SACRED ORIENTATION IN LATE AN-TIQUITY AND EARLY ISLAM

This book examines the discursive and ritual processes through which qibla-rhetoric and qibla-practice fostered a sense of group belonging and marked boundaries between Islam and other religious communities (mainly Christians and Jews). Through four interlocking projects-spanning Islam's emergence in Late Antiquity through the Early Middle Ages-this study explicates the subtle ways in which the qibla served as a potent and durable symbol in the construction of Islamic collective identity.