For centuries, a persistent and important component of Lakota religious life has been the Inipi, the ritual of the sweat lodge. The sweat lodge has changed little in appearance since its first recorded description in the late seventeenth century. The ritual itself consists of songs, prayers, and other actions conducted in a tightly enclosed, dark, and extremely hot environment. Participants who “sweat� together experience moral strengthening, physical healing, and the renewal of social and cultural bonds. Today, the sweat lodge ritual continues to be a vital part of Lakota religion. It has also been open to use, often controversial, by non-Indians. The ritual has recently become popular among Lakotas recovering from alcohol and drug addiction. This study is the first in-depth look at the history and significance of the Lakota sweat lodge. Bringing together data culled from historical sources and fieldwork on Pine Ridge Reservation, Raymond A. Bucko provides a detailed discussion of continuity and changes in the “sweat� ritual over time. He offers convincing explanations for the longevity of the ceremony and its continuing popularity.

The challenges of Late Modernism form the shared horizon of Christian and Buddhist religious-hermeneutic efforts to demonstrate the relevance to everyday life of their respective transmitted doctrines. This work applies an interreligious comparison based on the implicit homiletics of Paul Tillich to examine how a particular understanding of faith and reality affects religious communication. This approach reveals that Buddhism has been a kerygmatic religion from the start, as is especially clear in the tradition of Japanese Shin Buddhism.

The "hajj," the fifth pillar of Islam, is a religious duty to be performed once in a lifetime by all Muslims who are able. The Prophet Muhammad set out the rituals of "hajj" when he led what became known as the Farewell "Hajj" in 10 AH (632 AD). This set the seal on Muhammad's career as the founder of a religion and the leader of a political entity based on that religion.

The convergence of the Prophet with the politician infuses the "hajj" with political, as well as religious, significance. For the caliphs who led the Islamic community after Muhammad's death, leadership of the "hajj" became a position of enormous political relevance as it presented them with an unrivaled opportunity to proclaim their pious credentials and reinforce their political legitimacy. This unique study analyzes information provided by contemporary sources about the leadership of the Hajj in Islam's formative period, between the seventh and tenth centuries, and assesses the pilgrimage from a political perspective.

A unique study because it collects and analyzes information provided by contemporary sources about the leadership of the "Hajj" in Islam's formative period, between the seventh and tenth centuries, and uses it to assess the pilgrimage from a political perspective.

Published in advance of a major British Museum exhibition, "The Hajj: Journey to the Heart of Islam," opening in London in January 2012.

M.E. McMillan earned a PhD in Islamic history at the University of St Andrews, and has worked for the UN Security Council as a translator. The author lives in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Mostly written while she was traveling, living and studying in Malaysia, South Africa and Yemen, Light Upon Light is a heartfelt and sincere conversation, sprinkled with humor and self-doubt, on the challenges of a modern-day Muslimah. Rest. Read. Reflect. What is He trying to tell you?