Muslims through Discourse

Muslims through Discourse PDF Author: John R. Bowen
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691221588
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 374

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Book Description
In this rich account of a Muslim society in highland Sumatra, Indonesia, John Bowen describes how men and women debate among themselves ideas of what Islam is and should be--as it pertains to all areas of their lives, from work to worship. Whereas many previous anthropological studies have concentrated on the purely local aspects of culture, this book captures and analyzes the tension between the local and universal in everyday life. Current religious differences among the Gayo stem from debates between "traditionalist" and "modernist" scholars that began in the 1930s, and reveal themselves in the ways Gayo discuss and perform worship, sacrifice, healing, and rites of birth and death, all within an Islamic framework. Bowen considers the power these debates accord to language, especially in arguments over spells, rites of farming, hunting, and healing. Moreover, he traces in these debates a general conception of transacting with spirits that has shaped Gayo practices of sacrifice, worship, and aiding the dead. Bowen concludes by examining the development of competing religious ideas in the highlands, the alternative ritual forms and ideas they have pro-mulgated, and the implications of this phenomenon for the emergence of an Islamic public sphere.

Muslims through Discourse

Muslims through Discourse PDF Author: John R. Bowen
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691221588
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 374

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Book Description
In this rich account of a Muslim society in highland Sumatra, Indonesia, John Bowen describes how men and women debate among themselves ideas of what Islam is and should be--as it pertains to all areas of their lives, from work to worship. Whereas many previous anthropological studies have concentrated on the purely local aspects of culture, this book captures and analyzes the tension between the local and universal in everyday life. Current religious differences among the Gayo stem from debates between "traditionalist" and "modernist" scholars that began in the 1930s, and reveal themselves in the ways Gayo discuss and perform worship, sacrifice, healing, and rites of birth and death, all within an Islamic framework. Bowen considers the power these debates accord to language, especially in arguments over spells, rites of farming, hunting, and healing. Moreover, he traces in these debates a general conception of transacting with spirits that has shaped Gayo practices of sacrifice, worship, and aiding the dead. Bowen concludes by examining the development of competing religious ideas in the highlands, the alternative ritual forms and ideas they have pro-mulgated, and the implications of this phenomenon for the emergence of an Islamic public sphere.

Discourse Analysis and Media Attitudes

Discourse Analysis and Media Attitudes PDF Author: Paul Baker
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107310792
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 293

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Book Description
Is the British press prejudiced against Muslims? In what ways can prejudice be explicit or subtle? This book uses a detailed analysis of over 140 million words of newspaper articles on Muslims and Islam, combining corpus linguistics and discourse analysis methods to produce an objective picture of media attitudes. The authors analyse representations around frequently cited topics such as Muslim women who wear the veil and 'hate preachers'. The analysis is self-reflexive and multidisciplinary, incorporating research on journalistic practices, readership patterns and attitude surveys to answer questions which include: what do journalists mean when they use phrases like 'devout Muslim' and how did the 9/11 and 7/7 attacks affect press reporting? This is a stimulating and unique book for those working in fields of discourse analysis and corpus linguistics, while clear explanations of linguistic terminology make it valuable to those in the fields of politics, media studies, journalism and Islamic studies.

Religion in Modern Islamic Discourse

Religion in Modern Islamic Discourse PDF Author: Abdulkader Tayob
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 216

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Book Description
Religion as an analytical category doesn't lend itself readily to the reexamination and reinvention of tradition, especially in Islam, where the lines demarcating religion, culture, civilization, and politics are deliberately ambiguous. Religion in Modern Islamic Discourse examines the place of religion in debates and discussions from the nineteenth century to the present. The volume follows the transformation of Islamic discourse, both in its acceptance of and resistance to modernity. Abdulkader Tayob is largely concerned with how intellectuals have reconciled Islam with the forces of modernization. He begins in Egypt and colonial India, closely reading early treatments of the essence of religion and its social value. He then explores key contributions on identity, state, law, and gender. Tayob's analysis reveals the deep structural foundations of Islam's approach to religion, religious values, and spirituality and offers an unusually creative perspective on the evolution of modern Islamic discourse.

The Crisis of Muslim Religious Discourse

The Crisis of Muslim Religious Discourse PDF Author: Lahouari Addi
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000517241
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 200

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Book Description
Showing that Muslim societies are facing a crisis that is more cultural than religious, this book focuses on cultural representations through which social life is experienced in the Muslim world. It brings a new theoretical framework to address the secularization process that is underway and the contradictions it entails. This volume will arouse a new debate on secularization and the relations between religion, culture and philosophy. The crisis Muslim societies are undergoing pertains to the culture and not to the Qur’an to the extent that people do not have access to the sacred in itself but only for oneself, meaning a cultural interpretation of the sacred. The Qur’an in itself is not an obstacle to secularization and modernization since any sacred text is experienced through culture. If we consider the European experience where secularization has first emerged, we see that culture has been transformed from medieval metaphysics to modern philosophy upholding a civic culture. Discussing secularization through cultural representation, this book launches new ideas that fill an important gap in the literature on secularization. It is a key resource for any readers interested in religious studies, philosophy and the anthropology of religion.

Understanding Muslim Discourse

Understanding Muslim Discourse PDF Author: Mbaye Bashir Lo
Publisher: University Press of America
ISBN: 0761847499
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 131

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Book Description
Understanding Muslim Discourse provides a well-illustrated account of the major ideas currently in use within the Muslim discourse, and also examines the mechanics whereby Bin Laden's message has become popular, legitimate, and one of the most dominant voices in this discourse. The book, therefore, explores the ways in which Bin Laden's popularity and legitimacy are rooted in his eloquence and ability to manipulate the poetic and religious traditions, as well as the collective memories of Islam, in his attempt to disseminate his own vision of the Muslim faith.

What Is Islam?

What Is Islam? PDF Author: Shahab Ahmed
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400873584
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 629

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Book Description
A bold new conceptualization of Islam that reflects its contradictions and rich diversity What is Islam? How do we grasp a human and historical phenomenon characterized by such variety and contradiction? What is "Islamic" about Islamic philosophy or Islamic art? Should we speak of Islam or of islams? Should we distinguish the Islamic (the religious) from the Islamicate (the cultural)? Or should we abandon "Islamic" altogether as an analytical term? In What Is Islam?, Shahab Ahmed presents a bold new conceptualization of Islam that challenges dominant understandings grounded in the categories of "religion" and "culture" or those that privilege law and scripture. He argues that these modes of thinking obstruct us from understanding Islam, distorting it, diminishing it, and rendering it incoherent. What Is Islam? formulates a new conceptual language for analyzing Islam. It presents a new paradigm of how Muslims have historically understood divine revelation—one that enables us to understand how and why Muslims through history have embraced values such as exploration, ambiguity, aestheticization, polyvalence, and relativism, as well as practices such as figural art, music, and even wine drinking as Islamic. It also puts forward a new understanding of the historical constitution of Islamic law and its relationship to philosophical ethics and political theory. A book that is certain to provoke debate and significantly alter our understanding of Islam, What Is Islam? reveals how Muslims have historically conceived of and lived with Islam as norms and truths that are at once contradictory yet coherent.

Media Discourses, Muslims, and Non-Muslims in the United Kingdom

Media Discourses, Muslims, and Non-Muslims in the United Kingdom PDF Author: Laurens de Rooij
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781526135223
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
This book describes how non Muslims use the news to inform themselves about Islam and Muslims. It does so by exploring how media institutions function in society and how its practices affect the production of images and symbols about Muslims and Islam, as well as their influence on audiences.

Islam and Postcolonial Discourse

Islam and Postcolonial Discourse PDF Author: Esra Mirze Santesso
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1317112571
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
Largely, though not exclusively, as a legacy of the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center, Islamic faith has become synonymous in many corners of the media and academia with violence, which many believe to be its primary mode of expression. The absence of a sophisticated recognition of the wide range of Islamic subjectivities within contemporary culture has created a void in which misinterpretations and hostilities thrive. Responding to the growing importance of religion, specifically Islam, as a cultural signifier in the formation of a postcolonial self, this multidisciplinary collection is organized around contested terms such as secularism, Islamopolitics, female identity, and Islamophobia. The overarching goal of the contributors is to facilitate a deeper understanding of the full range of experiences within Islam as well as the figure of the Muslim, thus enabling a new set of questions about religion’s role in shaping postcolonial identity.

Muslim Narratives and the Discourse of English

Muslim Narratives and the Discourse of English PDF Author: Amin Malak
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791463062
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 196

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Book Description
Examines novels and short stories by Muslim authors who write in English.

Alternative Voices in Muslim Southeast Asia

Alternative Voices in Muslim Southeast Asia PDF Author: Norshahril Saat
Publisher: ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute
ISBN: 9814843814
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description
According to some observers, Southeast Asian Islam is undergoing a conservative turn. This means voices that champion humanist, progressive or moderate ideas are located on the fringes of society. Is this assessment accurate for a region that used to be known for promoting the “smiling face of Islam”? Alternative Voices in Muslim Southeast Asia examines the challenges facing progressive voices in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore today. It examines their discourses, which delve into how multiculturalism and secularism are the way forward for the diverse societies of these three countries. Moreover, it analyses the avenues employed by these voices in articulating their views amidst the dominance of state and quasi-state religious officials who seek to restrict and discipline them. Contributors to the volume include scholars, activists and observers, some of whom are victims of repression and discrimination. While most of the chapters cover developments of the last decade, some of them go back to the previous century, capturing the emergence of modernist thinkers influenced by parallel movements in the Middle East and the wider region. Others respond to recent developments concerning Islam and Muslims in the three countries: the Pakatan Harapan coalition victory in the 2018 Malaysian election, the re-election of Joko Widodo as Indonesia’s president in 2019, and recent religious rulings passed in Singapore. Readers should come not only to reflect on the struggles faced by this group but also to appreciate the humanist traditions essential for the development of the societies of these countries in the midst of change.