The Lighthouse and the Observatory: Islam, Science, and Empire in Late Ottoman Egypt (Science in History)
Cambridge University Press, 1/11/2018
EAN 9781107196339, ISBN10: 1107196337
Hardcover, 330 pages, 22.9 x 15.2 x 1.9 cm
Language: English
An observatory and a lighthouse form the nexus of this major new investigation of science, religion, and the state in late Ottoman Egypt. Astronomy, imperial bureaucrats, traditionally educated Muslim scholars, and reformist Islamic publications, such as The Lighthouse, are linked to examine the making of knowledge, the performance of piety, and the operation of political power through scientific practice. Contrary to ideas of Islamic scientific decline, Muslim scholars in the nineteenth century used a dynamic tradition of knowledge to measure time, compute calendars, and predict planetary positions. The rise of a 'new astronomy' is revealed to owe much to projects of political and religious reform: from the strengthening of the multiple empires that exercised power over the Nile Valley; to the 'modernization' of Islamic centers of learning; to the dream of a global Islamic community that would rely on scientific institutions to coordinate the timing of major religious duties.
List of figures and tables
Acknowledgements
Note on chronology and transliteration
List of abbreviations
Introduction
Part I. Geographies of Knowledge
1. The deaf Shaykh
scholarly astronomy in late Ottoman-Egyptian society
2. Astronomers and pashas
viceregal imperialism and the making of state astronomy
Part II. Objects of Translation
3. Positioning the watch hand
ʿUlamaʾ and the making of mechanical timekeeping in Cairo
4. Positioning the planets
translating French planetary tables as Ottoman-Islamic knowledge
Part III. Islam, Science, and Authority
5. The orbits of print
astronomy and the ordering of science and religion in the Arabic press
6. The measure of piety
making prayer times uniform
7. Different standards
the Ramadan debates and the establishment of lunar crescent observation
Conclusion
Appendix. Introduction to Muhammad al-Khudari's Sharh al-Lumʿa fi Hall al-Kawakib al-Sabʿa
Bibliography.