Bones of Contention

Andrew Petersen is Director of Research Islamic Archaeology and Professor of Islamic Archaeology at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David. He has travelled extensively in the Islamic world working on archaeological expeditions and later directing projects, and has written a large number of articles and published four books based on his research.  He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and Member of the Chartered Institute for Archaeology.

“Bones of Contention is a concise and useful introduction to a topic that stretches from the pre-Islamic period to the present and catalogs a diverse range of religious structures. … Bones of Contention is designed to appeal to a wide audience. It includes sketches of major shrines and photos of extant ones. It is a valuable contribution that will be of interest to students and scholars of Palestine’s Islamic culture and architecture.” (Awad Halabi, Journal of Palestine Studies, 2019)

• PART I.- Introduction; definitions, history and context.- Arabic and Muslim Historiography.- Muslim Shrines in European Descriptions of Palestine.- PART II.- Shrines Sponsored by Sultans.- Major Sufi Shrines.- Shaykh’s Tombs.- Shi’a, Druze and Bahai Shrines.- PART III.- Destruction, neglect and appropriation; The demise of Muslim Shrines.- Heritage and Conservation.- Conclusions.