Practices of Piety: An Alternative Approach to the Study of Islamic Movements

Rock‐Singer, Aaron

doi:10.3390/rel11100520

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…2 Studies of contemporary revolutionary states that have moved to solidify their power decades after their founding also point to this preoccupation by ruling regimes, but most studies focus on how the states attempt to convince more general populations (Fernandes 2006;Ries 1997;Yurchak 2005). In the case of Iran, I've also written on the many ways in which Iranian media makers loyal to the revolution have attempted to communicate with the general population (Bajoghli 2019).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…55Much has been written about religion and media, or religion as mediation; as well as Islam and media. This article is indebted to the following scholarship for helping me think through ideas of religion and media (Meyer & Moors 2006); American ‘televangelism’ (Alexander 1997; Bruce 1990; Harding 1994; 2000; Hoover 2009); global Pentecostalism and media (Martin 2001); Islam and the entertainment industry (Armburst 2006; Moll 2018; 2021; Winegar 2014); the many works on political Islam and media (Deeb & Harb 2013; Hirschkind & Larkin 2008; Rock‐Singer 2020); the nexus of electronic media and the nation‐state (Anderson 2016; Apparadurai 1996; Armburst 2000; Castells 1996‐8); and media, identity, and transnationalism (Ginsburg, Abu‐Lughod & Larkin 2002; Morley & Robins 1995; Shohat & Stam 2003). …”

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The perils of producing revolutionary moderation: entertainment, style, and the ‘Islamic Che’ in Iran

Bajoghli

2023

Royal Anthropological Inst

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What makes revolutionary media ‘moderate’, and why would a revolutionary state produce moderation? Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork with pro‐regime media producers in Iran, this article examines the attempted creation of a new revolutionary hero, an ‘Islamic Che’, who appeals to younger audiences by creating a moderate style. Iran's regime media makers seek to attract not just youth who protest against the Islamic Republic, but their own children: those they imagined would be their automatic base of support. How do revolutionary states cultivate a base among a new generation willing to defend the existing political structure? This article examines how state media makers imagine ‘moderate style’ as that which can both stay true to the founding principles and be entertaining enough for younger generations. Beyond the example of post‐revolutionary Iran, this article also allows us to think more about the predicament of all states: namely how do they attempt to attract the attention of citizens in a world inundated with easy‐to‐access digital content?

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Section: Notesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

The perils of producing revolutionary moderation: entertainment, style, and the ‘Islamic Che’ in Iran

Bajoghli

2023

Royal Anthropological Inst

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Salafism as Gramscian informed vanguardism

Ramaioli

2023

Cont Islam

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In this study, I offer a categorization of Salafism based on the concept of vanguardism. Vanguardism suggests how Salafis inhabit the political domain, by posing as the vanguard of a privileged group endowed with a historical mission. Relatedly, I summon the Gramscian concept of “philosophy of praxis.” With this, I intend to reconfigure Wiktorowicz’s classificatory scheme predicated on too stark an opposition between ‘aqīdah (theory) and manhaj (method). The philosophy of praxis accounts for the inherent tension between these two domains. Such tension is manifest in Salafis’ ambiguities, compromises, internal rifts, ideological adjustments, and revisions. Two related Gramscian concepts, historical bloc and modern Prince, bring such considerations more immediately into the political. They highlight, respectively, the political-historical context in which Salafis operate and the political-historical role they play as instances of vanguardism. I then put forth my classificatory scheme in the form of a typology. One axis is represented by the attitude towards the “historical bloc” (pro or anti) and the kind of vanguard posturing that emerges out of it (support, creation, or activation). The other axis is represented by the specific framing of the “Enemy” category on the part of the Salafi vanguard (historical/institutional or essential/identitarian), and the stance they consequently assume towards it (compromise/accommodation or rejection/denunciation). The resulting classification offers six categories (accommodationists, partisans, delayers, agitators, mobilizers, and belligerents). Stressing the fundamental political nature of contemporary Salafism—its vanguardism—they account for its inscription in a specific, modern way of thinking and acting the political.

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Explaining the distinction between religious and political activism in Islamism: evidence from the Tunisian case

Merone,

McCarthy

2024

Politics and Religion

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Tunisia's Islamist movement Ennahda has announced a separation of political and religious work, apparently reinforcing a “post-Islamist” argument that Islamic parties have left behind religious mobilization. However, the boundary between religious and political fields is highly porous. We ask why the distinction between religious and political activism remains a point of ambiguity within Islamism. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 48 men and women who participated in the movement in the 1970s and 1980s in Tunis and Sousse, we develop a microlevel explanation of Islamist mobilization. We argue that religious and social Islamist activism is replete with political intent, which worked through three mechanisms: a counter-hegemonic ideology, an activist engagement in social transformation, and a formal organization. These findings add empirical insights to the case of Ennahda, provide leverage in explaining the politicization of Salafist movements, and underscore the legacy of asymmetric party capacities in shaping outcomes in a democratic transition.

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Practices of Piety: An Alternative Approach to the Study of Islamic Movements

Cited by 3 publications

References 34 publications

The perils of producing revolutionary moderation: entertainment, style, and the ‘Islamic Che’ in Iran

The perils of producing revolutionary moderation: entertainment, style, and the ‘Islamic Che’ in Iran

Salafism as Gramscian informed vanguardism

Explaining the distinction between religious and political activism in Islamism: evidence from the Tunisian case

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