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W064


Islam is the solution? Uncertainty, disquiet and the everyday lives of Muslims 
Convenors:
Katja Rieck (Orient-Institut Istanbul)
Patrick Desplat (University of Göttingen)
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Discussant:
Susanne Schröter
Formats:
Workshops
Location:
V305
Sessions:
Thursday 12 July, -, -, Friday 13 July, -
Time zone: Europe/Paris

Short Abstract:

For this workshop we invite papers that explore the various ways experiences of uncertainty and disquiet play into the religious lives of Muslim actors and the significance this has for Muslim subjectivities.

Long Abstract:

Al-Islam, huwwa al-hall!, "Islam is the solution!", is a popular slogan among revivalist movements across the globe. On the face of it, the claim for absoluteness in Islam provides Muslims with certainty and reduces contingency in everyday life as well as in specific moments of crisis. Here, the Qur'an and Sunna, the religious guidance of experts, as well as mystical traditions provide practical guidance and a clear cut framework through which to see the world and impart it with meaning.

And yet, rather paradoxically, one cannot help but notice that the everyday lives of many pious Muslims stand in stark contrast to the promise of a life comfortably settled in the folds of an Islamically determined life. The proliferation of books on Islamic living, Islamic TV shows or online fatwa sites is just one indication of the uncertainty and disquiet experienced by many Muslims in going about their daily lives. But there is also great disquiet about potential threats to the integrity of the Muslim community as a whole: concerns over creeping cultural influences from the West, from un-Islamic religious/cultural traditions, from the demands (and temptations) of a capitalist economy and from socio-economic transformations that reconfigure gender roles and relationships. The experience of uncertainty and disquiet is therefore a prominent, but understudied, aspect of religious experience. For this workshop we invite papers that explore the various ways experiences of uncertainty and disquiet play into the religious lives of Muslim actors and the significance this has for Muslim subjectivities.

Accepted papers:

Session 1 Thursday 12 July, 2012, -