The Ulama in Contemporary Islam: Custodians of Change (Princeton Studies in Muslim Politics)
Like all religions, Islam becomes what it is as its adherents  contest, negotiate, remake, and shape it in ways appropriate to  each time and place, passing its traditions on from one  generation to the next. In this excellent study, Zaman  (religious studies, Brown Univ.) carefully examines how the ulama, Muslim scholars educated in the traditional religious  manner, have artfully navigated their responses to colonial and  postcolonial circumstances. Zaman shows how the ulama have  appropriated and adapted medieval commentaries and authorities  to the modern world, updating Islam's message to contemporary necessities. He identifies the rhetorical and social strategies  they used to transmit that message effectively in the  marketplace of Muslim ideas. The Deobandi sect of British India  and Pakistan is his primary case in point, but he makes frequent  comparisons to parallel developments among ulama elsewhere in  the Muslim world. For those who wish to understand some of the  ways Islam constitutes itself in the contemporary world, this  persuasive study provides a well-argued and nuanced analysis of  this aspect of contemporary Islam. For all academic and larger  public libraries, as well as special collections in religion,  sociology, and political science.Steve Young, McHenry Cty.  Coll., Crystal Lake, ILCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.