Helps understand how arts, religion, and power are intermingled. Made me question what we mean by "tradition" ; they always seemed fixed to a present observer, but are also the result of constant change.
Anyway, there's more to the book and it is really a great read (maybe more so if like me you know close to nothing about the Ottoman empire).
(and just to be clear: this book talks about what was admitted as acceptable art at a specific period in a specific region where Islam was the state religion, not commenting on the art in Islam as a whole as I would be incapable of doing so)
Thanks for the recommendation. There's considerable latitude in implementation of the rulings. Even within the law itself, there are strong/weak positions, dispensations for some circumstances etc. Among schools of thought, there are differences in opinions which might, to a non specialist, seem very trivial but they have huge consequences when implemented at scale. Music and it's role in the Ottoman sultanate is one example that comes to mind.
And outside of that, there are cultural, economic and human factors that also have their effect on the practice (and sometimes even the theory) of religion.
Generally speaking, Islamic canon law keeps evolving over time while trying to stay faithful to first principles. It's a specialist field and requires a lot of time and study to formulate rulings. It's the reason why, I mentioned in another comment that studying the basics from a derived text is sufficient for "most Muslims". People often turn to the primary texts for general guidance and succor but for details about a narrow situation, they refer to the other books or speak to a scholar.
Helps understand how arts, religion, and power are intermingled. Made me question what we mean by "tradition" ; they always seemed fixed to a present observer, but are also the result of constant change.
Anyway, there's more to the book and it is really a great read (maybe more so if like me you know close to nothing about the Ottoman empire).
(and just to be clear: this book talks about what was admitted as acceptable art at a specific period in a specific region where Islam was the state religion, not commenting on the art in Islam as a whole as I would be incapable of doing so)