God's Rule - Government and Islam: Six Centuries of Medieval Islamic Political Thought

The New Edinburgh Islamic Surveys

by Patricia Crone

Patricia Crone's God's Rule is a fundamental reconstruction and analysis of Islamic political thought focusing on its intellectual development during the six centuries from the rise of Islam to the Mongol invasions. Based on a wide variety of primary sources―including some not previously considered from the point of view of political thought―this is the first book to examine the medieval Muslim answers to questions crucial to any Western understanding of Middle Eastern politics today, such as why states are necessary, what functions they are meant to fulfill, and whether or why they must be based on religious law.

The character of Muslim political thought differs fundamentally from its counterpart in the West. The Christian West started with the conviction that truth (both cognitive and moral) and political power belonged to separate spheres. Ultimately, both power and truth originated with God, but they had distinct historical trajectories and regulated different aspects of life. The Muslims started with the opposite truth and power appeared at the same time in history and regulated the same aspects of life. In medieval Europe, the disagreement over the relationship between religious authority and political power took the form of a protracted controversy regarding the roles of church and state. In the medieval Middle East, religious authority and political power were embedded in a single, divinely sanctioned Islamic community―a congregation and state made one. The disagreement, therefore, took the form of a protracted controversy over the nature and function of the leadership of Islam itself. Crone makes Islamic political thought accessible by relating it to the contexts in which it was formulated, analyzing it in terms familiar to today's reader, and, where possible, comparing it with medieval European and modern political thought. By examining the ideological point of departure for medieval Islamic political thought, Crone provides an invaluable foundation for a better understanding of contemporary Middle Eastern politics and current world events.

Genres: Islam, History, Politics, Religion, Nonfiction, Theology

472 pages, Paperback

First published January 28, 2004

About the author

Patricia Crone was Professor Emerita in the School of Historical Studies, where she served as the Andrew W. Mellon Professor from 1997 until her retirement in 2014. Crone’s insightful work, compellingly conveyed in her adventurous and unconventional style, shed important new light on the critical importance of the Near East—in particular on the cultural, religious and intellectual history of Islam—in historical studies. Her influence is strongly felt at the Institute, where, along with Oleg Grabar (1929–2011), Crone helped to establish the Institute as a recognized center for the pursuit of the study of Islamic culture and history.


https://www.ias.edu/scholars/patricia...

Reviews

[Jessica Harn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although a bit orientalist, still an important source for understanding Islam and governance

[Bryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

tons of background information into the current internal struggles in the muslim community...if you can tolerate an author who likes to hear herself talk

[Sasha Wolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Does what it says on the tin and does it in a very readable style, although I must admit the ins and outs of the different views on the succession to the Prophet did my head in. It's far more complicated than "the Shias supported Ali and the Sunnis supported Abu Bakr", which is the lies-to-children version I picked up at some point in my teens. The book gives a good insight into the sheer variety of Islamic positions on most political issues in the medieval period; it would be interesting to have a follow-up tracing the development of these into modern times and showing which of them survive. It is intended for general readers and students as well as fully-fledged academics, and could do with a glossary to help the former in particular.

[Didier "Dirac Ghost" Gaulin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply put, this is one of the most important work on the history of politics of the middle east ever written, it shines a critical and neo-realistic light on the traditional accounts of post Muhammad governments of the region. Patricia Crone is a model for any historian and sceptic out there, in this irrational world that we live in.

[Kumail Akbar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crone can be very dry to read at times but packs a LOT of information in Gods Caliph and Gods Rule. Hard to read her casually, but if the content interests you as much as it did me, you'd enjoy it

[Hans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very professional telling of a complicated history.
Islam and this book are both stories of many people.
So much information but very informative. Will certainly read again.

[Kåre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Det er for specialiseret til at interessere mig. Jeg købte bogen pga. fine anmeldelser om interessant bog. Og jeg skal jo læse det, jeg køber. Denne her læser jeg dog ikke længere end til s. 98.
Det er givetvis en fin bog. Den går i dybden med forskellige trosformer indenfor islam frem ca. 1800. Angiveligt er den en landevinding. Den kobler religion og statsvidenskab sammen og argumenterer for, at statsvidenskab ikke har/havde meget selvstændig plads i Islam, idet dette område varetages af religionen.
Men meget bygger på spekulation, hvilket forfatteren på ingen måde skjuler. Indrømmer, at jeg tvivler på, at selve hovedtesen er ret relevant i dag. Tror, at islamiske samfund i højere grad forholder sig til omverdenen end til disse dybe aner. I alle fald skal der noget til for at overbevise mig om, at den islamiske verden skulle være meget anderledes hvad dette angår end fx Kina, Japan, som jo forholder sig til omverdenen og til sine dybe aner.

[Zachary Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent overview of political thought in the Medieval Islamic World. Her marked horror of localism aside, Crone is fair enough to allow the various schools of thought to speak for themselves. A must read for anyone interested in Islamic history and quite enlightening as well to anyone interested in the history of political thought.

[Mohamed Awada · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this for a political science class. She brings forth interesting ideas, but in many places I feel she is constructing her own story of historical events to advance her theses. Worth reading for general information.

[Craig Bolton]

God's Rule - Government and Islam: Six Centuries of Medieval Islamic Political Thought by Patricia Crone (2005)