Springer has recently published five books on various aspects of religion.  Click the links to see details.

• Lovat, Terence, Crotty, Robert 2015 Reconciling Islam, Christianity and Judaism Islam’s Special Role in Restoring Convivencia Series: Springer Briefs in Religious Studies
• Ziebertz, Hans-Georg, Črpić, Gordan (Eds.) 2015 Religion and Human Rights An International Perspective Ziebertz, Hans-Georg, Črpić, Gordan (Eds.) 2015
• Mansouri, Fethi (Ed.) 2015 Cultural, Religious and Political Contestations The Multicultural Challenge
• Salim, Delmus Puneri 2015 The Transnational and the Local in the Politics of Islam The Case of West Sumatra, Indonesia
• Jeynes, William, Martinez, Enedina (Eds.) 2015 Ministering Spiritually to Families 

(Editor’s note: Thanks to Springer for contributing to the ISA-RC22 Varga Prize for New Generation Scholars!)

Springer has just published the two new books on religion:

• York, Michael 2016 Pagan Ethics: Paganism as a World Religion,
• Dashefsky, Arnold, Sheskin, Ira M. (Eds.) 2016 American Jewish Year Book 2015: The Annual Record of the North American Jewish Communities  (Series: American Jewish Year Book, Vol. 115)

Pagan Ethics is ​he first comprehensive presentation of contemporary, classical, and indigenous pagan ethics.

The 2015 edition of the American Jewish Year Book continues a 100+ year tradition of leading academics publishing long review chapters on topics of interest to the American Jewish community.

You can get details at the Springer website: www.springer.com

(Editor’s note: Thanks to Springer for contributing to the ISA-RC22 Varga Prize for New Generation Scholars!)

Brand Islam

The Marketing and Commodification of Piety

Faegheh Shirazi

University of Texas Press

August 2016 336pp

http://utpress.utexas.edu/index.php/books/shirazi-brand-islam

From food products to fashions and cosmetics to children’s toys, a wide range of commodities today are being marketed as “halal” (permitted, lawful) or “Islamic” to Muslim consumers both in the West and in Muslim-majority nations. However, many of these products are not authentically Islamic or halal, and their producers have not necessarily created them to honor religious practice or sentiment. Instead, most “halal” commodities are profit-driven, and they exploit the rise of a new Islamic economic paradigm, “Brand Islam,” as a clever marketing tool.

Brand Islam investigates the rise of this highly lucrative marketing strategy and the resulting growth in consumer loyalty to goods and services identified as Islamic. Faegheh Shirazi explores the reasons why consumers buy Islam-branded products, including conspicuous piety or a longing to identify with a larger Muslim community, especially for those Muslims who live in Western countries, and how this phenomenon is affecting the religious, cultural, and economic lives of Muslim consumers. She demonstrates that Brand Islam has actually enabled a new type of global networking, joining product and service sectors together in a huge conglomerate that some are referring to as the Interland. A timely and original contribution to Muslim cultural studies, Brand Islam reveals how and why the growth of consumerism, global communications, and the Westernization of many Islamic countries are all driving the commercialization of Islam.

Resuemee_Lehmann_Joedicke

Beitrag_Lehmann_Joedicke

Dear Colleagues,

I am delighted to announce that my book Family Law in Syria. Patriarchy, Pluralism and Personal Status Laws is now out with I.B. Tauris (London, UK).

ABOUT THE BOOK

The current Syrian crisis has its roots in the sectarian nature of the country’s multi-religious society. Since Ottoman times, the different religious communities have enjoyed the right to regulate and administer their own family relations. Matters of personal status including marriage, divorce, child custody and inheritance continue to be managed by a variety of religious laws and courts operating simultaneously within the legal system of the state. However, this complex system of competing jurisdictions has also affected inter-communal relations and has been used to deepen communal divides. Esther van Eijk discusses socio-legal practices in Syria by focusing on three courts: a shar‘iyya, a Catholic court and a Greek-Orthodox court. While the plurality of Syrian family law is clear, she shows how – irrespective of religious affiliation – it is nevertheless characterised by the prevalence of shared cultural or patriarchal views and norms on marital relations, family and gender. Based on extensive fieldwork, Family Law in Syria offers a detailed analysis of a country that has in recent years been inaccessible to researchers. The book is a vital contribution to the growing literature on personal status laws in the Middle East and sheds light on the historical, socio-political and religious complexities and fault-lines that mark contemporary Syria.

REVIEWS
‘This book is a significant addition to the literature on contemporary family law in the Middle East, with valuable research material on Syrian law and court practice presented within the frames of emerging scholarly themes.’ – Lynn Welchman, Professor of law, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS)

‘This is an excellent piece of work in a poorly researched topic. Indeed, while the personal status of Muslims attracted much attention, family law of non-Muslim communities in Muslim-majority societies was neglected. However, [van Eijk’s] study provides a wonderful entry into the legal and social evolutions of contemporary multi-confessional societies in which co-existence and tolerance became especially problematic recently.’ – Baudouin Dupret, Associate Professor for Law, Political Science and Anthropology at University of Leiden, Netherlands

For more information see: http://www.ibtauris.com/Books/Law/Jurisprudence%20%20general%20issues/Law%20%20society/Family%20Law%20in%20Syria%20Patriarchy%20Pluralism%20and%20Personal%20Status%20Codes.aspx?menuitem={FE151E5B-2A65-4E60-9F5A-6671400BE59B}

When you order online go to www.ibtauris.com and enter the discount code (see attached flyer) when prompted (for individuals only), which will give you a 30% discount (Special Offer Price £48.30).

Esther van Eijk

Muslim Diasporas in the West
Tahir Abbas
Routledge, 2017
https://www.routledge.com/Muslim-Diasporas-in-the-West/Abbas/p/book/9781138187955
This major works collection surveys the nature of Muslim diasporas in
the west from a sociological perspective, exploring the issues of
migration, integration, identity, politics, Islamophobia, and
radicalisation.
This four-volume collected works is the state of the art on the research
and scholarship on Muslim diasporas in the West carried out over the
last four decades. From canonical works to the latest trends in study,
these contributions have added to the understanding of ethnicity,
equality and diversity in relation to Muslims in the west. These
articles explore the philosophies of multiculturalism, integration, and
interculturalism. They also analyse issues of identity politics,
Islamophobia, and radicalisation. The research carried out on Muslims in
the west has had a significant impact on the study of Muslim minorities
in other parts of the world. This major works collection suitably
captures the significance of past research and its importance for
further scholarship in relation to Muslims and Islam across Europe,
North America, and Australia.
https://www.routledge.com/Muslim-Diasporas-in-the-West/Abbas/p/book/9781138187955