An Enchanted Modern: Gender and Public Piety in Shi'i Lebanon

Description

Demonstrates that Islam and modernity are not merely compatible, but actually go hand-in-hand. This ethnographic portrayal of an Islamic community articulates how an alternative modernity, and specifically an enchanted modernity, may be constructed by Shi'I Muslims who consider themselves simultaneously deeply modern, cosmopolitan, and pious.

Lara Deeb is a cultural anthropologist and Assistant Professor of Women's Studies at the University of California, Irvine.

"Lara Deeb successfully argues that Islamism is not static or monolithic, and that Islam and modernity are entirely compatible."--Nancy E. Gallagher, Digest of Middle East Studies "Lara Deeb's expansive and eloquent ethnography focuses on the community of Lebanese Shi'i who identify with Hizbullah. It is an excellent analysis of the way that women, in particular, live and define a modern, 'authenticated' Islam in the neighborhoods of al-Dahiyya... Both theoretically and ethnographically, Deeb offers nuanced and thorough analyses, all the while being attentive to overlapping, contradictory, and shifting viewpoints."--Anne Bennett, Middle East Journal "In a well-organized manner, Lara Deeb conveys a multiplicity of ideas that challenge the existing stereotypes of Hizbullah and the Lebanese Shi'i... I would recommend this book for a variety of classes, ranging from undergrads to doctoral candidates, as well as for anyone interested in political and religious issues in Lebanon and the Middle East."--Bridget Blomfield, American Journal of Islamic Social Scientists "An American anthropologist of Lebanese descent and raised Christian, Lara Deeb ... provides a novel interpretation of modern Shi'ism. Her book is written in an academically and scholarly fashion, yet her writing style is easy to understand. In a well-organized manner, she conveys a multiplicity of ideas that challenge the existing stereotypes of Hizbullah and the Lebanese Shi'i. Since she is not Shi'i, she does not express a religious agenda but instead wholeheartedly represents a group of people who have been widely misunderstood in the West. I would recommend this book for a variety of classes, ranging from undergrads to doctoral candidates, as well as for anyone interested in political and religious issues in Lebanon and the Middle East."--Bridget Blomfield, American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences "Deeb provides insights into the complex understandings of the religious and the secular that inform individual and collective expressions of piety among Shia Muslims."--Amina Jamal, Journal of Middle East Women's Studies