Islam Obscured : The Rhetoric of Anthropological Representation / by D. Varisco.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Varisco, Daniel Martin.

Series:

Contemporary Anthropology of Religion, 2946-3483

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Religion and sociology.

Sociology.

Religion--Philosophy.

Religion.

Astronomy.

Islam.

Anthropology.

Sociology of Religion.

Sociological Theory.

Philosophy of Religion.

Astronomy, Cosmology and Space Sciences.

Local Subjects:

Sociology of Religion.

Sociological Theory.

Philosophy of Religion.

Astronomy, Cosmology and Space Sciences.

Islam.

Anthropology.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (237 p.)

Edition:

1st ed. 2005.

Place of Publication:

Palgrave Macmillan

New York : Palgrave Macmillan US : Imprint: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Ethnographers have observed Muslims nearly everywhere Islam is practiced. This study analyzes four seminal texts that have been read widely outside anthropology. Two are by distinguished anthropologists on either side of the Atlantic, Islam Observed (by Clifford Geertz in 1968) and Muslim Society (by Ernest Gellner in 1981). Two other texts are by Muslim scholars, Beyond the Veil (Fatima Mernissi in 1975) and Discovering Islam (by Akbar Ahmed in 1988). Varisco argues that each of these four authors approaches Islam as an essentialized organic unity rather than letting 'Islams' found in the field speak to the diversity of practice. The textual truths engendered, and far too often engineered, in these idealized representations of Islam have found their way unscrutinized into an endless stream of scholarly works and textbooks. Varisco's analysis goes beyond the rhetoric over what Islam is to the information from ethnographic research about what Muslims say they do and actually are observed to do. The issues covered include Islam as a cultural phenomenon, representation of 'the other', Muslim gender roles, politics of ethnographic authority, and Orientalist discourse.

Contents:

Cover; Contents; Acknowledgments; Introduction: Anthropology and Islam; Chapter 1 Clifford Geertz: Islam Observed Again; Chapter 2 Ernest Gellner: Idealized to a Fault; Chapter 3 Beyond the Veil: At Play in the Bed of the Prophet; Chapter 4 Akbar Ahmed: Discovering Islam Inside Out; Epilogue: Muslims Observed: The Lessons From Anthropology; Notes; Bibliography; Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [199]-220) and index.

ISBN:

9786611367183

9781281367181

1281367184

9781403973429

1403973423

OCLC:

173176295