0021-1818_islam_98-1-2-i-259

Reviews 245
diversity and breadth of materials collected in this anthology through the filters
of geography and culture, chronology and history, and languages and literatures
of origin” (p. 2). The arrangement by six regions, each including relatively old and
newer texts, is carefully considered; however, a certain deviation and ambiguity
mar this organizational formula. For example, it is not clear why Part 5 (South
Asia) has eight chapters, double that of the other parts of the book, whereas Part 6
has only three chapters and appears rather meager. Furthermore, only one of
the four chapters of Part 3 (Turkey and Central Asia) is allotted to Central Asian
saints, which appears inadequate, since the study of hagiography is very developed
in this region. If it were not for the “Comparative/Synoptic Chart Listed by
Order in Table of Contents” (pp. 372–376), it would be very difficult to grasp the
overall content of the book. From it, we easily notice that the hagiographies of
pre-modern saints are dominant in its first half (ch. 1–3), and those of more recent
ones, in its latter half (ch. 4–6). This division is partly explained by the fact that
the regions covered in the latter section were islamized later, but I am afraid that
this internal division may give the fault impression that saint veneration in the
Middle East has relatively declined today.
My third concern centers on the lack of a common theme. Most of the
chapters have their own themes, and some of them are quite rewarding for the
readers. Nevertheless, the anthology lacks thematic unity, except for the fact
that all the chapters are dealing with hagiography. Therefore, we cannot identify
any logical development in hagiographic study in reading the book from beginning
to end, a rather vexing task. It is recommendable to avoid reading the entire
text in favor of selecting interesting chapters, without concern for their sequential
order.
Finally, I am dissatisfied with the selection of some of the saints. In most
cases, the choice of saints and hagiographical stories seems reasonable, but in a
few cases, I felt that other saints could have been chosen, particularly, if the book
should be used in undergraduate seminars. For example, I would have selected
Abu Madyan instead of Abu Ya‘za Yallanur (popularly known as Mulay Bu ‘Azza)
and Hacı Bektak Veli instead of Sarı Ismail. Abu Madyan, a disciple of Abu Ya‘za,
and Hacı Bektak Veli, a master of Sarı Ismail, are representative saints in Maghreb
and Turkey. I do not mean to imply that the anthology should take up only the
famous saints. In fact, the hagiography of local saints without vast followings is
often thought-provoking. What I mean is that, although Abu Ya‘za and Sarı Ismail
are popular saints in their regions, Abu Madyan and Hacı Bektak Veli are more favored
and have richer hagiographies, and may be worth showing to students. Although
it may sound trivial, I was a little disappointed that no chapters are devoted
to Ahmad-i Jam and Eyüp Ansari (Eyüp Sultan), whose full-page-sized
beautiful miniatures were used as the cover illustration and the frontispiece.