The Religious Men in Jebel Marra: The Process of Learning and the Performance of Islamic Rituals and Practices (Beitrage zur Afrikaforschung #81) (Paperback)
"The great value of the study lies in the author's reconstruction of the practices and techniques, cognitive and corporeal, which are systematically employed to memorise the whole of the Qur'an."--Kurt Beck, U. of Bayreuth *** This study investigates how Muslim religious specialists (fuqara, sing. faki) acquire Qur'anic knowledge in the context of the "communities of practice." It contextualises the Qur'anic schools of Jebel Marra in the Sudan, arguing that the fuqara increase their access to knowledge of the Qur'an by socially interacting with each other. The book is grounded in a ethnographic study of Qur'anic memorisation and activities that the fuqara perform after graduation from Qur'anic schools. It thus provides a fresh perspective to Islamic learning and epistemology. Dissertation. (Series: Contributions to African Research / Beitr�¤ge zur Afrikaforschung, Vol. 81) [Subject: Islamic Studies, Religious Studies]