Contents

pp v-vi

List of Figures

pp vii-viii

Acknowledgements

pp ix-x

Map of the Middle East

pp xi-xii

Introduction

pp 1-8

1 - Etic Concepts and Emic Terms

pp 9-16

2 - The State of the Art

pp 17-24

Part One - A Sacred Place: The Shrine of al-Husayn’s Head

pp 25-26

Introduction

pp 27-28

3 - From Karbala to Damascus: A Relic with Multiple Shrines

pp 29-41

4 - The Commemoration of al-Husayn in Fatimid Ascalon

pp 42-54

5 - Excursus: Donations to Mosques and Shrines

pp 55-60

6 - Why Ascalon? Christian Martyrs and Muslim Murābiṭūn (Defenders)

pp 61-69

7 - Excursus: Medieval Pilgrimage – Victor Turner’s Input

pp 70-72

8 - From Ascalon to Cairo: The Duplication of Sacred Space

pp 73-84

9 - Excursus: Arabic Treatises in Praise of Ascalon

pp 85-86

10 - The Shrine in Cairo under the Sunni Ayyubids and Mamluks

pp 87-96

11 - Excursus: al-Husayn and Saladin in Palestinian Lore

pp 97-100

12 - The Shrine in Ascalon under the Ayyubids and Mamluks

pp 101-111

13 - Excursus: Ibn Taymiyya on the Veneration of the Head of al-Husayn

pp 112-118

14 - Summary

pp 119-124

Part Two - A Sacred Time: The Month of Rajab

pp 125-126

Introduction

pp 127-133

15 - Rajab in Pre-Islamic Arabia and in Early Islam

pp 134-150

16 - Excursus: The Founding of an Islamic Lunar Calendar

pp 151-153

17 - Rajab under Fatimid Rule

pp 154-178

18 - Excursus: Istighfār (Seeking Divine Forgiveness)

pp 179-181

19 - Rajab under the Ayyubids and Mamluks

pp 182-217

20 - Excursus: Arabic Treatises in Praise of the Sacred Months

pp 218-220