'Ulamā' and Power: the case of al-Manīnī family in late-Ottoman Damascus.

Abstract

This contribution deals with the relationship between two relevant fields of the Islamic world, knowledge and power, otherwise said, ulemas and political authority, through the peculiar dynamics which tended to characterize the relationship between some renowned representatives of the former and the institutional as well as social sphere in late-Ottoman Damascus. In particular, it will focus on the analysis of data concerning members of an important branch of ulemas who lived in Damascus between the mid-19th century and the early 20th century: the Manini family.