David Westerlund – författare

I Afrika spelar religion en stor roll, och dess betydelse har på senare tid ökat snarare än minskat. Även om de flesta afrikaner i dag är kristna eller muslimer, är de som regel starkt påverkade av det inhemska religiösa arvet. Det finns en enorm mångfald av inhemska afrikanska religioner. Denna bok är en introduktion till det inomafrikanska arvet. Här behandlas fem särskilt utvalda afrikanska religioner hos folkgrupper med olika typer av traditionell kultur. Vi får stifta bekantskap med schamanismen hos sanfolket i södra Afrika, maasaiernas monoteism, sukumafolkets anfäderskult i Östafrika, de centralafrikanska kongolesernas så kallade fetischkult, samt det västafrikanska yorubafolkets dyrkan av en mängd olika gudomar. I ett jämförande kapitel diskuteras också de växande problemen med de fenomen som brukar kallas häxeri och trolldom. David Westerlund är verksam som professor i religionsvetenskap vid Södertörns högskola.

Today there is a substantial and rapidly growing Muslim population in Europe and North America. Here, as elsewhere, many of the Muslims are Sufis. This book focuses mainly on issues of inculturation or contextualization of Sufism in the West. It shows that, while more traditional forms of Sufism exist, many radical changes have taken place in this part of the world. For instance, in some groups there are female sheikhs and a far-reaching pluralistic attitude to other religions. Hence Sufism is sometimes seen as something that transcends the boundaries of Islam.

In recent decades, the number of Muslims in the West has increased rapidly, and interesting transformations of Islam have taken place—to some extent with repercussions in Islamic or predominantly Muslim countries in Asia and Africa. This new four-volume Major Work collection from Routledge helps to make sense of the burgeoning scholarship in this area.Volume I (‘Regions and History’) includes studies on the historical development of Islam, as well as key work on the current situation in various regions and countries. Volume II focuses on religion and culture, while Volume III (‘Social and Economic Issues’) assembles vital materials on topics such as gender, family structures, class, poverty, and health. The final volume in the collection (‘Politics and Law’) gathers the best work on, among other things, Muslim involvement in political life; Muslim presence in the public sphere; the media coverage of Islam; and issues of integration and so-called ‘Islamophobia’. Legal issues covered include laws on freedom of religion, minority rights, separate legislation, and debates about veils and halal slaughter.With a full index, together with comprehensive introductions newly written by the editors, which place the collected material in its historical and intellectual context, Islam in the West is an essential new addition to Routledge’s Critical Concepts in Islamic Studies series.

Today there is a substantial and rapidly growing Muslim population in Europe and North America. Here, as elsewhere, many of the Muslims are Sufis. This book focuses mainly on issues of inculturation or contextualization of Sufism in the West. It shows that, while more traditional forms of Sufism exist, many radical changes have taken place in this part of the world. For instance, in some groups there are female sheikhs and a far-reaching pluralistic attitude to other religions. Hence Sufism is sometimes seen as something that transcends the boundaries of Islam.

Today about 85 per cent of the world population of Muslims live in areas outside the Arab world, and due to population growth, missionary endeavours and migration, the number of Muslims in these areas is rising rapidly. This volume presents the spread and character of Islam in many non-Arab countries, focusing particularly on the contemporary situation. The book deals with the great variety and complexity that characterize Islam outside the Arab world, with Sufism (the predominant form of Islam in most non-Arab Muslim countries), and with the growing significance of Islamism which challenges secularism and Sufi forms of Islam.

Today about 85 per cent of the world population of Muslims live in areas outside the Arab world, and due to population growth, missionary endeavours and migration, the number of Muslims in these areas is rising rapidly. This volume presents the spread and character of Islam in many non-Arab countries, focusing particularly on the contemporary situation. The book deals with the great variety and complexity that characterize Islam outside the Arab world, with Sufism (the predominant form of Islam in most non-Arab Muslim countries), and with the growing significance of Islamism which challenges secularism and Sufi forms of Islam.

The increasing significance and visibility of relationships between religion and public arenas and institutions following the fall of communism in Europe provide the core focus of this fascinating book. Leading international scholars consider the religious and political role of Christian Orthodoxy in the Russian Federation, Romania, Georgia and Ukraine alongside the revival of old, indigenous religions, often referred to as 'shamanistic' and look at how, despite Islam’s long history and many adherents in the south, Islamophobic attitudes have increasingly been added to traditional anti-Semitic, anti-Western or anti-liberal elements of Russian nationalism. Contrasts between the church’s position in the post-communist nation building process of secular Estonia with its role in predominantly Catholic Poland are also explored. Religion, Politics and Nation-Building in Post-Communist Countries gives a broad overview of the political importance of religion in the Post-Soviet space but its interest and relevance extends far beyond the geographical focus, providing examples of the challenges in the spheres of public, religious and social policy for all transitional countries.

Pentecostalism is a movement within Christianity placing special emphasis on a believer's personal encounter with God through the Holy Spirit. It is arguably the world's fastest-growing form of religion. While exact figures are uncertain, there may now be as many as 500 million Pentecostals. Closely related to other forms of 'born-again' Christianity (Evangelical and Charismatic), Pentecostalism has been described as a religion 'made to travel'. From the outset it has been a strong missionary movement, and has been oriented towards recruitment and expansion. Research into this important form of Christianity has become more popular of late, but the movement's remarkably fast spread is still not well understood. In particular, its constant worldwide encounters with other religions and beliefs, as well as with different forms of Christianity, have seldom been explored at length.This rich and varied book remedies that neglect. Although its adherents supposedly preach a universal message, in practice Pentecostalism's global spread has resulted in increasing diversification.The volume investigates the consequences of that spread, and of the accommodations Pentecostal missionaries have to make when faced by pluralism and the challenges posed by ecumenism. Ranging across every major continent, the contributors to the volume make a significant contribution towards a fuller and more complete understanding of this remarkable world faith.Pentecostalism is topical, fast-expanding, newsworthy and exotic. This is the definitive collection by international experts on the movement. It is the first book to address Pentecostalism's fascinating relationship with other faiths and beliefs.