A ritual demystified

Oustinova-Stjepanovic, G. (2019) A ritual demystified. Religion and Society, 10(1), pp. 30-43. (doi: 10.3167/arrs.2019.100104)

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Abstract

This article describes how an iconic mystical Sufi ritual of body wounding, zarf, was stripped of its mystical credentials and conventional efficacy amid tensions between Rifai reformists and traditionalists in a small Roma neighborhood in Skopje, Macedonia. The death of a sorcerer and a funeral event-series set the scene for acts of ‘anti-wonder’ and demystification by the Rifai reformists. Despite the history of socialist secularism and inadvertently secularizing Islamic reforms in the region, demystification signaled not the loss of enchantment per se, but a competition for legitimate forms of wonder. In addition to accounting for socio-historical context and relational forms of Islam, the real challenge is how to see a demystified ritual for its explicit intellectual capacity to stimulate speculation about itself.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Oustinova-Stjepanovic, Dr Galina
Authors: Oustinova-Stjepanovic, G.
College/School:College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Sociology Anthropology and Applied Social Sciences
Journal Name:Religion and Society
Publisher:Berghahn Journals
ISSN:2150-9298
ISSN (Online):2150-9301
Published Online:01 September 2019

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