The Changing Perspectives of Three Muslim Men on the Question of Saint Worship over a 10-Year Period in Gujarat, Western India
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3616323 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Edward Simpson (0000-0002-5359-8259, University of London, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2008 |
| Volume | 42 |
| Issue | 2-3 |
| Pages | 377-403 |
| Publication date | 2008-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Modern Asian Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0026-749X • E-ISSN: 1469-8099 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0026749x07003216 |
| OpenAlex | W2129417613 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 7 |
| References cited | 26 |
In many religious traditions, those who mediate relations between men and gods are often the focus of controversy and moral ambiguity. The ethnography in this paper outlines a number of perspectives on the role of such intermediaries (here 'saints') in Muslim society in western India. In the South Asian literature, historians have provided a thorough treatment of the doctrinal history and content of these debates. However, very little attention has been paid to how living individuals interpret and rehearse these debates in practice. The examination of the changing perspectives of three Muslim men on the question of saint worship over a 10 year period reveals the following. First, an individual's relationship with 'saints' is often determined primarily by social context rather than simply by doctrinal allegiance or the compulsions of particular 'beliefs'. Second, discourses of religious reform are also powerful social objects that can be used as political instruments for purposes other than simply refining the religious practices of a community. Finally, many commonplace assumptions in the literature-notably on the nature of belief and the significance of doctrinal divisions among Muslims-do not withstand ethnographic scrutiny
Aesthetics · Allegiance · Buddhism · Context (archaeology · Ethnography · Islam · Period (music · Political science · Politics · SAINT · Scrutiny · Sociology · Worship · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Anthropology · Gender Studies · History · Islamic Studies and History · Law · Philosophy · Religion and Society Interactions
The Middle East
Bargaining for reality
Islamic Revival in British India
Living Islam
The Sufis of Bijapur, 1300-1700
The Islamic Syncretistic Tradition in Bengal
Muslim Politics
Arguing Sainthood
The Idea of an Anthropology of Islam
Migrants and Militants
Commentaries, Print and Patronage
Islam and the Prayer Economy
Public Faces, Private VoicesCommunity and Individuality in South India
Islam and Muslim Society in South Asia
Bargaining for Reality
For a folk-theology and theological anthropology of Islam
Caste in Islam and the Problem of Deviant Systems
The 'Ulama of Farangi Mahall and Islamic Culture in South Asia
Central Problems in Social Theory
Saints of the Atlas
Ethnographic Studies of Positioning and Subjectivity
Religious Education and the Rhetoric of Reform
| Unique citing works | 7 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,41 |
| Citation span | 2009 - 2021 (13) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 7 |