authority over rulers by either upholding or con-
testing their legitimacy. Only in the 20th century
did the ulama ever act to overthrow a ruler and
replace him with one of their own—the establish-
ment of the Islamic Republic of Iran under Ayatol-
lah r
Uhollah
k
homeini
in 1979 was the exception
rather than the rule.
Select
Women
also held positions of author-
ity among both rulers and religious scholars.
Women in the ruling elites were occasionally
involved in making decisions of state and influ-
encing the selection of rulers, and they would
also make donations to fund mosques and reli-
gious schools. Women from scholarly families
even became famous as teachers, particularly in
the science of hadith during the Middle Ages.
Muhammad’s wife a
isha
(d. ca. 678) is an exem-
plary figure, because she is remembered for her
leading role in the political and religious affairs
of her time.
In addition to the rulers and the ulama, Sufi
brotherhoods also developed their own concepts
of authority. The Sufis consider themselves to be
disciples of a master Sufi, known as a
shaykh
or
pir. This Sufi master is to be obeyed absolutely
because of the power of his personal charisma,
or holiness, but his authority is also recognized
because of his inclusion within a spiritual lin-
eage of saints that links him to a
li
ibn
a
bi
t
alib
(d. 661) or a
bU
b
akr
(d. 634) and ultimately to
Muhammad. Recognition of the master’s status is
expressed in Sufi rituals and prayers. Sainthood
is a related type of charismatic authority recog-
nized in s
UFism
, where even though the
saint
was thought to be completely obedient to God,
he or she was also God’s intimate friend (
wali
)
and an embodiment of God’s wisdom and bless-
ing power in the world. There are many women
counted among the saints, but as Sufi masters,
they are a minority. In any case, the Sufis had
to negotiate their own spheres of authority with
those of the rulers and the ulama; they were
often tied to both by bonds of kinship, loyalty,
and patronage.
Since the mid-18th century, the networks of
authority that formed during the Middle Ages
have been fragmented by a variety of histori-
cal forces. Two of the decisive forces for change
were the breakdown of the Ottoman, Safavid,
and Mughal Empires that once ruled millions
of people between the Mediterranean and the
Bay of Bengal, and the invasion of Muslim lands
by European colonial empires. The major shifts
in political power caused by these changes led
in turn to profound changes in the traditional
military, political, legal, educational, and eco-
nomic institutions. The authority of the ulama
became increasingly circumscribed as Western-
style institutions and values were adopted by
reform-minded Muslims and colonial administra-
tors. Moreover, the introduction of the printing
press to Muslim lands during the 19th century
not only made it possible for the transmission of
new ideas and visions to more people, but it also
enabled more Muslims to become literate and
consult their own sacred scriptures, commentar-
ies, histories, literature, and books of religious
law than ever before. The ulama had to contend
with emerging national aspirations among Mus-
lims and imported Western secularist ideals,
while at the same time debating with ordinary
Muslims who wanted to consult and interpret
their religious heritage on their own. Later, the
introduction of broadcast media and the internet
accelerated these processes. The overall result is
that multiple and frequently contending notions
of authority are at play in Muslim communities,
not always with the best results. In some cases,
sacred authority has been mobilized to counteract
and resist Western involvement in Muslim coun-
tries; in other cases, it has been manipulated by
tyrants and Muslim radical groups to consolidate
power and suppress pluralistic and democratic
forces. The result is the creation of authoritarian
regimes that hold a number of Muslim countries
in their grip today, often with the approval and
support of Western powers, especially in coun-
tries where
oil
is a major resource.
K 74
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