Symbolic Confrontations: Muslims Imagining the State in Africa

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Overview

Donal Cruise O'Brien is a leading authority on Islam in Africa. This is a collection of his writing over the last 30 years, some significantly rewritten to render this a coherent book to use for teaching about the interplay between politics and Islam in Africa. The author's main argument is that much of politics in Africa is negotiated through use of symbols, and can not be separated from the religious origins and the systems of belief from which they originate. The book focuses on Senegal, a fascinating example of the spread of Muslim brotherhoods and their overarching influence on the construction and decision-making processes of the state.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781403963697
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan US
Publication date:	03/18/2004
Edition description:	2004
Pages:	243
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.04(d)

About the Author

Donal Cruise O'Brien is Professor of Politics, University of London.

Table of Contents

Part I: Muslims Confronting the State
• Supping with the Devil: the Mouride Brotherhood and the Senegalese State, 1967-88
• Sufi Symbolism and the State in Senegal, 1975-1981
• Taking on the Town: Mouride Urbanisation, 1945-2001
• Coping with the Christians? Muslim Politics in Kenya
• Part II: Around the State-Community, Culture, and Evasion
• The Shadow-Politics of Wolofization: Shuffling Along to Nationhood?
• The Showman and the State in Francophile Africa: the Legacy of Charles de Gaulle
• Where has the Lost Generation Gone? Youth and State in West Africa
• Part III: Engaging with the State: Democratic Dimensions
• Wails and Whimpers: the People's Voice in African Muslim Politics
• Renegotiating the Senegalese Social Contract
• Does Democracy Require and Opposition Party? Consensual Symbolism and Elections in Africa

Editorial Reviews

"There is no one better equipped than Donal Cruise O'Brien to address from a political science perspective the themes of 'old' and 'new' forms of African Islam."—Peter Clark, Theology and Religious Studies, King's College, University of London

"Strongly recommended; a welcome effort to provide the public with an easy access to Cruise O'Brien's work."—Roman Loimeier, Center for African Studies, University of Bayreuth

From the Publisher