Springer Muslim Societies and the Challenge of Secularization: An Interdisciplinary Approach: 1 (Muslims in Global Societies Series, 1)

Product Description This is the first interdisciplinary book to address the issue of Islam, secularism and globalization. It not only offers innovative research and new material, but also provides empirical examples and theoretical debates on topics of great public interest. From the Back Cover Is Islam compatible with democracy and the West? How do Muslim communities understand the concept of the secular? How have contemporary Islamic scholars addressed the topic and why? How does living in a secularized context affect the everyday lives of Muslim women living in the west? What about the so-called 'secular' Muslims? These and other questions are discussed in Muslim Societies and the Challenge of Secularization: An Interdisciplinary Approach. A timely collection which, for the first time, explores these themes from a strong interdisciplinary approach. This book provides theoretical and ethnographic discussion of both the experience of Muslims vis-a-vis the idea of the secular as well as the revival of the discourse of secularism within the western context. Through its interdisciplinary approach and the case studies of different Muslim communities, this book avoids some of the clichés and essentialism which often affect the analysis of secularization and Islam. The collection aims to open a discussion and provide glimpses into current studies on the topic. About the Author Gabriele Marranci is an Associate Professor and Senior Visiting Research Fellow at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore.  He is the founding editor of the journal Contemporary Islam: Dynamics of Muslim Life, and the book series (with Prof. Bryan Turner) Muslims in Global Societies, and also author of Jihad Beyond Islam, The Anthropology of Islam and Understanding Muslim Identity, Rethinking Fundamentalism. He is the author of the blog Islam, Muslims and an Anthropologists.