Geography and Human Relationships

Geography and Human Relationships

Discourse Analysis of the Genesis of Muslim Territorial Identity Within the City of Medina During the Prophetic of Islam Era

Document Type : Original Article

Author
Department of Geography, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran.
10.22034/gahr.2025.515311.2441
Abstract
From a discursive standpoint, political territoriality involves regulating social relations, fostering a sense of belonging to a defined territory under a specific political discourse, and rejecting competing discourses. In this context, construction of political territory of Muslims, under the Islamic government during the time of the Islam Prophet in Medina between 621 and 629, had a discursive break with previous periods. So that, territoriality based on tribal descent gave way to territoriality based on belief in Islamic teachings. This research endeavors, based on a discursive methodology, to examine how the meaning of Islamic territory in Medina was generated during the era of Prophet Muhammad's rule. Research findings indicate that after the Prophet's migration to Medina, central signifier of the Islamic Ummah gradually manifested itself in the signified of Muslim territory, and the Medinan verses also emphasized preservation of Muslims unity within this concept. Also, the geographical proximity of the Judaism followers to the borders of Islamic Ummah led to the delineation of part of the territory of the Islamic government through demarcation with Jewish community. This process of territorialization, initiated by the shift of the Muslim qibla from Jerusalem to Mecca, marking a separation of religious symbols, gradually manifested in military conflict. Furthermore, a more equitable distribution of wealth among Muslims and the development of new economic concepts such as mudarabah, musaqat, muzara'a, khums, and zakat created a new interconnectedness among the economic activities of Muslims which allowed them to understand each other within a shared economic and identity territory.
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Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 20 April 2025

  • Receive Date 06 April 2025
  • Accept Date 20 April 2025