Paper short abstract:

This paper discusses the notion of ‚nostalgia' as a starting point to examine how selective acts of remembrance are framed in the construction of ‚place' and 'religious order' in Muslim urban Harar (Ethiopia).

Paper long abstract:

Harar is considered an important Islamic centre in the Horn of Africa, due to its historical role during the jihad in the 16th century, as a locus of religious education as well as walled urban civilisation and historical trading centre between the Red Sea ports and the hinterland of Ethiopia. Currently, most Hararis, one of the many ethno-linguistic groups in town, are continuously lamenting about the loss of a historical 'golden age', blaming former Ethiopian governments, modernity and themselves for losing their track of being a 'good' Muslim. The inherent plea for continuity is mostly framed in religious terms as well as in perceptions of place: Harar as ideal type of Islamic order.

I take the notion of ‚nostalgia' as a starting point to examine how selective acts of remembrance affect the construction of ‚place' in Muslim urban Harar. With this focus, my paper is situated at the juncture of two recent discussions in contemporary anthropology. On the one hand, I am interested in the means through which a group marks their perceived sentimental loss of social unity, moral coherence and territoriality. On the other hand, I seek to engage with discussions of place-making, the social practices of people who imbue the physical structure of a locality with specific meanings and functions.