Description
Invoking the Invisible in the Sahara offers a nuanced ethnographic study of Islamic spiritual mediation and its profound impact on social change in Saharan societies. Erin Pettigrew investigates how communities engage with invisible spiritual forces—including saints, spirits, and divine intervention—within distinctly Islamic contexts, challenging Western secular assumptions about religion and modernity.
The book demonstrates how spiritual practices serve as mechanisms for addressing social inequalities, resolving conflicts, and negotiating power dynamics. Through detailed fieldwork and analysis, Pettigrew reveals the agency of spiritual mediators and practitioners in shaping community responses to contemporary challenges. Part of the prestigious African Studies series, this volume contributes important insights to conversations about Islam in Africa, the study of religious practice, and anthropological understandings of spirituality.
Essential for scholars of African religions, Islamic studies, and social anthropology, this work provides empirical evidence of how spiritual traditions remain central to understanding social processes in the modern Sahara.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.