关于巴勒斯坦的历史著述，主要由帝国编年体和殖民式研究方法所主导，采用的是“从外部看历史”的路径。

The historical writing on Palestine is dominated by imperial chronologies and colonising methodologies and history ‘from without’ approaches.

与此相类，有人提出，在马木路克王朝晚期和奥斯曼帝国早期，当地阿拉伯人已经完全遗忘了“巴勒斯坦”这一名称，直到奥斯曼帝国晚期，才由与欧洲有往来的当地阿拉伯基督徒将其重新带回他们的视野之中。德国伊斯兰史学者古德伦·克雷默（Gudrun Krämer）在其著作《巴勒斯坦史：从奥斯曼征服到以色列国建立》中敏锐地指出：

In a similar vein, it has been suggested that the term Palestine had been completely forgotten by local Arabs during the late Mamluk and early Ottoman periods and that it was only brought back to them in the late Ottoman period by local Arab Christians in touch with Europe. In her work A History of Palestine: From the Ottoman Conquest to the Founding of the State of Israel, Gudrun Krämer, a German scholar of Islamic history, astutely observes:

然而，长期流行的一种观点认为：“巴勒斯坦”这一名称直到欧洲文艺复兴时期才因有意借指希腊罗马古代而重新出现；犹太人从未使用过它；当地的阿拉伯人已将其完全遗忘；是与欧洲有接触的阿拉伯基督徒把这个名称带回给他们的。这一观点已经站不住脚了。（Krämer 2011: 16）

And yet, the widespread view that the term ‘Palestine’ was only revived at the time of the European Renaissance with its conscious reference to Greek and Roman antiquity, that it was never used by Jews, that it had been entirely forgotten by local Arabs, and that it was brought back to them by Arab Christians in touch with Europe, can no longer be upheld. (Krämer 2011: 16)

事实上,在马木路克和奥斯曼时期,历史上的巴勒斯坦之记忆一直由巴勒斯坦穆斯林作家和法学家,以及途经巴勒斯坦的阿拉伯和穆斯林旅行者延续下来。在14世纪马木路克统治时期,阿拉伯和穆斯林旅行者提到了"Filastin"这一名称,并且常常与拉姆莱城相联系。拉姆莱城曾在伊斯兰统治下的数个世纪里担任Jund Filastin省的首府。伊本·白图泰是来自北非的著名穆斯林旅行家和学者,他走遍了穆斯林世界的大部分地区,并于1326年夏天访问了巴勒斯坦。他后来将自己的游记写成《游记》(Rihlah,意为"旅程"或"游历")。

In fact, the memory of historic Palestine was kept alive throughout the Mamluk and Ottoman periods by Palestinian Muslim writers and jurists as well as by Arab and Muslim travellers through Palestine. In the 14th century under the Mamluks the name Filastin was cited by Arab and Muslim travellers, often also in connection with the city of al-Ramla, the former capital of the province of Jund Filastin for several centuries under Islam. Ibn Battuta, the famous Muslim traveller and scholar from North Africa, travelled through most of the Muslim world and visited Palestine in the summer of 1326. He later wrote his account as the Rihlah (‘Journey’ or ‘Travels’):

此后我从耶路撒冷[al-Quds]前往阿什克伦的要塞，那里已是一片废墟。被称为欧麦尔清真寺的那座大清真寺，只剩下残存的墙壁和几根无与伦比之美的大理石柱，有的仍立着，有的已倒塌。

I journeyed thereafter from Jerusalem [al-Quds] to the fortress of Askalon, which is a total ruin. Of the great mosque, known as the mosque of ‘Omar, nothing remains but its walls and some marble columns of matchless beauty, partly standing and partly fallen.

其中有一根精美的红色石柱。人们传说，基督徒曾将它运往他们的国家，之后又遗失了，后来在阿斯克伦被发现，仍在原处。随后我前往拉姆莱城，该城又称菲拉斯廷。在该城的麦加方向，有人说那里的几座清真寺中埋葬着三百位先知。从拉姆莱，我前往纳布卢斯镇……这是一座树木繁茂、常年溪流不断的城市，也是沙姆地区橄榄最丰富的城市之一。这里出产的橄榄油被运往开罗和大马士革。纳布卢斯也是角豆糖的产地，这种糖被运往大马士革及其他地方……纳布卢斯还出产一种以其命名的甜瓜，是一种美味可口的水果……随后我前往阿贾伦……途经古尔（Ghawr），沿海岸来到阿卡（Akka，即阿克re），此地已成废墟……阿卡从前是法兰克人（十字军）之国的首都和港口……其繁华程度可与君士坦丁堡相媲美。（伊本·白图泰，2005：57–58）

Amongst them is a wonderful red column, of which the people tell that the Christians carried it off to their country but afterwards lost it, when it was found at its place at Askalon. Thence I went on to the city of ar-Ramlah, which is also called Filastin, in the qibla of those mosques they say three hundred of the prophets are buried. From ar-Ramlah I went to the town of Nabulus ... a city with an abundance of trees and perennial streams and one of the richest in [al-Sham] for olives. The oil of which is exported thence to Cairo and Damascus. It is at Nabulus that the carob-sweet is manufactured and exported to Damascus and elsewhere ... Nabulus has also a species of melon which is called by its name, a good and delicious fruit ... Thence I went to Ajalun ... passing through the Ghawr, followed the coast to Akka [Acre] which is in ruins ... Akka was formerly the capital and port of the country of the Franks [Crusaders] ... and rivalled Constantinople itself. (Ibn Battuta 2005: 57‒58)

然而,巴勒斯坦的社会记忆与政治地理,或许更多是由生活在该地的本土穆斯林巴勒斯坦作家鲜活地保存下来的,而不是由马穆鲁克时期途经巴勒斯坦的阿拉伯作家保存的。马穆鲁克晚期的写作者穆吉尔·丁·乌莱米(Mujir al-Din al-ʿUlaymi,1456–1522,مجير الدين العليمي),是一位巴勒斯坦穆斯林卡迪、史学家,也是耶路撒冷人。他在约1495年完成的综合性著作《耶路撒冷与希伯仑的光荣历史》(al-Uns al-Jalil bi-Tarikh al-Quds wal-Khalil)中,多次把自己的祖国称为“Filastin”(巴勒斯坦),该词共出现二十二次。虽然他也使用“圣地”(al-Ard al-Muqaddasah)一词,但书中并未提及其他地理名称,例如“沙姆”(al-Sham)。穆吉尔·丁将沙姆地区划分为五个不同的行省,其中两个与历史上和现代的巴勒斯坦有关联。

But the social memory and political geography of Palestine were kept alive perhaps more vividly by indigenous Muslim Palestinian writers living in the country than by Arab writers travelling through Palestine during the Mamluk period. Writing during the late Mamluk period, Mujir al-Din al-ʿUlaymi ( 1522 ) (مجير الدين العليمي ‒1456), a Palestinian Muslim qadi, historian and Jerusamelite, in his comprehensive work The Glorious History of al-Quds and al-Khalil (al-Uns al-Jalil bi-Tarikh al-Quds wal-Khalil, c. 1495), extensively refers to his native country as Filastin, a term he repeats twenty-two times. Although he also uses the term Holy Land (al-Ard al-Muqaddasah), no other geographical names, such al-Sham, are mentioned. Mujir al-Din divides the al-Sham region into five distinct provinces, two of which are connected with historic and modern Palestine:

第一个沙姆是巴勒斯坦,以拉姆拉城为中心。

• The first Sham is Palestine with the city of al-Ramla at its centre.

第二个沙姆是哈乌兰,其中心是提比利亚城。

• The second Sham is Hauran with the city of Tiberias at its centre.

第三个沙姆是以大马士革城为中心的古塔（Ghouta）。

• The third Sham is the Ghouta with the city of Damascus at its centre.

第四个沙姆是霍姆斯，以霍姆斯城为中心。

• The fourth Sham is Hims with the city of Hims at its centre.

第五个叙利亚地区是以阿勒颇城为中心的夸奈斯林。

• The fifth Sham is Qinnasrin with the city of Aleppo at its centre.

穆贾尔·丁构建了一个“沙姆”的概念,将他自己的国家菲拉斯廷置于中心,视其为沙姆的第一个地区。他还自豪地引用其他穆斯林作者的话,进一步突出巴勒斯坦的地位。

Mujir al-Din constructs a concept of al-Sham which places his own country, Filastin, at its centre as the first region of al-Sham. He also puts Palestine centre stage by proudly quoting other Muslim authors saying:

"地上所缺的，在沙姆增加；沙姆所缺的，在巴勒斯坦增加"（Mujir al-Din 1973）。他描述巴勒斯坦的范围，南起西奈半岛的阿里什附近，北至马尔吉·伊本·阿米尔的拉江。这种对巴勒斯坦的疆域界定，与伊斯兰早期阿拉伯巴勒斯坦省的边界相呼应（Mujir al-Din 1495；Gerber 2008: 49；le Strange 2014；Khalidi, R. 1998:

‘what is lacking on earth, increases in al-Sham, and what is lacking in al-Sham, increases in Palestine’ (Mujir al-Din 1973). He describes Filastin as stretching from a point in the south near al-‘Arish in Sinai to Lajjun in Marj Ibn ‘Amer in the north. This territorial conception of Filastin echoes the boundaries of the Arab province of Filastin throughout early Islam (Mujir al-Din 1495; Gerber 2008: 49; le Strange 2014; Khalidi, R. 1998:

216, 注释25。这充分说明，中世纪阿拉伯伊斯兰省份菲斯廷（Filastin）那极为丰饶的社会、文化与地理记忆，在马穆鲁克王朝及奥斯曼早期，始终由当地穆斯林巴勒斯坦法官与作家所滋养和延续。

216, note 25). This amply demonstrates how the incredibly fertile social, cultural and geographic memories of the medieval Arab Islamic province of Filastin were nurtured by local Muslim Palestinian judges and writers throughout the Mamluk and early Ottoman periods.

鉴于巴勒斯坦的政治共同体(Filastin)在两位杰出的巴勒斯坦穆斯林学者和法学家的社会记忆与著作中得以保存——一位是穆吉尔·丁·乌莱米(约1495年)(见下文),另一位是17世纪的海尔·丁·拉姆利——那么耶路撒冷伊斯兰教法法庭在18世纪的档案也显示,“Filastin”、“ard Filastin”(“巴勒斯坦之地”,“أرض فلسطين”)以及“ahl Filastin”(“巴勒斯坦人民”,“أهل فلسطين”)这些用语,特指拉姆莱、卢德、雅法、耶路撒冷(al-Quds)、希布伦(al-Khalil)和加沙等城市,并在更广泛的地理区域沙姆(al-Sham)之内使用,这一点并不令人意外。这些用语在马穆鲁克和奥斯曼时期,始终活跃于当地和地区性的巴勒斯坦穆斯林社会记忆之中。

In view of the fact that the polity of Filastin was preserved in the social memory and works of two distinguished Palestinian Muslim scholars and jurists, Mujir al-Din al-ʿUlaymi, (c. 1495) (see below) and Khair al-Din al-Ramli in the 17th century, it is hardly surprising that the archives of the Islamic Sharia Court of Jerusalem in the 18th century also show that the terms Filastin, ard Filastin (‘land of Palestine’, ‘ أرض فلسطين ’) and ahl Filastin (the ‘people of Palestine’, ‘ أهل فلسطين ’) – with specific reference to the cities of al-Ramla, Lydda, Jaffa, al-Quds, al-Khalil (Hebron) and Gaza, and within the wider geographical region al-Sham – remained very much alive in local and regional Palestinian Muslim social memory throughout the Mamluk and Ottoman periods.