Making Islam Work

Thijl Sunier, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, is Professor (em.) of Anthropology of Religion. He has published on Islam in Europe, Islamic movements, and Islam and digitisation. He is chairman of the Netherlands Inter-University School for Islamic Studies and executive editor of the Journal of Muslims in Europe.

Preface and Acknowledgement

Notes on Transliteration



Introduction

 1 Islamic Authority: Themes, Stakes, and Foci

 2 Assessing Islamic Authority

 3 Islamic Authority-Making: Processes, Actors, and Contexts

 4 Chapters and Cases



1 The Religious Broker: Networks, Reciprocity, and Intermediary Power

 1 Introduction

 2 What Is a Religious Broker?

 3 Religious Brokerage in the City of Rotterdam. A Historical Case

 4 The Emergence of Religious Brokers

 5 The Dissolution of Religious Brokers

 6 Conclusions



2 The Politics of Imam Training: The Domestication of Islam in Europe

 1 Introduction

 2 The Quest for Imams

 3 Training Initiatives in Europe

 4 Assessing Imam Training in Europe: What Is at Stake?

 5 The Politics of Imam Training: Conclusions



3 Authoritative Pedagogics: The Sohbet

 1 Introduction

 2 Hizmet

 3 Sohbet as ‘Sensational Form’ and a Site of Devotional Practice

 4 Sohbet in Practice

 5 Hizmet as a ‘Way of Life’

 6 Gender

 7 Conclusions



4 Alternative Authorities: Authority-Making from Below

 1 Introduction

 2 Authority-Making from Below, Ethics, Senses of Space and the Production of Locality

 3 Cases

 4 Conclusions



5 Seeking Authentic Listening Experiences in Shi’ism: Online and Offline Intersections of Majlis Practices

 Aleeha Zahra Ali and Thijl Sunier

 1 Introduction

 2 Shi’a Muslims, Mobility and Story of Karbala

 3 Majlis: Sermon and Ritual

 4 Theorising the Majlis

 5 Digitisation and Shi’ism

 6 Authority and Authentication

 7 Transnational Authority

 8 Listening as a Practice of Authentication

 9 Who Sits at the Minbar? Ulama, Zakirin, Public Speakers

 10 The Scholar and the Listeners: Case Study

 11 Conclusions



6 Branding Islam: Imagination and Claims-Making

 1 Introduction

 2 Cases

 3 Conclusions



Conclusions

 1 Reprise

 2 Cross-Overs, Connections, Entanglements, and Conceptual Threads

 3 Reflections

 4 What Else?



Glossary

References

Index