"Jihad" is a highly charged word. Often mistranslated as "Holy War," it has become synonymous with terrorism. Current political events have entirely failed to take account of the subtlety and complexity of jihad. Like many concepts with a long history, different cultural ideas have influenced the religious aspects of jihad. As a result its original meaning has been adapted, modified and destabilized--never more than at the present time. How does jihad manifest itself in Muslims' everyday lives? What impact has 9/11 and its backlash had on it? By observing the current crisis of identity...

An increasing number of people have questions about Islam and Muslims. But how can we approach and study Islam after September 11th? Which is the best methodology to understand an Islam that is changing in a globalized world?
The Anthropology of Islam argues that Islam today needs to be studied as a living religion through the observation of everyday Muslim life. Drawing on extensive original fieldwork, Marranci provides provocative analyses of Islam and its relation to issues such as identities, politics, culture, power and gender.
The Anthropology of Islam is unprecedented in its...

Based on four years anthropological research within prisons and Muslim communities in the UK, this book offers a unique discussion of the relationship between the experience of prison among Muslims and the formation of religious identity.

Gabriele Marranci thoroughly examines Muslim religious life in prison, the work of Muslim chaplains and imams (and the overall impact that they have on Muslim prisoners), providing an analysis of the current prison policies aiming to prevent radicalisation, and discusses the counterproductive results of an increasing young Muslim presence in...