Aaron W. Hughes is Dean’s Professor of the Humanities and the Philip S. Bernstein Professor of Religion at the University of Rochester. Hughes specialises in three fields: Islamic Studies, Jewish Studies and Theory and Method in the Study of Religion, and has written numerous books in all three. He is co-editor of the book series Advances in the Study of Islam at Edinburgh University Press and of the Journal of Religious Minorities Under Muslim Rule. Leif Stenberg is Professor in Islamic Studies at the Aga Khan University Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations (AKU-ISMC) and a visiting professor at Karlstad University. He is the co-editor of What is Islamic Studies? European and North American Approaches to a Contested Field, also in the Exploring Muslim Contexts series at Edinburgh University Press.

The book is very well placed in recent anthropological and social studies of football. The writing is compelling and attuned to the fact that the topic is huge in global popular culture.

• AcknowledgementsIntroduction: The Beautiful Game on a Muslim Pitch: How Football and Religion Are Shaping Identity and SocietyAaron W. Hughes and Leif StenbergPart I. Football and the Maintenance of Identities 1. Benzema, Les Bleus and the Culture des QuartiersSamuel Sami Everett2. Football Nation, Muslim by DefaultCarl Rommel 3. Jewish Israeli Football Fans and 'Traditionism'Tamir Sorek 4. The Touchline of Fair Play: Football, Head Coverings and the Constantly Shifting SecularAaron W. Hughes 5. Pakistan’s Hidden Football History: Capital, Women and Challenging Social NormsLeif StenbergPart II. Football and Social Maintenance 6. Fashioning Football Conservatism: Ruling Networks, Culture and the Creation of Turkey’s Istanbul Başakşehir Football ClubJohn McManus 7. Football Comes to the Silver Screen: The Contentious Politics of Football Spectatorship in IranNazanin Shahrokni 8. Egyptian Islamism and the Noble Game of FootballBjørn Olav Utvik9. Why Hizbollah Loves FootballDag Tuastad About the ContributorsIndex