on art history in times of war gaza islamic nasser rabbat 1234744329

This essay by Nasser Rabbat reflects on the persistence and precarity of writing art history in times of war, specifically focusing on the field of Islamic art and architectural history. Rabbat draws a parallel to Gabriel García Márquez's novel *Love in the Time of Cholera* to frame his discussion, arguing that war is not a passing crisis but a persistent condition for the Islamic world. He traces how colonial conquests, postcolonial conflicts, and the ongoing Israeli genocide against Gaza have shaped the formation and theoretical orientation of Islamic art history as a Western scholarly endeavor, beginning with Napoleon's invasion of Egypt in 1798 and continuing through the "War on Terror."