Sensational Piety

Practices of Mediation in Islamic and Pentecostal Movements in Abuja, Nigeria

Murtala Ibrahim

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN:
  9781350282346
• eBook ISBN:
  9781350282322
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theologie & Religion
• Subtopic: Vergleichende Religion

Grounded in anthropological comparison and the concept of materiality, this book offers an in-depth ethnographic study of the similarities and differences among various forms of religious practices in a Pentecostal Church (Christ Embassy) and an Islamic group (NASFAT) in the Nigerian capital of Abuja.

Scholarship in this area tends to focus on inter-religious contestations and conflicts; however, this book proposes that another dynamic is unfolding between Christians and Muslims that is characterised by conviviality, interfaith joint action programmes, mutual influences and even the exchange of religious forms. The comparative approach reveals that, notwithstanding the seemingly opposed worldviews and divergences between Muslims and Christians, they all face similar challenges and apply similar techniques for meeting the challenges posed by the precarious Nigerian urban environment. It is through practices – especially those conducted in (semi-) public settings – that people from different religious persuasions define, encroach on and feel the weight of each other's presence.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title Page
• Dedication Page
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Contents
• List of Figures
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• 1 Religious diversity in the dream city
• 2 Christ Embassy: Being born-again without morality
• 3 NASFAT: Pentecostalizing Islam
• 4 Communion with the divine: Prayer as performance of mediation in Christ Embassy and NASFAT
• 5 Oral transmission of the sacred: Preaching in Christ Embassy and NASFAT
• 6 Mobile spirituality: Technology-mediated religious practices in Christ Embassy and NASFAT
• Conclusion
• Notes
• References
• Index
• Copyright Page