Women, the Recited Qur'an, and Islamic Music in Contemporary Indonesia takes readers to the heart of religious musical praxis in Indonesia, home to the largest Muslim population in the world. Anne K. Rasmussen explores a rich public soundscape, where women recite the divine texts of the Qur'an, and where an extraordinary diversity of Arab-influenced Islamic musical styles and genres, also performed by women, flourishes. Based on unique and revealing ethnographic research beginning at the end of Suharto's "New Order" and continuing into the era of "Reformation," the book considers the powerful role of music in the expression of religious nationalism. In particular, it focuses on musical style, women's roles, and the ideological and aesthetic issues raised by the Indonesian style of recitation.

"Providing numerous case studies ranging across the Indian Ocean--across disparate time periods and historical and ethnographic approaches--Sounding the Indian Ocean: Musical Circulations in the Afro-Asiatic Seascape brings together the disciplines of Indian Ocean and music studies. As glimpsed above in the Sufi and Catholic networks connecting South and Southeast Asia, the chapters in this volume explore how music helps materialize networks of connection across the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and in several of its distinct locales. Our focus is not simply the well-worn tropes of Indian Ocean cosmopolitanism, however, nor a definition of the IOR as a site for the harmonious mixing of populations (though some of our chapters do one or both of these). Rather, we show how music contributes to placemaking in distinct 'Indian Ocean worlds' (Srinivas et al. 2020). Instead of defining music's value in its ability to provide either narratives of identity formation or the celebration of mixture, Sounding the Indian Ocean explores the role music plays in both boundary-formation and boundary-crossing in Indian Ocean contexts, past and present"--

Approaching the Qur’an presents brilliant translations of the short, hymnic chapters, or Suras, associated with the first revelations to the Prophet Muhammad. These early Suras contain some of the most powerful, prophetic, and revelatory passages in religious history, offering the vision of a meaningful and just life that anchors the faith of one fifth of the world’s inhabitants. In addition to these translations, Michael Sells provides an introduction to the Qur’an, commentaries on the Suras, a glossary of technical terms, and discussions of the auditory nature and gender aspects of the Arabic text. An ideal resource for students and interested lay readers, this third edition also includes a new full Sura and associated commentary, a new preface, and a thoroughly updated bibliography.

Hearing Islam introduces the global religious tradition of Islam through its rich history of sounds and music. The book explores how the centrality of sonic practices and experiences within Islamic traditions stems largely from the orality of the Qur’an and the importance of recitation, while arguing that sound can provide a productive point of entry to human cultures in general. Its tripartite structure guides the reader through the foundations of Islamic traditions and sounds; theoretical frameworks of orality, listening, and deafness; and some of the major types of sonic practices and genres related to Islam, such as chanting the Islamic poetic tradition, South Asian qawwali, and hip-hop. This cutting-edge textbook is the go-to volume for students of Islam and sound, Islamic studies, religion and sound, and the practice of Islam.

Ritual and practice are one of the most distinctive features of religion, and they are linked with its central beliefs. Islam is no exception here, and this Handbook covers many aspects of those beliefs and practices. It describes the variety of what takes place but mainly why, and what the implications of both the theory and practice have for our understanding of Islam. The book includes accounts of prayer, food, pilgrimage, mosques, and the various legal and doctrinal schools that exist within Islam, with the focus on how they influence practice. The volume is organized in terms of texts, groups, practices, places, and others. An attempt has been made to discuss the wide range of Muslim ritual and practice and provide a sound guide to this significant aspect of the religious life of one of the largest groups of believers in the world today.

Focus: Music and Religion of Morocco introduces the region and its history, highlighting how the pressures of religious life, post-colonial economic struggle, and global media come together within Moroccan musical life. Musical practices contextualize and clarify global historical and contemporary movements—many of which remain poorly understood—while articulating the daily realities of the region’s populations in ways that rarely show through current news accounts of religious extremism, poverty and inequality, and forced migration. As with other volumes in the series, Focus: Music and Religion of Morocco addresses large, conceptual issues though interwoven case studies, in three parts: Part I – Memories and Medias: Who We Are highlights how issues of religion, colonialism, nationalism, and globalization transcend boundaries through music to create a sense of personal and national identity, whether hundreds of years ago or on today's satellite television stations. Part II – Contesting Mainstreams: Where We're Going explores Morocco’s sacred and secular music practices as they relate to the country's diversity and its contemporary politics. Part III – Focusing In: Faith and Fun in Fez highlights Fez’s sacred music industry by introducing musicians who navigate musical and religious expectations to appeal to both their own devotional ethics and their audiences’ wants. Links to music examples referenced in the text can be accessed on the eResource site www.routledge.com/9781138094581

This book studies the political and institutional project of Al-Qur’an dan Terjemahnya, the official translation of the Qurʾān into Indonesian by the Indonesian government. It investigates how the translation was produced and presented, and how it is read, as well as considering the implications of the state’s involvement in such a work. Lukman analyses the politicisation of the Qurʾān commentary through discussion of how the tafsīr mechanism functions in this version, weighing up the translation’s dual constraints: the growing political context, on the one hand, and the tafsīr tradition on the other. In doing so, the book pays attention to three key areas: the production phase, the textual material, and the reception of the translation by readers. This book will be of value to scholars with an interest in tafsīr studies, modern and Southeast Asian or Indonesian tafsīr sub-fields, the study of Qurʾān translations, and Indonesian politics and religion more broadly.

In the United States, precious little is known about the active role Muslim women have played for nearly a century in the religious culture of Indonesia, the largest majority-Muslim country in the world. While much of the Muslim world excludes women from the domain of religious authority, the country's two leading Muslim organizations--Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama (NU)--have created enormous networks led by women who interpret sacred texts and exercise powerful religious influence. In Women Shaping Islam, Pieternella van Doorn-Harder explores the work of these contemporary women leaders, examining their attitudes toward the rise of radical Islamists; the actions of the authoritarian Soeharto regime; women's education and employment; birth control and family planning; and sexual morality. Ultimately, van Doorn-Harder reveals the many ways in which Muslim women leaders understand and utilize Islam as a significant force for societal change; one that ultimately improves the economic, social, and psychological condition of women in Indonesian society.

Recent manuscript evidence from al-Jāmiˋ al-Kabīr in Ṣan ‘ā’ suggests that the Qur’an took its final shape well before 671 CE. Irrespective, however, of who composed it or when it was compiled, questions remain about whether the Qur’an followed any kind of preconceived plan or compositional schema that makes sense in today’s world. In The al-Baqara Crescendo, Nevin Reda introduces a bold new avenue of research: the poetics of Qur'anic narrative structure. Focusing on Surat al-Baqara, the longest and most challenging of the suras, she explores the beauty and rationale behind the Qur'an’s unusual organization. Reda argues that the sura – often dismissed by Muslim traditionalists and Orientalist critics as a baffling collection of disjointed material – can be appreciated as a coherent composition if it is approached as a spoken text. Calling attention to oral organizational techniques such as repetition, this book’s repertoire of figures showcases Surat al-Baqara’s ingenious layout and pinpoints the sophisticated meanings that are embedded within it. Incorporating insights from literary theory and Biblical studies, the author advances inclusivity and intercultural bridge-building in the study of scripture. In an engaging narrative that is bound to captivate and challenge the reader, Reda communicates a deep love and thorough command of her subject, all while presenting a significant new development in Islamic feminist hermeneutics.

The Georgetown Companion to Interreligious Studies provides fifty thought-provoking chapters on the field’s unique history, priorities, challenges, pedagogies, and practical applications, written by an international roster of experts and practitioners across religious traditions. This will serve as a valuable reference to students in the field.