Muslim Preaching in the Middle East and Beyond

Preaching has been central to Muslim communities throughout the centuries. The liturgical Friday sermon is a prime example, although other genres that are less commonly known also serve important functions. This book addresses the ways in which Muslims relate various forms of religious oratory to authoritative tradition in 21st-century Islamic practice, while striving to adapt to local contexts and the changing circumstances of politics, media and society. This is the first book of its kind to look at homiletics beyond a specific country focus.

Taking into consideration the historical developments of Muslim preaching, it offers a collection of thoroughly contextualised case studies of oratory in Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bosnia, Sweden and the USA. The analyses presented here show shared emphasis on struggles for legitimacy, efforts to speak authoritatively, as well as discursive opportunities and constraints.

[This book presents] a global picture of Islamic preaching in various contexts, from early Islam to Swedish suburbs. This testifies to the lively tradition of Islamic rhetoric beyond time and space. Here, the chapters on rhetoric situated in Swedish and Egyptian contexts make the most solid contribution. As a whole, the book could be useful to scholars and students of Islamic Studies, anthropology and Arabic literature.