Social groups: religious groups and communities Books

3555 products


  • Americas Religious Wars The Embattled Heart of

    Yale University Press Americas Religious Wars The Embattled Heart of

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisTrade Review“[Sands] writes of a long-standing conflict between ‘anti-modernist religion and anti-religious modernism.’”—E.J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post“A new way of framing public debate that transcends the culture wars and forces us to grapple with the complexities of the actual interests, identities, histories, and desires at stake. A welcome and timely contribution from a scholar at the top of her game.”—Elizabeth Shakman Hurd, author of Beyond Religious Freedom: The New Global Politics of Religion"This is an outstanding entry into the controversies surrounding religion in American life. Insightful, provocative, and accessible, it makes a powerful case for the obfuscation, ambiguities, even incoherence that stalk religion talk."—Linell Cady, Arizona State University“Kathleen Sands transcends false dualism and instead charges us to use conflicts as opportunities to reveal the living principles, the living heart, of our shared democracy. Her timely analysis is a refreshing and principled contribution to American democracy.”—Nathan C. Walker, co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of Religion and American Education“In crystalline language and with a deeply informed historical sensibility, Sands traces the tangled intellectual roots of America’s religious wars, showing what a dreadful and consequential mess Americans have made of one of their ostensibly deepest social values.”—Robert Orsi, author of History and Presence

    1 in stock

    £20.25

  • Religion and Its Monsters

    Taylor & Francis Ltd Religion and Its Monsters

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisReligious encounters with mystery can be fascinating, but also terrifying. So too when it comes to encounters with the monsters that haunt Jewish and Christian traditions. Religion has a lot to do with horror, and horror has a lot to do with religion. Religion has its monsters, and monsters have their religion. In this unusual and provocative book, Timothy Beal explores how religion, horror, and the monstrous are deeply intertwined. This new edition has been thoughtfully updated, reflecting on developments in the field over the past two decades and highlighting its contributions to emerging conversations. It also features a new chapter, Gods, Monsters, and Machines, which engages cultural fascinations and anxieties about technologies of artificial intelligence and machine learning as they relate to religion and the monstrous at the dawn of the Anthropocene.Religion and Its Monsters is essential reading for students and scholars of religion and popular culture, as well as for any readers with an interest in horror theory or monster theory.Table of ContentsIntroduction to the Second Edition Introduction to the First Edition: Religion and Its Monsters, Monsters and Their Religion Part One: Religion and Its Monsters 1. Chaos Gods: Cosmic Horrors from the Ancient Near East 2. The Bible and Horror: Making and Unmaking the World 3. The Sleep of Wisdom: Job and the Abyss of Suffering 4. From the Whirlwind: Where God Outmonsters Job 5. Dinner and a Show: Watching and Eating Monsters with the Rabbis 6. To the Devil: John’s Great Red Dragon Part Two: Monsters and Their Religion 7. New Monsters in Old Skins: Modern Awe and Order 8. Other Gods: Colonialism and Its Monsters 9. The Blood Is the Life: Ritual Purity and Danger in Dracula 10. Screening Monsters: Movie Time, Sacred Time 11. Ecomonsters: The Return of the Ecologically Repressed 12. Our Monsters, Ourselves: Sacred Horror Culture 13. Gods, Monsters, and Machines: Artificial Intelligence in the Anthropocene Conclusion: Here Be Monsters. Notes Index

    1 in stock

    £35.99

  • What is Antisemitism

    Taylor & Francis Ltd What is Antisemitism

    1 in stock

    What is Antisemitism? offers a history of anti-Jewish animosity from antiquity to the present - including a discussion of the difficulties of defining antisemitism and three case studies illustrating the diverse and wide-ranging nature of the phenomenon in the present-day.

    1 in stock

    £35.99

  • After Empire Melancholia or Convivial Culture

    Taylor & Francis Ltd (Sales) After Empire Melancholia or Convivial Culture

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisDrawing on texts from the writings of Fanon and Orwell to Ali G. and The Office, After Empire, Paul Gilroy explores Britain's failure to come to terms with the loss of its empire and pre-eminent global standing.Trade Review'This is a work of startling range, insight and originality' - Stephen Howe, The Independent'[A] perceptive book.' - Andy Beckett, The GuardianTable of ContentsPart 1: The Planet 1. Race and the Right to be Human 2. Cosmopolitanism Contested Part 2: Albion 3. Has it Come to This? 4. The Negative Dialectics of Conviviality

    1 in stock

    £38.99

  • Cambridge University Press Jews in the Russian Army 18271917

    1 in stock

    a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

    1 in stock

    £85.50

  • Islamic Historiography 1 Themes in Islamic

    Cambridge University Press Islamic Historiography 1 Themes in Islamic

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisHow did Muslims of the classical Islamic period understand their past? What value did they attach to history? How did they write history? How did historiography fare relative to other kinds of Arabic literature? These and other questions are answered in Chase F. Robinson's Islamic Historiography, an introduction to the principal genres, issues, and problems of Islamic historical writing in Arabic, that stresses the social and political functions of historical writing in the Islamic world. Beginning with the origins of the tradition in the eighth and ninth centuries and covering its development until the beginning of the sixteenth century, this is an authoritative and yet accessible guide through a complex and forbidding field, which is intended for readers with little or no background in Islamic history or Arabic.Trade Review'He is to be commended for the outstanding effort he has invested and the solid scholarship he exhibits in this work, which earns his Islamic Historiography a place beside distinguished recent studies on the subject … Robinson's notes are exceptionally informative, and offer a rich guide to further specialized readings on a wide range of topics not at all restricted to Islam. It makes an outstanding textbook for students of Islamic studies, at both undergraduate and graduate levels.' Islam and Christian-Muslim RelationsTable of ContentsList of plates; List of maps; Acknowledgements; Abbreviations; Glossary; Chronology I: the historians of the formative period; Chronology II: the historians of the classical period; Preface; Part I. Origins and Categories: 1. Origins; 2. The emergence of genre; 3. Consequences and models; 4. Three categories: biography, prosopography, chronography; Part II. Contexts: 5. Historiography and traditionalism; 6. Historiography and society; 7. God and models of history; 8. Historians and the truth; Part III. How Historians Worked: 9. Vocations and professions; 10. Writing history; Conclusion; Suggestions for further reading; Bibliography; Index.

    1 in stock

    £59.39

  • The Cambridge Guide to Jewish History Religion

    Cambridge University Press The Cambridge Guide to Jewish History Religion

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisThe Cambridge Guide to Jewish History, Religion, and Culture provides a comprehensive and accessible overview of the Jewish experience, from its ancient origins to its impact on contemporary popular culture. The twenty-one historical and thematic essays examine the ongoing diversity and creativity of the Jewish experience, including the lives and contributions of women.Table of ContentsIntroduction Judith R. Baskin and Kenneth Seeskin; 1. The Hebrew Bible and the early history of Israel Marc Zvi Brettler; 2. The Second Temple Period Alan F. Segal; 3. The rabbinic movement Hayim Lapin; 4. The Jewish experience in the Muslim world Norman A. Stillman; 5. Jewish life in Western Christendom Robert Chazan; 6. Jews and Judaism in early modern Europe Adam Shear; 7. European Jewry: 1800–1933 Marsha L. Rozenblit; 8. Jews and Judaism in the United States Pamela S. Nadell; 9. The Shoah and its legacies Peter Hayes; 10. The founding of modern Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict Bernard Reich; 11. The centrality of Talmud Michael S. Berger; 12. Judaism as a religious system Harvey E. Goldberg; 13. Jewish worship and liturgy Ruth Langer; 14. Jewish private life: gender, marriage, and the lives of women Judith R. Baskin; 15. Jewish philosophy Kenneth Seeskin; 16. Jewish mysticism Hava Tirosh-Samuelson; 17. Modern Jewish thought Leora Batnitzky; 18. Contemporary forms of Judaism Dana Evan Kaplan; 19. Jewish popular culture Jeffrey Shandler; 20. Aspects of Israeli society Judith R Baskin; 21. The futures of world Jewish communities Calvin Goldscheider; Glossary; Timeline.

    1 in stock

    £42.74

  • Spiritual Fitness Training In Valor Crisis

    1 in stock

    £15.00

  • An Introduction to Islamic Archaeology

    Edinburgh University Press An Introduction to Islamic Archaeology

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisThis introduction to the archaeology of the Islamic world traces the history of the discipline from its earliest manifestations through to the present and evaluates the contribution made by archaeology to the understanding of key aspects of Islamic culture. The author argues that it is essential for the results of archaeological research to be more fully integrated into the wider historical study of the Islamic world. His organisation of the book into broad themes allows a focus on issues that are relevant across different regions and periods, and the broad geographical scope reflects the main focus of archaeological work in the Islamic world to the present day.Trade ReviewMilwright's introduction is a sound, balanced and scrupulously fair review of the field that will be immensely useful to lecturers and students of Islamic archaeology. It is carefully written to be accessible to a general audience, and the material discussed is generally well chosen to illustrate the full range and current state of Islamic archaeology. -- Jeremy Johns, Antiquity Milwright's introduction is a sound, balanced and scrupulously fair review of the field that will be immensely useful to lecturers and students of Islamic archaeology. It is carefully written to be accessible to a general audience, and the material discussed is generally well chosen to illustrate the full range and current state of Islamic archaeology.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements; Notes on transliteration and dating; List of abbreviations; List of figures; 1 Introduction; 2 Early Islam and late antiquity; 3 New directions in the early Islamic period; 4 The countryside; 5 Towns, cities and palaces; 6 Religious practice in the Islamic world; 7 Crafts and industry; 8 Travel and trade; 9 The 'post-medieval' Islamic world; 10 Conclusion; Glossary; Dynasties and periods; Bibliography; Index

    1 in stock

    £26.09

  • Difference and Disability in the Medieval Islamic

    Edinburgh University Press Difference and Disability in the Medieval Islamic

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisDid you know that blue eyes, baldness, bad breath and boils were all considered bodily 'blights' by Medieval Arabs, as were cross eyes, lameness and deafness? What assumptions about bodies influenced this particular vision of physical difference? How did blighted people view their own bodies? This book deals with these questions.

    1 in stock

    £26.09

  • Command and Creation A Shii Cosmological Treatise

    Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Command and Creation A Shii Cosmological Treatise

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisDaryoush Mohammad Poor is a Senior Research Associate in the Department of Academic Research and Publications at the Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS), London, and he is a lecturer for its Department of Graduate Studies. His first monograph, Authority without Territory: The Aga Khan Development Network and the Ismaili Imamate (2014), is a fresh theoretical engagement with contemporary institutions of the Ismaili imamate. As part of the Diamond Jubilee publications of the IIS, with Daniel Beben he edited and translated the autobiography of Aga Khan I, under the title of The First Aga Khan: Memoirs of the 46th Ismaili Imam (2018).Table of ContentsIntroduction English translation Persian edition of the text Index

    1 in stock

    £56.25

  • Jewish Edinburgh

    McFarland & Company Jewish Edinburgh

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisThis first full-length history of the Jews of Edinburgh chronicles their immigration to Scotland's capital city from Russia during the 1880s in the wake of Tsarist persecution, and examines their reception by native Scots.

    1 in stock

    £41.94

  • Sharia Compliant

    Stanford University Press Sharia Compliant

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisTrade Review"In this original and thought-provoking book, Rumee Ahmed shows how law and practice can interact to shape as well as reflect a community's collective wisdom. He tackles with authority a highly complex and contested set of concepts in Islamic law, making them highly accessible."—Ziba Mir-Hosseini, University of London"A superb introduction to changing and reforming Islamic law from within the tradition."—Ziauddin Sardar, author of Mecca: The Sacred City and Editor of Critical Muslim"This book is a must-read for believers as well as researchers—those tired of being apologists, those who have exhausted the dull repertoire of arguments that Islam is a religion of peace, and those facing an onslaught of hatred, discrimination, and misrepresentation. Rumee Ahmed honors a timeless faith, a Holy Book, a wise Prophet, and generations of enlightened acolytes who do not defend the faith as much as they uphold its very tenets."—Azza Karam, UN Population Fund and UN Inter-Agency Task Force on Religion and Development"A creative and accessible exploration of Islamic law and tradition. I learned a lot from this book." —Eboo Patel, Founder and President of the Interfaith Youth Core, and author of Acts of Faith and Interfaith Leadership"Nothing is trickier than convincing believers that religious law evolves—and that they should try to shape its evolution. Sharia Compliant takes on this task with verve and optimism...by busting myths and urging development the book makes a meaningful contribution to contemporary Islamic thought and politics." —Noah R. Feldman, Harvard Law School and author of The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State"In this superbly written work, Rumee Ahmed skillfully turns complex notions into accessible ideas. He shows the reader how to independently connect classical Islamic law with the challenges of contemporary life, using real-life examples. This book is for the scholar, activist, and lay person alike. It achieves the difficult task of democratizing the production of Islamic legal knowledge today by making it possible for all to participate in its creation. A considerable and much-needed feat!"—Marwa Sharafeldin, Musawah: Global Movement for Equality and Justice in the Muslim Family"In a book aimed mainly at fellow Muslims, Ahmed (Univ. of British Columbia, Canada) suggests that more efficient solutions can recapture the ability of Islamic law to adapt to contemporary needs. He speaks of patching (accommodating) and hacking (revising) as vehicles through which temporary and long-lasting applications can be made to a variety of domestic, commercial, and criminal proceedings....Recommended."—L. Rosen, CHOICE"Ahmed's in-depth book demonstrates how flexible Islamic law can be as it evolves to tackle the issues of 21st century life and will appeal to lay readers interested in the textual origins of popularly held beliefs about the Koran."—Publisher's Weekly"Rumee offers us hope that change is not only feasible in Islamic law but is integral to it, as that is how it has survived through centuries of Muslim communities in all times, places and context....I am grateful for his book."—Junaid Jahangir, Maydan"Rumee Ahmed has provided a spirited, accessible (and no doubt in some corners controversial) handbook for harmonizing proposed ethical and moral components in the Islamic tradition. The book should be required reading for those who want to understand how modern thinkers in Islamic law grapple with legitimacy, tradition, and a changing world."—Ian M. Hartshorn, Terrorism and Political Violence

    1 in stock

    £65.25

  • Islamic Gardens and Landscapes

    University of Pennsylvania Press Islamic Gardens and Landscapes

    Book SynopsisWestern admirers have long seen the Islamic garden as an earthly reflection of the paradise said to await the faithful. However, such simplification, Ruggles contends, denies the sophistication and diversity of the art form. Islamic Gardens and Landscapes immerses the reader in the world of the architects of the great gardens of the Islamic world, from medieval Morocco to contemporary India.Just as Islamic culture is historically dense, sophisticated, and complex, so too is the history of its built landscapes. Islamic gardens began from the practical need to organize the surrounding space of human civilization, tame nature, enhance the earth''s yield, and create a legible map on which to distribute natural resources. Ruggles follows the evolution of these early farming efforts to their aristocratic apex in famous formal gardens of the Alhambra in Spain and the Taj Mahal in Agra.Whether in a humble city home or a royal courtyard, the garden has several defining chaTable of ContentsPreface Chapter 1: The Islamic Landscape Place and Memory Chapter 2: Making the Desert Bloom Transforming an Inhospitable Earth Chapter 3: The Science of Gardening Agricultural and Botanical Manuals Chapter 4: Organizing the Earth Cross-axial Gardens and the Chahar Bagh Chapter 5: Trees and Plants Botanical Evidence from Texts and Archaeology Chapter 6: Representations of Gardens and Landscape Imagery in Manuscript Paintings, Textiles, and Other Media Chapter 7: Imaginary Gardens Gardens in Fantasy and Literature Chapter 8: The Garden as Paradise The Historical Beginnings of Paradisiac Iconography Chapter 9: The Here and Hereafter Mausolea and Tomb Gardens Chapter 10: A Garden in Landscape The Taj Mahal and Its Precursors Chapter 11: Religion and Culture The Adoption of Islamic Garden Culture by Non-Muslims List of Gardens and SitesSpain Sicily Morocco Algeria Tunisia Egypt Turkey Syria and Region Oman Iraq Iran Central Asia Pakistan India United States Glossary Notes Bibliography Index Acknowledgments

    £25.19

  • Maimonides and the Merchants

    University of Pennsylvania Press Maimonides and the Merchants

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisThe advent of Islam in the seventh century brought profound economic changes to the Jews living in the Middle East, and Talmudic law, compiled in and for an agrarian society, was ill equipped to address an increasingly mercantile world. In response, and over the course of the seventh through eleventh centuries, the heads of the Jewish yeshivot of Iraq sought precedence in custom to adapt Jewish law to the new economic and social reality.In Maimonides and the Merchants, Mark R. Cohen reveals the extent of even further pragmatic revisions to the halakha, or body of Jewish law, introduced by Moses Maimonides in his Mishneh Torah, the comprehensive legal code he compiled in the late twelfth century. While Maimonides insisted that he was merely restating already established legal practice, Cohen uncovers the extensive reformulations that further inscribed commerce into Jewish law. Maimonides revised Talmudic partnership regulations, created a judicial method to enable JewishTrade Review"Maimonides and the Merchants opens a new window onto Maimonides' unprecedentedly systematic and comprehensive code of law. Cohen's exceptionally clear and cogent readings of Mishneh Torah, balanced against previous rabbinic legal writings on the one hand and Geniza evidence on the other, successfully establish Mishneh Torah as a social-political endeavor addressed to a real-life audience." * Islamic Law and Society *Table of ContentsNotes and Abbreviations Introduction Chapter 1. Codification and Legal Change Chapter 2. Halakha and the Custom of the Merchants Chapter 3. Updating the Halakha Chapter 4. Partnership Chapter 5. Commercial Agency (Suhba) Chapter 6. Suhba-Agency in the Code Chapter 7. Proxy Legal Agency Chapter 8. Sale and Contract Chapter 9. Judicial Autonomy Conclusion. Legal Change and Originality Notes Works Cited Index Acknowledgments

    1 in stock

    £52.70

  • Arab and Jewish Women in Kentucky

    The University Press of Kentucky Arab and Jewish Women in Kentucky

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisReveals how Jewish and Arab women have navigated the intersection of tradition, assimilation, and Kentucky's cultural landscape.Table of ContentsIntroduction The Woman's Director and Women's Friendships Collaboration and Chastisement Tone, Genre, and the Actor's Director Masculinity and the Man Who Drinks Edelkayt The Theatricality of Gender and Drag Performance Queer Musical Excess Race, Nation, and Gendered Noir Anxiety Ethnic Assimilation and 1950s Hollywood Conclusion

    1 in stock

    £18.00

  • On the Margins of a Minority Leprosy Madness and

    Wayne State University Press On the Margins of a Minority Leprosy Madness and

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisIn medieval Europe, the much larger Christian population regarded Jews as their inferiors, but how did both Christians and Jews feel about those who were marginalised within the Ashkenazi Jewish community? Ephraim Shoham-Steiner explores the life and plight of three of these groups. Shoham-Steiner draws on a wide variety of late-tenth- to fifteenth-century material from both internal and external sources to reconstruct social attitudes toward these “others”.

    1 in stock

    £44.96

  • Israeli Salvage Poetics

    Wayne State University Press Israeli Salvage Poetics

    Book SynopsisThrough thoughtful analysis of twentieth- and twenty-first-century Israeli literature, Israeli Salvage Poetics interrogates the concept of the negation of the diaspora as addressed in Hebrew-language literature authored by well-known and lesser-known Israeli authors from the eve of the Holocaust to the present day. Author Sheila E. Jelen considers the way that Israeli writers from eastern Europe or of eastern European descent incorporate pre-Holocaust eastern European culture into their own sense of Israeliness or Jewishness. Many Israelis interested in their eastern European legacy live with an awareness of their own nation''s role in the repression of that legacy, from the elevation of Hebrew over Yiddish to the ridicule and resentment directed at culture, text, and folk traditions from eastern Europe. To right the wrongs of the past and reconcile this conflict of identity, the Israeli authors discussed in this book engage in what Jelen calls salvage poetics they read Yid

    £27.96

  • Hamza attends a Janaza

    Islamic Foundation Hamza attends a Janaza

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisHamza's usual fun Saturday is cancelled when his family receives the sad news that Uncle Sameer has died. Follow Hamza through the day as he learns about the various aspects of a janaza. This story is a gentle introduction to attending an Islamic funeral, told from a child's perspective. It familiarises children with the etiquettes and some of the rituals surrounding a funeral and provides an opportunity for important discussions around death and the afterlife in an age-appropriate manner. Trade ReviewThe author’s gentle story is geared toward Muslim children but contains a universal message about honor and respect. - Elisabeth Egan, The New York TimesFor years it has been noted how few children’s Islamic books about grief and loss are available, and while numerous titles have come out in the last few years, it wasn’t until I saw this new book, did I realize how desperately we were in need of a book on janaza. I love that the author establishes on the first page that this book is not focused on grief, but rather about death, the burial, and preparing to meet Allah (saw) in the hereafter with our deeds. The beauty is that while the topic is critical and needed, the story is also well done. It may not focus on emotion, but it has a lot of heart and tenderness, thus making it a wonderful addition to all book shelves for children preschool and up as a brief introduction to how Islam views death, the rituals of burial, and the worship that surrounds it. Packaged with clear text, robust backmatter and absolutely adorable illustrations, I am very happily impressed with this book.The book starts with Hamza telling about his favorite day of the week, Saturday, the day he spends with his Nano-ji and cousins, but one day all that changes when his mom gets a phone call about the loss of a community Uncle. Mom says, inna lillahi wa inna illahi rajioon quietly in to the phone and Hamza knows something is wrong, but doesn’t quite understand why the passing of Uncle Sameer, the owner of the local sweet shop, means he has to attend a janaza instead of going to his grandfather’s house.Hamza’s parents explain the reward of going, and remind him that we all have to leave this world one day. They recall Uncle Sameer helping bandage his knee when he got hurt and gave him a lollipop. Once in the car, Hamza wants to know what is going to happen. His parents explain the ghusl and the body being wrapped in the kafan and the body being put in the ground.When they get to the masjid there are a lot of aunties on the women’s side, including Auntie Salma who everyone is hugging and reassuring. After dhuhr the janaza begins, but it is a standing up namaz, and is very short, and Hamza is confused. Later outside the long box is loaded into the car, duas are made, and the body taken to the cemetery.At the graveside, more duas are made, and Hamza worries that Uncle will be lonely. When his father explains that his good deeds will keep him company, Hamza remembers the kindness Uncle Sameer has shown him and makes duas.The backmatter contains hadith about what still benefits those that have died, reward for attending a janaza, a glossary, discussion points, suggested activities, and duas. The book is a great starting point to introducing death, rituals, and answering questions any child might have in a gentle manner. - The Islamic School Librarian

    1 in stock

    £8.99

  • Taylor & Francis God After the Church Lost Control

    15 in stock

    Book SynopsisThis book combines insights from sociology of religion and theology to consider the fundamental changes that have taken place in how people think about God in contemporary Western society. It can be said that God has become irrelevant for many people, often as a result of well-grounded ethical critique of churches. Here the authors argue for the necessity of rethinking God-talk in a pluralist and changing context and for thinking critically about hegemonic ways of speaking about God from a moral and experiential perspective, not only from the point of view of abstract theology. Drawing on empirical material from a Norwegian setting, the book advocates a critical-constructive theology with a notion of God that takes human experience and social change seriously. It depicts a God who is an enabler of moral maturity rather than an authoritarian moral instructor, a God who is on the side of the marginalized and poor, and a challenge to unjust hierarchies.Table of ContentsIntroduction: Why this Book? 1 On God and change2 Religious trends in Northern Europe – an overview3 Does society shape God?4 The changing Christian God5 The crisis of theology – and why it matters for speaking about God6 The morally intolerable God – and the alternative7 The politically dangerous God – a God of love8 God as she? Why can’t she be?9 Pluralism challenges notions of God and religious truth10 When God becomes irrelevant to society’s challenges11 God as vulnerable love?Bibliography

    15 in stock

    £37.99

  • Jewish Women

    Routledge Jewish Women

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisJewish Women: Between Conformity and Agency examines the concepts of gender and sexuality through the primary lens of visual and material culture from antiquity through to the present day.The backbone of this transhistorical and transcontextual study is the question of Jewish womenâs agency in four different geographical, chronological, and methodological contexts, beginning with womenâs dress codes in Roman-Byzantine Syro-Palestine, continuing with rituals of purity in medieval Ashkenaz, worship in papal Avignon and the Comtat Venaissin, and ending with marriage and divorce in Israeli film. Each of these explorations is interested in creating a dialogue between the patriarchal legacy of the traditional texts and the chronologically corresponding visual and material culture. The author challenges traditional approaches to the study of Jewish culture by employing tools from art history, archaeology, and film and media studies. In each of these different contexts, there is ample evidence that womenâdespite persistent overall structural discriminationâhave found ways to challenge male constructs of gender norms. Ultimately, these examples from past and present times highlight womenâs eminence in shaping Jewish history and culture.Bringing a new interdisciplinary lens to the study of the history of gender and sexuality, the book will be of interest to students and researchers of Jewish history and culture, art history, archaeology, and film studies.

    1 in stock

    £40.84

  • Institutional Origins of Islamist Political

    Cambridge University Press Institutional Origins of Islamist Political

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisMuslim countries experience wide variation in levels of Islamist political mobilization, including such political activities as protest, voting, and violence. Institutional Origins of Islamist Political Mobilization provides a theory of the institutional origins of Islamist politics, focusing on the development of religious common knowledge, religious entrepreneurship, and coordinating focal points as critical to the success of Islamist activism. Examining Islamist politics in more than 50 countries over four decades, the book illustrates that Islamist political activism varies a great deal, appearing in specific types of institutional contexts. Detailed case studies of Turkey, Algeria, and Senegal demonstrate how diverse contexts yield different types of Islamist politics across the Muslim world.Trade Review'Mecham himself raises the question of the increasing pluralism of political Islam. As the events of recent years have shown, Islamist actors may not necessarily have common goals or visions. Might Islamist mobilization sometimes be productive for the development of civil society or democracy? Is it still useful to consider Islamist political mobilization as a single conceptual category? Such are the questions and conundrums that naturally arise from such an insightful analysis.' Rachel Rinaldo, American Journal of SociologyTable of ContentsIntroduction; 1. Islam and political mobilization; 2. From the sacred to the state: a theory of Islamist mobilization; 3. A political geography of the sacred: variation in Islamist political mobilization across space and time; 4. Explaining low Islamist mobilization: Muslims and politics in Senegal; 5. Voting for welfare and virtue: Islamist electoral mobilization in Turkey; 6. When Islam defines politics: from voting to violence in Algeria; 7. Conclusion; Epilogue; References.

    1 in stock

    £21.84

  • Trust and the Islamic Advantage

    Cambridge University Press Trust and the Islamic Advantage

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisIn much of the Muslim world, Islamic political and economic movements appear to have a comparative advantage. Relative to similar secular groups, they are better able to mobilize supporters and sustain their cooperation long-term. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Turkey, a historically secular country that has experienced a sharp rise in Islamic-based political and economic activity. Drawing on rich data sources and econometric methods, Avital Livny challenges existing explanations - such as personal faith - for the success of these movements. Instead, Livny shows that the Islamic advantage is rooted in feelings of trust among individuals with a shared, religious group-identity. This group-based trust serves as an effective substitute for more generalized feelings of interpersonal trust, which are largely absent in many Muslim-plurality countries. The book presents a new argument for conceptualizing religion as both a personal belief system and collective identity.Trade Review'One of the central obsessions of scholars of the Muslim world has been to explain why many of that world's most successful political parties have been ones dedicated to legislating Islamic law. Avital Livny offers a fresh answer to this old question: Religion matters, not by shaping what voters want, but by providing group members with a shared identity. Drawing on a variety of data both qualitative and quantitative, observational and experimental, Livny demonstrates that Islamists' shared religious identity enables them to overcome the mistrust that plagues developing societies, rendering them in turn more capable than their opponents of acting collectively and of garnering the votes of their compatriots. This is a deeply impressive work of social science that speaks powerfully to anyone interested in understanding how religion and religious identity function in political life.' Tarek Masoud, Sultan of Oman Professor of International Relations, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Massachusetts'… Trust and Islamic Advantage makes an empirically rich and theoretically engaging contribution to the scholarship on religion and politics and Middle Eastern politics. With its meticulous empirical analyses, it will stimulate high-quality scholarly discussions on the role of identity-based trust in political processes in Muslim-majority countries and beyond.' Güneş Murat Tezcür, Perspectives on PoliticsTable of ContentsPart I. Theoretical Development: 1. Understanding the rise of Islamic-based movements in the Muslim world; 2. Evaluating existing theories of the Islamic advantage; 3. Generalized distrust and the participation gap in the Muslim world; 4. Muslim identity and group-based trust; Part II. Applications and Empirics: 5. Explaining the Islamic advantage in political participation; 6. Islam, trust, and strategic voting in Turkey; 7. The quasi-integration of firms in an Islamic community: the case of MÜSİAD; 8. Conclusion; Appendix; Bibliography; Index.

    1 in stock

    £22.99

  • The Cambridge Companion to Antisemitism

    Cambridge University Press The Cambridge Companion to Antisemitism

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisA History of Anti-Semitismexamines the history, culture and literature of antisemitism from antiquity to the present. With contributions from an international team of scholars, whose essays were specially commissioned for this volume, it covers the long history of antisemitism starting with ancient Greece and Egypt, through the anti-Judaism of early Christianity, and the medieval era in both the Christian and Muslim worlds whenJews were defined as ''outsiders,'' especially in Christian Europe. This portrayal often led to violence, notably pogroms that often accompanied Crusades, as well as to libels against Jews. The volume also explores the roles of Luther and the Reformation, the Enlightenment, the debate over Jewish emancipation, Marxism, and the social disruptions after World War 1 that led to the rise of Nazism and genocide. Finally, it considers current issues, including the dissemination of hate on social media and the internet and questions of definition and method.Trade Review'an important resource - though frequently an unsettling read.' Alexander Faludy, Church TimesTable of ContentsPart I. The Classical Period: 1. Antisemitism in the pagan world Erich Gruen; 2. New Testament origins of Christian anti-Judaism Adele Reinhartz; 3. Anti-Judaism in early Christian writings Pierluigi Piovanelli; 4. Church fathers and antisemitism from the second century through Augustine (end of 450 CE) Joshua Garroway; 5. Christians, Jews, and Judaism in the Eastern Mediterranean and Near East, c. 150–400 CE Andrew Jacobs; 6. Christianizing the Roman Empire: Jews and the law from Constantine to Justinian, 300–600 CE Andrew Jacobs; 7. Antisemitism in Byzantium, fourth-seventh centuries Steven Bowman; Part II. Medieval Times: 8. The medieval Islamic world and the Jews Reuven Firestone; 9. Medieval Western Christendom Robert Chazan; 10. Christian theology and papal policy in the Middle Ages Jeremy Cohen;11. Crusades, blood libels, and popular violence Emily Rose; 12. Jews and money: medieval origins of a modern stereotype Julie Mell; 13. Jews and anti-Judaism in Christian religious literature Miri Rubin; 14. Antisemitism in medieval art Debra Higgs Strickland; Part III. The Modern Era: 15. Martin Luther and the Reformation Debra Kaplan; 16. The enlightenment and its negative consequences Alan Arkush; 17. Modern antisemitism in Western Europe: romantic nationalism, racism, and racial fantasies Shulamit Volkov; 18. Antisemitism in late Imperial Russia and Eastern Europe up to 1920 Laura Engelstein; 19. Marxism, socialism, and antisemitism Jack Jacobs; 20. Antisemitism in modern literature and theatre: 20A. French literature Maurice Samuels; 20B. German literature Michael Mack; 20C. English literature Bryan Cheyette; 21. Antisemitism in America, 1654–2020 Jonathan Sarna; 22. Antisemitism in the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich Steven T. Katz; 23. New Islamic antisemitism: mid-nineteenth to the twenty-first century Esther Webman; 24. Anti-Zionism as antisemitism Dina Porat; 25. New issues Deborah Lipstadt; 26. Antisemitism in social media and on the Web Mark Weitzman; 27. Theories on the causes of antisemitism Bruno Chaouat.

    1 in stock

    £29.99

  • Muslim Women Social Movements and the War on

    Palgrave MacMillan UK Muslim Women Social Movements and the War on

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisThe post-September 11th British anti-war movement brought together Muslim activists, organizations and leftist groups in opposition to the 'War on Terror'. This book offers an analysis of the political conditions through which Muslim and leftist engagement emerges within this movement, highlighting the decisive leadership played by Muslim women.Table of Contents1. Introduction2. Identity politics and social movements3. Background: Muslim political mobilizations in Britain4. The anti-war movement: new alliances, old challenges?5. Opposing movements and Islamophobia in Guardian Comment is Free 6. 'Talking back' to the gendered 'War on Terror'7. Towards an oppositional consciousness?8. Conclusion

    1 in stock

    £42.74

  • Sexuality and New Religious Movements

    Palgrave Macmillan Sexuality and New Religious Movements

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisTable of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction Henrik Bogdan and James R. Lewis Chapter 2: Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Empowerment in Mormon Fundamentalist Communities Jennifer Lara Fagen and Stuart A. Wright Chapter 3: Gender Among the Branch Davidians Martha Sonntag Bradley Chapter 4: Sex and Gender in the Words and Communes of Osho (nee Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh) Roshani Cari Shay and Henrik Bogdan Chapter 5: Sexual Practice, Spiritual Awakening, and Divine Self-Realization in the Reality-Way of Adidam Michael (Anthony) Costabile Chapter 6: Gurdjieff on Sex: Subtle Bodies, Si 12, and the Sex Life of a Sage Johanna J. M. Petsche Chapter 7: Sex Magic or Sacred Marriage? Sexuality in Contemporary Wicca Chas S. Clifton Chapter 8: Cult of Carnality: Sexuality, eroticism and gender in contemporary Satanism Per Faxneld and Jesper Aa. Petersen Chapter 9: Rael's Angels: The First Five Years of a Secret Order Susan J. Palmer Contributors IndexTrade Review"Sex is not just sex. As anyone who has deeply engaged the history of religions knows, human sexuality runs the gamut from the most mundane fetish or fantasy to the profundities of charismatic authority, mystical experience, discarnate erotic encounter, alien abduction, even human deification. The essayists in this new volume demonstrate this still ill-understood truth in abundance and with astonishing historical and psychological detail. They thus take us further down the road toward a genuine understanding of our real situation in this weird, weird world." - Jeffrey J. Kripal, author of Roads of Excess, Palaces of Wisdom: Reflexivity and Eroticism in the Study of MysticismTable of ContentsTable of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction Henrik Bogdan and James R. Lewis Chapter 2: Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Empowerment in Mormon Fundamentalist Communities Jennifer Lara Fagen and Stuart A. Wright Chapter 3: Gender Among the Branch Davidians Martha Sonntag Bradley Chapter 4: Sex and Gender in the Words and Communes of Osho (nee Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh) Roshani Cari Shay and Henrik Bogdan Chapter 5: Sexual Practice, Spiritual Awakening, and Divine Self-Realization in the Reality-Way of Adidam Michael (Anthony) Costabile Chapter 6: Gurdjieff on Sex: Subtle Bodies, Si 12, and the Sex Life of a Sage Johanna J. M. Petsche Chapter 7: Sex Magic or Sacred Marriage? Sexuality in Contemporary Wicca Chas S. Clifton Chapter 8: Cult of Carnality: Sexuality, eroticism and gender in contemporary Satanism Per Faxneld and Jesper Aa. Petersen Chapter 9: Rael's Angels: The First Five Years of a Secret Order Susan J. Palmer Contributors Index

    1 in stock

    £80.99

  • Taylor & Francis Ltd The Roots of Jewish Consciousness Volume Two

    15 in stock

    Book SynopsisThe Roots of Jewish Consciousness, Volume Two: Hasidism is the second volume, fullyannotated, of a major, previously unpublished, two-part work by Erich Neumann (19051960). It was written between 1940 and 1945, after Neumann, then a young philosopher and physician and freshly trained as a disciple of Jung, fled Berlin to settle in Tel Aviv. He finished this work at the end of World War II. Although he never published it, he kept it the rest of his life.Volume Two, Hasidism, is devoted to the psychological and spiritual wisdom embodied in Jewish spiritual tradition. Relying on Jung's concepts and Buber's Hasidic interpretations, Neumann seeks alternatives to the legalism and anti-feminine bias that he says have dominated collective Judaism since the Second Temple. He argues that modern Jews can develop psychological wholeness through an appropriation of Hasidic legends, Talmudic texts, and Kabbalistic mysteries, including especially the Zohar. ExclusivelTrade Review"Erich Neumann is cited more than any single psychoanalytic writer in the ever-growing exploration of Kabbalah and psychology. So it is gratifying that his work on Kabbalah and Hasidism can now enrich this vibrant discussion. Neumann’s especial contribution is the development of the theme of dual transformation, of the world and of the soul, for Jewish mystical psychology, and highlighting the Hasidic move away from moralism towards radical embracing of the full range of psychic manifestation. This exquisitely crafted project will be of profound interest to all who are concerned with the religious life as such." - Professor Jonathan Garb, Gershom Scholem Chair in Kabbalah; Chair, Department of Jewish Thought, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, IsraelTable of ContentsList of Ilustrations; Foreword: On Erich Neumann and Hasidism, by Moshe Idel; Acknowledgments; Abbreviations; Introduction to Volume Two, by Ann Conrad Lammers; Hasidism: Its Psychological Meaning for Judaism; Chapter 1: The Structure of the World as Inwardness; Chapter 2: The Transformation of Souls; Chapter Three: Life in this World; Chapter Four: The Human Being and the New Image of God; Chapter Five: Hasidism and the Birth of the Modern Jew; Appendix A: Passages from the Zohar in English Translation; Appendix B: The Importance of Consciousness in the Experience of Depth Psychology (Four-lecture series, 1942-43); Editorial Note; Bibliography; Index; Scriptural Index.

    15 in stock

    £31.34

  • The Jews in Old Poland 10001795

    Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Jews in Old Poland 10001795

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisThis book describes the establishment, growth and partial decline of one of the most important Jewish communities in the world. In the late 15th century the Polish-Lithunaian commonwealth became the centre of Jewish intellectual and legal activity. The culture created by the Polish Jews survived the decline and partition of the Polish state in the 19th century, and the area that was formerly the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth became a seedbed for further Jewish intellectual developments. The essays in this book provide a picture of the Jewish community in the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth during the periods of its finest flowering and initial decline.Table of ContentsJews in medieval Poland, Jerzy Wyrozumski; Judaizers in Poland in the second half of the 16th century, Zdzislaw Pietrzyk; the Jewish population in the light of the resolutions of dietines in the 16th-18th centuries, Andrzej Link-Lenczowski; the private life of Polish Jews in the Vasa period, Daniel Tollet; Jews and Armenians in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 16th & 17th centuries, Krystyn Matwijowski; the four years' sejm and the Jews, Artur Eisenbach; the council of the four lands, Shmul Ettinger; the pinkas of the council of the four lands, Israel Bartal; the language of documents relating to Jewish autonomy in Poland, Moshe Altbauer; the terminology of the bodies of Jewish self-government, Anatol Leszczynski; the Jewish sejm - its origins and functions, Jacob Goldberg; regional aspects of the autonomy of Polish Jews - the history of the Tykocin Kehilla, 1670-1782, Mordekhai Nadav; the kehilla and the municipality in private towns at the end of the early modern period, Gershon David Hundert; Hasidism and the Kehilla, Chone Shmeruk; the Krakow Voivode's jurisdiction over Jews, Stanislaw Grodziski; the individual versus the Community in Jewish Law in pre-eighteenth century Poland, Shmuel Shilo; the condition of the Jewish population of Wschowa at the start of the second half of the 18th century, Jacek Sobczak; the chronology & distribution of Jewish craft guilds in old Poland 1613-1795, Maurycy Horn; Jewish trade at the end of the 16th century & in the first half of the 17th century, Jan M. Malecki; Jewish trade in the century of Krakow's decline, Janina Bieniarzowna; Jews & the village in the Polish Commonwealth, Antoni Podraza; the Jewish population in the towns on the West Bank of the vistula in Sandomierz Province from the 16th to the 18th centuries, Zenon Guldon & Karol Krzystanek.

    1 in stock

    £28.49

  • Around the Tents of Torah

    Amberley Publishing Around the Tents of Torah

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisIn this book I do not propose to delve to the great depths of our Torah; what I merely desire to do is to focus light on some aspect or other of the area âœAround the Tents of the Torahâ.

    1 in stock

    £13.50

  • British Muslims Ethnicity and Health Inequalities

    Edinburgh University Press British Muslims Ethnicity and Health Inequalities

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisPresents a pioneering collection studying religion as a wider determinant of health in Britain

    1 in stock

    £26.99

  • Islam in Prison

    Bristol University Press Islam in Prison

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisThis overview of Islam and prison provides a thorough understanding of Muslim prisoners' experiences in Britain and Europe. It explores issues including conversion to Islam, rehabilitation and the extent to which prisons foster extremism, and gives practitioners and policy-makers ideas for better engagement and achieving positive outcomes.Table of ContentsForeword – Sir David Calvert-Smith and Eoin McLennan Murray Introduction: A tale of three prisoners 1. Where does Islam come from and who are Muslim prisoners? 2. What is Islam in prison? 3. Finding their faith: why do prisoners choose Islam? 4. What types of Islam do prisoners follow? 5. Mainstream Islam in prison 6. Islamism and Islamist Extremism in prison 7. The lives of Muslim prisoners: opportunities and risks 8. Caring for Muslim prisoners: Muslim prison chaplaincy 9. Managing Muslim prisoners: treading a middle path between naivety and suspicion 10. Conclusion: The Virtuous Cycle of Rehabilitation and Avoiding the Vicious Cycle of Extremism

    1 in stock

    £18.99

  • The Psychology of Religion Fifth Edition

    Guilford Publications The Psychology of Religion Fifth Edition

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisKeeping up with the rapidly growing research base, the leading graduate-level psychology of religion text is now in a fully updated fifth edition. It takes a balanced, empirically driven approach to understanding the role of religion in individual functioning and social behavior. Integrating research on numerous different faith traditions, the book addresses the quest for meaning; links between religion and biology; religious thought, belief, and behavior across the lifespan; experiential dimensions of religion and spirituality; the social psychology of religious organizations; and connections to coping, adjustment, and mental disorder. Chapter-opening quotations and topical research boxes enhance the readability of this highly instructive text. New to This Edition *New topics: cognitive science of religion; religion and violence; and groups that advocate terrorist tactics. *The latest empirical findings, including hundreds of new references. *Expanded discussionTrade Review"This volume offers a depth of understanding and intellectual engagement rarely found in a textbook. In the fifth edition, Hood, Hill, and Spilka once again provide an authoritative study of the psychology of religion, integrating new perspectives and research findings. Drawing on evolutionary theory; neuroscience; and contemporary personality, social, and developmental psychology, the text examines religion as a vital force in individual and societal life. Scholars, applied scientists, and anyone yearning to better understand the psychological nature of religion will appreciate this book’s sophistication and accessibility."--Edward P. Shafranske, PhD, ABPP, Professor and Muriel Lipsey Chair in Clinical and Counseling Psychology, Pepperdine University "Kudos to Hood, Hill, and Spilka--an all-star author team--for this comprehensive overview of the roots and fruits of religious experience. The fifth edition explores religion’s contribution to meaning, self-control, and social connections. It reveals insights into the biological, cognitive, and social psychology of religion, across the lifespan. And it discloses what psychological science has learned about fascinating topics, from gay conversion therapy to prayer to deconversion. A definitive yet accessible synopsis of a growing field."--David G. Myers, PhD, Department of Psychology, Hope College "Hood, Hill, and Spilka have done it again with this fifth edition! This clear, thoughtful, and balanced text is full of wisdom informed by the authors' decades of scholarly work. The book is unbiased and objective, without being detached; it explores what we know about the psychology of religion, while also pointing out the holes in our current understanding. It considers the ways that religion is a central source of meaning, while paying attention to how this meaning affects all other aspects of a person's life. This text can be used well in both undergraduate classes and graduate seminars. It is a gem!"--Jeanne M. Slattery, PhD, Department of Psychology, Clarion University of Pennsylvania "The rapid expansion of the psychology of religion makes it critical to discern what is valuable among 'new' ideas in relation to past accomplishments. This updated fifth edition helps both junior and senior scholars in this evaluative task. Spanning classic and emergent psychological topics, and tapping into an increasingly global literature, the authors highlight what is known and what remains to be investigated. For a survey course with upper-level undergraduates, the material can introduce the great breadth of the field. Seasoned graduate or postgraduate readers will find that a close reading reveals complex nuances of both theory and methodology and yields a long list of potential research projects. Students learn about the wide range of ways that scientific psychological principles can be applied to understanding religious beliefs, emotions, and behaviors."--Kevin L. Ladd, PhD, Department of Psychology, Indiana University South Bend "Each of the authors has done pioneering work in the psychology of religion, making this one of the most comprehensive, respected, and valuable texts in the field. The fifth edition demonstrates that the authors have remained current and contemporary in their treatment of religion and spirituality, which renders this book ideal for psychology of religion coursework and for scholars interested in an overview of the subject. The authors are unapologetically empirical and scientific in their approach, which they present with an engaging, lively writing style. This classic text has just become even better."--Mark R. McMinn, PhD, ABPP, Graduate School of Clinical Psychology, George Fox University -There is much here for parish clergy and chaplains, especially in the four chapters discussing the psychological aspects of faith formation through developmental stages and the opportunity to reflect upon patients' lives along the denomination/sect/cult continuum….This text belongs in the libraries of Clinical Pastoral Education centers and behavioral health care facilities.--Association of Professional Chaplains Forum Resource Reviews, 1/1/2020Table of Contents1. The Psychological Nature and Functions of Religion 2. Foundations for an Empirical Psychology of Religion 3. Evolution, Neuropsychology, and Other Biological Aspects of Religion 4. Religion in Childhood 5. Religion in Adolescence and Young Adulthood 6. Adult Religious Issues 7. Religion, Aging, and Death 8. Conversion, Spiritual Transformation, and Deconversion 9. Relationships between Individuals and Religious Groups 10. Religious and Spiritual Experience 11. Mysticism 12. Religion, Morality, and Prejudice 13. Religion, Health, Psychopathology, and Coping 14. Epilogue References Author Index Subject Index

    1 in stock

    £71.24

  • Heavens Bankers

    Little, Brown Book Group Heavens Bankers

    2 in stock

    Book SynopsisA trillion dollar financial industry is revolutionising the global economy. Governments and corporations across the Islamic world are increasingly turning to finance that complies with Sharia law in order to fund economic growth. Even in the West, Islamic finance is rapidly becoming an important alternative source of funding at a time when the conventional finance industry is reeling from the effects of the financial crisis.From its origins in the seventh century, Islamic finance has sought to develop core ethical principles that are based in the foundations of Islam and Shari'a. By engaging critically with the complexities of international finance, it has evolved and adapted into a world emerging from the economic and moral aftermath of a global financial crisis. But with an increasing Western interest, is it able to remain true to the principles of its faith? Can it maintain its ideals of social justice? Or is Islamic finance guilty of the very dangers it seeks to avoid?Trade ReviewIrfan uses his own professional and personal experiences to weave together an accessible and interesting story -- Monica Siddiqui, The Daily TelegraphIn the aptly-titled Heaven's Bankers, Harris Irfan weaves together personal anecdotes with explanations of some of the crucial aspects of the subject - and its controversies * Financial Times *Heaven's Bankers [is] more than just a good read and will become a major primary source for historians and financiers in researching and understanding this fascinating area * The Huffington Post *[Irfan opens] a window into this fascinating world * Wall Street Journal *

    2 in stock

    £14.24

  • Secularism in the Arab World

    Edinburgh University Press Secularism in the Arab World

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisThis book is a translation of Aziz al-Azmeh's seminal work Al-'Ilmaniya min mandhur mukhtalif that was first published in Beirut in 1992.

    1 in stock

    £29.45

  • Matzpen

    Edinburgh University Press Matzpen

    1 in stock

    Book Synopsis

    1 in stock

    £81.00

  • The Politics of Muslim Identities in Asia

    Edinburgh University Press The Politics of Muslim Identities in Asia

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisApproaching religious identity with an emphasis on agency and contestation, this book offers a historical perspective on the development of Muslim identities in Asia. It examines the contingent politics that influence how Muslims constitute themselves as modern subjects.

    1 in stock

    £85.50

  • Conflict on Mount Lebanon

    Edinburgh University Press Conflict on Mount Lebanon

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisExplores the course and the nature of the conflict between the Druze and the Maronites arguably the two founding communities of modern Lebanon.

    1 in stock

    £81.00

  • Is Superman Circumcised

    McFarland & Co Inc Is Superman Circumcised

    1 in stock

    Book Synopsis Superman is the original superhero, an American icon, and arguably the most famous character in the world--and he''s Jewish! Introduced in June 1938, the Man of Steel was created by two Jewish teens, Jerry Siegel, the son of immigrants from Eastern Europe, and Joe Shuster, an immigrant. They based their hero''s origin story on Moses, his strength on Samson, his mission on the golem, and his nebbish secret identity on themselves. They made him a refugee fleeing catastrophe on the eve of World War II and sent him to tear Nazi tanks apart nearly two years before the US joined the war. In the following decades, Superman''s mostly Jewish writers, artists, and editors continued to borrow Jewish motifs for their stories, basing Krypton''s past on Genesis and Exodus, its society on Jewish culture, the trial of Lex Luthor on Adolf Eichmann''s, and a future holiday celebrating Superman on Passover. A fascinating journey through comic book lore, American history, and JeTrade ReviewRoy Schwartz has done a deep dive into the history, mythology and cultural folklore of America’s super-heroes and his conclusions are indisputable. The contemporary concept of the super-hero, as old as the story of Moses, was birthed by Jewish immigrants and first generation Jewish kids from the tales, morals and ethics of their Jewish ethnical roots. The majority of the creators from 1938’s Golden Age of Comics through the 1960’s Marvel Age of Comics were Jewish. Whether it was Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster turning Moses into Superman or Stan Lee and Jack Kirby transforming The Golem into The Hulk, their heroes embodied their Jewish experience. Roy Schwartz analysis is scholarly yet broadly entertaining. He answers many questions and leaves the readers with but one: “If there were no Jews on Krypton where Superman was born, and if he was therefore circumcized on earth, did the moyal have to use a Kryptonite scalpel?" —Michael Uslan, Comic Book Historian and Originator and Executive Producer of the Batman movie"A deep-dive into arguably the world’s most famous and iconic fictional character and his Jewish influences...This book is a must-have for any fan of superheroes, comic books and Jewish history and literature." —Jerusalem Post, 19th May 2021Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsPrefaceIntroductionMethodologyPart I. Scriptural Superheroes: The Ancient Roots of the Man of TomorrowSamson, Solomon and Other SupermenParadigmatic Parallels: Superman as MosesSent by His Father: Superman as JesusWorld's Finest: Settling the Denominational DebatePart II. Shticks from the Shtetl: How Jews Created Comics and Caped CrusadersHitler, Hollywood and HoudiniFamous Funnies and Other Firsts: The Birth of Comic BooksThe Big BangPart III. Mensch of Steel: Fulfilling Jewish Fantasy and FaithThe Jewish Experience: Context Is ContentBirthrightThe Secret Identities of Heroes and HebrewsThe Galactic GolemThe Brave and the Bold: Superman vs. ÜbermenschPhone Booth, Voting Booth, Confession Booth: Superman's Religion and PoliticsPart IV. Postwar to Postmodern: Redefining Superman, Comics and JudaismSuperman vs. the Mad Scientist: The Postwar EraIf I Were a Superman: The Silver AgeNazis in Space and Superman on Screen: The Bronze AgeSecond Coming: The Dark AgeSuperman Supernal: The Modern AgeChapter NotesBibliographyIndex

    1 in stock

    £43.59

  • Heavenly Sex

    New York University Press Heavenly Sex

    Book SynopsisCelebrated sex expert and bestselling author Dr. Ruth Westheimer bridges the gap between sex and religion in this provocative exploration of intimacy in the Jewish faithIn this light-hearted, lively tour of Jewish sexuality, Dr. Ruth K. Westheimer and Jonathan Mark team up to reveal how the Jewish tradition is much more progressive than popular wisdom might lead one to believe. Applying Dr. Ruth's acclaimed brand of couples therapy to such Biblical relationships as Abraham and Sarah, and Joseph and Potiphar's wife, the authors enlist Biblical lore to explore such topics as surrogacy, incest, and arranged marriages. They offer a clearer understanding of the intertwining relationships between sexuality and spirituality through incisive investigations of the Song of Songs, Ruth, Proverbs, Psalms, and some of the bawdier tales of the Prophets. One chapter provides a provocative new perspective on the Sabbath as a weekly revival, highlighting not only its spiritual nature, but also its maTrade ReviewAmerica's favorite sex therapist probably best known for making the word orgasm a TV talk show favorite, collaborates with Jewish Week editor Mark in a more significant accomplishment—a thoughtful study of the roles of sexuality in Judaica. * Booklist *

    £14.24

  • Youth in Egypt

    New York University Press Youth in Egypt

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisAn eye-opening look at youth in contemporary Egypt, from the role they play in advancing political change to their everyday strugglesIn Youth in Egypt, Nadine Sika explores the political world of young people in Egypt, focusing on their experiences under authoritarianism. From the reigns of Gamal Abdel Nasser and Anwar Sadat to that of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, she offers an on-the-ground perspective through the eyes of multiple generations of young people who lived through consecutive periods of political upheaval and state militarization.Drawing on surveys, interviews, and focus groups, Sika shines a light on youth who have participated in protest movements, civil society organizations, and political parties. She shows us the different opportunities for economic and political participation that exist for them, explaining why young Egyptians may choose to either mobilize against orsurprisinglyin support of the regime. Sika underscores how youth in Egypt Trade ReviewYouth in Egypt explores how young people in Egypt see opportunities and impediments to living active, civically-engaged lives. Nadine Sika contributes to our understanding of how people and government shape each other’s opportunity structures in authoritarian contexts. -- Lisa Anderson, author of Pursuing Truth, Exercising Power: Social Science and Public Policy in the Twenty-first Century

    1 in stock

    £17.59

  • Muslim Cool

    New York University Press Muslim Cool

    Book SynopsisInterviews with young Muslims in Chicago explore the complexity of identities formed at the crossroads of Islam and hip hopThis groundbreaking study of race, religion and popular culture in the 21st century United States focuses on a new concept, Muslim Cool. Muslim Cool is a way of being an American Muslimdisplayed in ideas, dress, social activism in the 'hood, and in complex relationships to state power. Constructed through hip hop and the performance of Blackness, Muslim Cool is a way of engaging with the Black American experience by both Black and non-Black young Muslims that challenges racist norms in the U.S. as well as dominant ethnic and religious structures within American Muslim communities. Drawing on over two years of ethnographic research, Su'ad Abdul Khabeer illuminates the ways in which young and multiethnic US Muslims draw on Blackness to construct their identities as Muslims. This is a form of critical Muslim self-making that builds on interconnections and intersectionTrade ReviewMuslim Coolcelebrates the spiritual grounding of hip hop and tries to tease apart its complex relationships with race and religion. * The Atlantic *A skilled ethnographer, [Su'ad Abdul Khabeer] combines her poet's ear and thorough research in prose that flips the script on the anti-Black, anti-Muslim sentiment. * Ebony *AbdulKhabeer explores the rich relationship of hip-hop to Islam in her fascinating new work,Muslim Cool. * Foreword Reviews *Where Chance injects spirituality into hip-hop, Muslim Cool injects hip-hop into spirituality. And in doing so, as Abdul-Khabeers Muslim Cool-hunting presents, its expanding the ways in which black history, culture, and politics get expressed, re-defined, and redeployed into new contexts. * Popmatters *A must read for any student of anthropology, religion, migration, or urban studies. * Choice *Khabeers study explores how young African American Muslim women and men who embrace Muslim cool use hip-hop styles of dress, music, dance, and spoken-word performance to assert their Muslim bona fides. In so doing, they are arguing against the anti-black biases of the dominant Middle Eastern and South Asian immigrant Muslim community in the United States. But theyre also arguing for their sense of belonging in the American national community that is normed as white even as it claims to be post-racial and multicultural. * Christian Century Review *Because the text stays so close to her teachers words and theorizations while working through complex questions regarding power and religious and racial identity, it is accessible to both everyday readers and scholarly circles alike. * Religious Studies Review *The book in sum is an admirable approach to the circulation of Blackness, which few have taken up in the context of Muslims in the United States. * Sociology of Religion *Muslim Cool discusses much-neglected topics in the field of Islam in America; Khabeer's discussion of Muslim masculinity in the United States, for instance, is a contribution to a shockingly small bibliography on the topic. * Mashriq Mahjar Journal *An intense and novel anthropological approach to the development of the relationship between African American Muslimsthe original American face of Islamand immigrant Muslims and their children. An absolute must-read. -- Aminah Beverly McCloud,DePaul UniversityMuslim Coolbrilliantly spotlights how Black Muslim youth construct and perform identities that embody indigenous forms of Black cultural production. Equally important, the text shows how these constructions are used to reimagine, reshape, and resist hegemonic and often anti-Black conceptions of Muslim identity. With masterful ethnographic detail, Abdul Khabeer offers a subtle and rich analysis of the complex relationships between race, religion, and state power. This book is a desperately needed intervention within Anthropology, Africana Studies, and Islamic Studies. -- Marc Lamont Hill,author of Beats, Rhymes, and Classroom Life: Hip-Hop Pedagogy and the Politics of IdentityIn times when both Islam and Hip Hop have been constructed as threats to American civilization by some, Muslim Cool presents a much-needed, rigorous analysis backed by rich, ethnographic detail to present a far more nuanced and intriguing storya story that is central to understanding current U.S. racial, religious, and political landscapes. Through Khabeers groundbreaking research and carefully crafted narrative and argumentation, we discover the journeys of young Muslims who find, through Hip Hop, a way of being Muslim that helps them challenge anti-Black racism in their everyday lives and interactions with systemic inequalities. Muslim Cool is, as dead prez once rapped, bigger than Hip Hopit is a must-read for anyone interested in race, religion and culture in contemporary America. -- H. Samy Alim,author of Roc the Mic Right: The Language of Hip Hop Culture

    £23.74

  • Hannah Arendt and the Fragility of Human Dignity

    Lexington Books Hannah Arendt and the Fragility of Human Dignity

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisProfessor John Douglas Macready offers a post-foundational account of human dignity by way of a reconstructive reading of Hannah Arendt. He argues that Arendt's experience of political violence and genocide in the twentieth century, as well as her experience as a stateless person, led her to rethink human dignity as an intersubjective event of political experience. By tracing the contours of Arendt's thoughts on human dignity, Professor Macready offers convincing evidence that Arendt was engaged in retrieving the political experience that gave rise to the concept of human dignity in order to move beyond the traditional accounts of human dignity that relied principally on the status and stature of human beings. This allowed Arendt to retrofit the concept for a new political landscape and reconceive human dignity in terms of stancehow human beings stand in relationship to one another. Professor Macready elucidates Arendt's latent political ontology as a resource for developing strictly pTable of ContentsContents Foreword by Kathleen B. Jones Acknowledgments Sigla Introduction Chapter 1: The Quest for a Political Measure of Human Dignity Chapter 2: Rethinking Human Dignity in Dark Times Chapter 3: The Worldliness of Human Dignity Chapter 4: Conditional Dignity and Political Personhood Chapter 5: The Right to a Place in the World Bibliography Index About the Author

    1 in stock

    £60.00

  • Sufi Civilities: Religious Authority and

    Stanford University Press Sufi Civilities: Religious Authority and

    Book SynopsisDespite its pervasive reputation as a place of religious extremes and war, Afghanistan has a complex and varied religious landscape where elements from a broad spectrum of religious belief vie for a place in society. It is also one of the birthplaces of a widely practiced variant of Islam: Sufism. Contemporary analysts suggest that Sufism is on the decline due to war and the ideological hardening that results from societies in conflict. However, in Sufi Civilities, Annika Schmeding argues that this is far from a truthful depiction. Members of Sufi communities have worked as resistance fighters, aid workers, business people, actors, professors, and daily workers in creative and ingenious ways to keep and renew their networks of community support. Based on long-term ethnographic field research among multiple Sufi communities in different urban areas of Afghanistan, the book examines navigational strategies employed by Sufi leaders over the past four decades to weather periods of instability and persecution, showing how they adapted to changing conditions in novel ways that crafted Sufism as a force in the civil sphere. This book offers a rare on-the-ground view into how Sufi leaders react to moments of transition within a highly insecure environment, and how humanity shines through the darkness during times of turmoil.Trade Review"An engaging, compelling, and beautifully-written ethnography that traverses the heterogeneous Sufi sociosphere of contemporary Afghanistan. Schmeding documents, in arresting detail and acute sensitivity, the dexterity of Sufi adepts in creating and maintaining civil communities amidst violence and ruptures. At once profound, riveting, and timely, the book is a vital contribution to the study of religion and civil society."—Ismail Fajrie Alatas, New York University"Sufi Civilities opens the door to a marvelous world of faith that lies hidden in plain sight. Schmeding's path breaking ethnographic account of diverse Sufi communities in contemporary Afghanistan is both new and exciting. Over the past half century they have outlasted every radical political regime that failed to appreciate just how deeply Sufism is embedded in Afghanistan's Islamic culture."—Thomas Barfield, Boston University"Afghan Sufis have been hidden from view by attention to mujahidin, Taliban, and al-Qaida. Through astute anthropological observation, Annika Schmeding shows how Sufis became important players in the contests for religious authority that emerged from the cultural whirligig of a NATO-supported Islamic Republic. This is a major contribution to the study of modern Afghanistan."—Nile Green, University of California, Los Angeles

    £23.79

  • Surviving Repression: The Egyptian Muslim

    Manchester University Press Surviving Repression: The Egyptian Muslim

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisSurviving repression tells the story of the Muslim Brotherhood following the 2013 coup d'état in Egypt. The Brotherhood gained legal recognition and quickly rose to power after the 2011 Arab uprisings, but its subsequent removal from office marked the beginning of the harshest repression of its troubled history. Forced into exile, the Brotherhood and its members are now faced with a monumental task as they rebuild this fragmented organisation. Drawing on extensive fieldwork and interviews with current and former members of the Brotherhood, the book explores this new era in the movement’s history, emphasising first-hand experiences, perspectives and emotions to better understand how individual responses to repression are affecting the movement as a whole.Surviving repression offers a unique insight into the main strategic, ideological and organizational debates dividing the Brotherhood.Table of ContentsIntroduction1 The Freedom and Justice Party in power: Islam is (not) the solution?2 The fall from grace3 The tanzim, shattered4 Lessons learnt? Stagnation vs adaptation5 Divided, togetherConclusionGlossaryBibliographyIndex

    1 in stock

    £63.75

  • Interpreting Religion: Making Sense of Religious

    Bristol University Press Interpreting Religion: Making Sense of Religious

    Book SynopsisThis edited collection harnesses a diversity of interpretivist perspectives to provide a panoramic view of the production, experiences, contexts, and meanings of religion. Scholars from the US, South Asia and Europe explore religious phenomena using ethnographic, comparative historical, psychosocial, and critical theoretical approaches. Each chapter addresses foundational themes in the study of religion – from identity, discourse and power to ritual, emotion, and embodiment. Authors examine dynamic intersections of race, gender, history, and the present within the religious traditions of Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism, as well as among the non-religious. Cutting boldly across religious traditions and paradigms, the book investigates areas of harmony and contradiction across different interpretive lenses to achieve a richer understanding of the meanings of religion.Table of ContentsIntroduction: Interpretive Approaches in the Study of Religion ~ Erin F. Johnston 1. Making Sense of Queer Christian Lives ~ Jodi O'Brien 2. Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma: Religion, Spirituality and Ritual among Children and Grandchildren of Holocaust Survivors ~ Janet Jacobs 3. Doing It: Ethnography, Embodiment, and the Interpretation of Religion ~ Daniel Winchester 4. Mind the Gap: What Ethnographic Silences Can Teach Us ~ Rebecca Kneale Gould 5. The Public Sphere and Presentations of the Collective Self: Being Shia in Modern India ~ Aseem Hasnain 6. Meaning and Power: Toward a Critical Discursive Sociology of Religion ~ Titus Hjelm 7. The Religion of White Male Ethnonationalism in a Multicultural Reality ~ George Lundskow 8. Totalitarianism as Religion ~ Yong Wang 9. The Heritage Spectrum: A More Inclusive Typology for the Age of Global Buddhism ~ Jessica Marie Falcone 10. Interpreting Nonreligion ~ Evan Stewart Afterword: Approaching Religions – Some Refl ections on Meaning, Identity, and Power ~ Vikash Singh

    £80.99

  • Islamic Peril: Media and Global Violence

    Black Rose Books Islamic Peril: Media and Global Violence

    1 in stock

    Book Synopsis

    1 in stock

    £18.89

  • The Quest for Redemption: Central European Jewish

    Purdue University Press The Quest for Redemption: Central European Jewish

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisThe Quest for Redemption: Central European Jewish Thought in Joseph Roth's Works by Rares Piloiu fills an important gap in Roth scholarship, placing Roth's major works of fiction for the first time in the context of a generational interest in religious redemption among the Jewish intellectuals of Central Europe. In it, Piloiu argues that Roth's challenging, often contradictory and ambivalent literary output is the result of an attempt to recast moral, political, and historical realities of an empirically observable world in a new, religiously transfigured reality through the medium of literature. This diegetic recasting of phenomenological encounters with the real is an expression of Roth's belief that, since the self and the world are in a continuing state of crisis, issuing from their separation in modernity, a restoration of their unity is necessary to redeem the historical existence of individuals and communities alike. Piloiu notes, however, that Roth's enterprise in this is not unique to his work, but rather is shared by an entire generation of Central European Jewish intellectuals. This generation, disillusioned by modernity's excessive secularism, rationalism, and nationalism, sought a radical solution in the revival of mystical religious traditions—above all, in the Judaic idea of messianic redemption. Their use of the Chasidic notion of redemption was highly original in that it stripped the notion of its original theological meaning and applied it to the secular experience of reality. As a result, Roth's quest for redemption is a quest for a salvation of the individual not outside, but within, history.

    1 in stock

    £31.16

  • Nazi-Looted Jewish Archives in Moscow: A Guide to

    University of Scranton Press,U.S. Nazi-Looted Jewish Archives in Moscow: A Guide to

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisDuring their ascendancy and subsequent occupation of much of Europe, the Nazis plundered the documents and cultural treasures of Jewish organizations as well as other groups and individuals they deemed to be enemies of the Reich. When the Nazis were crushed, many of these looted collections, as well as records of Nazi state agencies that persecuted and murdered Jews, were discovered by the Soviet Army, then transferred to Moscow and held for decades in closed, secret archives. This catalog and guide supplies the first comprehensive, collection-by-collection English-language description of this historical and cultural documentation, which the Nazis meant to be among the only vestiges of the millions of victims they annihilated. Scholars and lay researchers will find this reference a unique and indispensable guide to the invaluable remains of a rich world brutally destroyed.

    1 in stock

    £21.38

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