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Beyond the Stream

Islam and Society in a West African Town

Robert Launay

The Dyula are Muslim traders who form a religious and ethnic minority in Koko, an urban neighborhood in northern Côte d’Ivoire. Although on the fringes of the Islamic world, for centuries they have maintained ties to the universal Islamic tradition while adapting their everyday religious rituals to their local context. Through a well-integrated analysis of the history and culture of the region, Launay evaluates the ways in which Muslims on the frontiers of the Islamic world define and redefine their beliefs, practices, and rituals as they face a series of challenges to Islam and what it means to “be Muslim.” He elucidates the interaction among the universal Islamic tradition, anchored historically in the Arab Middle East; the local variations wrought by Islamic practice; and the profound, continual changes in the way Islam is lived, wherever it is professed.

$18.50 list, 258 pages

10-digit ISBN: 1-57766-343-8

13-digit ISBN: 978-1-57766-343-0

© 1992

“Launay’s book is well written, not lost in jargon, handles issues in ways that feed well into discussions of how to apply contemporary anthropological concerns, and provides one of the anchors for the last portion of my course that includes a look at the anthropology of Islam in light of post-9/11 concerns.” — Edwin Zehner, Wheaton College
 

Table of Contents

1. The One and the Many

2. Beyond the Stream

3. A Muslim Minority

4. Pedigrees and Paradigms

5. The Ritual Arena

6. The Birth and Demise of a Ritual

7. One Who Knows

8. Sufism Degree Zero

9. Sacrifices

10. Universals and Particulars