Coastal Shrines And Transnational Maritime Networks Across India And Southeast Asia

Download Coastal Shrines And Transnational Maritime Networks Across India And Southeast Asia full books in PDF, epub, and Kindle. Read online Coastal Shrines And Transnational Maritime Networks Across India And Southeast Asia ebook anywhere anytime directly on your device. Fast Download speed and no annoying ads. We cannot guarantee that every ebooks is available!

Coastal Shrines and Transnational Maritime Networks across India and Southeast Asia

Author : Himanshu Prabha Ray
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 1000166511
Total Pages : 242 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (1 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Coastal Shrines and Transnational Maritime Networks across India and Southeast Asia by : Himanshu Prabha Ray

Download or read book Coastal Shrines and Transnational Maritime Networks across India and Southeast Asia written by Himanshu Prabha Ray and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2020-07-26 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book breaks new ground by examining trans-oceanic connectivity through the perspective of coastal shrines and maritime cultural landscapes across the Bay of Bengal and the South China Sea. It covers a period of expanding networks and cross-cultural encounters from the 3rd century BCE to the 13th century CE. The book examines the distinctiveness of these shrines, and highlights their interconnections, and their role in social integration in South and Southeast Asia. By drawing on data from shipwreck sites, the author elaborates on the material and religious intersections and transmissions between cultures across the seas. Many of these coastal shrines survived into the colonial period when they came to be admired for their aesthetic value as ‘monuments’. As nation states of the region became independent, these shrines were often inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List on account of their Outstanding Universal Values. The book argues that in the 21st century there is a need to promote the cultural connectivity of the past as transnational heritage on UNESCO’s global platform to preserve and protect our shared heritage. The volume will be essential reading for academics and researchers of archaeology, anthropology, museum and heritage studies, history of South and Southeast Asia, religious studies, cultural studies, and Asian studies.

The Archaeology of Knowledge Traditions of the Indian Ocean World

Author : Himanshu Prabha Ray
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 1000220672
Total Pages : 270 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (2 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Archaeology of Knowledge Traditions of the Indian Ocean World by : Himanshu Prabha Ray

Download or read book The Archaeology of Knowledge Traditions of the Indian Ocean World written by Himanshu Prabha Ray and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2020-11-18 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines knowledge traditions that held together the fluid and overlapping maritime worlds of the Indian Ocean in the premodern period, as evident in the material and archaeological record. It breaks new ground by shifting the focus from studying cross-pollination of ideas from textual sources to identifying this exchange of ideas in archaeological and historical documentation. The themes covered in the book include conceptualization of the seas and maritime landscapes in Sanskrit, Arabic and Chinese narratives; materiality of knowledge production as indicated in the archaeological record of communities where writing on stone first appears; and anchoring the coasts, not only through an understanding of littoral shrines and ritual landscapes, but also by an analysis of religious imagery on coins, more so at the time of the introduction of new religions such as Islam in the Indian Ocean around the eighth century. This volume will be of great interest to researchers and scholars of archaeology, anthropology, museum and heritage studies, Indian Ocean studies, maritime studies, South and Southeast Asian studies, religious studies and cultural studies.

Beyond Borders

Author : Ashish Kumar
Publisher : Springer Nature
ISBN 13 : 3031435931
Total Pages : 260 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (314 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Beyond Borders by : Ashish Kumar

Download or read book Beyond Borders written by Ashish Kumar and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2023-12-01 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines the economic history of ancient South Asia by situating the Malwa region of Central India within Afro-Eurasian trade networks to illuminate the role of traders in the political, religious and economic processes connected with the Indo-Sasanian trade in the period of five centuries, circa CE 300-700. The book challenges the long-held centrality of the Roman factor in the South Asian economy by locating the Indo-Sasanian interactions in long distance economic networks with trade as a central feature. It considers the role and influence of traders as an understudied group affecting the contribution of the Indian economy to the world system. Amidst rapidly changing political landscapes, traders of Indian and Sasanian origins are studied as conscious political beings, who formed ties with varieties of polities and religious communities to secure their commercial interests. In addition, their commercial interactions with their Sogdian (Central Asia) and Aksumite (East Africa) counterparts are analyzed. The book also considers the nature of trade routes and the specific connections between mercantile and religious networks, including patterns of construction of religious shrines and temples along trade routes. Integrating epigraphic, numismatic, literary and archaeological evidence, this book moves away from a marginal treatment of the Indo-Sasanian trade in Indian history, and demonstrates how regional economic history must address a plurality of causes, actors, and processes in its assessment of the regional economy. The book will be of interest to students and academics of Indian economic history, as well as the ancient economies of South Asia more broadly.

Connected Histories of India and Southeast Asia

Author : Dhar, Parul Pandya
Publisher : SAGE Publishing India
ISBN 13 : 9354795579
Total Pages : 398 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (547 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Connected Histories of India and Southeast Asia by : Dhar, Parul Pandya

Download or read book Connected Histories of India and Southeast Asia written by Dhar, Parul Pandya and published by SAGE Publishing India. This book was released on 2022-11-29 with total page 398 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Connected Histories of India and Southeast Asia unravels the fascinating history of cultural interactions, of outstanding and universal significance, between India and Southeast Asia, with special emphasis on artistic expressions. India's connections with Southeast Asian countries, namely, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam are seen not only in trade and commerce but also in cultural and religious exchanges. Such histories are well-documented in their monuments, icons, narratives, inscribed artefacts, texts, and ritual paraphernalia. The first part of the book offers an overview of the nature of cultural and artistic interactions and the trade routes that facilitated an exchange of ideas, objects, people, and knowledge systems since ancient times. The second part addresses issues relating to architectural forms, motifs, and mobility across long distances and time periods. The final segment includes essays that discuss narratives and iconographies arising from cross-cultural artistic exchanges. With contributions by eminent scholars and over 170 colour photographs, maps, and illustrations, this book is an invaluable resource for understanding connected histories, which play a key role in revitalizing cultural connectivity and people-to-people contacts between India and Southeast Asia.

Religion and World Civilizations [3 volumes]

Author : Andrew Holt
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN 13 : 1440874247
Total Pages : 1069 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (48 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Religion and World Civilizations [3 volumes] by : Andrew Holt

Download or read book Religion and World Civilizations [3 volumes] written by Andrew Holt and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2023-06-30 with total page 1069 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An indispensable resource for readers investigating how religion has influenced societies and cultures, this three-volume encyclopedia assesses and synthesizes the many ways in which religious faith has shaped societies from the ancient world to today. Each volume of the set focuses on a different era of world history, ranging through the ancient, medieval, and modern worlds. Every volume is filled with essays that focus on religious themes from different geographical regions. For example, volume one includes essays considering religion in ancient Rome, while volume three features essays focused on religion in modern Africa. This accessible layout makes it easy for readers to learn more about the ways that religion and society have intersected over the centuries, as well as specific religious trends, events, and milestones in a particular era and place in world history. Taken as a a whole, this ambitious and wide-ranging work gathers more than 500 essays from more than 150 scholars who share their expertise and knowledge about religious faiths, tenets, people, places, and events that have influenced the development of civilization over the course of recorded human history.

The Routledge Handbook of Hindu Temples

Author : Himanshu Prabha Ray
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 1000785815
Total Pages : 688 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (7 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Routledge Handbook of Hindu Temples by : Himanshu Prabha Ray

Download or read book The Routledge Handbook of Hindu Temples written by Himanshu Prabha Ray and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2022-10-13 with total page 688 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This handbook is a comprehensive study of the archaeology, social history and the cultural landscape of the Hindu temple. Perhaps the most recognizable of the material forms of Hinduism, temples are lived, dynamic spaces. They are significant sites for the creation of cultural heritage, both in the past and in the present. Drawing on historiographical surveys and in-depth case studies, the volume centres the material form of the Hindu temple as an entry point to study its many adaptations and transformations from the early centuries CE to the 20th century. It highlights the vibrancy and dynamism of the shrine in different locales and studies the active participation of the community for its establishment, maintenance and survival. The illustrated handbook takes a unique approach by focusing on the social base of the temple rather than its aesthetics or chronological linear development. It fills a significant gap in the study of Hinduism and will be an indispensable resource for scholars of archaeology, Hinduism, Indian history, religious studies, museum studies, South Asian history and Southeast Asian history. Chapters 1, 4 and 5 of this book are available for free in PDF format as Open Access from the individual product page at www.routledge.com. They have been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

The Hindu Temple and Its Sacred Landscape

Author : Himanshu Prabha Ray
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1647229081
Total Pages : 256 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (472 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Hindu Temple and Its Sacred Landscape by : Himanshu Prabha Ray

Download or read book The Hindu Temple and Its Sacred Landscape written by Himanshu Prabha Ray and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2023-05-30 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Hindu Temple and Its Sacred Landscape explores Hinduism as it was practised in temples across the Indian subcontinent throughout history, highlighting the temple’s significance as a marker of cultural identity. The Hindu Temple and Its Sacred Landscape illustrates how careful attention to the Hindu temple, its social history, and cultural landscape allows us to better appreciate how Hinduism has been practised and lived throughout history. The Hindu temple was not merely a place of worship or a static indicator of royal generosity but an institution that involved the active participation of the community for its establishment, maintenance, and survival. Rather than studying temples as isolated structures, The Hindu Temple and Its Sacred Landscape thus suggests that we need to examine them in the context of their social base and the sacred microcosms of which they form a part. Through a combination of textual study, archaeological evidence, and insights from contemporary anthropology, the book explores the diverse ways in which devotees, patrons, and visitors have engaged with temples, shrines, and their wider surroundings. Drawing attention to the vibrancy of the Hindu temple in different locales, The Hindu Temple and Its Sacred Landscape traces the ways in which Hindu notions of sanctity and sacredness were defined and redefined throughout history through the diversity of temple audiences, deities, and rituals. The book thus allows us to form a more accurate picture of Hindu religious life in the past and the central role the temple has played in consolidating Hindu identity. EXPERT ANALYSIS: Author Himanshu Prabha Ray provides authoritative analysis of the Hindu temple, drawing on her expertise as an award-winning Sanskrit scholar, historian, and archeologist. SUPPLEMENTAL STUDY: The Hindu Temple and Its Sacred Landscape provides a breadth of educational knowledge as a supplement to both academic coursework and the independent study of Hinduism. With the integration of discussion questions, suggested further reading, a glossary of key terms, and images throughout, The Hindu Temple and Its Sacred Landscape offers an accessible introduction to studying the history and significance of Hindu temples. EXPLORE THE SERIES: The Hindu Temple and Its Sacred Landscape expands the collection of academic texts developed by the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies. Women in the Hindu World and The Bhagavad Gita: A New Translation and Study Guide are also available in the series.

Tree and Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India

Author : John Guy
Publisher : Metropolitan Museum of Art
ISBN 13 : 1588396932
Total Pages : 348 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (883 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Tree and Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India by : John Guy

Download or read book Tree and Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India written by John Guy and published by Metropolitan Museum of Art. This book was released on 2023-07-17 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A pioneering study of the emergence of Buddhist art in southern India, featuring vibrant photography of rare works, many published here for the first time Named for two primary motifs in Buddhist art, the sacred bodhi tree and the protective snake, Tree & Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India is the first publication to foreground devotional works produced in the Deccan from 200 BCE to 400 CE. Unlike traditional narratives, which focus on northern India (where the Buddha was born, taught, and died), this groundbreaking book presents Buddhist art from monastic sites in the south. Long neglected, this is among the earliest surviving bodies of Buddhist art, and among the most sublimely beautiful. An international team of researchers contributes new scholarship on the sculptural and devotional art associated with Buddhism, and masterpieces from recently excavated Buddhist sites are published here for the first time—including Kanaganahalli and Phanigiri, the most important new discoveries in a generation. With its exploration of Buddhism’s emergence in southern India, as well as of India’s deep commercial and cultural engagement with the Hellenized and Roman worlds, this definitive study expands our understanding of the origins of Buddhist art itself.

Heritage Conservation and China's Belt and Road Initiative

Author : Victor C.M. Chan
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 1003802036
Total Pages : 177 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (38 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Heritage Conservation and China's Belt and Road Initiative by : Victor C.M. Chan

Download or read book Heritage Conservation and China's Belt and Road Initiative written by Victor C.M. Chan and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2023-11-23 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores how China’s Belt and Road Initiative through promoting a non-Western-centred geopolitical narrative is affecting the conservation and management of Belt and Road heritage sites. Considering the dynamics between academics, heritage professionals, and government officials, the inscription process and management of Silk Roads heritage sites, and the practice of China’s Belt and Road heritage diplomacy, the book examines how changing heritage conservation practices are influenced by politics and professionalism and negotiated in different ways across different nation states in the Belt and Road zones. Highlighting the different aims and outlooks of Chinese diplomacy, UNESCO and other international heritage conservation organisations, nation states as guardians of national interests, and local communities as custodians of everyday lived heritage, it shows how the Belt and Road Initiative has energised multilateral efforts in heritage diplomacy and management. It also discusses how the ‘professional’ status of heritage professionals, including practitioners engaged by governments and international organisations and also scholars and researchers who provide consultancy advice, is often not politics-free, with heritage professionals often co-opted into speaking for stakeholders, especially national governments.

Handbook of Ancient Afro-Eurasian Economies

Author : Sitta von Reden
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN 13 : 3110604930
Total Pages : 1131 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (16 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Handbook of Ancient Afro-Eurasian Economies by : Sitta von Reden

Download or read book Handbook of Ancient Afro-Eurasian Economies written by Sitta von Reden and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2021-12-20 with total page 1131 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The second volume of the Handbook describes different extractive economies in the world regions that have been outlined in the first volume. A wide range of economic actors – from kings and armies to cities and producers – are discussed within different imperial settings as well as the tools, which enabled and constrained economic outcomes. A central focus are nodes of consumption that are visible in the archaeological and textual records of royal capitals, cities, religious centers, and armies that were stationed, in some cases permanently, in imperial frontier zones. Complementary to the multipolar concentrations of consumption are the fiscal-tributary structures of the empires vis-à-vis other institutions that had the capacity to extract, mobilize, and concentrate resources and wealth. Larger volumes of state-issued coinage in various metals show the new role of coinage in taxation, local economic activities, and social practices, even where textual evidence is absent. Given the overwhelming importance of agriculture, the volume also analyses forms of agrarian development, especially around cities and in imperial frontier zones. Special consideration is given to road- and water-management systems for which there is now sufficient archaeological and documentary evidence to enable cross-disciplinary comparative research.

Religion, Landscape and Material Culture in Pre-modern South Asia

Author : Tilottama Mukherjee
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 1000847292
Total Pages : 259 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (8 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Religion, Landscape and Material Culture in Pre-modern South Asia by : Tilottama Mukherjee

Download or read book Religion, Landscape and Material Culture in Pre-modern South Asia written by Tilottama Mukherjee and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2023-02-10 with total page 259 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book highlights emerging trends and new themes in South Asian history. It covers issues broadly related to religion, materiality and nature from differing perspectives and methods to offer a kaleidoscopic view of Indian history until the late eighteenth century. The essays in the volume focus on understanding questions of premodern religion, material culture processes and their spatial and environmental contexts through a study of networks of commodities and cultural and religious landscapes. From the early history of coastal regions such as Gujarat and Bengal to material networks of political culture, from temples and their connection with maritime trade to the importance of landscape in influencing temple-building, from regions considered peripheral to mainstream historiography to the development of religious sects, this collection of articles maps the diverse networks and connections across regions and time. The volume will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of history, archaeology, museum and heritage studies, religion, especially Hinduism, Sufism and Buddhism, and South Asian studies.

The Winds of Change

Author : Himanshu Prabha Ray
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 264 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Winds of Change by : Himanshu Prabha Ray

Download or read book The Winds of Change written by Himanshu Prabha Ray and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1994 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On maritime trade and seafaring in the early historical period with reference to support provided by Buddhist monastic establishments during that period.

The Archaeology of Knowledge Traditions of the Indian Ocean World

Author : Himanshu Prabha Ray
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 1000220737
Total Pages : 300 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (2 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Archaeology of Knowledge Traditions of the Indian Ocean World by : Himanshu Prabha Ray

Download or read book The Archaeology of Knowledge Traditions of the Indian Ocean World written by Himanshu Prabha Ray and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2020-11-18 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines knowledge traditions that held together the fluid and overlapping maritime worlds of the Indian Ocean in the premodern period, as evident in the material and archaeological record. It breaks new ground by shifting the focus from studying cross-pollination of ideas from textual sources to identifying this exchange of ideas in archaeological and historical documentation. The themes covered in the book include conceptualization of the seas and maritime landscapes in Sanskrit, Arabic and Chinese narratives; materiality of knowledge production as indicated in the archaeological record of communities where writing on stone first appears; and anchoring the coasts, not only through an understanding of littoral shrines and ritual landscapes, but also by an analysis of religious imagery on coins, more so at the time of the introduction of new religions such as Islam in the Indian Ocean around the eighth century. This volume will be of great interest to researchers and scholars of archaeology, anthropology, museum and heritage studies, Indian Ocean studies, maritime studies, South and Southeast Asian studies, religious studies and cultural studies.

Resistance at the Edge of Empires

Author : Cameron A. Petrie
Publisher : Oxbow Books
ISBN 13 : 1785703064
Total Pages : 536 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (857 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Resistance at the Edge of Empires by : Cameron A. Petrie

Download or read book Resistance at the Edge of Empires written by Cameron A. Petrie and published by Oxbow Books. This book was released on 2020-12-28 with total page 536 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From 1985 to 2001, the collaborative research initiative known as the Bannu Archaeological Project conducted archaeological explorations and excavations in the Bannu region, in what was then the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan, now Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. This Project involves scholars from the Pakistan Heritage Society, the British Museum, the Institute of Archaeology (UCL), Bryn Mawr College and the University of Cambridge. This is the third in a series of volumes that present the final reports of the exploration and excavations carried out by the Bannu Archaeological Project. This volume presents the first synthesis of the archaeology of the historic periods in the Bannu region, spanning the period when the first large scale empires expanded to the borders of South Asia up until the arrival of Islam in the subcontinent at the end of the first and beginning of the second millennium BC. The Bannu region provides specific insight into early imperialism in South Asia, as throughout this protracted period, it was able to maintain a distinctive regional identity in the face of recurring phases of imperial expansion and integration.

Mausam

Author : Himanshu Prabha Ray
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 116 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (31 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Mausam by : Himanshu Prabha Ray

Download or read book Mausam written by Himanshu Prabha Ray and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mausam' or Arabic 'Mawsim' refers to the season when ships could sail safely in the Indian Ocean and these seasonal monsoon winds underwrote both a shared culture in the past, as also the continued survival of maritime regions into the present. 'Maritime cultural landscape' was used by Olof Hasslof, the Swedish maritime ethnologist in the 1950s to indicate an understanding of the use of the sea by humans and included attendant coastal structures and cultural identifiers. The papers in this book examine the development of coastal settlements and architectural remains from the third millennium BCE Bronze Age to almost the present across a large part of the Indian Ocean extending from Arabia to Vietnam. A second objective of the book is to relate this understanding of the past with that of the present and to highlight the extent to which indicators of historical cultural networks provide building blocks for contemporary societies, as they work towards universal values and trans-border groupings-both of which underwrite UNESCO's 1972 World Heritage Convention. The Convention encourages the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity, thereby focusing on the universal, rather than the local or regional. The book will appeal to readers of maritime history, as well as those involved in heritage studies.

Crossing the Bay of Bengal

Author : Sunil S. Amrith
Publisher : Harvard University Press
ISBN 13 : 0674728475
Total Pages : 353 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (747 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Crossing the Bay of Bengal by : Sunil S. Amrith

Download or read book Crossing the Bay of Bengal written by Sunil S. Amrith and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2013-10-07 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For centuries the Bay of Bengal served as a maritime highway between India and China, and as a battleground for European empires, while being shaped by monsoons and human migration. Integrating environmental history and mining a wealth of sources, Sunil S. Amrith offers insights to the many challenges facing Asia in the decades ahead.

The Madrasa in Asia

Author : Farish A. Noor
Publisher : Amsterdam University Press
ISBN 13 : 9053567100
Total Pages : 305 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (535 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Madrasa in Asia by : Farish A. Noor

Download or read book The Madrasa in Asia written by Farish A. Noor and published by Amsterdam University Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Summary: "Since the rise of the Taliban and Al Qaeda, the traditional Islamic schools known as the madrasa have frequently been portrayed as hotbeds of terrorism. For much longer, the madrasa has been considered by some as a backward and petrified impediment to social progress. However, for an important segment of the poor Muslim populations of Asia, madrasas constitute the only accessible form of education. This volume presents an overview of the madrasas in countries such as China, Indonesia, Malayisia, India and Pakistan."--Publisher description.