The Uwaysis--who take their name from Uways; a contemporary of the prophet Mohammad who is reputed to have communicated with him telepathically--are Muslim mystics who look for instruction to the spirit of the dead or physically absent person. Julian Baldick here surveys the legend of Uways and the Uwaysi phenomenon within Sufism; Islam's main mystical tradition.Baldick examines the Uwaysi movement in 16th-century East Turkistan (now Xinjiang in northwest China) and then discusses the book the central text in the development of the sect; History of the Uwaysis; written by Ahmad of Uzgen around 1600. Analyzing the intricate combination of Biblical motifs; shamanistic initiation rites; and Muslim; Christian; and Buddhist legends; Baldick argues that an understanding of the Uwaysi sect reveals many of the paradoxes which lie at the heart of Islam. The first definitive study of this important sect; IMAGINARY MUSLIMS will be of central interest to all those concerned with Islamic studies; the Middle East; and the history of religion
#3543815 in Books Wayne State Univ Pr 1973-05-26 1973-05-26Ingredients: Example IngredientsOriginal language:EnglishPDF # 1 #File Name: 0814314740320 pages
Review
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. An interesting bookBy S. M. H. KlauberI sought out this book upon learning that it had some information on the 1938 Evian Conference. $40+ later; in it came via the mail. Thank God for .com; Alibris; etc. To think of all the time I spent in the library back at Vandy grad school in 1981-1982; when now you can get so much on line. Oh well; now to the book.The book comes off as more of a PhD. dissertation than a traditional book. It goes into many fascinating issues; but seems to pull up just a little short rather than looking in detail into many of the characters involved. I want to know more about these guys (Welles; Morgenthau; Bergson; and especially Cordell Hull)- where they were from; their education professional background; and how they really felt about Jews Jewish issues. Now this does not make the author; Prof. Friedman of Youngstown State (emeritus); a historical wimp. He points fingers where they need to be pointed; and takes on (a bit) the difficulty of assessing Rabbi Stephen Wise. But I feel like the author should have gone back to this book later in what appears to be a distinguished career and taken another look at the issues he lines up. The passage of time; opening of new sources; etc. would add much to this very good book. As a Jew; it amazes me to read about the level of antisemitism that existed in the US even as the Jews in Europe were being eliminated. And the British perfidy in preventing Jews from entering Palestine is very well brought out by the author. Prof. Friedman is never afraid to name names; and also delves into the philosophical issue of why Jews in the US were themselves rather reluctant to press FDR on the Holocaust. One thing Friedman gets wrong is his implied praise of the NY Times. We now know that the overly assimilated Sulzberger family were too afraid of being called bad citizens to adequately cover the killing off of Europe's Jews.All that said; what we need is a book on the Evian Conference. What happened to the Jews when they relied on the "world" to solve/help the Jewish refugee problem; is a lesson we need to remember every day we consider the existence of Israel.
