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Cambridge Middle East Studies #25
賲爻丕亍賱丞 丕賱丿賵賱丞 丕賱爻毓賵丿賷丞 : 兀氐賵丕鬲 廿爻賱丕賲賷丞 賲賳 丕賱噩賷賱 丕賱噩丿賷丿
The terms Wahhabi or Salafi are seen as interchangeable and frequently misunderstood by outsiders. However, as Madawi al-Rasheed explains in a fascinating exploration of Saudi Arabia in the twenty-first century, even Saudis do not agree on their meaning. Under the influence of mass education, printing, new communication technology, and global media, they are forming their own conclusions and debating religion and politics in traditional and novel venues, often violating official taboos and the conservative values of the Saudi society. Drawing on classical religious sources, contemporary readings and interviews, Al-Rasheed presents an ethnography of consent and contest, exploring the fluidity of the boundaries between the religious and political. Bridging the gap between text and context, the author also examines how states and citizens manipulate religious discourse for purely political ends, and how this manipulation generates unpredictable reactions whose control escapes those who initiated them.
414 pages, Paperback
First published November 30, 2006
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About the author
Madawi AlRasheed 賲囟丕賵賷 丕賱乇卮賷丿
11听books147听followersMadawi Al-Rasheed is Visiting Professor at the Middle East Centre at LSE and Research Fellow at the Open Society Foundation. She was Professor of Anthropology of Religion at King鈥檚 College, London between 1994 and 2013. Previously, she was Prize Research Fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford. She also taught at Goldsmith College (University of London) and the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Oxford.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 8, 2009
This book looks at Islamic opposition movements in Saudi Arabia. The book is well-researched and well-written, but it assumes the reader already has a general knowledge of Saudi Arabia. It also is written in academic jargon, although it is not too hard to understand.
March 20, 2009
I won't lie; I didn't finish this cover to cover. I took a class in college on this topic and found it very interesting. And I give credit to Mr. Al-Rasheed because as a Muslim, he has done a great deal of research and provides an interesting perspective on fundamental Islam.
Sure, I think all fundamental religion is poisonous to our world, but that doesn't make me discredit Al-Rasheed's sometimes apologetic tone. He isn't afraid to really look at the core issues of fundamental Islam and find where the prime points of tension exist. In accomplishing that, this book is quite useful.
However, while this book is purely academic in style and purpose, it fails to really make any analytical statements or arguments aside from summarizing and clarifying a crapload of stuff religious leaders and fundamentalists have written.
I don't need to hear the author appease me by saying all these Muslim fundamentalists are insane and should be nuked on sight. I would just like to hear some solutions to the issues that apparently seem unresolvable.
Sure, I think all fundamental religion is poisonous to our world, but that doesn't make me discredit Al-Rasheed's sometimes apologetic tone. He isn't afraid to really look at the core issues of fundamental Islam and find where the prime points of tension exist. In accomplishing that, this book is quite useful.
However, while this book is purely academic in style and purpose, it fails to really make any analytical statements or arguments aside from summarizing and clarifying a crapload of stuff religious leaders and fundamentalists have written.
I don't need to hear the author appease me by saying all these Muslim fundamentalists are insane and should be nuked on sight. I would just like to hear some solutions to the issues that apparently seem unresolvable.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
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