None

"This book certainly fills a lacuna in the field of Islamic studies. For many scholars who are equipped with the necessary philological knowledge concentrate upon the pre-Mongol Arabic tradition; others, without sufficiently knowing languages and cultural background, enter into the discussion of contemporary sociological and political problems. The time "in between," and particularly the period after 1500, which is crucial for the formation of the Middle Eastern scene as it stands for 400 years (Ottoman conquest of Egypt, the Shia Safavid Empire, Mughal India), was rarely studied in detail till rather recently; the eighteenth century is especially neglected. The spiritual leaders of the medieval and post-medieval Muslim world, be they ulama or Sufis, have attracted less scholarly interest than politicians and heroes of war. Both groups cannot be understood independently, however: the Sufi warrior is as relevant to the Muslim scene as the politician from ulama background."--Review by Annemarie Schimmel in International journal of Middle East studies.