A Learned Society in a Period of Transition: The Sunni ʿUlamaʾ of Eleventh-Century Baghdad (Medieval Middle East History)

A Learned Society in a Period of Transition: The Sunni ʿUlamaʾ of Eleventh-Century Baghdad (Medieval Middle East History) by Ephrat, Daphna. paperback edition. ISBN: 9780791446461.

Addresses the social significance of orthodox Islam during the medieval period in Baghdad. This book develops a new approach to the process of institutionalization and its social significance by focusing on Baghdad during the Sunni revival. Ephrat asserts that the Sunni revival was a period during which the fluid society of the "learned," the ulama, emerged as a more defined and exclusive group. By unveiling the world of learning beyond its legal and organizational structures, this book explains how the Baghdadi ulama constructed their social bonds and identities.