The Music of Stones
The Music of Stones
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An essay that deftly deconstructs the history of 'Islamic architecture'.
In The Music of Stones, Sohail Hashmi delves into the intricate history and misconceptions surrounding ‘Islamic architecture and culture’. Challenging colonial and orientalist narratives, he reveals that iconic elements like domes and minarets were not originally part of early Islamic structures but later additions influenced by various cultures, primarily Persian and Turkish. Through engaging anecdotes and thought-provoking theories, Hashmi deconstructs the monolithic view of Islamic culture, emphasizing its rich and diverse heritage shaped by Sufi, Central Asian and other regional influences.
Hashmi also addresses contemporary issues such as the homogenization of Islamic identity and the imperialist roots of certain religious categorizations. He highlights the importance of historical context and the dangers of oversimplifying complex cultural identities. The Music of Stones invites readers to reconsider the architectural and cultural legacy of Islam, advocating for a more inclusive and evidence-based understanding that transcends reductive labels and celebrates the richness of its diverse traditions.
- ISBN: 9781803094809
- Pages: 100, 50 halftones
- Size (inches): 4.25 x 7
- Format: Hardback
- Publication Year: 2025
- Series: History for Peace Tracts
- Category: Art and History
If you are ordering from India, your order will be shipped from Seagull Books, Calcutta. Shipping is free for orders above ₹999. It takes a maximum of 7 working days your order to be delivered.
If you are ordering from the US or the UK or anywhere else in the world, your order will be shipped from the University of Chicago Press' distribution centre, Chicago.
Please note: For customers paying in currencies other than Indian rupee or US dollar, prices will be calculated according to the currency conversion rate at the time of purchase and may vary from the printed price.
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I purchased this book after reading the article present on : https://www.historyforpeace.pw/post/the-music-of-stones-700-years-of-adoption-assimilation-absorption-and-appropriation
When I opened the book it said that this is an updated version of the same article. I was disappointed, but my disappointment became even more profound when I got to know that this book is an inferior version of that article.
It feels like each paragraph written by Sohail sir in that lecture has been summarised by chatgpt for brevity. The essence of the text is majorly gone and if you have read the article you gain nothing knew.
Another point is if one is paying for material which is freely available online, atleast the images in the book used should be colorful so that the reader can get an idea of the details. Here they have switched them from the colorful images on the article to black and white images lacking color and detail.
Utterly disappointed that it is not mentioned here in the description that this book is a "Updated" more so inferior version of the free online article delivered by Sohail sir in 2018.
good
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Seagull Books (estd 1982) has been crafting books with an eye to both exceptional content and radical design. What began highly risky business of publishing books-books on alternative cinema, philosophy, culture-continues to be a passionately felt need of the hour: manuscripts that need to see the light of day, instinctive and theatre, visual arts, to reach a readership, to stimulate minds, to change outlooks. Read More
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