Mullahs on the Mainframe: Islam and Modernity among the Daudi Bohras
Policy adviser to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and  a senior editor at U.S. News and World Report, Blank (Arrow of  the Blue-Skinned God) here focuses on the Bohras, a community of  Shia Ismaili Muslims from Gujarat numbering upwards of a million  worldwide. This is a groundbreaking work for two reasons: it is  the first full description of a community never before studied  from outside, and it demonstrates that an orthodox Islamic  community can also embrace Western ideas and technology by  adopting all aspects of modern culture that are not forbidden to  it. The Daudi Bohras are both "traditional" and "modern." Blank  reviews the community's history, organizational structure,  rituals, domestic life, orthopraxy, and maintenance of community  boundaries. The Bohra have dramatically improved orthopraxy  among members, creating a high level of observance of basics  while increasing the educational level and scientific  sophistication of the community ("there is no conflict  whatsoever between science and faith"). The author demonstrates  the extent to which Westerners have adopted a view of Islam  distorted by stereotypes, fostered by media reports, and  sustained by a triumphalism about values that Westerners believe  are exclusively theirs. What the Bohras have done, Blank  concludes, is to "break down the false dichotomy between  modernity and tradition, to let members of the community revel  in both." This brilliant study is both academically rigorous and  a welcome introduction to the real success of this Islamic  community in the modern world. Highly recommended for all  academic libraries and large public libraries. William P.  Collins, Library of CongressCopyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.