Islam through Objects: Bloomsbury Studies in Material Religion
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Overview
Islam through Objects represents the state of the field of Islamic material cultural studies. With contributions from scholars of religion, anthropologists, art historians, folklorists, historians, and other disciplines, Anna Bigelow brings together a wide range of perspectives on Islamic materiality to debunk myths of Islamic aversion to material aspects of religion.
Each chapter focuses on a single object in daily use by Muslims-prayer beads, coins, amulets, a cistern well, clothing, jewellery, bodily and domestic adornments-to consider both generic and particular aspects of the object in question. These narratives will engage the reader by describing and analyzing each object in terms of its provenance, materials, uses, and history, as well as the broader history, variety and uses of the object in Islamic history and cultures. Temporal, regional, and sectarian variations in the styles, uses, and theological perspectives are also considered.
Framed by an introduction that assesses the various approaches to Islamic material culture in recent scholarship, Islam through Objects provides a template for the study of religion and material culture, which engages current theory, subtle and nuanced narratives, and the creative and imaginal capacities of Muslims through history.
Explores the regional, theological, and sectarian diversity of Islam through the stories of particular objects of daily use and engagement by Muslims.
Contributions from leading Islamic studies scholars spanning religious studies, anthropology, art history, history, folklore, and cultural geography, who are working in differing regions and periods
Broadens the scope of current analysis to illuminate how objects of everyday practice shape Muslims’ experiences and conceptualizations of their faith
Brings a new methodological lens to the study of Islam, which until recently has primarily focused on texts
Richly illustrated with 75 photographs of the objects featured in the text
Introduction: Thinking with Islamic Things, Anna Bigelow (Stanford University, USA)
Part I: Tracing Images
1. Clothes of Righteousness: The MGT Uniform in the 20th Century, Kayla Renee Wheeler (Grand Valley State University, USA)
2. The Masonic Muhammad: Modern Franco-Iranian Visual Encounters in Prophetic Iconography, Christiane Gruber (University of Michigan, USA)
3. Relic Reproduction: Tracing the Lives of Muhammad’s Sandal, Richard McGregor (Vanderbilt University, USA)
Part II: Identifying Objects
4. “The Greatest and Only Flag Known”: The Lapel Pin in American Islam, Michael Muhammad Knight (University of Central Florida, USA)
5. Tasbih in West African Islamic History: Spirituality, Aesthetics, Politics, and Identity, Ousman Murzik Kobo (Ohio State University, USA)
6. Caps, Heads, and Hearts, Scott Kugle (Emory University, USA)
Part III: Objects in Practice
7. What Comes to Light When a Lamp Is Lit in Bektashi Tradition, Mark Soileau (Haceteppe University, Turkey)
8. The Agency of the Material Taviz (Amulet) in a South Indian Healing Room, Joyce Burkhalter Flueckiger (Emory University, USA)
9. The Life of a Tablet, Aomar Boum (University of California, Los Angeles, USA)
Part IV: Circulatory Systems
10. Coins and Fish: Sovereignty, Economy, and Religion in the Islamicate Indian Ocean, Roxani Margariti (Emory University, USA)
11. The Aljibe del Rey, D. Fairchild Ruggles (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA)
12. Zamzam Water: Scales of Environmentality and Decolonizing Material Islam, Anna Gade (University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA)
Bibliography
Index
This is a fascinating and often surprising contribution to the Bloomsbury Studies in Material Religion.
By bringing together a multitude of perspectives and disciplines ranging from social and cultural anthropology to history, from folklore to art history and ecology, the volume offers a very inspiring contribution to widening the scope of Islamic studies … A collection of articles that abound in epic qualities and convey adventures and surprises of research. Some of the touching and truly breath-taking stories contained in this very enjoyable book will remain in the mind of the reader for a long time.
This is a treasure box of exciting object-oriented analysesthat unpack how Islamic epistemes are enmeshed with the material world. Framed by Anna Bigelow’s sophisticated introduction, this volume does not only offer a ground-breaking contribution to theorizing materiality in the study of Islam. It also triggers new insights for conceptualizing material religion from the angle of Muslim engagements with things.
Writing against misrepresentations of Islam as an iconophobic, monolithic tradition, this eclectic volume explores how Islamic things ‘make sense’ to Muslims around the world. Chapters colorfully narrate how Muslim communities come to identify an object as Islamic, saturated with Islamic meaning and presence, as well as how such objects animate and orient the senses and sensibilities of Muslims. Fascinating!
“This exciting edited collection of essays takes you on a journey to destabilize any notion you might have on ‘Islam’ through objects. An important book that will push you away from text to a world of things, beautifully illustrated-alive through the diverse lives of Muslims.”
- Title: Islam through Objects
- Author: Anna Bigelow
- Series: Bloomsbury Studies in Material Religion
- Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
- Print Publication Date: 2021
- Logos Release Date: 2024
- Pages: 264
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781350132832, 9781350138308, 1350138304, 1350132837
- Resource ID: LLS:9781350132832
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2025-04-22T10:09:33Z
Anna Bigelow is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Stanford University, USA.