Islam in Africa South of the Sahara
Essays in Gender Relations and Political Reform
Edited by Pade Badru, Brigid M. Sackey
Publication date:
23 May 2013Length of book:
428 pagesPublisher
Scarecrow PressDimensions:
235x163mm6x9"
ISBN-13: 9780810884694
Islam in Africa South of the Sahara: Essays in Gender Relations and Political Reform draws together contributions from scholars that focus on changes taking place in the practice of the religion and their effects on the political terrain and civil society. Contributors explore the dramatic changes in gender relations within Islam on the continent, occasioned in part by the events of 9/11 and the response of various Islamic states to growing negative media coverage. These explorations of the dynamics of religious change, reconfigured gender relations, and political reform consider not only the role of state authorities but the impact of ordinary Muslim women who have taken to challenging the subordinate role assigned to them in Islam.
Essays are far-ranging in their scope as the future of Islam in sub-Saharan Africa falls under the microscope, with contributors addressing such topics as the Islamic view of the historic Arab enslavement of Africans and colonialist ventures; studies of gender politics in Gambia, northern Nigeria, and Ghana; surveys of the impact of Sharia law in Nigeria and Sudan; the political role of Islam in Somalia, South Africa, and African diaspora communities.
Islam in Africa South of the Sahara is an ideal reader for students and scholars of international politics, comparative theology, race and ethnicity, comparative sociology, African and Islamic studies.
Essays are far-ranging in their scope as the future of Islam in sub-Saharan Africa falls under the microscope, with contributors addressing such topics as the Islamic view of the historic Arab enslavement of Africans and colonialist ventures; studies of gender politics in Gambia, northern Nigeria, and Ghana; surveys of the impact of Sharia law in Nigeria and Sudan; the political role of Islam in Somalia, South Africa, and African diaspora communities.
Islam in Africa South of the Sahara is an ideal reader for students and scholars of international politics, comparative theology, race and ethnicity, comparative sociology, African and Islamic studies.
Scholars from disciplines as varied as sociology, history, law, political science, anthropology, and religious studies have authored the 16 chapters in this interesting and at times unexpected interdisciplinary collection focusing on Islam in Africa. Accordingly, the chapters take varied methodological and theoretical approaches, ranging from ethnography to a review of legal codes. However, a general focus on gender and politics, as the subtitle suggests, holds the volume together. The majority of the book's chapters focus on Islam in West Africa, particularly in Ghana and Nigeria, although there is one chapter each on Somalia, Sudan, South Africa, and the Nation of Islam. Surprisingly, there is no coverage of the heavily Muslim Swahili Coast other than a brief mention in the preface. Many chapters contain an overview or very general introduction to certain ideas in the Islamic tradition that may not be necessary for all readers. Several of the chapters have been previously published elsewhere, some recently, some in the 1990s. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above.