The Culture of Islam: Changing Aspects of Contemporary Muslim Life

Lawrence Rosen is one of the most thoughtful anthropological voices writing about the Middle East. In "The Culture of Islam" he attempts something which is almost impossible: concisely describe and write about a dogmatically and culturally diverse religion with a depth of understanding that permeates how religion is actually lived. I was sympathetic to much of what he wrote, which comes mainly from Arab examples (and even there from an exceptional case, Morocco), although I did not necessarily agree with all of his conclusions. He is well-versed in Islamic jurisprudence and Arab social organization, and this primer goes farther than most in conveying a palpable understanding of a fascinating system of thought, meaning-making and cosmology. Because his experience is mainly in Morocco, as mentioned before many of the examples come from there. That does not detract from his main points which most definitely have resonance across the entire region.