Between Text and Practice: Considerations in the Anthropological Study of Islam

The anthropological study of Islam is one that has been plagued by problems of definition. What exactly are we studying? Local practices, universal texts and standards of practice, or something else entirely. At the heart of the question is how anthropologists define Islam. This paper1 reviews the major trends in the anthropological study of Islam and then suggests plausible theoretical directions for the future. It touches on issues surrounding Orientalism, the "Great- and LittleTraditions " paradigm. It move between theoretical considerations and "on the ground", lived, examples

The Political Use of Islamic Variation in Indonesian Islamic Higher Education

The Indonesian State Islamic Higher Education (PTAIN) system was created to encourage a progressive form of Islam to oppose political Islam and to be apolitical. Because PTAIN are the official government form of Islamic higher education, PTAIN faculty members can be important opinion makers in the Indonesian Islamic community. PTAIN are critical to understanding the Indonesian Islamic community because they engage in innovative scholarship on Islamic theology, ethics, law, and practice and in the education of young Muslim leaders in many fields. This article explores some of the ways PTAIN have been politicized to play a role in the debates about the future of Indonesian Islam which is developing (or at least showing) more complex variations. It offers a theoretical model for understanding the variation found in Islam

Teaching Morality: Javanese Islamic Education in a Globalizing Era

As Indonesia strives to overcome its position as a periphery nation, its populations are faced with increasing challenges to traditional identity and morality. With economic development comes a great exposure to global consumer culture. This paper examines how traditionalist Muslims in Java, Indonesia, are facing the perceived impact of globalization through educational efforts and the re-invention of tradition. A key institution in this process is the Islamic boarding school called pesantren. Pesantren curriculum has become a focal point in the strategy of the traditionalist community to encounter globalization. By shaping curriculum, pesantren leaders are trying to mold future generations of Indonesian leaders and citizens. The goal is to create a society that is fully modern, fully globalized, fully Indonesian, and fully Islamic, one student at a time. In this process, both modernity and tradition are re-invented in such a way that one cannot exist without the other

Pilgrimage Past and Present: El Camino de Santiago

In the summer of 2017, the Departments of History and Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work, took 23 UNF students to Spain to study pilgrimage. During three weeks abroad, students traveled the entire length of the Camino Francés, from its traditional starting point in the French Basque town of St. Jean Pied de Port to Santiago de Compostela — ending the journey in Finisterre on the Atlantic Coast of Spain. Students walked the final 70 miles from Sarria to the shrine of St. James, traversing the stunning Galician countryside and retracing the steps of more than a millennium of pilgrims. Today, thousands of pilgrims continue to stream to Santiago to touch the putative relics of the Apostle. This classroom in motion, provides a remarkable opportunity to study both medieval and modern pilgrimage practices, while experiencing the cultures of northern Spain. Through photographs and student quotes this work highlights the students’ transformational experiences. In addition, it draws on student-conducted interviews and mapping projects to illuminate the continued impact of pilgrimage in modern Spain