This title presents a comparative approach to understanding the centrality of sound to Hindu religious practices. The Hindu world is permeated by sound: drums, bells, gongs, cymbals, conches, flutes, and an array of vocalizations play a central role in worship. Guy L. Beck contends that the traditional Western focus on Hinduism's visual component has often been at the expense of the religion's most important feature - its emphasis on sound. In ""Sonic Theology"", Beck addresses this longstanding imbalance, contending that Hinduism is essentially a sonic theology. Beck argues that sound participates at every level of the Hindu cosmos. Comparing the centrality of sound in Hindu theology to its place in other religions, Beck raises issues about sound and language that not only reshape our understanding of Hindu worship but also invite a fresh approach to comparative theology.

This is a fascinating insider's account of Sufi life in contemporary Egypt. For centuries Sufism - Islamic mysticism - held a major place in Islamic spirituality, intellectual life, and popular religion. While many scholars have commented on Sufism's decline, few have delved deeply into present-day Egyptian Sufism or considered it as a system in its own right. Drawing on her detailed fieldwork and a variety of little-known literary sources, Valerie J. Hoffman presents Sufism as it exists in Egypt today, in the vivid experiences of its adherents. With an array of conclusions that overturn widely held beliefs about modern Sufis, Hoffman argues that the apparent assimilation of Egyptian Sufism masks a thriving movement hidden from the Western world. From her experiences as a quasi disciple of a Sufi master, she offers new insights into the movement's evolution, the vital role of women in Sufism, and Sufi perspectives on gender and sexuality.

Recite in the Name of the Red Rose introduces Western readers to constructions of the sacred in twentieth-century Iranian poetry. Sifting through the lives and writings of modern and classical poets, Fatemeh Keshavarz provides a systematic examination of the array of religious impulses in recent Persian verse. Viewing poetry as the site of the emergence of the self and the sacred, she confirms that sanctification is not static in its forms but continuously in flux and that the poetic modes used to articulate the sanctified are equally fluid. Keshevarz begins by introducing the core concepts that define and detach religion and secularity in contemporary Iranian society. By thoroughly discussing the nature of classical Persian poetry she makes clear that expressions of the sacred in verse have been open to negotiation and change even in the premodern period. However, in Iran's modern poetic landscape Keshavarz uncovers many new patterns of expressing the sacred. In individual chapters on the writings of Forugh Farrokhzad (1935-1967), Sohrab Sepehri (1928-1981), and Ahmad Shamlu (1925-2000), she discusses the paradigmatic ways prominent poets of the twentieth century have related to the sacred in a nation forging its vision of modernity. While most scholars perceive current Iranian culture to be sharply divided between literalist conservatives and secular progressives, Keshavarz identifies provocative shades of spiritual expression less rigidly defined and hence neglected by the established critical tradition. Bringing such expression to the fore of scholarly attention, her study invites a more nuanced appreciation of the crosscurrents of religion and literature in recent Middle Eastern culture.

This book presents an analysis of the dynamic relationship between apocalyptic prophesies and medieval Muslim politics. ""Messianic Beliefs and Imperial Politics in Medieval Islam"" analyzes the role of Muslim messianic and apocalyptic beliefs in the development of the 'Abbasid Caliphate to highlight connections between charismatic authority and institutional developments in the early ninth century. Hayrettin Yucesoy studies the relationship between rulers and religion to advance understanding of the era's political actions and, more specifically, to illustrate how messianic beliefs influenced 'Abbasid imperial politics and contributed to the reshaping of the caliphate under al-Ma'mun (809-33) after a decade-long civil war. Yucesoy challenges traditional sociological views that marginalize messianic beliefs as oppositional ideologies of disfranchised social classes to be used against the political establishment. Instead he finds a mode of symbiosis between messianic beliefs, political reform, and imperial ambitions put in motion by al-Ma'mun's acute understanding of the sociopolitical and ideological context of his time. Yucesoy demonstrates how the caliphate absorbed influences from the late antique world and Near Eastern cultures to fashion a prophetic vision that served to undergird al-Ma'mun's imperial aspirations. A comprehensive portrait of the caliph and his reign emerges from this study as a result. By drawing on records of Muslim and non-Muslim apocalyptic prophecies circulating among the general public and educated elites alike, this study demonstrates the pertinence of messianic beliefs to medieval Muslim politics and illustrates the manner in which the caliph responded and shaped societal concerns on three distinct fronts: domestic fiscal and administrative reforms, an increase in missionary and military activities, and religious reform. Yucesoy shows that political usefulness contributed to the longevity of charismatic ideologies by addressing how the 'Abbasid ruling class adopted such beliefs as a medium to initiate governmental reforms and expand their authority. This work adds new layers to ongoing interdisciplinary discourse about the importance of religion in Islamic sociopolitical life, both historically and in the contemporary Muslim world.

A timely exploration of balancing Islamic heritage with contemporary medical and health concerns,""Muslim Medical Ethics"" draws on the work of historians, health-care professionals, theologians, and social scientists to produce an interdisciplinary view of medical ethics in Muslim societies and of the impact of caring for Muslim patients in non-Muslim societies. Edited by Jonathan E. Brockopp and Thomas Eich, the volume challenges traditional presumptions of theory and practice to demonstrate the ways in which Muslims balance respect for their heritage with the health issues of a modern world.Like members of many other faiths, Muslims are deeply engaged by the technological challenges posed by modern biomedicine, and they respond to those challenges with enormous creativity - whether as patients, doctors, or religious scholars. ""Muslim Medical Ethics"" demonstrates that religiously based cultural norms often inform medical practice, and vice versa, in an ongoing discourse. The contributors map the breadth and boundaries of this discourse through discussions of contested issues on the cutting edge of ethical debates, from fertilized embryos in Saudi Arabia to patient autonomy in Toronto, from organ trafficking in Egypt to sterilization in Tanzania.As the authors illustrate, the effects of Muslim medical ethics have ramifications beyond the Muslim world. With growing populations of Muslims in North America and Europe, Western physicians and health-care workers should be educated on the special needs of this category of patients. In every essay the richness of the Islamic tradition is visible. In the premodern period, Muslim physicians were considered among the best in the world, building and improving on Greek and Indian traditions.Muslim physicians today continue that tradition while incorporating scientific advances. Scholars of Islamic law work closely with physicians to develop ethical guidelines for national and international bodies, and individual Muslims take full advantage of advances in medicine and religious law, combining them with the wisdom of Sufism and traditions of family and community. This exploration of Muslim medical ethics is therefore a foray into the richness and sophistication of the Islamic tradition itself.Designed as an engaging point of entrance for students in religious studies, anthropology, ethics, and medical humanities, this pathbreaking volume also has utility for health-care professionals and policy makers.

This work examines the changing relationship of this Jewish sect to rabbinic Judaism and the influence of Muslim and Christian environments.

Ten noted religious studies scholars examine the sacred scriptures of Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Islam, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Mormonism to produce an authoritative, comprehensive survey of the writings that shape the world's major religions. The Holy Book in Comparative Perspective concentrates on the origins, forms, and functions of scriptures in religious life. This volume also includes a thought-provoking chapter on the transmission of sacred traditions among nonliterate populations and a rebuttal of the widespread elevation of ""primitive"" traditions over literate traditions.