Description
Book SynopsisExamines how gender identities were reconfigured in a Bulgarian Muslim community following the demise of Communism and an influx of international aid from the Islamic world. This work explores how gender relations among the Pomaks had to be renegotiated after the collapse of both Communism and the region's state-subsidized lead and zinc mines.
Trade ReviewWinner of the 2011 William A. Douglass Prize in Europeanist Anthropology, Society for the Anthropology of Europe/American Anthropological Association Winner of the 2011 Davis Center Book Prize in Political and Social Studies, Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies Winner of the 2011 John D. Bell Memorial Book Prize, Bulgarian Studies Association Winner of the 2010 Heldt Prize for Best Book in Slavic/Eastern European/Eurasian Women's studies, Association for Women in Slavic Studies "Islamic studies scholars who increasingly focus on a wide range of Muslim societies in both Muslim-majority and Muslim-minority countries will find this volume informative. The author presents her work in an accessible fashion, and the volume will appeal to people with diverse interests."--Choice "Ghodsee accomplishes a great deal with Muslim Lives in Eastern Europe... [T]his work may be a useful teaching tool for classes focusing on political transitions and may help steer young students and international bureaucrats away from crude stereotypes about Muslims in the Balkans."--Isa Blumi, H-Net Reviews "Muslim Lives in Eastern Europe offers an insightful analysis of the social and economic factors that propelled the spread of new forms of religious allegiances and gender roles among Pomaks in Bulgaria. It is an excellent contribution to the study of Islam in postcommunist society."--Ina Merdjanova, Religion, State & Society "Ghodsee does an excellent job at unpacking the complexities of Muslim life in Madan and beyond. Her thought-provoking book gives life to a world in which the dust of the past is still settling on the complex world of post-1989."--Mary Neuburger, Slavic Review
Table of ContentsIllustrations ix A Note on Transliteration xi Acknowledgments xiii Introduction: The Changing Face of Islam in Bulgaria 1 Chapter One: Names to Be Buried With 34 Chapter Two: Men and Mines 56 Chapter Three: The Have-nots and the Have-nots 86 Chapter Four: Divide and Be Conquered 109 Chapter Five: Islamic Aid 130 Chapter Six: The Miniskirt and the Veil 159 Conclusion: Minarets after Marx 184 Appendix 205 Notes 207 Selected Bibliography 235 Index 243
