Islamic Myths and Memories Facing the Challenge of Globalization

This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explains specific memories of the past. Ulrika Mrtensson’s challenges the globalized public myth of Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses, arguing that the novel is a commentary on the medieval myth about the Prophet’s satanic temptation found also in Tabari’s History of the Messengers and the Kings, and for similar purposes. Nimrod Luz looks at the local interests and agendas among Israeli Arabs that result in the production and promotion of specific memories of the Haram, and also shows how the rescaling of the Haram onto a global level functions as a means of resistance to Israeli state authority. The book explores the recent but iconic figure, the late Osama bin Laden. Anne Birgitta Nilsen shows how presentation of bin Laden, first as mujahid, then as statesman, and then as other-worldly figure, manufactured a symbol of resistance out of Muslim collective memory.