Sensational Piety: Practices of Mediation in Islamic and Pentecostal Movements in Abuja, Nigeria

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Description

Grounded in anthropological comparison and the concept of materiality, this book offers an in-depth ethnographic study of the similarities and differences among various forms of religious practices in a Pentecostal Church (Christ Embassy) and an Islamic group (NASFAT) in the Nigerian capital of Abuja. Scholarship in this area tends to focus on inter-religious contestations and conflicts; however, this book proposes that another dynamic is unfolding between Christians and Muslims that is characterised by conviviality, interfaith joint action programmes, mutual influences and even the exchange of religious forms. The comparative approach reveals that, notwithstanding the seemingly opposed worldviews and divergences between Muslims and Christians, they all face similar challenges and apply similar techniques for meeting the challenges posed by the precarious Nigerian urban environment. It is through practices especially those conducted in (semi-) public settings that people from different religious persuasions define, encroach on and feel the weight of each other's presence.

Reviews

This book is a bold, important and seminal contribution to understanding the transformation of religion in Nigeria and the transformation of urban life, especially as a result of religious innovations. As an empirical intervention, it is a bottom-up investigation, which is rooted in the lived experience of ordinary people in a rapidly changing urban setting. At the intersection of urban studies, religious studies and material anthropology, the text is relevant to many disciplines. * Asonzeh Ukah, Professor and Chair of Religious Studies, University of Cape Town, South Africa *

Author Bio

Murtala Ibrahim is a postdoctoral researcher in cultural anthropology at Utrecht University, the Netherlands.