Popular Culture in Medieval Cairo (Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization)

This is the first book-length study of popular culture in a medieval Islamic city. Dr. Shoshan draws together a wealth of Arabic sources to explore popular religion against the background of the growing influence of Sufism, an important biography of Muhammad that was suppressed by the learned, and the origins and popular practices of the annual Nawruz festival. He also assesses the political beliefs and economic expectations of the Carene commoners and the complex relationship between the culture of the elite and that of the people of Cairo.