Islam through Objects

Islam through Objects represents the state of the field of Islamic material cultural studies. With contributions from scholars of religion anthropologists art historians folklorists historians and other disciplines Anna Bigelow brings together a wide range of perspectives on Islamic materiality to debunk myths of Islamic aversion to material aspects of religion. Each chapter focuses on a single object in daily use by Muslims-prayer beads coins amulets a cistern well clothing jewellery bodily and domestic adornments-to consider both generic and particular aspects of the object in question. These narratives will engage the reader by describing and analyzing each object in terms of its provenance materials uses and history as well as the broader history variety and uses of the object in Islamic history and cultures. Temporal regional and sectarian variations in the styles uses and theological perspectives are also considered. . Framed by an introduction that assesses the various approaches to Islamic material culture in recent scholarship Islam through Objects provides a template for the study of religion and material culture which engages current theory subtle and nuanced narratives and the creative and imaginal capacities of Muslims through history.