Results for "Bowen, John R."

In this powerful but accessible new study John Bowen draws on a full range of work in social anthropology to present Islam in ways that emphasise its constitutive practices, from praying and learning to judging and political organising. Starting at the heart of Islam revelation and learning in Arabi... Read More about A New Anthropology of Islam (New Departures in Anthropology)

The French government's 2004 decision to ban Islamic headscarves and other religious signs from public schools puzzled many observers, both because it seemed to infringe needlessly on religious freedom, and because it was hailed by many in France as an answer to a surprisingly wide range of social i... Read More about Why the French Don't Like Headscarves: Islam, the State, and Public Space

This book responds to the often loud debates about the place of Muslims in Western Europe by proposing an analysis based in institutions, including schools, courts, hospitals, the military, electoral politics, the labor market, and civic education courses. The contributors consider the way people dr... Read More about European States and Their Muslim Citizens: The Impact of Institutions on Perceptions and Boundaries (Cambridge Studies in Law and Society)

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 concentra... Read More about Muslims Through Discourse: Religion and Ritual in Gayo Society

Muslims currently struggle to reconcile radically different sets of social norms and laws (including those derived from Islam, as well as contemporary ideas about gender equality and law) in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority country. John Bowen explores their struggle through archival a... Read More about Islam, Law, and Equality in Indonesia: An Anthropology of Public Reasoning

In this powerful but accessible new study John Bowen draws on a full range of work in social anthropology to present Islam in ways that emphasise its constitutive practices, from praying and learning to judging and political organising. Starting at the heart of Islam revelation and learning in Arabi... Read More about A New Anthropology of Islam (New Departures in Anthropology)