Monsoon Mosques

- Monsoon Mosques presents a finely curated selection of beautiful mosques from South and Southeast Asia - One of the first such books, it traces the spread of Islam through the Indian Ocean littoral and the ways in which local communities responded by building their own local centers of worship - A unique style vernacular ensued, which is explored in detail in this volume for the first time - Featuring many previously unseen pictures For centuries, monsoon winds brought traders from the Middle East to India, and onward to Malaysia and the Indonesian archipelago. Once the new religion of Islam had been established in the land of Arabia, merchants carried their faith to the many ports of call around the Indian Ocean. As Islam peacefully spread through the Indian Ocean littoral, the coastal trading cities responded in extraordinary ways. Modifying the form of the local tropical buildings of timber and stone, communities created a stylistic hybrid for their houses of prayer, the ubiquitous village mosque. An exceptional vernacular ensued, reflecting the unique combination of environment, local materials and building skills, trade and the traders. This volume celebrates a finely curated selection of centuries-old mosques in Kerala, Sumatra, Java and Malaysia. Raised up high by the communities, the mosques are a marvel of timber, soaring spaces and traditional crafts. Since their creation, these local mosques have been kept alive and well as dynamic expressions of place. But the 20th and 21st centuries have brought numerous threats to their continued existence and vitality. Monsoon Mosques explores the fate of these vibrant symbols of the integration of Islam into local culture.

Reveals a distinct trajectory of Islamic history that developed among Muslim merchant communities across the medieval Indian Ocean.

This volume explores the historical trajectory of the spread of Islam in South Asia and how the engagements of the past have played a crucial role in the making of the present outfits of South Asian Islam. Islam in South Asia has maintained a distinct role while imbibing cultural, social, ethnic, folk, and artistic networks of the subcontinent in diverse echelons. In an unequivocal analysis, this volume showcases the visible varieties of Islam from an array of regional cultural, ethnic, and vernacular groups. While many characteristics remain distinct in different provinces or regions of South Asia, similarities are palpable in etiquettes, customary laws, art, and architecture. More than regional differences, various ethnic groups from all poles of the Indian subcontinent have paved the way for the dissimilar landscapes of Islam, in tandem with differences in language, culture, and festivals. The case studies in this book exhibit forms of cultural pluralism in the communities, which have helped in building a cohesive community. Part of the ‘Global Islamic Cultures’ series that looks at integrated and indigenized Islam, this book will be of interest to students and researchers of religion, religious history, theology, study of Islamic law and politics, cultural studies, and South Asian Studies. It will also be useful to general readers who are interested in world religions and cultures.

An unprecedented undertaking by academics reflecting an extraordinary vision of world history, this landmark multivolume encyclopedia focuses on specific themes of human development across cultures era by era, providing the most in-depth, expansive presentation available of the development of humanity from a global perspective. Well-known and widely respected historians worked together to create and guide the project in order to offer the most up-to-date visions available. A monumental undertaking. A stunning academic achievement. ABC-CLIO's World History Encyclopedia is the first comprehensive work to take a large-scale thematic look at the human species worldwide. Comprised of 21 volumes covering 9 eras, an introductory volume, and an index, it charts the extraordinary journey of humankind, revealing crucial connections among civilizations in different regions through the ages. Within each era, the encyclopedia highlights pivotal interactions and exchanges among cultures within eight broad thematic categories: population and environment, society and culture, migration and travel, politics and statecraft, economics and trade, conflict and cooperation, thought and religion, science and technology. Aligned to national history standards and packed with images, primary resources, current citations, and extensive teaching and learning support, the World History Encyclopedia gives students, educators, researchers, and interested general readers a means of navigating the broad sweep of history unlike any ever published.

On the world maps common in America, the Western Hemisphere lies front and center, while the Indian Ocean region all but disappears. This convention reveals the geopolitical focus of the now-departed twentieth century, but in the twenty-first century that focus will fundamentally change. In this pivotal examination of the countries known as “Monsoon Asia”—which include India, Pakistan, China, Indonesia, Burma, Oman, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Tanzania—bestselling author Robert D. Kaplan shows how crucial this dynamic area has become to American power. It is here that the fight for democracy, energy independence, and religious freedom will be lost or won, and it is here that American foreign policy must concentrate if the United States is to remain relevant in an ever-changing world. From the Horn of Africa to the Indonesian archipelago and beyond, Kaplan exposes the effects of population growth, climate change, and extremist politics on this unstable region, demonstrating why Americans can no longer afford to ignore this important area of the world.

Based on ethnographic fieldwork in a fishing village, this book explores the local environmental knowledge of the fisher folk and its role in helping them to adapt to rapidly changing conditions. Particular emphasis is put on conversation as a cultural process, the use of metaphors and figurative speech.

Heritage Conservation in Postcolonial India seeks to position the conservation profession within historical, theoretical, and methodological frames to demonstrate how the field has evolved in the postcolonial decades and follow its various trajectories in research, education, advocacy, and practice. Split into four sections, this book covers important themes of institutional and programmatic developments in the field of conservation; critical and contemporary challenges facing the profession; emerging trends in practice that seek to address contemporary challenges; and sustainable solutions to conservation issues. The cases featured within the book elucidate the evolution of the heritage conservation profession, clarifying the role of key players at the central, state, and local level, and considering intangible, minority, colonial, modern, and vernacular heritages among others. This book also showcases unique strands of conservation practice in the postcolonial decades to demonstrate the range, scope, and multiple avenues of development in the last seven decades. An ideal read for those interested in architecture, planning, historic preservation, urban studies, and South Asian studies.

The word Babri was literally used to define something abnormal, out of sense or mad. Three instances mentioned in Babar-Nama support this. Babar's journal is replete with precise detail with a telling image or idiom as "a bud resembling a sheep's heart", "fell like water on fire" which lingers in the reader's mind long after the event or anecdote has receded. Few of the phrases and words in the Babar Nama are now part of everyday language in India and Pakistan as "Namak Haram" means lack of trustworthiness, "hamesha" means always, "bakhshish" means gift, "maidan" means plain area, "julab" means laxative and the most important, which is of our use here, is "Babri/Baburi /Bavala" means related to unhealthy mental state or mad or abandoned or one who is abnormal. Babar writes about his infatuation, after his marriage in March AD 1500, for a boy as, "In those days I discovered myself a strange inclination - no, a mad infatuation-for a boy in the camp's bazaar, his name was Babri/Baburi being apposite. Until then I had no inclination of love and ... a couplet of Muhammad Salih came to my mind: When I see my friend I am abashed with shame; My companions look at me, I look away sans aim. This couplet suited my state of mind perfectly. In that maelstrom of desire and passion, and under the stress of youthful folly, I used to wander, bareheaded and barefoot, through streets and lanes, orchards and vineyards. I showed civility neither to friends nor to strangers, took no care of myself or others." Babar clearly stated that guy's name was Bavara as he was of raging and flickering nature and Babar himself became Bavara or crazy for him to attain his sexual proximity.... That is why the term "Babri Mosque" is specially used only for the construction that was done according to Mughal architecture at Ramjanmabhoomi because it was made for Hindus not for Muslims. Babri Mosque means Mosques of infidels-insane Hindus.