Putting Islam to work : education, politics, and religious transformation in Egypt

Author(s)

• Starrett, Gregory

Bibliographic Information

Putting Islam to work : education, politics, and religious transformation in Egypt

Gregory Starrett

（Comparative studies on Muslim societies, 25）

University of California Press, 1998

• : hbk. : alk. paper
• : pbk. : alk. paper

Note

Bibliography: p. 287-301

Includes index

Description and Table of Contents

Volume

: hbk. : alk. paper ISBN 9780520209268

Description

The development of mass education and the mass media have transformed the Islamic tradition in contemporary Egypt and the wider Muslim world. In Putting Islam to Work, Gregory Starrett focuses on the historical interplay of power and public culture, showing how these new forms of communication and a growing state interest in religious instruction have changed the way the Islamic tradition is reproduced. During the twentieth century new styles of religious education, based not on the recitation of sacred texts but on moral indoctrination, have been harnessed for use in economic, political, and social development programs. More recently they have become part of the Egyptian government's strategy for combating Islamist political opposition. But in the course of this struggle, the western-style educational techniques that were adopted to generate political stability have instead resulted in a rapid Islamization of public space, the undermining of traditional religious authority structures, and a crisis of political legitimacy. Using historical, textual, and ethnographic evidence, Gregory Starrett demonstrates that today's Islamic resurgence is rooted in new ways of thinking about Islam that are based in the market, the media, and the school.

Volume

: pbk. : alk. paper ISBN 9780520209275

Description

The development of mass education and the mass media have transformed the Islamic tradition in contemporary Egypt and the wider Muslim world. In "Putting Islam to Work", Gregory Starrett focuses on the historical interplay of power and public culture, showing how these new forms of communication and a growing state interest in religious instruction have changed the way the Islamic tradition is reproduced. During the twentieth century new styles of religious education, based not on the recitation of sacred texts but on moral indoctrination, have been harnessed for use in economic, political, and social development programs. More recently they have become part of the Egyptian government's strategy for combating Islamist political opposition. But in the course of this struggle, the western-style educational techniques that were adopted to generate political stability have instead resulted in a rapid Islamization of public space, the undermining of traditional religious authority structures, and a crisis of political legitimacy. Using historical, textual, and ethnographic evidence, Gregory Starrett demonstrates that today's Islamic resurgence is rooted in new ways of thinking about Islam that are based in the market, the media, and the school.

Table of Contents

Preface PART I 1 Creating an Object PART II 2 Education and the Management of Populations 3 The Progressive Policy of the Government PART III 4 Learning about God 5 The Path of Clarification 6 Growing Up: Four Stories PART IV 7 State of Emergency 8 Broken Boundaries and the Politics of Fear Notes Bibliography Index

by "Nielsen BookData"

Details

• NCID: BA36296911
• ISBN:
  • 0520209265
  • 0520209273
• LCCN: 96050454
• Country Code: us
• Title Language Code: eng
• Text Language Code: eng
• Place of Publication: Berkeley
• Pages/Volumes: xvi, 308 p.
• Classification:
  • NDC9 : 161.3
  • LCC : BP64.E3
  • DC21 : 306.6/0962
• Subject Headings:
  • LCSH : Islam -- Egypt
• Parent Bibliography ID:
  • BA06580687