Marsden Copenhagen Journal of Asian Studies Final 24520.pdf (385.4 kB)
The alternative histories of Muslim Asia’s urban centres: de-cosmopolitanisation and beyond
Historians increasingly analyse the cultural diversity of life in the Afro-Eurasian arena of ‘Muslim dominion’ in terms of its cosmopolitanism. By contrast, critical scholarship has recently brought attention to declining levels of religious diversity in present-day Muslim Asia – a term that refers to Asia’s Muslimmajority population zones. This article, by contrast, explores the ongoing legacy of urban cosmopolitanism in Muslim Asia. It focuses on a small but lively community of Jews from the Afghan cities of Kabul and Herat, and does so in comparison to a considerably larger community of Jews from formerly Soviet Central Asian Republics, especially Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, who identify themselves as ‘Bukharan’. Investigating ethnographic material relating to Afghan and Bukharan Jewish communities based in New York, the article sheds light on an alternative and ongoing history of cosmopolitanism in Muslim Asia. More broadly, it also argues that field research amongst migrant and diasporic communities from Muslim Asia living in the West can offer important insights into the afterlives of the region’s historic cities.
Funding
TRODITIES - Trust, Global Traders and Cheap Commodities in a Chinese International City; G1723; EUROPEAN UNION; GA 669132
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Accepted version
Journal
Copenhagen Journal of Asian StudiesISSN
0903-2703Publisher
University of CopenhagenExternal DOI
Issue
1Volume
38Page range
9-32Department affiliated with
- Anthropology Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2020-06-02First Open Access (FOA) Date
2020-09-29First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2020-06-02Usage metrics
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