Book cover for Afterlives of Urban Cosmopolitanism

Publication date: 1 February 2027

DOI: https://doi.org/10.14324/111.9781806552450

Number of illustrations: 34

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

Afterlives of Urban Cosmopolitanism

Muslim Asia and its non-Muslim diasporas

Magnus Marsden (Author), Vera Skvirskaja (Author), Paul Anderson (Author)

For centuries, the territories that currently form Afghanistan, Syria and Uzbekistan were home to a diverse range of religious groups, including Jews, Christians, Sikhs and Hindus. These groups and others played a critical role in the region’s social, cultural and economic dynamics, particular in the fields of trade, commerce and artisanship. Over the course of the twentieth century, they came to be classified officially by the region’s states as ‘minorities’. The rising importance of nationalism and political Islam, alongside the Bolshevik revolution and global geopolitical events, led some of these communities to occupy an ever more perilous place in the region. By the end of the twentieth century, wars and ethnic conflicts led many thousands to leave Asia and establish diaspora communities in Europe, North America and elsewhere.

Afterlives of Urban Cosmopolitanism charts the history of these communities in Muslim Asia and explores their migratory trajectories. Rather than emphasising the declining significance of non-Muslims to the region, however, this unique book illuminates how even in the context of diaspora many communities have continued to maintain relations with their countries of origin and with Muslims from them living in the diaspora. The book is informed by in-depth fieldwork conducted in Muslim Asia and amongst the region’s diasporas in contexts as diverse as Bukhara, Samarkand, Tashkent, Aleppo, Kabul, and London, New York and Vienna.

List of figures
Acknowledgements

Introduction

1 A world of trade and mobility in transformation: non-Muslim networks in Muslim Asia, 1850-1950

2 Cities of origin: non-Muslim neighbourhoods in Syria, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan

3 New cities: neighbourhoods, skills and sensibilities

4 The heritagisation of urban coexistence in Muslim Asia

5 Muslim-non-Muslim interfaces in Asia and beyond

6 Food panoramas: urban sociality, transgression, and cookbooks

Conclusion

References
Index

DOI: 10.14324/111.9781806552450

Number of illustrations: 34

Publication date: 01 February 2027

PDF ISBN: 9781806552450

EPUB ISBN: 9781806552467

Hardback ISBN: 9781806552436

Paperback ISBN: 9781806552443

Magnus Marsden (Author)

Magnus Marsden is Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Sussex where he is also Director of the Asia Centre and Head of Anthropology. He has conducted research over several decades across Muslim Asia but especially in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and with the region’s diasporas. He is the author of several books, including, Living Islam (Cambridge 2005), Trading Worlds (Oxford, 2016), and Beyond the Silk Roads (Cambridge, 2021). His research has been funded by the European Union, Research England, AHRC, and the Leverhulme Trust.

Vera Skvirskaja (Author)

Vera Skvirskaja is Associate Professor at the Department of Cross-Cultural and Religious Studies, University of Copenhagen. She has conducted anthropological research on a wide range of themes in the post-Soviet realm, particularly in Ukraine, Russia, Uzbekistan and the Caucasus, as well as on their transnational connections. She is the author of numerous articles, co-editor of Post-Cosmopolitan Cities (Berghahn, 2012), and served as Editor-in-Chief of the Copenhagen Journal of Asian Studies (2020–2023). Her research has been funded by the Danish Research Council, the European Union, the AHRC and the Independent Research Fund Denmark.

Paul Anderson (Author)

Paul Anderson is Associate Professor in the Department of Middle Eastern Studies and Acting Director of the Prince Alwaleed Centre of Islamic Studies at the University of Cambridge, where he is also a Fellow of Darwin College. He has conducted anthropological research on commerce, migration, and urban life across the Middle East and Asia, with a particular focus on Syria, China, and the Armenian and Arab diasporas. He is the author of Exchange Ideologies: Commerce, Language, and Patriarchy in Preconflict Aleppo (Cornell, 2023) and numerous articles and edited volumes. His research has been funded by the European Union, the AHRC, and the ESRC.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is "Afterlives of Urban Cosmopolitanism" about?

For centuries, the territories that currently form Afghanistan, Syria and Uzbekistan were home to a diverse range of religious groups, including Jews, Christians, Sikhs and Hindus. These groups and others played a critical role in the region’s social, cultural and economic dynamics, particular in the fields of trade, commerce and artisanship. Over the course of the twentieth century, they came to be classified officially by the region’s states as ‘minorities’. The rising importance of nationalism and political Islam, alongside the Bolshevik revolution and global geopolitical events, led some of these communities to occupy an ever more perilous place in the region. By the end of the twentieth century, wars and ethnic conflicts led many thousands to leave Asia and establish diaspora communities in Europe, North America and elsewhere.

Afterlives of Urban Cosmopolitanism charts the history of these communities in Muslim Asia and explores their migratory trajectories. Rather than emphasising the declining significance of non-Muslims to the region, however, this unique book illuminates how even in the context of diaspora many communities have continued to maintain relations with their countries of origin and with Muslims from them living in the diaspora. The book is informed by in-depth fieldwork conducted in Muslim Asia and amongst the region’s diasporas in contexts as diverse as Bukhara, Samarkand, Tashkent, Aleppo, Kabul, and London, New York and Vienna.

Who wrote "Afterlives of Urban Cosmopolitanism"?

"Afterlives of Urban Cosmopolitanism" was written by Magnus Marsden and Vera Skvirskaja and Paul Anderson.

Magnus Marsden is Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Sussex where he is also Director of the Asia Centre and Head of Anthropology. He has conducted research over several decades across Muslim Asia but especially in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and with the region’s diasporas. He is the author of several books, including, Living Islam (Cambridge 2005), Trading Worlds (Oxford, 2016), and Beyond the Silk Roads (Cambridge, 2021). His research has been funded by the European Union, Research England, AHRC, and the Leverhulme Trust.

Vera Skvirskaja is Associate Professor at the Department of Cross-Cultural and Religious Studies, University of Copenhagen. She has conducted anthropological research on a wide range of themes in the post-Soviet realm, particularly in Ukraine, Russia, Uzbekistan and the Caucasus, as well as on their transnational connections. She is the author of numerous articles, co-editor of Post-Cosmopolitan Cities (Berghahn, 2012), and served as Editor-in-Chief of the Copenhagen Journal of Asian Studies (2020–2023). Her research has been funded by the Danish Research Council, the European Union, the AHRC and the Independent Research Fund Denmark.

Paul Anderson is Associate Professor in the Department of Middle Eastern Studies and Acting Director of the Prince Alwaleed Centre of Islamic Studies at the University of Cambridge, where he is also a Fellow of Darwin College. He has conducted anthropological research on commerce, migration, and urban life across the Middle East and Asia, with a particular focus on Syria, China, and the Armenian and Arab diasporas. He is the author of Exchange Ideologies: Commerce, Language, and Patriarchy in Preconflict Aleppo (Cornell, 2023) and numerous articles and edited volumes. His research has been funded by the European Union, the AHRC, and the ESRC.

Is "Afterlives of Urban Cosmopolitanism" available Open Access?

Yes, "Afterlives of Urban Cosmopolitanism" is published Open Access. It is available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

What is the Table of Contents for "Afterlives of Urban Cosmopolitanism"?

List of figures
Acknowledgements

Introduction

1 A world of trade and mobility in transformation: non-Muslim networks in Muslim Asia, 1850-1950

2 Cities of origin: non-Muslim neighbourhoods in Syria, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan

3 New cities: neighbourhoods, skills and sensibilities

4 The heritagisation of urban coexistence in Muslim Asia

5 Muslim-non-Muslim interfaces in Asia and beyond

6 Food panoramas: urban sociality, transgression, and cookbooks

Conclusion

References
Index

What is the DOI for "Afterlives of Urban Cosmopolitanism"?

The Digital Object Identifier (DOI) for "Afterlives of Urban Cosmopolitanism" is 10.14324/111.9781806552450.

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×

Afterlives of Urban Cosmopolitanism

Muslim Asia and its non-Muslim diasporas

Publication date: February 1, 2027

Open Access PDF ISBN: 9781806552450

Paperback ISBN: 9781806552443

Hardback ISBN: 9781806552436

Trim size (hardback): 23.4cm x 15.6cm

Trim size (paperback): 23.4cm x 15.6cm

Download free PDF online

https://uclpress.co.uk/book/afterlives-of-urban-cosmopolitanism/

For centuries, the territories that currently form Afghanistan, Syria and Uzbekistan were home to a diverse range of religious groups, including Jews, Christians, Sikhs and Hindus. These groups and others played a critical role in the region’s social, cultural and economic dynamics, particular in the fields of trade, commerce and artisanship. Over the course of the twentieth century, they came to be classified officially by the region’s states as ‘minorities’. The rising importance of nationalism and political Islam, alongside the Bolshevik revolution and global geopolitical events, led some of these communities to occupy an ever more perilous place in the region. By the end of the twentieth century, wars and ethnic conflicts led many thousands to leave Asia and establish diaspora communities in Europe, North America and elsewhere.

Afterlives of Urban Cosmopolitanism charts the history of these communities in Muslim Asia and explores their migratory trajectories. Rather than emphasising the declining significance of non-Muslims to the region, however, this unique book illuminates how even in the context of diaspora many communities have continued to maintain relations with their countries of origin and with Muslims from them living in the diaspora. The book is informed by in-depth fieldwork conducted in Muslim Asia and amongst the region’s diasporas in contexts as diverse as Bukhara, Samarkand, Tashkent, Aleppo, Kabul, and London, New York and Vienna.

Magnus Marsden (Author)

Magnus Marsden is Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Sussex where he is also Director of the Asia Centre and Head of Anthropology. He has conducted research over several decades across Muslim Asia but especially in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and with the region’s diasporas. He is the author of several books, including, Living Islam (Cambridge 2005), Trading Worlds (Oxford, 2016), and Beyond the Silk Roads (Cambridge, 2021). His research has been funded by the European Union, Research England, AHRC, and the Leverhulme Trust.

Vera Skvirskaja (Author)

Vera Skvirskaja is Associate Professor at the Department of Cross-Cultural and Religious Studies, University of Copenhagen. She has conducted anthropological research on a wide range of themes in the post-Soviet realm, particularly in Ukraine, Russia, Uzbekistan and the Caucasus, as well as on their transnational connections. She is the author of numerous articles, co-editor of Post-Cosmopolitan Cities (Berghahn, 2012), and served as Editor-in-Chief of the Copenhagen Journal of Asian Studies (2020–2023). Her research has been funded by the Danish Research Council, the European Union, the AHRC and the Independent Research Fund Denmark.

Paul Anderson (Author)

Paul Anderson is Associate Professor in the Department of Middle Eastern Studies and Acting Director of the Prince Alwaleed Centre of Islamic Studies at the University of Cambridge, where he is also a Fellow of Darwin College. He has conducted anthropological research on commerce, migration, and urban life across the Middle East and Asia, with a particular focus on Syria, China, and the Armenian and Arab diasporas. He is the author of Exchange Ideologies: Commerce, Language, and Patriarchy in Preconflict Aleppo (Cornell, 2023) and numerous articles and edited volumes. His research has been funded by the European Union, the AHRC, and the ESRC.