Two European Images of Non-European Rule∗
- 1 August 1973
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis in Economy and Society
- Vol. 2 (3) , 263-277
- https://doi.org/10.1080/03085147300000012
Abstract
Functionalist anthropology in its study of African societies and orientalism in its study of Islamic history present two different and contrasting images of political systems. The anthropological picture of African societies is one of rule by consent when ruler and ruled are bound by ties of mutuality and interdependence, while Western students of Islamic history have emphasised the cleavage between governor and governed, the arbitrary despotism of the former and the passive acquiescence of the latter. These differing images can be seen in relation to the emergence of the two disciplines at different points in the history of the European encounter with the societies in question. Islamic societies were encountered at an earlier period as powerful adversaries. The sources for their scholarly study were primarily philological and historical. European anthropology encountered African societies as subjugated dependencies primarily studied by means of field-work. The two images are intrinsically related to European ideological orientations in their differing contexts of contact.This publication has 6 references indexed in Scilit:
- Islam and the Integration of SocietyPublished by Taylor & Francis ,2008
- Islamic Religion (Part 1)Review of Middle East Studies, 1970
- THE CROWD IN IRANIAN POLITICS 1905‐1953Past & Present, 1968
- Modern IslamPublished by University of California Press ,1962
- Western Views of Islam in the Middle AgesPublished by Harvard University Press ,1962
- Medieval IslamPublished by University of Chicago Press ,1946