Engaging with the non-Muslim other: the portrayal of Sri Lanka in medieval Islam, c.800-1500 CE

Thameem, Sainulabdeen Mohammed (2025). Engaging with the non-Muslim other: the portrayal of Sri Lanka in medieval Islam, c.800-1500 CE. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

This study aims not only to investigate how Sri Lanka, an Asian country in the Indian Ocean, which was generally considered an object of curiosity in ancient times, is portrayed in the works of medieval Arab writers, but also to challenge the prevalent views of Jacques Le Goff (1924-2014), who argues that Arabs showed a lack of interest in matters related to the Indian Ocean. Similarly, Houari Touati (2010) notes the lack of significant Arab exploration outside the geographical space of their own religious belief, completely discrediting the contribution of Arab travel writers of medieval Islam in exploring unfamiliar lands outside the dār al-Islām (Touati, 2010, p. 259). While denouncing these views, the study adopts a twofold method to show Arab interest in Sri Lanka as demonstrated in their writings. Firstly, through an archival study, the researcher accumulated unedited manuscripts such as Kitāb Rabī‘ al-Anwār, a thirteenth-century work of al-Baṭalyawsī, and Kitāb ‘Ajā’ib al-Makhlūqāt Wa Laṭā’if al-Mawjūdāt, a twelfthcentury work attributed to an anonymous Arab writer. Secondly, fifteen lesser-known travel, geographic, and poetic texts were selected as case studies to investigate how Arab writers constructed an Islamic “Self” against a non-Islamic “Other,” by employing the three alterity dimensions: sophisticated, crude, and quasi, introduced by the modern philosopher Lajos Brons (2015, p. 86).

Throughout this dissertation, the researcher argues that Sri Lanka, a country in the Indian Ocean, was not in conflict with the medieval Muslim world and did not pose an immediate political, religious, or military threat to them like European Christendom did in the medieval period. Instead, Sri Lanka established fruitful commercial and cultural exchanges with the Arab world. Consequently, it was praised and portrayed by Arabs as a land of wonders, marvels, and mysteries and rated as one of the richest territories in the Indian Ocean. Notably, Muslim writers who wrote on Sri Lanka exhibited neutral depictions, avoiding derogatory characterizations. More importantly, they presented a balanced view of the ‘other’, which suggests an effort to maintain a respectful and objective quality in their observations.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):