leading to enduring consequences.

He traces how notions of good governance and reflections on prudent statecraft arose among cosmopolitan literati who envisioned governing as an art. These belletrists, who were skilled in nonreligious branches of knowledge and trained in administrative professions, articulated and defended secular political practices. They reimagined the caliphal realm as politically constituted rather than natural and 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. In this book, Yücesoy critiques the concept of "Islamic political thought" and calls for decolonizing debates about "secular" and "religious" politics.

Theoretically rich and historically grounded, Disenchanting the Caliphate provides an insightful and provocative reconsideration of key strands of political discourse in the intellectual history of Muslim societies. It sheds light on the complex and multifaceted nature of political thought in Islamic societies and challenges traditional narratives that view religion as the sole determinant of political outcomes.

Weight: 692g
Dimension: 159 x 238 x 28 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780231209403