ʻSpeaking for Islamʼ and Religious Authority in Zongos in Asante, Ghana

Datos Bibliográficos

ID3931982
AutoresBenedikt Pontzen (0000-0003-0395-9391, University of Bayreuth BayreuthGermany, autor de correspondencia)
Año2017
Volumen47
Número1
Páginas42-71
Fecha de publicación2017-10-27
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Religion in Africa (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0022-4200 • E-ISSN: 1570-0666
EditorialWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1163/15700666-12340098
OpenAlexW2772088497
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas1
Referencias citadas30

In presenting and comparing three different endeavors of ʻspeaking for Islamʼ in the Muslim communities of zongos in Asante, this essay analyzes what renders this act into a felicitous performance. Accordingly, I delineate and discuss the grounds on which one is accorded or denied the authority to make consequential pronouncements on Islamic matters within the discursive tradition of this religion. As I argue, this authority does not solely hinge on one's erudite Islamic learning and one's abilities to implement it in one's rhetoric; it also depends on one's personal demeanor and reputation in the community. In order to have the actual chance to make consequential pronouncements on Islamic matters, which include religious as well as moral issues, one's authority has to be accorded by those over whom it is exercised, and can neither be claimed nor enforced as such

History of religions · Islam · Order (exchange) · Political science · Reputation · Rhetoric · Social science · Sociology · Theology · African cultural and philosophical studies · African history and culture analysis · Law · Philosophy · Religion, Society, and Development · Religious studies