8vo. vii, 199 pp; hard boards in d/w, previous owner’s name inscribed verso front cover, notes, appendix, biblio, index, copy in very good condition, Oxford University Press, New York, 1990.

Synopsis

This book examines Syria’s religious, intellectual, and political history during the period of transformation before World War I. Focusing on an attempt to reform Islamic belief and practice at the turn of the century, Commins shows how the reformers used debates over the religious law of Islam to advance their visions of a progressive Islamic state. Based on a wide variety of previously unpublished sources, the book will shed new light on a period that is of considerable importance for the modern history of the Middle East.