UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Resounding Love for the Household of the Prophet: Sound and Mediation among Shi’i Muslims in Turkey

Williamson Fa, Stefan John; (2019) Resounding Love for the Household of the Prophet: Sound and Mediation among Shi’i Muslims in Turkey. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

[thumbnail of Williamson Fa_10066800_thesis_redacted.pdf] Text
Williamson Fa_10066800_thesis_redacted.pdf
Access restricted to UCL open access staff

Download (3MB)

Abstract

This thesis is a study of Twelver Shi’a Islam in the context of Azeri-Turkish Muslims living in the Anatolia-Caucasus borderlands of Northeastern Turkey. Taking the sonic as the central focus and field of enquiry I listen to the ways that sound mediates between bodies, both somatic and social, and the divine in the ritual and quotidian lives of Shi’i practitioners. I argue that sound, voice and listening, are central to the formation of both religious communities and subjects. Devotion to the Household of the Prophet – the Prophet Muhammad, his daughter Sayyida Fatima and the Twelve Imams, collectively known as the Ehli Beyt – is central to Shi’a Islam. Various genres of vocalised lament and praise for these figures are of particular importance in the acoustic worlds of Shi’i Muslims amongst other shared articulations including the recitation of the Qur’an. These sounded forms constitute a central way in which Muslims come to know and make present these divine figures in both ritual context and everyday life as they seek to cultivate love and attachment to them. Practices of reciting and listening are not fixed forms but are constantly evolving, especially as recording technology and new media are adopted and adapted. Furthermore, sound distinguishes and marks religious boundaries and the presence of Shi’a Islam in the public sphere. Drawing on ethnographic research undertaken over a 12-month period, I follow sounds, their producers and listeners in the city of Kars, Turkey, and across a larger Azeri-Turkish speaking geographic area – spanning Turkey, Iran, the Republic of Azerbaijan – and into their diaspora communities in Germany. By examining a range of sonic forms and events, such as public processions, ritual lamentation and the circulation of audiovisual recordings, I highlight the varied temporal, sensorial and material modalities of sounding and listening as well as the debates and discourse surrounding them. I set these sonic encounters against a backdrop of important shifts in Turkey’s politico-religious landscape and global Shi’a Islam. I position the thesis in debates in the anthropology of religion on mediation and the senses. Attending to sound in everyday life, as well as ritual context, my project brings into focus various forms of experience, knowledge and discourse that have largely been ignored in the study of modern Muslim societies.

Type: Thesis (Doctoral)
Qualification: Ph.D
Title: Resounding Love for the Household of the Prophet: Sound and Mediation among Shi’i Muslims in Turkey
Event: UCL
Language: English
Additional information: Copyright © The Author 2019. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. - Some third party copyright material has been removed from this e-thesis.
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Dept of Anthropology
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10066800
Downloads since deposit
6Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item