The Anthropology of Islam

An increasing number of people have questions about Islam and Muslims. But how can we approach and study Islam after September 11th? Which is the best methodology to understand an Islam that is changing in a globalized world?The Anthropology of Islam argues that Islam today needs to be studied as a living religion through the observation of everyday Muslim life. Drawing on extensive original fieldwork, Marranci provides provocative analyses of Islam and its relation to issues such as identities, politics, culture, power and gender.The Anthropology of Islam is unprecedented in its innovative and challenging discussion about fieldwork among Muslims, and its ethnographically based interpretations of contemporary aspects of Islam in a post-September 11th society. The book will appeal to those in anthropology and beyond who see and are interested in investigating the unsettled place of Islam in our multicultural society.

Gabriele Marranci is Lecturer in the Anthropology of Religion, School of Divinty, History and Philosophy, University of Aberdeen.