The Idea of the Muslim World | Cemil Aydın

Ottoman History Podcast

E313 | In political discourses today, the “Muslim world” is evoked in a variety of contexts, ranging from pan-Islamic visions of political unity to a set of racist generalizations that present roughly a fifth of the world’s population as a monolithic whole. But as our guest in this episode, Cemil Aydın explains in his new book The Idea of the Muslim World, the very notion of a Muslim world is recent and requires historicization. In this episode, we explore the imagining of the Muslim World as a concept, tracing its early origins in the history of colonialism and the late Ottoman Empire and considering its transformation over the past century. We also discuss alternate geopolitical imaginaries and reflect on the implications of the racialization of Muslims. More at http://www.ottomanhistorypodcast.com/2017/05/muslim-world.html Cemil Aydın is teaching Ottoman history and global history at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Cemil Aydin’s recent publications include his book on the Politics of Anti-Westernism in Asia (Columbia University Press, 2007) and “Regionen und Reiche in der Politischen Geschichte des Langen 19 Jahrhunderts, 1750-1924 (Region and Empire in the Political History of the Long 19th Century” in Geschichte Der Welt, 1750-1870: Wege Zur Modernen Welt (A History of the World, 1750-1870)“ (Beck Publishers, July 2016) pp: 35-253. Chris Gratien holds a Ph.D. from Georgetown University's Department of History and is currently an Academy Scholar at the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies. His research focuses on the social and environmental history of the Ottoman Empire and the modern Middle East. He is currently preparing a monograph about the environmental history of the Cilicia region from the 1850s until the 1950s. Abdul Latif is an MTS student at Harvard Divinity School focusing on Islamic Studies. CREDITS Episode No. 313 Release Date: 16 May 2017 Recording Location: Harvard University Audio editing by Chris Gratien Music: Muzaffer Akgun - Ha Bu Diyar; Lili Labassi - Mazal Haye Mazal; Harmandali - Recep Efendi, Cemal Efendi; Katibim (Uskudar'a Gider iken) - Safiye Ayla Additional segments: "A Short History of the Ertuğrul" by Michael Talbot Images and bibliography courtesy of Cemil Aydın available at http://www.ottomanhistorypodcast.com/2017/05/muslim-world.html