
The Call of Bilal
Islam in the African Diaspora
Edward E. Curtis IV(Author)
The University of North Carolina Press
Published on 30. October 2014
Book
Paperback/Softback
224 pages
978-1-4696-1811-1 (ISBN)
Description
How do people in the African diaspora practice Islam? While the term "Black Muslim" may conjure images of Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali, millions of African-descended Muslims around the globe have no connection to the American-based Nation of Islam. The Call of Bilal is a penetrating account of the rich diversity of Islamic religious practice among Africana Muslims worldwide. Covering North Africa and the Middle East, India and Pakistan, Europe, and the Americas, Edward E. Curtis IV reveals a fascinating range of religious activities - from the observance of the five pillars of Islam and the creation of transnational Sufi networks to the veneration of African saints and political struggles for racial justice.
Weaving together ethnographic fieldwork and historical perspectives, Curtis shows how Africana Muslims interpret not only their religious identities but also their attachments to the African diaspora. For some, the dispersal of African people across time and space has been understood as a mere physical scattering or perhaps an economic opportunity. For others, it has been a metaphysical and spiritual exile of the soul from its sacred land and eternal home.
Weaving together ethnographic fieldwork and historical perspectives, Curtis shows how Africana Muslims interpret not only their religious identities but also their attachments to the African diaspora. For some, the dispersal of African people across time and space has been understood as a mere physical scattering or perhaps an economic opportunity. For others, it has been a metaphysical and spiritual exile of the soul from its sacred land and eternal home.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Chapel Hill
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Illustrations
6 halftones
Dimensions
Height: 236 mm
Width: 158 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
372 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4696-1811-1 (9781469618111)
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E-Book
10/2014
The University of North Carolina Press
€19.49
Available for download
Person
Edward E. Curtis IV is Millennium Chair of the Liberal Arts and Professor of Religious Studies at the Indiana University School of Liberal Arts in Indianapolis. He is the author of Black Muslim Religion in the Nation of Islam, 1960-1975, among other books.