Ajam Podcast #25: Rebels, Imams, and the Problems of History in Early Islam

Episode 25 October 11, 2020 00:36:52
Ajam Podcast #25: Rebels, Imams, and the Problems of History in Early Islam
Ajam Media Collective Podcast
Ajam Podcast #25: Rebels, Imams, and the Problems of History in Early Islam

Oct 11 2020 | 00:36:52

/

Show Notes

In this episode, Rustin and Ali are joined by Professor Najam Haider, Professor of Religion at Barnard College, to talk about his recent book, The Rebel and the Imām in Early Islam: Explorations in Muslim Historiography. The lack of contemporary sources for the first century of the Islamic period poses many challenges for historians past and present. Engaging with many of the impasses that still animate the study of early Islam, Professor Haider proposes that one way forward is to explore the rules that governed historical writing among early Muslims as well as their intended audiences. Instead of remaining preoccupied with 19th century European standards of historical writing, such as the search for veracity, he argues that the historians of the early Islamic period worked in continuity with the traditions of Late Antiquity. They were not interested in what “really happened,” but rather, they played with known narratives to make competing claims for contemporary audiences. After a personal anecdote about his own interest in the subject, Haider walks us through the example of the seventh Twelver-Shi’i Imam, Musa al Kadhim, explaining how sources over the centuries have told and retold his biography in keeping with their own theological and political concerns.

Other Episodes

Episode 41

April 30, 2024 01:13:27
Episode Cover

Ajam Podcast #41: The Incarcerated Modern in Iran & Global Solidarity

In this episode, Belle interviews Golnar Nikpour, Assistant Professor of History at Dartmouth College, about her recent book, The Incarcerated Modern: Prisons and Public...

Listen

Episode 44

October 05, 2024 00:37:57
Episode Cover

Ajam Podcast #44: Women, Prayer, and Poetry in Modern Iran

In this episode, Belle interviews Niloofar Haeri, Anthropology Professor at Johns Hopkins University, about her recent book, Say What Your Longing Heart Desires: Women,...

Listen

Episode 38

February 26, 2024 00:47:32
Episode Cover

Ajam Podcast #38: Iran's Alternative Art Scene

In this episode, Dr. Belle Cheves interviews Pamela Karimi, Professor of Art Education, Art History & Media Studies at UMass Dartmouth, about her book,...

Listen