Singing Heaven on Earth
Coptic Counterpublics and Popular Song at Egyptianmūlidfestivals
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5769181 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Carolyn Ramzy (Carleton University, corresponding author), Carolyn M Ramzy |
| Year | 2017 |
| Volume | 49 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 375-394 |
| Publication date | 2017-07-26 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal Middle East Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0020-7438 • E-ISSN: 1471-6380 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0020743817000290 |
| OpenAlex | W2737498123 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 35 |
This article explores the performative politics of devotional soundscapes at Coptic Christian mūlid festivals. Echoing the state's reformist efforts in the 1990s to transform Muslim saint festivals into utilitarian spaces and their goers into "modern" Egyptian citizens, today the Coptic Church works to refashion these popular festivals from places of debauchery into morally productive spaces. Aided by affluent Cairene-based volunteers, church choirs travel from Cairo's poshest neighborhoods to these festivals to actively sing, disseminate, and teach popular religious songs ( taratīl ) in an effort to develop poorer Christian pilgrims into modern, pious, and more audible "citizens of heaven." Through the analysis of one church choir's taratīl ministry at the mūlid , I illustrate how middle-class spiritual volunteers disrupt and, at times, reinscribe the Coptic Church's disciplinary efforts on the festival's poorer pilgrims, particularly as they look to modernize popular festivity into grounds of Christian ethical transformation
Aesthetics · Art · Art history · Christian ministry · Heaven · Literature · Management · SAINT · Singing · Sociology · Theology · Visual arts · Anthropological Studies and Insights · History · Islamic Studies and History · Philosophy · Religious Tourism and Spaces
Patterns in comparative religion.
Mass culture and modernism in Egypt
Building a House in Heaven
Putting Islam to WorkEducation, Politics, and Religious Transformation in Egypt
Performing Piety
The Awakening of Muslim Democracy
Imaginary Communities
Christians versus Muslims in Modem Egypt
Outline of a Theory of Practice
An Enchanted Modern
Politics of Piety
Genealogies of Religion
Class cleavages and ethnic conflict
Landscapes of Belonging
Autumn of Fury
Emerging Christian Media in Egypt
Vicissitudes in the Entente Between the Coptic Orthodox Church and the State in Egypt (1952–2007)
Pilgrimage, Politics, and the Musical Remapping of the New Europe
Dramas of nationhood
Rethinking the Public Sphere
The Cult of the Saints
Autotuned Belonging
Bread, Freedom, Social Justice
Publics and Counterpublics
Policing ambiguity
To Die is Gain
The Politics of Faith
The Virgin Made Visible
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,6 |
| Citation span | 2021 - 2024 (4) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |