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  • Invoking the Invisible in the Sahara: Islam, Spiritual Mediation, and Social Change

    Invoking the Invisible in the Sahara by Pettigrew, Erin;

    Islam, Spiritual Mediation, and Social Change

    Series: African Studies; 159;

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      • Publisher's listprice GBP 29.99
      • The price is estimated because at the time of ordering we do not know what conversion rates will apply to HUF / product currency when the book arrives. In case HUF is weaker, the price increases slightly, in case HUF is stronger, the price goes lower slightly.

        14 327 Ft (13 645 Ft + 5% VAT)
      • Discount 20% (cc. 2 865 Ft off)
      • Discounted price 11 462 Ft (10 916 Ft + 5% VAT)

    14 327 Ft

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    Availability

    Estimated delivery time: In stock at the publisher, but not at Prospero's office. Delivery time approx. 3-5 weeks.
    Not in stock at Prospero.

    Why don't you give exact delivery time?

    Delivery time is estimated on our previous experiences. We give estimations only, because we order from outside Hungary, and the delivery time mainly depends on how quickly the publisher supplies the book. Faster or slower deliveries both happen, but we do our best to supply as quickly as possible.

    Product details:

    • Publisher Cambridge University Press
    • Date of Publication 5 September 2024

    • ISBN 9781009224567
    • Binding Paperback
    • No. of pages370 pages
    • Size 228x151x20 mm
    • Weight 540 g
    • Language English
    • 584

    Categories

    Short description:

    Explores how Islamic esoteric sciences and spiritual mediators have shaped social change in the Saharan West.

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    Long description:

    In this innovative new history, Erin Pettigrew utilizes invisible forces and entities - esoteric knowledge and spirits - to show how these forms of knowledge and unseen forces have shaped social structures, religious norms, and political power in the Saharan West. Situating this ethnographic history in what became la Mauritanie under French colonial rule and, later the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, Pettigrew traces the changing roles of Muslim spiritual mediators and their Islamic esoteric sciences - known locally as l'&&&7717;j&&&257;b - over the long-term history of the region. By exploring the impact of the immaterial in the material world and demonstrating the importance of Islamic esoteric sciences in Saharan societies, she illuminates peoples' enduring reliance upon these sciences in their daily lives and argues for a new approach to historical research that takes the immaterial seriously.

    'Invoking the Invisible in the Sahara situates battles over the meaning and control of Islamic esoteric knowledge (&&&7717;j&&&257;b) in Mauritania's history of racial&&&160;and political struggles dating to the pre-colonial era. Innovatively using contemporary social media alongside traditional textual and oral sources, Pettigrew reveals the resilience and adaptability of both &&&7717;j&&&257;b power and practitioners. 'Magic' in Mauritania has not disappeared; it has become a marketable commodity.' Ann McDougall, University of Alberta

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    Table of Contents:

    Introduction: a Saharan ontology of the invisible; 1. Principles of provenance: origins, debates, and social structures of l'&&&7717;j&&&257;b in the Saharan West; 2. Local wisdom: contestations over l'&&&7717;j&&&257;b in the 18th-19th centuries; 3. Colonial logics of Islam: managing the threat of l'&&&7717;j&&&257;b; 4. Postcolonial transfigurations: contesting l'&&&7717;j&&&257;b in the era of social media; 5. Desert panic: bloodsucking accusations and the terror of social change; 6. Sui generis: genealogical claims to the past and the transmission of l'&&&7717;j&&&257;b; Epilogue.

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