Islamic Traditions of Refuge in the Crises of Iraq and Syria

Tahir Zaman is a visiting research fellow at the Center for Research on Migration, Refugees & Belonging (CMRB) at the University of East London, UK, and a Senior Teaching Fellow at SOAS, University of London, UK. His research is primarily focused on the social and cultural lives of displaced people in the Middle East.

"This fine study breaks new ground, examining how forced migrants mobilize religious ideas and institutions to help meet challenges of survival and long-term exile. Tahir Zaman tells us something new and important about Islamic traditions in a region affected by huge refugee movements." - Philip Marfleet, University of East London, UK 'This is an impressive work which reminds us to turn our gaze to those left behind when mass forced migration grabs headlines. Tahir Zaman does an admirable job of exploring the networks of self-reliance, the traditions of hospitality, and the notions of refuge and sanctuary among those hosting refugees in Syria and in the Middle East region as a whole.' - Dawn Chatty, University of Oxford, UK

• Introduction: Refuge in Religion and Migration 1. The Noble Sanctuary: Islamic Traditions of Refuge and Sanctuary 2. Sowing the Seeds of Displacement: Religion and Society in Ba'thist Iraq (1980-2003) 3. The Un-Mixing of Neighbourhoods: Iraq on the Eve of Displacement 4. Jockeying for Positions in the Humanitarian Field: Faith-based Humanitarianism in Syria 5. Home Sacred Home Epilogue: Syrian Sanctuary: Finding Continuities between the Iraqi and Syrian Displacement Crises