Religion and Folk Cosmology: Scenarios of the Visible and Invisible in Rural Egypt

(Hardback)

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Examines Egyptian folk and sanctified cosmology, a system of meanings built on the dynamics of the visible and invisible, which is enacted in different courses of public and private scenarios. Its internal dynamics create a particular sense of identity attached to both the local and global Muslim community (ummah). Provides a holistic interpretation of the interplay between religion and folk cosmology, challenging the stereotypes that relegate traditional people to backwardness and a peripheral space or locality. Within this Muslim society the global/local nexus is one of ongoing creative integration, not separation. The cosmology can best be understood in the context of its totality, encompassing both visible and invisible zones. Muslims articulate personal or private order as well as social order within their cosmology. This cosmological view, endowing people with a unique imaginative sense of engagemenet with a supraphenomenal reality, accentuates the belief that divine cosmic invisible higher power surpasses any other power. Such a belief represents an inexhaustible source of spiritual and emotional empowerment that may be politically mobilized in certain critical moments and depicted as a religious, holy struggle, or jihad.

Reviews

.,."[O]ffers a compelling and persuasive account of how the beliefs and practices of rural Egyptians dynamically shape and pervade their understandings of sacred texts, social memory, and Muslim traditions. El-Aswad's vivid narrative shows how women and men, young and old, the educated and the uneducated, and migrants and those who stay at home construct world views and ideas of cultural identity as intricate and pervasive as those of religious scholars and intellectuals, radical and conservative alike. El-Aswad's book, a must for understanding religion in Egypt today, also offers a necessary point of departure for understanding religious experience and the social imagination elsewhere in the Muslim world."-Dale F. Eickelman Ralph and Richard Lazarus Professor of Anthropology and Human Relations, Dartmouth College author, The Middle East and Central Asia: An Anthropological Approach
"El-Sayed el-Aswad is the foremost interpreter today of the rural Egyptian world view and of Egyptian folk life in general. His work is grounded in sophisticated theory and is methodologically solid....This is a work that will mark a turning point in our understanding of Egyptian culture and society."-Nicholas S. Hopkins Professor of Anthropology Dean, School of Humanities and Social Sciences American University in Cairo
[T]his is a great book for anyone interested in contemporary Egyptian culture. The descriptions are clear, well-argued and always interesting.-Journal of American Folklore
[T]his is an excellent and provocative book. It builds on el-Aswad's earlier articles, but exceeds them in range and sophistication. It provides an excellent contrast to more materialistic studies of Egyptian life. Particularly strong is the cross-referencing with other works on Egypt and the Arab world.-Middle East Journal
"This is a great book for anyone interested in contemporary Egyptian culture. The descriptions are clear, well-argued and always interesting."-Journal of American Folklore
"This is an excellent and provocative book. It builds on el-Aswad's earlier articles, but exceeds them in range and sophistication. It provides an excellent contrast to more materialistic studies of Egyptian life. Particularly strong is the cross-referencing with other works on Egypt and the Arab world."-Middle East Journal
"[T]his is a great book for anyone interested in contemporary Egyptian culture. The descriptions are clear, well-argued and always interesting."-Journal of American Folklore
"[T]his is an excellent and provocative book. It builds on el-Aswad's earlier articles, but exceeds them in range and sophistication. It provides an excellent contrast to more materialistic studies of Egyptian life. Particularly strong is the cross-referencing with other works on Egypt and the Arab world."-Middle East Journal

Author Bio

EL-SAYED EL-ASWAD is Professor of Anthropology and Chair of the Department of Sociology, Tanta University, Egypt, and Adjunct Professor, Wayne State University.