The Matter which may be
Sectarian Dilemmas of Materiality in Bahrain
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4863932 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Thomas Fibiger, Thomas Brandt Fibiger (Aarhus University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 204-220 |
| Publication date | 2019-03-15 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Material Religion (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1743-2200 • E-ISSN: 1751-8342 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/17432200.2019.1590006 |
| OpenAlex | W2938956416 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 22 |
This article discusses different approaches to materiality and material expressions of cultural identity in contemporary Bahrain, a small Arab Gulf state. Various Islamic traditions have different understandings of materiality and its ontological qualities. In the contemporary Gulf this difference is often understood as a sectarian difference between Sunni and Shia Muslims, a division that has gained increasing political importance in recent years. In this article I discuss how these traditions view materiality in religion, in particular focusing on the role of material mediation for Shia Muslims, exemplified by the use and meaning of the turba prayer stone. With this as a point of departure I discuss two other forms of materiality—political graffiti and martyr images—that in the wake of the uprising in 2011 have also been imbued with sectarian meanings, but where this is less clear. I therefore argue that vernacular understandings of material culture show ambiguous identifications that challenge the clear dichotomies with which people—locally and analytically —often operate
Aesthetics · Archaeology · Dichotomy · Epistemology · Islam · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Archaeology and Historical Studies · History · Islamic Studies and History · Law · Middle East and Rwanda Conflicts · Philosophy
Things
The cultural biography of things
Seeking Providence Through Things
An Introduction to Shi'i Islam
The Polyvalent Politics of Martyr Commemorations in the Palestinian Intifada
Sectarian Gulf
The Political Aesthetics of Global Protest
An Enchanted Modern
Politics of Piety
Potential Heritage
Contested spaces and sectarian narratives in post-uprising Bahrain
Civic Space and Sectarianism in the Gulf States
An Anthropology of Absence
Popularizing islam
Islamic values as heritage subjects
Mohr-e Namāz das Schiitische Gebetssiegel
The Art and Material Culture of Iranian Shi'ism
Post January Revolution Cairo
Death and Martyrdom in the Arab Uprisings
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |