Comparative discussions of Islam as lived religion in areas close to its heartland as well in distant parts where Islam meets and interacts with other religious and cultural traditions, moving beyond Orientalist notions of an unchanging world of Islam to a focus on the diversity of Muslim experiences.

The term 'local Islam' has been coined to describe local responses to the effects of globalisation in the Islamic world. All contributions to this volume present cases of 'local Islam' as well as discussing the term itself. But what all of this group of anthropologists and historians convey is a feeling of dissatisfaction with the very term. Their uneasiness relates to the conceptual problems arising from seeing Islam as either local or global. Rather, the authors argue in favour of a focus not on Islam but on the lives of Muslims, putting their lives into the context of complex historical developments. Ranging across much of the vast extent of the Islamic world - from West Africa and the Near East to China and Southeast Asia - the contributions deal with the effects of migration on local Islamic traditions in Bangladesh; conflicts between Muslim sects in Pakistan; the development of jihad in West Africa; the problem of maintaining a Muslim identity in China; how Javanese Muslims combine their Islamic faith with belief in a local Javanese spirit world; the comparison between urban- and rural-based Islam in Syria; and (in two studies from western Sudan) issues of belief and broader aspects of identity management in a multi-ethnic situation.

The Hadramis of South Yemen and the emergence of their diasporic communities throughout the Indian Ocean region are an intriguing facet of the history of this region's migratory patterns. In the early centuries of migration, the Yemeni, or Hadrami, traveler was both a trader and a religious missionary, making the migrant community both a "trade diaspora" and a "religious diaspora." This tradition has continued as Hadramis around the world have been linked to networks of extremist, Islamic-inspired movements-Osama bin Laden, leader of Al Qaeda and descendant of a prominent Hadrami family, as the most infamous example. However, communities of Hadramis living outside Yemen are not homogenous. The author expertly elucidates the complexity of the diasporic process, showing how it contrasts with the conventional understanding of the Hadrami diaspora as an unchanging society with predefined cultural characteristics originating in the homeland. Exploring ethnic, social, and religious aspects, the author offers a deepened understanding of links between Yemen and Indian Ocean regions (including India, Southeast Asia, and the Horn of Africa) and the emerging international community of Muslims.

"A fascinating subject, based on extensive fieldwork and excellent case studies of diaspora communities." . Christopher Davidson, Centre for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, Durham, UK

The Hadramis of South Yemen and the emergence of their diasporic communities throughout the Indian Ocean region are an intriguing facet of the history of this region's migratory patterns. In the early centuries of migration, the Yemeni, or Hadrami, traveler was both a trader and a religious missionary, making the migrant community both a "trade diaspora" and a "religious diaspora." This tradition has continued as Hadramis around the world have been linked to networks of extremist, Islamic-inspired movements-Osama bin Laden, leader of Al Qaeda and descendant of a prominent Hadramis family, as the most infamous example. However, communities of Hadramis living outside Yemen are not homogenous. The author expertly elucidates the complexity of the diasporic process, showing how it contrasts with the conventional understanding of the Hadrami diaspora as an unchanging society with predefi ned cultural characteristics originating in the homeland. Exploring ethnic, social, and religious aspects, the author offers a deepened understanding of links between Yemen and Indian Ocean regions (including India, Southeast Asia, and the Horn of Africa) and the emerging international community of Muslims.

Leif Manger is a Professor in the Department of Social Anthropology at the University of Bergen. His recent publications include, Diasporas Within and Without Africa: Dynamism, Hetereogeneity, Variation (co-edited with Munzoul A.M. Assal, Uppsala 2006). He has published works on trade, communal labor, and socio-cultural processes of Arabization and Islamization.

The book deals with two types of "African diasporas," the first of which originated in the migration histories of the Indian Ocean and brought new groups into Africa.This is illustrated by case studies of Hadrami communities in Sudan and Zanzibar, and the Malay community in Cape Town, that produced trade inks as well as processes of Islamization. The second type originated with the failing African states and cases discussed are an Eritrean diaspora in Germany, alongside Sudanese diasporas in Norway and the USA, and a Somali diaspora in Norway. The papers deal with processes of homemaking, political mobilization in the diaspora through local organisations, religious networks and cyberspace nationalism. The central conceptual argument is that "diaspora" is not only a post-modern reaction to the xenophobia of Western nation states but must be seen as part of a broader history of human migration and intercultural experience. This calls for a perspective which takes into consideration historically produced variation and dynamism.

This is the first comprehensive study of Hadendowa Beja pastoralism in Sinkat Province, Eastern Suda. The book discusses the effects of the drought in the 1980s and shows the strategies for survival and for pastoral rehabilitation. The various chapters deal with the effects of drought and of human activities on the natural environment; how pastoral migration patterns were affected and how links to commodity and labour markets aggravated the effects of drought; socio-cultural changes are dealt with as well, following increased interaction between regional populations. The final chapter discusses planning problems in the region and argues that in areas such as the Red Sea Hills, the recurrent pastoral disasters cannot be blamed only on the pastoralists and their activities, but must be related to wider economic and political contexts, in which the pastoral groups are becoming increasingly marginalised. The book is based on material from the Red Sea Area Programme, a joint research venture between the universities of Khartoum and Bergen.