Description
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewIn popular and media portrayals of Islam, images of fundamentalism and global terrorism obscure more everyday understandings of the varied lives of Muslims around the world. Mara Leichtman's engaging book on Shi'ism in Senegal is a refreshing antidote.
* American Ethnologist *
This book provides an original and timely analysis of the dynamics of religion and race in transnational migration. . . . Leichtman's book is sure to make an impact on African studies but should be read by non- Africanists as well.
* Journal of West African History *
This book is highly recommended for anyone with interest in African and Middle Eastern Affairs, Islam and Religious Studies, and Peace Studies.
* African Studies Quarterly *
[Leichtman's] volume is a theoretically packed, historically grounded and ethnographically rich exploration into minority religious communities and their migrations.
* Journal of Modern African Studies *
Table of ContentsPreface: Islam and Politics
Acknowledgments
Note on Transliteration
Introduction: Locating Cosmopolitan Shi'i Islamic Movements in Senegal
Part I. The Making of a Lebanese Community in Senegal
Introduction to Part I.
1. French Colonial Manipulation and Lebanese Survival
2. Senegalese Independence and the Question of Belonging
3. Shi'i Islam Comes to Town: A Biography of Shaykh al-Zayn
4. Bringing Lebanese "Back" to Shi'i Islam
Part II. Senegalese Conversion to Shi'i Islam
5. The Vernacularization of Shi'i Islam: Competition and Conflict
6. Migrating from One's Parents' Traditions: Narrating Conversion Experiences
Interlude: 'Umar: Converting to an "Intellectual Islam"
7. The Creation of a Senegalese Shi'i Islam
Coda: On Shi'i Islam, Anthropology, and Cosmopolitanism
Glossary
Notes
References
