Shamanism and Islam: Sufism, Healing Rituals and Spirits in the Muslim World

by Thierry Zarcone (Editor), Angela Hobart (Editor)

The figure of the shaman has always been a prominent motif within the Islamic world, particularly in relation to the mystical domain of Sufism. Here, Thierry Zarcone and Angela Hobart offer a vigorous and authoritative exploration of the link between Islam and shamanism in contemporary Muslim culture, examining how the old practice of shamanism was combined with elements of Sufism in order to adapt to wider Islamic society. Shamanism and Islam thus surveys shamanic practices in Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, and the Balkans, to show how the Muslim shaman, like his Siberian counterpart, cultivated personal relations with spirits to help individuals through healing and divination. It explores the complexities and variety of rituals, involving music, dance and, in some regions, epic and bardic poetry, demonstrating the close links between shamanism and the various arts of the Islamic world. This is the first in-depth exploration of "Islamized shamanism," and is a valuable contribution to the field of Islamic Studies, Religion, Anthropology, and an understanding of the Middle East more widely.

Genres: Islam, Religion

320 pages, Hardcover

First published June 30, 2011

About the author

Thierry Zarcone est un historien français né en 1958 à Tunis. Il a porté, en particulier, son travail sur l’histoire du soufisme et du chamanisme dans l’Empire ottoman, en Turquie, en Asie centrale et au Turkestan oriental. Il codirige, avec Ekrem Ishin et Arthur Buehler, le Journal of the History of Sufism, fondé en 2000.

Reviews

[Azhar Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful book full of details but still not boring at all. It provides enough review not only about Shamanism and Islam but different origins of Shmanism also. Over all book also helps to identify several beliefs we take for granted as originated from shamanism.

[Logan · Rating 2 out of 5]

the phrenology in chap 13 was completely unnecessary and came from absolutely nowhere