Open Access

Islamic Shangri-La Inter-Asian Relations and Lhasa’s Muslim Communities, 1600 to 1960

by David G. Atwill (Author)
October 2018
First Edition
Paperback
$34.95, £27.00
Courses
History of China
Title Details

Rights: Available worldwide
Pages: 258
ISBN: 9780520299733
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/luminos.55
Trim Size: 6 x 9
Illustrations: 6 photos, 4 maps

About the Book From Our Blog About the Author Reviews Table of Contents Related Books

About the Book

A free ebook version of this title is available through Luminos, University of California Press’s Open Access publishing program for monographs. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more.

Islamic Shangri-La transports readers to the heart of the Himalayas as it traces the rise of the Tibetan Muslim community from the 17th century to the present. Radically altering popular interpretations that have portrayed Tibet as isolated and monolithically Buddhist, David Atwill's vibrant account demonstrates how truly cosmopolitan Tibetan society was by highlighting the hybrid influences and internal diversity of Tibet. In its exploration of the Tibetan Muslim experience, this book presents an unparalleled perspective of Tibet's standing during the rise of post–World War II Asia.

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About the Author

David G. Atwill is Associate Professor of History at Penn State University where he teaches a broad range of courses on China, Tibet, and world history. His previous books include The Chinese Sultanate: Islam, Ethnicity, and the Panthay Rebellion in Southwestern China, 1856–1873 and Sources in Chinese History: Diverse Perspectives from 1644 to the Present.

Reviews

"Professor Atwill deserves credit for bringing attention to a fascinating minority group in Tibet, one that had been neglected in many histories of Tibet."—China Review International

"Islamic Shangri-La is a pioneering work in the study of Tibetan Muslims and an indispensable contribution to the growing literature and scholarship in Tibetan borderlands studies."—LSE Review of Books

"Atwill’s contribution to this specialized field is substantial and includes insightful discussions of several important topics."—Journal of the American Academy of Religion

"Atwill provides an illuminating look at the history of state-formation Himalayan Asia itself."
—Pacific Affairs

"For those in Tibetan studies, Atwill’s work provides a serious challenge to uncritical definitions of a timeless ‘Tibetan’ identity and will provide as many questions as it does answers. Outside of those interested in the Himalayan region, this work will also appeal to cultural historians and those interested in the processes by which the categories of religion, ethnicity, and nation mutually inform and constitute one another across time and space."—Religious Studies Review

"A wonderfully global history of identity and connection. . . .Islamic Shangri-La is a deeply important and overdue work that will be of immense value to many audiences."—Religious Studies Review

"Atwill’s ground-breaking book traces a forgotten Muslim thread through the knot of identity, subjecthood, and citizenship in twentieth-century Tibet, offering a fresh perspective on the region’s tumultuous modern history. It is a highly readable narrative of a Muslim community that has often been rendered invisible, and an important statement on the transition from empires to nation-states at the Inner Asian nexus of Tibet, China, India, and the Islamic world."—Rian Thum, author of The Sacred Routes of Uyghur History
"The history of the Tibetan Muslims, which at first may seem like yet another borderland oddity, actually provides a remarkable vantage point from which to survey Asian history anew. Not only does Atwill’s use of untapped archival sources and interviews produce original scholarship, but his innovative framing of the material provides valuable perspectives on a history we thought we knew quite well."—Johan Elverskog, author of Buddhism and Islam on the Silk Road