Social groups: religious groups and communities Books

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis15 June 2020, marked the fiftieth anniversary of the failed attempt of a group of fourteen Soviet Jews and two Russian freedom fighters to hijack a small plane from Leningrad Airport in order to escape the Soviet Union. At the head of this attempt was former Soviet air force pilot Major Mark Dymshits. They were sixteen: three Jewish families, including two daughters and one pregnant young woman; four Jewish refuseniks; and two Russian regime fighters. They were not part of any organization and indeed barely knew each other, but they had the same goal: to break through the prison wall of the Soviet regime and go to Israel or any other free country. The international scandal following their trial and brutal sentencing paved the way for hundreds of thousands of Jews to leave the Soviet Union. Later, the calls for freedom would crescendo, eventually bringing down the Berlin Wall. In this memoir, now appearing in print for the first time, Mark Dymshits recalls his life as a Soviet Jewish citizen and air force pilot and relates the events that led him to concoct the audacious plan that ultimately changed the world.

Read more less

Book SynopsisZvi Eyal was born Harry Klafter in Utrecht, the Netherlands. As a teenager, he was imprisoned in Westerbork, the Nazi transit camp whose purpose was to prepare Jews for extermination by creating a virtual reality, depicting a quasi-normalcy made possible by the victims denial of the facts on the ground. Zvi finished high school in defiance of the ongoing extermination of Dutch Jewry. On the eve of his transport to Auschwitz he miraculously escaped, and with the courageous help of three Dutch families survived the war. The saga of his illegal aliyah to Palestine, participation in the War of Independence, the family he built, and the distinguished career he led in surgery exemplifies the ingathering of the Jewish people in its exaltation and glory. Zvis tenacity and drive, coupled with the hospitality and humanity of those who opened their doors and their hearts during the years of fury, are testaments of hope in mankinds ability to overcome evil and seek a better tomorrow.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA love story as implausible as this must be true. Their first date was arranged by a professional matchmaker. A deal, a pragmatic matter that had nothing to do with romance - that''s how it all began. Not long after the engagement was settled, Gabriel was sent to war. The year was 1914. Like Penelope and her Odysseus, Fanny waited for him. This was just the beginning of a romance spanning seven decades of passion and rage, desire and contempt, estrangement and attraction. This love story, set against a backdrop of the major historical events of the twentieth century, is also the story of the eras biggest Jewish dilemma: the choice between the promise of life in America and a new Jewish state in Palestine. While Fanny and Gabriel find themselves on opposite sides of this conflict, fate reunites them. Both a torment and an anchor, their love is an ember that never dies. Fanny and Gabriel are more than just incredible characters they were author Nava Semels very own grandmother and grandfather. With her unique literary talent, Semel weaves and reconstructs their story, piecing together the fragments of their extraordinary life. Fanny and Gabriel was first published in Israel in July 2017, just a few months before Semels death. It topped the best seller lists, received rave reviews, and found an adoring audience of readers.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Glass Plates of Lublin features selections from the 2,700 glass photographic plates discovered in the attic of a nineteenth-century apartment building in the former Jewish section of Lublin, Poland. Taken between 1913 and 1930, they capture the teeming life of Lublin before the war, at a time when Jews composed a third of the city's population. The images include Jews and Poles, children and the elderly, young lovers, workers, athletes, and everyday people who posed for a camera long ago never dreaming that their portraits would one day be of interest to anyone.Unearthed in 2010, the plates have been restored and are now exhibited at the Grodzka Gate - NN Theatre Centre in Lublin, where curator Piotr Nazaruk and his staff continue to work assiduously to identify their subjects and solve the mystery of the photographer who took them.For centuries Lublin was home to one of Europe's most distinguished Jewish communities. These portraits, which date from around 1913 to the 1930s, showcase the diversity of the city and its Jewish community. In them we see signs of different political parties and members of various social classes; the construction and opening of the Yeshivat Chochmei Lublin, soon to be the largest yeshiva (Talmudic academy) in the world; and groups of left-wing and secular Jewish youngsters, such as members of Bund-affiliated youth groups. The images show the changes in prewar fashions, which reflect increasing Jewish secularization. Many of the pictures were taken in the Saxon Garden, Lublin's "Central Park", and in the nearby villages and towns of Nowodwór, Motycz, and Na??czów, where Lublin residents used to go for vacation.In the years since this remarkable find, the collection has been thoroughly researched and analyzed. For years, no connection could be made between any known photographer and the negatives. In 2015, Jakub Chmielewski, then an associate of the Center and currently a researcher at the State Museum at Majdanek, discovered a new clue. In German documents from August 1940, he found an entry on the house at Rynek 4, along with the name "Abram Zylberberg" and the annotation "photographer". Chmielewski's discovery was the first, and still the only, serious indication of the negatives' authorship. The discovery was later confirmed when one of the plates was found bearing the signature "Photo Zylberberg. Lublin".

Read more less

Book SynopsisWith the addition of two stories, namely, ""The Masterpiece"", ""April 19th"" and ""Letters to God"", this collection makes available in English for the first time a complete selection of Chava Rosenfarb's short stories all in one place. All the stories in this collection deal with the afterlife of Holocaust survivors in North America. Since Chava Rosenfarb was herself a Holocaust survivor who settled in Montreal after the war, she speaks in these stories from personal experience at the same time as she allows her imagination to inhabit the minds of characters far different from herself.

Read more less

Book SynopsisWritings on Yiddish and Yiddishkayt, The War Years, 1939-1945 is the first in a three-volume series, featuring twenty-five carefully curated essays (selected from over 150) written from just before the start of World War II through to its immediate aftermath. Isaac Bashevis Singer originally published each of these pieces under pseudonyms in Forverts, the world's oldest Yiddish newspaper, when he was still relatively unknown. The essays are arranged chronologically, offering readers the unique opportunity to bear witness to the shifts in Singer's perspective as history unfolded--a rarity for English audiences, considering that much of Singer's work was written well before it was eventually translated. Short introductory paragraphs also accompany each piece, offering exact publication dates and remarks about the larger historical and cultural context of Singer's writing.

Read more less

Book SynopsisArgues that Islam is passing through a transformative moment no less dramatic than the movements that swept through Europe during the Reformation. From the role of women in Islam to the nature of jihad, from democracy and human rights to terrorism and warfare, the author builds a vital vision for a moderate Islam.Trade Review"The Great Theft is probably the most dramatic manifesto from an American Muslim since the September 11 attacks." -- Associated Press "Those looking for an understanding of the Muslim world and its relationship to the West...will find this book invaluable." -- Dallas Morning News "Mother Jones and the National Review rarely see eye-to-eye, but we both agree on this essential title." -- Mother Jones Magazine "An uncommonly rich, learned and easily accessible framework for understanding the current theological struggle within Islam." -- Washington Post Book World "... [The Great Theft] lucidly answers important questions Westerners have about Islam." -- San Francisco Chronicle "Khaled Abou El Fadl has made a contribution that should be widely distributed and deeply reflected upon." -- Globe and Mail (Toronto) "One of the more engaging primers on Islam available." -- Foreign Affairs

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhile accompanying eight high–spirited Jewish delegates to Dharamsala, India, for a historic Buddhist–Jewish dialogue with the Dalai Lama, poet Rodger Kamenetz comes to understand the convergence of Buddhist and Jewish thought. Along the way he encounters Ram Dass and Richard Gere, and dialogues with leading rabbis and Jewish thinkers, including Zalman Schacter, Yitz and Blue Greenberg, and a host of religious and disaffected Jews and Jewish Buddhists. This amazing journey through Tibetan Buddhism and Judaism leads Kamenetz to a renewed appreciation of his living Jewish roots.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe study of Islamic philosophy has entered a new and exciting phase in the last few years. Both the received canon of Islamic philosophers and the narrative of the course of Islamic philosophy are in the process of being radically questioned and revised. Most twentieth-century Western scholarship on Arabic or Islamic philosophy has focused on the period from the ninth century to the twelfth. It is a measure of the transformation that is currently underway in the field that, unlike other reference works, the Oxford Handbook has striven to give roughly equal weight to every century, from the ninth to the twentieth. The Handbook is also unique in that its 30 chapters are work-centered rather than person- or theme-centered, in particular taking advantage of recent new editions and translations that have renewed interest and debate around the Islamic philosophical canon. The Oxford Handbook of Islamic Philosophy gives both the advanced student and active scholar in Islamic philosophy, theo

Read more less

Book SynopsisEvery year, there are several hundred attacks on India''s Christians. These attacks are carried out by violent anti-minority activists, many of them provoked by what they perceive to be Christians'' propensity for aggressive proselytization, and/or by rumored or real conversions to the faith. In this violence, Pentecostal Christians are disproportionately targeted.Bauman finds that the violence against Pentecostals and Pentecostalized Evangelicals in India is not just a matter of current social, cultural, political, and interreligious dynamics internal to India, but is rather related to identifiable historical trends, as well as to historical and contemporary transnational flows of people, power, and ideas.Based on extensive interviews and ethnographic work, and drawing upon the vast scholarly literature on interreligious violence, Hindu nationalism, and Christianity in India, this volume accounts for this disproportionate targeting through a detailed analysis of Indian Christian histoTrade ReviewWithin India's multi-faith and multi-cultural society, any conversion or change of faith is fraught with danger. This is especially so where any agency claims to represent a permanent and immutable 'majority' of all institutions, as is done by the forces of Hindutva. Chad Bauman is to be commended for having interrogated the intricacies of this extremely difficult subject. He adroitly challenges understandings of anti-Christian violence. * Robert Eric Frykenberg, Professor of History and South Asian Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison *It presents deep insights into the complicated and controversial subjects of the anti-Christian violence in the contemporary India's political history ... I strongly recommend this scholarly book for the church personnel, social and human rights activists, politicians and public servants to know where the vibrant democratic India is heading in terms of anti-Christian violence. * P. R. John, S.J., Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements ; Abbreviations ; Map ; Introduction ; 1. Who are India's Pentecostals?: History, Definitions, Deliberations ; 2. Pentecostalism in the Context of Indian History and Politics ; 3. Where the Spirit (of Violence) Leads: The Disproportionate Targeting of Indian Pentecostals ; 4. Force, Fraud, and Inducement?: Recuperative Conversions and the Growth of Indian Christianity ; 5. Missions and the Pentecostalization of Indian Christianity ; Conclusion ; Works Cited

Read more less

Book SynopsisRoutes and Realms explores the ways in which Muslims expressed attachment to land in formal texts from the ninth through the eleventh centuries. These texts reveal that territories were imagined specifically as homes, cities, and regions and acted as powerful categories of belonging in the early Islamic world.Trade ReviewAntrim's study...will effectively stimulate discussion on the very nature (and study) of early Islamic geography. * Paul L. Heck, Journal of Historical Geography *Zayde Antrim's monograph provides a guided tour through the menagerie of literatures that poets, litterateurs, religious schoalrs, travel writers , and geographers of this vast empire devised between the ninth and twelfth centuries. * American Historical Review *Most of the texts Antrim uses will be very familiar to scholars of early Islamic history, but she has a talent for reading these in new, engaging and informative ways. Antrim has produced an innovative analysis of real importance which should be considered carefully by all who work on early Islamic history and the Arabic and Persian literary texts of the period. * Harry Munt, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies *The first comprehensive study of land and belonging in the premodern Islamic world Routes and Realms is a welcome addition to the study of medieval Muslim history. It challenges us to think about identity and belonging in new and compelling ways. It employs an innovative methodology for the analysis of texts that traverse conventional disciplinary boundaries and that highlights their extra-textual significance. It successfully makes the case for regionalism as a powerful category of belonging during the medieval period. * Steve Tamari, H-Net Reviews *Antrim's findings have ramifications for historians of the modern period. As ethnosymbolists have argued, pre-existing notions of a homeland, of the kind that Antrim traces in classical Arabic literature, are a necessary condition for the emergence of nationalism. But the complexity of the notions of home vs. nonhome, inside vs. outside, and local vs. stranger that she highlights contributes to an understanding of the alternative and competing types of nationalism that have emerged in the Middle East in the twentieth century, that is, pan-Arabism and pan-Islamic nationalism as well as nationalism at the level of individual countries. * Ahmed El Shamsy, American Historical Review *By exhaustively delineating early Muslim attitudes toward homeland, city, and regional identity, Zayde Antrim shows how early Muslims did, in fact, create their own ways of relating to the land beneath and around them, and hence a discourse of place with which any modern notions of nationhood would have needed to contend. It is a rare thing when the study of premodern history can enliven modern debates, but Antrim's work is one of those rarities. * Paul M. Cobb, University of Pennsylvania *Zayde Antrim's most significant contribution is that she challenges the dominant view that explains the rise of nationalism in the Middle East as a byproduct of the nineteenth century encounter with Europe. By critiquing this widely disseminated position, Antrim allows scholars of medieval and modern Middle East to realize that the concept of homeland represents at the same time continuity and change with the classical period, and therefore nationalism has invoked in the mind of medieval and modern Middle Easterners a complex web of legacies. She reminds us that good scholarship should be meticulous research and not speculation. * Suleiman A. Mourad, Smith College *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ; Note on Translations, Transliterations, and Dates ; Glossary ; Introduction: The Discourse of Place ; Part I: Home ; 1. Home as Homeland ; Part II: City ; 2. Cities and Sacred History ; 3. The Image of the City ; Part III: Region ; 4. Dividing the World ; 5. Routes and Realms ; Conclusion: Looking Forward ; Notes ; Bibliography ; Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisWinner of the Frank S. and Elizabeth D. Brewer Best First Book Prize of the American Society of Church HistoryNamed a Society for U. S. Intellectual History Notable Title in American Intellectual HistoryThe story of liberal religion in the twentieth century, Matthew S. Hedstrom contends, is a story of cultural ascendency. This may come as a surprise-most scholarship in American religious history, after all, equates the numerical decline of the Protestant mainline with the failure of religious liberalism. Yet a look beyond the pews, into the wider culture, reveals a more complex and fascinating story, one Hedstrom tells in The Rise of Liberal Religion. Hedstrom attends especially to the critically important yet little-studied arena of religious book culture-particularly the religious middlebrow of mid-century-as the site where religious liberalism was most effectively popularized. By looking at book weeks, book clubs, public libraries, new publishing enterprises, key authors and bestselTrade ReviewThis is a useful contribution to the study of American religion in the twentieth century. * Theology *Hedstrom makes historians view liberal religion beyond institutional criteria of church or denominational growth and decline ... a thoroughly researched and engaging monograph. * Church History *I came away from Hedstrom s book with a rich understanding of the culture of midcentury liberal religion ... Hedstrom has set an exciting agenda for future scholars. * The Journal of Religion *Outstanding ... extraordinarily interesting. * Journal of the American Academy of Religion *Thoughtful and erudite. * Christian Century *This description of the marriage of liberal religion and publishing in the US in the 20th century fuses a deep familiarity with historical archives, sensitivity to the movement of American religious practices, and insightful interpretations of texts and images ... Recommended. * CHOICE *Belongs on the to-read list. * Richmond Times-Dispatch *Hedstrom's terrific study suggests that there is much more to the story of religious liberalism in twentieth and twenty-first-century America than the numerical decline of mainline Protestant churches. * American Historical Review *Perceptive and compelling. Hedstrom offers a creative spin on a familiar story. * The Journal of American History *An original and eye-opening study, planting liberal religion in the wider history of liberalism, including its middlebrow culture of print. Hedstrom shows how liberal religion keeps renewing itself by sidling up to secular culture, and by welcoming wave after wave of refugees from orthodoxy on the one hand and agnosticism on the other, all of them drawn to the premise of liberal spirituality that science and religion make excellent bedfellows. * Richard Fox, Professor of History, University of Southern California *Smart, innovative, and fascinating ... Hedstrom tells a compelling story. He masterfully blends important theoretical insights with an engaging narrative ... This is an excellent, well-written, and transformative study that scholars will be wrestling with for years to come. * Register of the Kentucky Historical Society *Hedstrom's work is highly recommended to students of American religions, those interested in the history of the book, twentieth-century historians, and scholars of spirituality. * Textual Cultures *Hedstrom shows that the prevailing values of liberal Protestantism were widely disseminated through mass-market, 'middlebrow' books during the middle decades of the twentieth century, influencing ostensibly secular domains of popular culture in ways that no previous scholar has established. This is a strikingly original, crisply argued contribution to cultural and religious history. * David A. Hollinger, Preston Hotchkis Professor of History, University of California, Berkeley *Hedstrom dexterously knots together several cultural threads: liberal Protestantism, middlebrow reading habits, corporate publishing, popular psychology, and seeker spirituality. The expectation that the right religious books-mystical, adventuresome, psychologically attuned, and affordable-would arrest modernity's dissolutions was perhaps another instance of liberal Protestantism's unrequited optimism, but Hedstrom makes a compelling case for just how potent this publishing mission was from the 1920s through the 1940s and beyond. * Leigh Eric Schmidt, Edward Mallinckrodt University Professor, Washington University in St. Louis *In this engrossing study, Matthew Hedstrom provides nothing less than a series of revelations * about the construction of liberal religion, the circulation of books, and indeed the making of modern spiritual selves. Hedstrom's work will reshape historians' understanding of religion in 20th-century America. For those who wish to push the historical analysis, this book will also invite new questions about liberal religion in 2013 and beyond.Lauren F. Winner, Assistant Professor of Christian Spirituality, Duke Divinity School *Hedstrom brilliantly describes some of the unforseen results of this new complicity between religion and consumer culture. * The Journal of Unitarian Universalist History *In the modern age of mass-culture and commoditization, liberal religious intellectuals reasoned that the consumption of good books could make a far-reaching contribution to the spiritual formation of American readers. Matthew Hedstrom delivers a deeply thoughtful and thoroughly researched study that urges us to recognize how liberal religion used mass-culture rather than just sneered at it, and to think hard about reading and spirituality today. The legacy of liberal religion is larger than we might have thought. * David Morgan, Professor of Religion, Duke University *Table of ContentsIntroduction ; Chapter 1: Enlarging the Faith: Books and the Marketing of Liberal Religion in a Consumer Culture ; Chapter 2: The Religious Book Club: Middlebrow Culture and Liberal Protestant Seeker Spirituality ; Chapter 3: Publishing for Seekers: Eugene Exman and the Religious Bestsellers of Harper & Brothers ; Chapter 4: Religious Reading Mobilized: The Book Programs of World War II ; Chapter 5: Inventing Interfaith: The Wartime Reading Campaign of the National Conference of Christians and Jews ; Chapter 6: Religious Reading in the Wake of War: American Spirituality in the 1940s ; Conclusion ; Archival Collections ; Notes ; Index

Read more less

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

Read more less

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

Read more less

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

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe spread of Salafism--often referred to as Wahhabism--in the West has intrigued and alarmed observers since the attacks of 9/11. Many see it as a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam that condones the subjugation of women and fuels Jihadist extremism. This view depicts Salafi women as the hapless victims of a fanatical version of Islam. Yet in Britain, growing numbers of educated women--often converts or from less conservative Muslim backgrounds-are actively choosing to embrace Salafism''s literalist beliefs and strict regulations, including heavy veiling, wifely obedience, and seclusion from non-related men. How do these young women reconcile such difficult demands with their desire for university education, fulfilling careers, and suitable husbands? How do their beliefs affect their love lives and other relationships? And why do they become Salafi in the first place?Anabel Inge has gained unprecedented access to Salafi women''s groups in the United Kingdom to provide the first inTrade ReviewThis is an ethnography of the very best kind. Inge is both systematically rigorous and sensitively empathic. We learn to see these women as women, facing the challenges of life in a contemporary western society that is not infrequently hostile-especially to women who are assumed to be either aggressively extremist or browbeaten victims of Islamophobia. These women are neither. Obviously enough, this is a book that should be read by anyone concerned about new religions and/or contemporary Islam. It could also be read with benefit by feminists and by those with an interest in qualitative methodology. But for anyone, it is a damn good read. * Eileen Barker, Nova Religio *If you want to understand British Islam, you need to read it. * Damian Thompson & Christina Odone, The Spectator *This is an under-researched subject and so any credible information is very welcome. * Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, the i-newspaper *[A] rich portrait... Inge found that nearly all of the Salafi women she followed in her research decided to wear the face veil against the wishes - sometimes despite the threats of family members, who saw it as too extreme, too Arab, too rebellious. Officials often argue that Muslim women are too submissive to challenge extremist views even within their own families. But women who wear a garment that annoys their families, that provokes regular verbal abuse and leads to their being pelted with food in public are something other than submissive. * Azadeh Moaveni, London Review of Books *A uniquely remarkable book nestled in the most cherished humanist tradition of the social sciences. Anabel Inge has written a book that is bound to inform and challenge people's stereotypes about the lives of Salafi women in London. From conversion to religious study circles and match-making, the author navigates a difficult terrain with a penetrating anthropological gaze and careful attention to subtle details. The book is a joy to read. * Madawi Al-Rasheed, author of Muted Modernists: The Struggle over Divine Politics in Saudi Arabia *When is Islamic extremism not extremism? In this wonderfully lucid and scholarly ethnographic study of young Salafi women in London ... Anabel Inge probes what has become a dominant question in British twenty-first-century public policy ... closely observed, nuanced anthropological research over more than two years ... The Making of a Salafi Muslim Woman is in many ways a remarkable, innovative book which deserves a wide readership. It opens up a window on African Muslims, particularly Somalis, who both resemble and differ from the majority of British Muslims. * Pnina Werbner, Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute *The first sustained empirical research into this hard-to-reach community. It therefore provides rich everyday granularity rarely seen in this area -- perhaps not since Saba Mahmood's The Politics of Piety in 2014 ... Inge reveals a dynamic and complex picture of Salafism in the UK, which challenges essentialist 'letter-box' views of the community ... [The book] also reads well, making it accessible to experts and novices alike. * Katherine E. Brown, Irish Theological Quarterly *Dr. Inge's new book is welcome reading...This is a brave and important study. * The Catholic Herald *Extremely well-written, thoughtful, well-researched... What this book highlighted, and what I thought was so important about it, is that it focused on the lived experiences of Salafi women... which are very, very different from those of Salafi men. Whether in terms of the culture of the community, or how Islam is taught and internalized, to the challenges of finding a spouse and contending with things not working out, to struggling with both family tensions and challenges in the academic world /work force... what women go through is so, so different, and so often ignored and underappreciated... I highly recommend it. * The Salafi Feminist (blogger) *This very accessible and timely book is the outcome of sensitively conducted ethnographic fieldwork among Salafi women in London. The research that underpins it reflects a high degree of professionalism, thoroughness, and meticulous attention to detail. I am delighted to commend this important book to anyone wanting to understand the complexity and paradoxes that shape the lives of Muslim women as they explore their personal and religious goals. * Sophie Gilliat-Ray, Professor of Religious Studies and Director of the Islam-UK Centre, Cardiff University *Salafi Islam is often viewed through the lenses of global religious extremism, terrorism, and security. Anabel Inge's The Making of a Salafi Muslim Woman fills a lacuna in scholarship on apolitical, non-violent Salafi Islam in Europe and its attraction among British women converts in the United Kingdom. * John L. Esposito, Professor of Religion and International Affairs, and of Islamic Studies, Georgetown University; author of The Future of Islam *Anabel Inge gained unprecedented access to Salafi mosques and circles in London, where she conducted fieldwork for more than 2 years. Her book represents the first sustained, in-depth exploration of everyday Salafism... [T]his book is an outstanding addition to the literature on Islam in the United Kingdom and represents a truly unique ethnographic piece of fieldwork within a hard-to-reach community. * Stefano Bonino, Political Studies Review *The Making of a Salafi Muslim Woman is a meticulously researched and well-presented book. The author manages to paint a nuanced picture of a complex community which is often portrayed in highly biased and stereotyped ways... The unprecedented access the author gained allowed her to acquire detailed and comprehensive insider knowledge of Salafism in particular and Islam in general. [She] remains respectful of the women she studies but critical and independent in her analysis, which is remarkable considering the amount of publications on Muslim women which are characterised by a patronising, othering and essentialist tone. Inge succeeds in staying clear of this pitfall of research on Muslim women. * Jennifer Philippa Eggert, Fieldwork in Religion *[A] rich and sensitive description of how women navigate strict Salafi teachings in a non-Muslim society... One of the central contributions of the book is to clearly explain Salafism to non-Muslim audiences... Her comprehensive findings[are] quite unprecedented in the literature on Salafism... beautifully written scholarship. By providing a thorough inquiry into the fastest-growing Muslim faction in Britain, The Making of a Salafi Muslim Woman is a must-read for anyone interested in Muslim minorities in the West, Salafism, religious conversion, and women in conservative religious groups. * Juliette Galonnier, Sociology of Islam *A pioneering and fascinating study of Salafism which draws on intensive ethnographic research to explode many myths about Islam, gender, and conversion in Britain. * John Eade, Professor of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Roehampton *[a] thorough, detailed approach and nuanced, yet very accessible, clear writing style, the book is a long-awaited must-read for students, journalists, policy makers and academics engaged with the topic of Salafism, gender and conversion, and for those who want to know how to conduct research in a controversial field. * Martijn de Koning, Journal of Muslims in Europe *[T]he first detailed, academic study of Salafi women in Europe ... it should be obligatory reading for anyone seeking to understand the role of Salafism in the West... [A] model example of how to do ethnographic research in a secluded religious community, and will definitely be regarded a standard work on Salafi women in Europe for years to come. * Anne Stenersen, Politics, Religion & Ideology *Anabel Inge gained privileged and intimate access to a small group that in many ways symbolise the debate surrounding assimilation, laïcité and multiculturalism British Salafi women... In restrained, measured and accessible prose published in her book The Making of a Salafi Muslim Woman, Inge debunks many of the easy assumptions that have dominated the public discourse... Her book is useful reading for Western policy-makers everywhere. * Sarah Stewart, The Middle East in London *Inge's research shows that assuming the niqab is necessarily, or even usually, a sign of the wearer's oppression or of her brainwashing is a misconception. * Simon Perfect, Theos *[R]eally illuminating ... a very interesting, well-structured and informative book that adds new knowledge on a variety of research fields: conversion, Islam, Salafism, Muslim women and ethnography... [I]t offers many new insights not only on the difficulties faced during fieldwork but also on the suggested ways of confronting them. * Alexandros Sakellariou, Nordic Journal of Migration Research *[An] eloquent description... of the seismic shift and personal liberation that can come with consciously becoming or making oneself part of a new community... [Inge] argues that the anti-extremist measures taken by the government that subjects those who do not follow 'fundamental British values' to increased scrutiny, have denied Salafis a voice... Her work is a valuable addition to our understanding of conservative religious practice. * Josie Richardson, Religion, State & Society *The work is extremely pertinent in a scenario in which narratives of 'brainwashing' are employed... By negating the clichés pertaining to the radicalization and anonymity of Muslim women, Inge's book has created a key intervention within the academic framework involving Islam and gender studies by critically analyzing the personal, religious, and political realms of women's engagement with Salafi Islam. * Simi K. Salim, Reading Religion *The style of the book is captivating... Anabel Inge shows the complexity of the experiences of converted women, who turn out to be individuals and not oppressed... There is no doubt that this work enriches the research, while offering an original perspective in a field where men have always been the main characters. * trans., Alessandra Bonci, Comptes Rendus *Salafi women are encouraged to marry as soon as possible, ideally without the couple actually spending any time alone before they are married. Inge documents the process of finding a husband in detail, including giving an example of the profile and reference questionnaire one woman produced, which is fascinating reading. * Tom Wilson, Reviews in Religion & Theology *[A] measured, sensitive and quietly observed, but deeply penetrating, analysis... Inge outlines the difficulties and contradictions arising from attempting to adopt a prescriptive, puritanical approach to Islam, which curtails and constricts the lives of women often to suffocating effect. * Ruqaiyah Hibell, The Muslim World Book Review *[A] well-researched book that breaks down stereotypes and gets behind media portrayals of conservative Muslim practices written in an accessible style... readable and engaging... The book provides a number of informative snapshots into the conversion and daily lives of women embracing Salafism. That [Inge] openly pursued this research at a time when many, mainly the media, did undercover exposes means we have an informed work that I would suggest is a must read for those seeking to work with and among refugees, migrants and Diaspora Muslim peoples. I recommend this book for all those who wish to hear Muslim women's voices and understand the multiple ways in which they explore and express faith. It fills a significant gap in research and writing. * C. Hine, When Women Speak *Anabel Inge deftly explores the phenomenon of women converting to strict Islamic groups in Great Britain. The author's in-depth treatment of how modern women adapt rigorous Islamic practices that are essentially apolitical moves the reader off the well-trod path of Islamic women, head covering, and extremism. Through formal interviews with 36 Salafi women, Inge finds a unique pattern of what she calls "delayed conversion," wherein these women embrace Islam after a long period of uncertainty, experimentation, and experience of generally poor relations with adherents—which goes against the theory that affective bonds draw people to unconventional religions. * Religion Watch *Well-researched ... This ground-breaking, lucid, and richly detailed book ... sheds light on a spot of Salafism that other books dealing with the topic did not address. * Zeina M. Barakat, Reviews in Religion & Theology *The Making of a Salafi Muslim Woman is an important ethnographic study... [It] offers insightful information about the Salafis' strict faith and puritanical way of life whereby strict adherence to Islamic rules is to be followed... [The book] is an eye-opener about a movement that has been generally misrepresented. * Arab Studies Quarterly *'This research is important for the academic literature on the subject, because instead of relying on secondary data, Inge was able to contact people who have found Salafism appealing and could unearth how Salafi teachings have an impact on the lives of the self-identifying Salafi women and men in the West. * Busra Sarac, RUSI Journal *This book provides a detailed look into the process of conversion for young, British, Salafi Muslim women... [Dr Inge] convincingly shows that the women are exercising agency in converting to a Salafi way of life... [and] highlights how Salafism appeals to these well-educated young women and assuages their feelings of uncertainty about religion, education, employment and marriage—feelings common to many at this stage in life... The inclusion of a few examples of resistance to certain Salafi teachings is further evidence of agency and analytical rigour... Inge emphasizes that the Salafi sisterhood is not good at offering emotional support, provides evidence of cliques and backbiting, and mentions the threat of 'Salafi burnout' * Catherine Holtmann, Review of Religious Research *Inge provides an extensive overview of the realities of ordinary Salafi women's lives in the United Kingdom... [E]xisting Salafi research has mostly focused on men, security issues, internal politics and doctrine... Inge's in-depth analysis [of] women's ideas and experiences is a strength of the book. Another area her work contributes to is the examination of Salafism's ethnic dimensions... [T]he book's timely publication advances debates around Salafism... * Sinem Yilmaz, Religion and Gender *Table of ContentsNote on Arabic Terms, Transliterations, Qur'anic Quotations and Paraphrasing Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter 1 The Development of Salafism in Britain Chapter 2 Fieldwork Chapter 3 Becoming Salafi Chapter 4 Commitment and Belonging: The Role of Circles of Knowledge Chapter 5 Applying Salafism: Negotiating Teachings and Lived Realities Chapter 6 "Marriage Completes Half Your Religion, Sister": Salafi Match-Making Conclusion Notes Bibliography Glossary Information on Interviewees Interview Question Guide for Salafi Women Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisCombining a scholar''s command of fact with a narrator''s ease of style, the noted scholar H.A.R. Gibb presents an historic survey of Islam, from the days of the prophet, through the religion''s spread in Asia and Africa, to its confrontation with the modern world.Trade ReviewGibb has done a great service to students of Islam as well as general readers in the field of the history of religions. * Harvard Divinity School Bulletin *This classic remains one of the best introductions to Islam available. * Valerie J. Hoffman, University of Illinois *This highly reputed scholar offers us an historical synopsis of the inception and development of Islam....A concise yet sensitive treatment of the third great Semitic tradition. * New Review of Books and Religion *Still one of the clearest introductory texts for this Religion of Islam. Reflects a deep respect for this religion. * Jonathan Brockopp, Bard College *Gibb is a first-rate scholar who writes with imagination on a religion just about as widespread as Christianity. * The New York Times Book Review *

Read more less

Book SynopsisSince its first publication in 1969, this book continues to be routinely cited as the standard source for the history of the revivalist Egyptian movement, the Muslim Brethren, up to the time of Nasser. This classic work is now accessible to a new generation of scholars and students interested in the Muslim revival. Professor John Voll of the University of New Hampshire, a leading scholar of Islam in the English speaking world, contributes a Foreword to the paperback edition.Trade Review"The Society of Muslim Brothers" is a major seminal work that remains the standard history of the early Muslim Brother-hood. Essential reading for understanding the growth of contemporary Islamic movements across the Muslim world." John Esposito, College of the Holy CrossRichard Mitchell's book was one of the first serious studies of what it is now customary to call the "resurgence of Islam" and it still remains one of the best. * Albert Hourani *

Read more less