Calls of Islam

Emilio Spadola is Associate Professor of Anthropology at Colgate University.

"Calls of Islam is an instructive contribution to the literature on Morocco's socio-culltural and political idiosyncrasies."—Review of Middle East Studies"Spadola's dense but short study . . . manages admirably well to deal with a complex topic, skillfully balancing ethnographic and analytic elements."—American Ethnologist"[The]tension between social classes is subtly drawn out throughout this exemplary book, and Spadola also does a magnificent job tying local, national, and transnational contexts together. Although writing about a very specific place and time, he manages to capture post-millennial anxieties about Islam and belonging that are far reaching in their scope."—Contemporary Islam"Combining historical and ethnographic data, Spadola develops a theoretically sophisticated reading of the mediation of social and spiritual relationships in Fez. . . . A compelling investigation of the changing dynamics of mystical presence and its relationship to multiple logics of compulsion and desire in Moroccan social life."—Gregory Starrett, University of North Carolina at Charlotte"Writing with great subtlety and insight, Spadola shows us how a technological imaginary has forcefully insinuated itself into the categories and practices of religious reformism in contemporary Morocco. An ethnographic and historical examination of Islamic ritual practices in the era of mass communication, The Calls of Islam provides a superb demonstration of anthropological analysis at its best. A major contribution to our understanding of the complicated nexus of religion, nationalism, and technology."—Charles Hirschkind, University of California, Berkeley"Spadola's book is theoretically sophisticated, skillfully constructed, and rich in detail."—Journal of Religion

• Introduction: The Calls of Islam1. Calls from the Unseen2. Nationalizing the Call: Trance, Technology and Control3. Our Master's Call4. Summoning in Secret: Mute Letters and Veiled Writing5. Rites of Reception6. Trance-Nationalism; or the Call of Moroccan Islam7. "To Eliminate the Ghostly Element between People:" The Call as ExorcismEpilogue: The Arab Spring, the Monarchy's Call