Paper short abstract:

By re-elaborating the categories of Shahab Ahmed, this paper will propose an alternative socio-anthropology of Islam

Paper long abstract:

The socio-anthropology of Islam has been revolutionized by the “discursive tradition paradigm” elaborated by Asad and Mahmood. These authors questioned Western ethnocentrism and (neo)colonialism present in social sciences, proposing a new socio-anthropology of Islam focused on power and knowledge. This paradigm has been criticized for its rigidity, which does not allow it to grasp emotions (Marranci) and everyday life (Schielke), because it is too focused on power structures (Vicini) and on secular/religious divide (Bangstad). This paper proposes a different perspective arguing that the “discursive tradition paradigm”, by focusing mainly on power relations and orthodoxy, artificially separated Islam from other religious and cultural discourses and traditions.

By re-elaborating the ideas of Shahab Ahmed (What is Islam?), this paper will discuss the categories of Text, Con-Text, and Pre-Text. The latter is crucial because it allows to analyze dimensions such as social justice, mystical experience, aesthetics, and philosophy, which are often belittled or considered as secular and exogenous to Islam. This paper argues that these dimensions are transversals/universals, which means that they are part of the Islamic tradition, but at the same time they transcend it, belonging to other traditions as well.

Bringing back these dimensions does not mean to deny the “discursive tradition paradigm” (the Text, Con-Text), but to add another layer – the Pre-Text – able to better situate Islam with other traditions. This approach will allow a better understanding of phenomena such as the Nation of Islam, the philosophy Abu Zayd, and some trends of Sufism and contemporary Muslim artists