1. The Middle East: Assumptions and Problems -- 2. Ways of Living -- 3. Traditions of Authority and Freedom -- 4. The Social Construction of Egalitarianism -- 5. The Prophetic Age -- 6. Early Struggles for Authority -- 7. Sacred and Secular Rulers -- 8. Novelties and Continuities -- 9. The Essentials of Islam -- 10. Recapturing the Sacred Past: the Power of Knowledge -- 11. The Partisans of Ali -- 12. Sufism in Practice -- 13. The Contradictions of Saintly Authority -- 14. Slaves, Eunuchs, and Blacks -- 15. The Ambiguities of Women -- 16. Escapes from Distinction: Love and Friendship -- 17. Problems and Possibilities
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages [302]-313) and index
