Private Pieties. Mundane Islam and New Forms of Muslim Religiosity: Impact on Contemporary Social and Political Dynamics
Muslim societies have been impacted since the 19th century by far-reaching processes of social and economic change as well as the development of an array of both Islamist and counter-Islamist movements. The present research project proposes to focus on Muslims whose ideas of piety are characterized by their private and individualistic character: they maintain that their piety is not subject to scrutiny by Islamist movements which value public religion as a means of societal control. Insistence on privacy (and individuality) may appear as rather a-political stance, yet, forms an eminently political position as it challenges claims to hegemony of interpretation of both established religious (and political) authorities as well as the leaders of Islamist movements. The project asks which social and political consequences the stress on private (and individual) piety has and what private piety actually means for the social development of Muslim societies, for the development of Islamist movements and their ability to mobilize Muslims for political aims: what happens to politics in such a case? How do Islamist groups react that have to fear most from such a social movement? How also can we assess the role of women in patriarchal societies who appear to gain most from the move towards private piety?
The project approached these questions in the form of a comparative study of social and political contexts in Senegal, Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon, Iran and Pakistan as well as Muslim (Senegalese, Tunisian, Egyptian, etc.) diasporic communities in Europe. Our trans-regional comparative perspective enabled us to identify the social dynamics linked with the stress on private (and individual) piety.
The following publications have been published in the context of our research in this project:
Monographs | Collected Volumes | Contributions to Collected Volumes | Articles in Academic Journals | Working papers |
Monographs
Muslim Egypt in Flux: Negotiating Individual (non-)Religiosities. Göttingen: Göttingen University Press (im Erscheinen).
Suchen und Gestalten: Zeitgenössische Spirituelle Praktiken unter Frauen in Beiruts Mittelschicht. Göttingen: Universitätsverlag Göttingen.
Das vorislamische Erbe Irans zwischen islamischer Tradition, Reform und Modernisierung. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer.
„Individual Pieties“ und „Non-Pieties“: Dynamiken des religiösen Wandels in der “islamischen Welt”. Universitätsverlag Göttingen (in vier Sprachen: deutsch, französisch, englisch und arabisch), Göttingen, 236 Seiten.
Tunesien: Die Entwicklung einer arabischen Zivilgesellschaft. Universitätsverlag Göttingen, Göttingen, 376 Seiten.
Collected Volumes
Rethinking the Anthropology of Islam : Dynamics of Change in Muslim Societies . In Honour of Roman Loimeier. Vol. 47, Berlin: De Gruyter. [DOI]
Religiöser Wandel in Muslimischen Gesellschaften : Individualisierung, Geschlecht Und Soziale Milieus. Vol. 25, Göttingen University Press. [DOI]
Negotiating the Religious in Contemporary Everyday Life in the "Islamic World". Göttingen University Press, Göttingen. [DOI]
Dimensionen des Religiösen und Nicht-Religiösen. Empirische Forschungen im ERC-Projekt: 'Private Pieties. Mundane Islam and New Forms of Muslim Religiosity: Impact on Contemporary Social and Political Dynamics. GISCA No. 26.
Contributions to Collected Volumes
Alternatives to Conveying Religious Knowledge : Islamic Influencers : Insights from Egypt. Rethinking the Anthropology of Islam : Dynamics of Change in Muslim Societies : In Honour of Roman Loimeier, edited by Katja Föllmer, Lisa Franke and Ramzi Ben Amara, vol. 47, Berlin: De Gruyter, pp. 219–36. [DOI]
Die Enteignete Generation : Jugend Im Nahen Osten Und in NordafrikaDie Enteignete Generation : Jugend Im Nahen Osten Und in Nordafrika. edited by Jörg Gertel et al., Bonn: Dietz, pp. 285-306..
Why Rethinking the Anthropology of Islam? Dynamics of Change in Muslim Societies : An Introduction. Rethinking the Anthropology of Islam : Dynamics of Change in Muslim Societies : In Honour of Roman Loimeier, edited by Katja Föllmer, Lisa Franke and Ramzi Ben Amara, vol. 47, Berlin: De Gruyter, p. IX–XXIV. [DOI]
Social Movements and Collective Identity: A Cultural Approach. Rethinking the Anthropology of Islam : Dynamics of Change in Muslim Societies: In Honour of Roman Loimeier, edited by Katja Föllmer, Lisa Franke and Ramzi Ben Amara, vol. 47, Berlin: De Gruyter, pp. 333–52. [DOI]
Islamic Ideals, the Concept of Love, and Processes of Individualisation : Muṣṭafā Ḥusnī’s Writings and His Spiritual Brand. Branding the Middle East : Communication Strategies and Image Building from Qom to Casablanca, edited by Steffen Wippel, vol. 38, Berlin: De Gruyter, pp. 275–89. [DOI]
Einleitung. In: Katja Föllmer, Lisa Franke, Johanna Kühn, Roman Loimeier, Nadine Sieveking (ed.) (2022). Religiöser Wandel in Muslimischen Gesellschaften : Individualisierung, Geschlecht Und Soziale Milieus. Vol. 25, Göttingen University Press. Pp.7-17. [DOI]
Soziale Kontrolle und Handlungsoptionen von Frauen in Tunesien im politischen und religiösen Wandel. In: Katja Föllmer, Lisa Franke, Johanna Kühn, Roman Loimeier, Nadine Sieveking (ed.) (2022). Religiöser Wandel in Muslimischen Gesellschaften : Individualisierung, Geschlecht Und Soziale Milieus. Vol. 25, Göttingen University Press. Pp. 19-61. [DOI]
Individualisierung und der aktuelle Diskurs über Frauen, Familie und ḥeǧāb im Iran. In: Katja Föllmer, Lisa Franke, Johanna Kühn, Roman Loimeier, Nadine Sieveking (ed.) (2022). Religiöser Wandel in Muslimischen Gesellschaften : Individualisierung, Geschlecht Und Soziale Milieus. Vol. 25, Göttingen University Press. Pp. 63-115. [DOI]
Egypt: And Against the Vail - The Emotional Entanglement of Fashion, Beauty and the Self . In: Katja Föllmer, Lisa Franke, Johanna Kühn, Roman Loimeier, Nadine Sieveking (ed.) (2022). Religiöser Wandel in Muslimischen Gesellschaften : Individualisierung, Geschlecht Und Soziale Milieus. Vol. 25, Göttingen University Press. Pp. 117-172. [DOI]
Ein Kabbala-Frauenkreis in Beirut - Religiosität und weibliche Lebensgestaltung. In: Katja Föllmer, Lisa Franke, Johanna Kühn, Roman Loimeier, Nadine Sieveking (ed.) (2022). Religiöser Wandel in Muslimischen Gesellschaften : Individualisierung, Geschlecht Und Soziale Milieus. Vol. 25, Göttingen University Press. Pp. 173-204. [DOI]
Geselligkeit und individuelle Religiositäten in einem Mittelschichtmilieu von Dakar (Senegal). In: Katja Föllmer, Lisa Franke, Johanna Kühn, Roman Loimeier, Nadine Sieveking (ed.) (2022). Religiöser Wandel in Muslimischen Gesellschaften : Individualisierung, Geschlecht Und Soziale Milieus. Vol. 25, Göttingen University Press. Pp. 205-247. [DOI]
Individuality beyond the Beaten Track : Self-Pietization, Qurʾān Circles and Organic Islam in Contemporary Alexandria. Negotiating the Religious in Contemporary Everyday Life in the “Islamic World,” edited by Roman Loimeier, vol. 19, Göttingen University Press, pp. 39–68..
Acts of Unveiling and Everyday Life: the Significance of Silence in Iran Today. Negotiating the Religious in Contemporary Everyday Life in the “Islamic World,” edited by Roman Loimeier, vol. 19, Göttingen University Press, pp. 87–106.
Introduction: Negotiating the Religious in Contemporary Everyday Life in the “Islamic World”. In: Roman Loimeier (ed.), Negotiating the Religious in Everyday Life in Islamic Contexts. Göttingen: Göttingen University Press, pp. 9-15..
Introduction : La négociation du religieux dans la vie quotidienne contemporaine du « Monde Islamique ». In: Roman Loimeier (ed.), Negotiating the Religious in Everyday Life in Islamic Contexts. Göttingen: Göttingen University Press, pp. 17-23..
Fitness and the ‘Bracketing’ of Religiosity in Senegal.. In: Roman Loimeier (ed.), Negotiating the Religious in Everyday Life in Islamic Contexts. Göttingen: Göttingen University Press, pp. 185-215..
Articles in Academic Journals
Muslimness on Demand : Critical Voices of Islam in Egypt. Muslimness on Demand : Critical Voices of Islam in Egypt.. [DOI]
Seeing Lights. Healing in a Meditation Class in Beirut. Curare. Journal of Medical Anthropology, vol. 42, no. 3 and 4 (2019), pp. 65–78.
Working papers
Beyond liberal narratives: Rethinking agency and social change in post-revolutionary Iran. GISCA Occasional Paper Series, 34, Göttingen: Institute for Social and Cultural Anthropology. [DOI]
Between and beyond : Intimate Notions of (Dis-)Belief and (Non-)Conformism in Post-Revolutionary Alexandria. GISCA OCCASIONAL PAPER SERIES, edited by Nadine Sieveking, no. 26, pp. 22–29.
Iran: Individualität und individuelle Religiosität zwischen staatlichen Vorschriften und sozialer Kontrolle. GISCA OCCASIONAL PAPER SERIES, edited by Nadine Sieveking, no. 26, pp. 15–21.
Über Religiositäten sprechen? Forschungserfahrungen in Beirut. GISCA OCCASIONAL PAPER SERIES, no. 26, ed. by Nadine Sieveking, pp. 30-36.
Tunesien: Die Entwicklung der Zivilgesellschaft nach der Revolution von 2011. GISCA OCCASIONAL PAPER SERIES, no. 26, ed. by Nadine Sieveking, pp. 44-49.
Einleitung: Von “Privat Pieties“ zur empirischen Forschung über Dimensionen des Religiösen in muslimischen Kontexten. GISCA OCCASIONAL PAPER SERIES, no. 26, ed. by Nadine Sieveking, pp. 5-14.
Fallstudien in Senegal: Heterogenität als gesellschaftliche Realität oder Perspektive?. GISCA OCCASIONAL PAPER SERIES, no. 26, ed. by Nadine Sieveking, 26, pp. 37-43.