Mullahs on the Mainframe
Islam and Modernity among the Daudi Bohras
9780226056777
9780226836416
Mullahs on the Mainframe
Islam and Modernity among the Daudi Bohras
In Jonah Blank’s important, myth-shattering book, the West gets its first look at the Daudi Bohras, a unique Muslim denomination who have found the core of their religious beliefs largely compatible with modern ideology. Combining orthodox Muslim prayer, dress, and practice with secular education, relative gender equality, and Internet use, this community serves as a surprising reminder that the central values of "modernity" are hardly limited to the West.
Read an excerpt and interview with the author.
426 pages | halftones gallery | 6 x 9 | © 2001
Anthropology: Cultural and Social Anthropology
Asian Studies: South Asia
History: Asian History
Political Science: Comparative Politics
Religion: Islam
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part I - Ethnography
1. Historical Background: The Roots of the Faith
2. Rituals of a Daudi Bohra Life
3. Rituals of the Daudi Bohra Year
4. Bohra Domestic Life: Kinship, Sex, and the Status of Women
5. Qasr-e Ali: The Royals
Part II - Analysis
6. Maintenance of Spiritual and Political Hegemony
7. Specifics of Orthopraxy: Dress and Economics
8. Education
9. Dissidents and Control
10. Conclusion
Appendixes
1. Line of Musta’li Tayyibi Ismaili Imams
2. Line of Daudi Bohra Da’is
3. Questionnaire Used for Issuing Certificates of Orthopraxy
4. Analysis of Gulshan-e Malumat Data
5. Kinship Ties of the Daudi Bohra Da’is
Bibliographic Discussion
Notes
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
Introduction
Part I - Ethnography
1. Historical Background: The Roots of the Faith
2. Rituals of a Daudi Bohra Life
3. Rituals of the Daudi Bohra Year
4. Bohra Domestic Life: Kinship, Sex, and the Status of Women
5. Qasr-e Ali: The Royals
Part II - Analysis
6. Maintenance of Spiritual and Political Hegemony
7. Specifics of Orthopraxy: Dress and Economics
8. Education
9. Dissidents and Control
10. Conclusion
Appendixes
1. Line of Musta’li Tayyibi Ismaili Imams
2. Line of Daudi Bohra Da’is
3. Questionnaire Used for Issuing Certificates of Orthopraxy
4. Analysis of Gulshan-e Malumat Data
5. Kinship Ties of the Daudi Bohra Da’is
Bibliographic Discussion
Notes
Glossary
Bibliography
Index