Books in the Exploring Muslim Contexts series

Explores the vibrant, divided and evolving field of Islamic studies in Europe and North America The study of Islam and Muslims has expanded greatly in Europe and North America in recent decades and has become a passionately debated and divided field. This collection critically assesses the development of the field of Islamic Studies and its place in society. Featuring contributions from anthropologists, historians and scholars of religion, each chapter contains new empirical material and discusses approaches to the study of Islam, past and present. The book situates Islamic Studies within broader discussions of the construction of identity and its political implications in Europe and North America. Authors also address tensions between normative and non-normative approaches to the study of Islam and Muslims and consider how these might be reconciled. Key features  Covers topics ranging from gender and secularism to pop music and modern science  Discusses contemporary and historical approaches in Islamic Studies  Features contributions from leading scholars studying Islam and Muslims, including Shahzad Bashir, Hadi Enayat, Juliane Hammer, Aaron Hughes, Carool Kersten, Susanne Olsson and Jonas Otterbeck  Addresses the role of both Muslims and non-Muslims in the ongoing construction of Islam Philip Wood is Professor of History at The Aga Khan University, Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations. Leif Stenberg is Dean and Professor of Islamic Studies at The Aga Khan University, Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations.

Looks at moments in world history when cosmopolitanism pervaded Muslim societies.This volume focuses on instances in world history when cosmopolitan ideas and actions pervaded specific Muslim societies and cultures, exploring the tensions between regional cultures, isolated enclaves and modern nation-states. Models from the past are chosen from 4 geographic areas: the Swahili coast, the Ottoman Empire/ Turkey, Iran and Indo-Pakistan. Each region is covered in 2 chapters, proving a basis for the comparison of specific cosmopolitan instances in Muslim contexts.Cosmopolitanism is a key concept in social and political thought, standing in opposition to closed human group ideologies such as tribalism, nationalism and fundamentalism. Much recent discussion of this concept has been situated within Western self-perceptions with little inclusion of information from Muslim contexts; this volume redresses the balance.

This ethnographic account of legal pluralism in the simultaneously post-conflict and disaster situation in Aceh studies what is probably the fastest changing legal system in the Muslim world. Addressing changes in both the national legal system of Indonesia and the regional legal structure in the province of Aceh, it focuses on the encounter between diverse patterns of legal reasoning advocated by multiple actors or put forward by different institutions (local, national and international; official and unofficial; or judicial, political and social cultural) attendant to the vast array of issues arising in the wake of the December 2004 earthquake and tsunami in Aceh. As well as covering disputes about rights to land and other forms of property, it also investigates disputes about power relations, the conflict of rules, gender relationships, the right to make decisions, and prevailing norms. It presents disputes on multiple levels and in various forums, either through negotiation or adjudication, regardless of whether they are settled or not. The cases involve various actors from villages, the courts, the provincial government and the legislature, the national Supreme Court and the central government of Indonesia.

Explores the influence of centres of Islamic learning in Saudi Arabia, Iran and Egypt. This book claims that Saudi oil money is fuelling Salafi Islam in and geographical terrains as disparate as the remote hamlets of the Swat valley in Pakistan and sprawling megacities such as Jakarta.

Explores the generation, preservation and manipulation of genealogical knowledge. This title ranges from the Prophet's family tree to the present, ideas about kinship and descent have shaped communal and national identities in Muslim societies.