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Distributed for National University of Singapore Press

Mosques and Imams

Everyday Islam in Eastern Indonesia

Islam has long been part of the fabric of life in eastern Indonesia, with the early fifteenth-century Masjid Tua Wapauwe in Northern Maluku arguably the oldest mosque in Indonesia. Mosques and Imams offers a rich introduction to the myriad ways of being Muslim across this diverse archipelago, from Sulawesi to Maluku and Nusa Tenggara Timor, as seen through the role of imams and the institution of the local mosque. The book is unique not only in its geographic coverage, but also in the way it takes as an organizing principle the individuals and institutions that embody Islam in local communities. The contributions in this volume complement and contribute to broader discussions of contemporary issues in Islam and other contemporary religions, including migration, proselytisation, networks, and changing models of religious authority.
 

292 pages | 15 haltones, 2 maps, 1 table | 6 x 9 | © 2020

Anthropology: Cultural and Social Anthropology

Religion: South and East Asian Religions


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Reviews

Mosques and Imams is a valuable contribution to the expanding ethnographic study of the devotional practices, social institutions and spiritual and political movements shaping the presence of Islam in today’s Indonesia.”

Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology

“[The book] has a broad significance for scholars of Indonesian Islam beyond those seeking ethnographic details about eastern Indonesia, as well as for anyone with an interest in Islamic figures in other parts of the world whose roles are analogous to the imams described in this work.”

Anthropological Forum: A Journal of Social Anthropology and Comparative Sociology

"This is a deeply original and pathbreaking book in the study of Islam in eastern Indonesia. Far-ranging and readable, this fine book should be required reading for anyone interested in the history and contemporary refiguration of Muslim knowledge, authority, and practice in Indonesia and Southeast Asia as a whole."

Journal of Southeast Asian Studies

"This book provides an excellent outline of the history of traditions and local practices in eastern Indonesia and the Islamisation process in the region. By examining the role of local imams and mosques, we can see that Islamic
traditions continue to be upheld in eastern Indonesia and that Islam spread in the region through many different pathways. This book will be of particular interest to graduates and university students who focus their subjects on Southeast Asian social history."

Islamic Studies Review

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
A Note on Non-English Words
Introduction
1. Lebe and Sultan: Serving the Mosque and Sustaining Royal Authority
2. Mediating Religious and Cultural Disputes: Imam Desa and Conflict Resolution in Rural Indonesia
3. Shariaisation, Wedding Rituals and the Role of Imams in South Sulawesi
4. A Bugis Imam Masjid: An Authoritative Voice in a Changing World
5. The Reproduction of Imams and Their Changing Roles within the Contemporary Muslim Community in Wajo, South Sulawesi, Indonesia
6. Negotiating a Space in the Mosque: Women Claiming Religious Authority
7. Mosques and their Communities in Northern Ambon, Maluku: Exploring Local Traditions as Islamic Practice in Indonesia
8. Haji Badar Daeng Pawero: A Bugis Imam and His Roles in Maintaining Islamic Law and Bugis Adat in Kupang
9. Being Muslim in Eastern Indonesia: Contemporary Patterns of Islamic Practice
Glossary
List of Contributors
Index

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