Islam, Culture and Society – serie

Perspectives and practices of couples in unconventional Muslim marriages.Unconventional Muslim marriages have been topics of heated public debate. Around the globe, religious scholars, policy makers, political actors, media personalities, and women's activists discuss, promote, or reject unregistered, transnational, interreligious and other boundary-crossing marriages. Couples entering into such marriages, however, often have different concerns from those publicly discussed. Based on ethnographic research in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and Asia, the chapters of this volume examine couples' motivations for, aspirations about, and abilities to enter into these marriages. The contributions show the diverse ways in which such marriages are concluded, and inquire into how they are performed, authorized or contested as Muslim marriages. These marriages may challenge existing ties of belonging and transform boundaries between religious and other communities, but they may also, and sometimes simultaneously, reproduce and solidify them.Building on insights from different disciplines, both from the social sciences (anthropology, political science, gender and sexuality studies) and from the humanities (history, Islamic legal studies, religious studies), the authors address a wide range of controversial Muslim marriages (unregistered, interreligious, transnational, etc.), and include the views of religious scholars, state authorities, and political actors and activists, as well as the couples themselves, their families, and their wider social circle.Contributors: Joud Alkorani (Radboud University), Rahma Bavelaar (University of Applied Sciences Leiden), Loubna Elmorabet (University of Amsterdam), Annerienke Fioole (University of Amsterdam), Shifra Kisch (University College Utrecht), Iris Kolman (University of Amsterdam), Martijn de Koning (Radboud University), Eva F. Nisa (Australian National University), Ibtisam Sadegh (University of Malta), Samah Saleh (An-Najah National University), Vanessa Vroon-Najem (Amsterdam Museum), Dina Zbeidy (University of Applied Sciences Leiden).Ebook available in Open Access. This publication is GPRC-labeled (Guaranteed Peer-Reviewed Content).

Interdisciplinary insights on disability in the MENA regionAccording to the World Health Organization, around 16% of the world´s population lives with a disability, and it is estimated that approximately 80% of them reside in the Global South. Nevertheless, research on persons with disabilities is typically limited to the Global North. This interdisciplinary volume, with contributions from psychology, sociology, history, linguistics, and development studies, addresses this discrepancy by providing new insights into disability in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. While recognizing the significance of the medical approach, the authors seek to expand existing frameworks by including social, cultural and human rights perspectives. Engaging with both historical and contemporary contexts, Disability in the Arab World addresses issues such as the transmission and circulation of information in conventional and new media, and the colonial and postcolonial legacies affecting the study of disability.

A fresh reading of medieval thinker Ibn Taymiyya, offering pathbreaking insight into his lasting relevance in debates on Islam, authority, and religious thought.Ibn Taymiyya’s Thought: Corpus, Reception, and Legacy explores the work, influence, and lasting impact of one of the most controversial and prolific figures in Islamic intellectual history: Taqī l-Dīn Aḥmad Ibn Taymiyya (d. 728/1328). Adopting a clear and rigorous approach, this book traces the key strands of Ibn Taymiyya’s thought and shows how his writings have been interpreted, transformed, challenged, and reappropriated over time. It sheds light on the tensions between tradition and renewal, and between religious authority and critical inquiry. Beyond Taymiyyan thought itself, the book offers a deeper understanding of contemporary debates about Islam by situating them within a long and complex intellectual history. Thus, it will appeal both to readers eager to grasp the complex thought of one of medieval Islam’s most controversial scholars and to those interested in the ongoing relevance of his ideas in modern intellectual and religious debates across the Muslim world. This volume makes a vital contribution to the study of Ibn Taymiyya by engaging closely with his texts, and considering them in their original historical context as well as in the diverse settings in which they have been reread and reappropriated, whether directly or indirectly.