Islam through objects / edited by Anna Bigelow.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Bigelow, Anna, editor.

Series:

Bloomsbury studies in material religion.

Bloomsbury Studies in Material Religion

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Islamic civilization.

Material culture--Religious aspects--Islam.

Material culture.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (288 pages).

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York, New York : Bloomsbury Academic, [2021]

Summary:

"Islam through Objects represents the state of the field of Islamic material cultural studies. With contributions from scholars of religion, anthropologists, art historians, folklorists, historians, and other disciplines, Anna Bigelow brings together a wide range of perspectives on Islamic materiality to debunk myths of Islamic aversion to material aspects of religion. Each chapter focuses on a single object in daily use by Muslims - prayer beads, coins, amulets, a cistern well, clothing, jewellery, bodily and domestic adornments - to consider both generic and particular aspects of the object in question. These narratives will engage the reader by describing and analyzing each object in terms of its provenance, materials, uses, and history, as well as the broader history, variety and uses of the object in Islamic history and cultures. Temporal, regional, and sectarian variations in the styles, uses, and theological perspectives are also considered. Framed by an introduction that assesses the various approaches to Islamic material culture in recent scholarship, Islam through Objects provides a template for the study of religion and material culture, which engages current theory, subtle and nuanced narratives, and the creative and imaginal capacities of Muslims through history"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction: Thinking with Islamic Things / Anna Bigelow

Part I. Tracing Images: 1. Clothes of Righteousness: The MGT Uniform in the Twentieth Century / Kayla Renée Wheeler

2. The Masonic Muhammad: Modern Franco-Iranian Visual Encounters in Prophetic Iconography / Christiane Gruber

3. Repetition and Relics: Tracing the Lives of Muhammad's Sandal / Richard McGregor

Part II. Identifying Objects: 4. "The Greatest and Only Flag Known": The Lapel Pin in American Islam / Michael Muhammad Knight

5. Tasbih in West African Islamic history: spirituality, aesthetic, politics, and identity / Ousman Murzik Kobo

6. Caps, Heads, and Hearts / Scott Kugle

Part III. Objects in Practice: 7. What Comes to Light When a Lamp is Lit in Bektashi Tradition / Mark Soileau

8. The Agency of the Material Taviz (Amulet) in a South Indian Healing Room / Joyce Burkhalter Flueckiger

9. The Life of a Tablet / Aomar Bou

Part IV. Circulatory Systems: 10. Coins and Fish: Sovereignty, Economy, and Religion in the Islamicate Indian Ocean / Roxani Eleni Margariti

11. The Aljibe del Rey in Granada / D. Fairchild Ruggles

12. Zamzam Water: Environmentality and Decolonizing Material Islam / Anna M. Gade

List of Contributors

Notes

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781350132832

1350132837

9781350132825

1350132829

OCLC:

1232015292