Islamic and Comparative Religious Studies
Islamic and Comparative Religious Studies

Author: William A. Graham

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-05-15

Total Pages: 585

ISBN-13: 1351925962

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William A Graham, a leading international scholar in the field of Islamic Studies, gathers together his selected writings under three sections: 1.History and Interpretation of Islamic Religion; 2.The Qur'an as Scripture, and 3. Scripture in the History of Religion. Each section opens with a new introduction by Graham, and a bibliography of his works is included. Graham's work in Islamic studies focuses largely on the analysis and interpretation of the religious dimensions of ritual action, scriptural piety, textual authority/revelation, tradition, and major concepts, such as grace and transcendence. His work in the comparative history of religion has focused in particular on the 'problem' of scripture as a cross-cultural religious phenomenon that is more complex than simply 'sacred text'. This invaluable resource will be of primary interest to students of the Islamic tradition, especially as regards Qur'anic piety, Muslim 'ritual' practice, and fundamental structures of Islamic thought, and to students of the comparative history of religion, especially as regards the phenomenon of 'scripture' and its analogs.

In the Shadow of the Church
In the Shadow of the Church

Author: Mattia Guidetti

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2016-11-07

Total Pages: 235

ISBN-13: 9004328831

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In his book In the Shadow of the Church: The Building of Mosques in Early Medieval Syria Mattia Guidetti examines the establishment of Muslim religious architecture within the Christian context in which it first appeared in the Syrian region, contributing to the debate on the transformation of late antique society to a Muslim one. He scrutinizes the slow process of conversion to Islam of the most important town centers by looking at religious places of both communities between the seventh and the eleventh century. The author assesses the relevancy of churches by analyzing the location of mosques and by researching phenomena of transfer of marble material from churches to mosques.

A Survey of Hinduism
A Survey of Hinduism

Author: Klaus K. Klostermaier

Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 2010-03-10

Total Pages: 720

ISBN-13: 0791480119

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This third edition of the classic text updates the information contained in the earlier editions, and includes new chapters on the origins of Hinduism; its history of relations with Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam; Hindu science; and Hindu measures of time. The chronology and the bibliography have been updated as well. A comprehensive survey of the Hindu tradition, the book deals with the history of Hinduism, the sacred writings of the Hindus, the Hindu worldview, and the specifics of the major branches of Hinduism—Vaisnavism, Saivism, and Saktism. It also focuses on the geographical ties of Hinduism with the land of India, the social order created by Hinduism, and the various systems of Hindu thought. Klaus K. Klostermaier describes the development of Hinduism in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including present-day political Hinduism and the efforts to turn Hinduism into a modern world religion. A unique feature of the book is its treatment of Hinduism in a topical fashion, rather than by chronological description of the development of Hinduism or by summary of the literature. The complexities of Hindu life and thought are thus made real to the reader, and Hindus will recognize it as their own tradition.

Religious architecture
Religious architecture

Author: Oskar Verkaaik

Publisher: Amsterdam University Press

Published: 2014-02-19

Total Pages: 230

ISBN-13: 9048518342

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This essential study develops new anthropological perspectives on religious architecture, including mosques, churches, temples and synagogues. Borrowing from a range of theoretical perspectives on space-making and material religion, the authors consider how religious buildings take their place in opposition to the secular surroundings and the neoliberal city; how they, as evocations of the sublime, help believers move beyond the boundaries of modern subjectivity; and how international heritage status may conflict with their function as community centres. The volume includes contributions from a wide range of disciplines and regions, anthropologists, social historians, and architects working in Brazil, India, Italy, Mali, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, and the UK.

Diaspora of the Gods
Diaspora of the Gods

Author: Joanne Punzo Waghorne

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2004-09-16

Total Pages: 464

ISBN-13: 019028885X

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Many Hindus today are urban middle-class people with religious values similar to those of their professional counterparts in America and Europe. Just as modern professionals continue to build new churches, synagogues, and now mosques, Hindus are erecting temples to their gods wherever their work and their lives take them. Despite the perceived exoticism of Hindu worship, the daily life-style of these avid temple patrons differs little from their suburban neighbors. Joanne Waghorne leads her readers on a journey through this new middle-class Hindu diaspora, focusing on their efforts to build and support places of worship. She seeks to trace the changing religious sensibilities of the middle classes as written on their temples and on the faces of their gods. She offers detailed comparisons of temples in Chennai (formerly Madras), London, and Washington, D.C., and interviews temple priests, devotees, and patrons. In the process, she illuminates the interrelationships between ritual worship and religious edifices, the rise of the modern world economy, and the ascendancy of the great middle class. The result is a comprehensive portrait of Hinduism as lived today by so many both in India and throughout the world. Lavishly illustrated with professional photographs by Dick Waghorne, this book will appeal to art historians as well as urban anthropologists, scholars of religion, and those interested in diaspora, transnationalism, and trends in contemporary religion. It should be especially appealing for course use because it introduces the modern Hinduism practiced by the friends and neighbors of students in the U.S. and Britain.

House of Worship
House of Worship

Author: Dominique Browning

Publisher: Assouline Books & Gifts

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13:

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Subject: Places of worship can inspire, evoke humility, bring together communities, or provide solace. In a richly illustrated volume of photographs featuring sacred spaces across America, House of Worship illustrates how through design a physical space becomes scared. Remarkable for an architecture that expresses spirituality, each of the structures represented in this book are notable in their design--and spirit. Included are great photographers' pictures of churches of various denominations, Buddhist temples, small chapels, mosques, and synagogues that are presented by inspiring informative texts