Islam Observed: Religious Development in Morocco and Indonesia

By Clifford Geertz

Book Overview

"In four brief chapters," writes Clifford Geertz in his preface, "I have attempted both to lay out a general framework for the comparative analysis of religion and to apply it to a study of the development of a supposedly single creed, Islam, in two quite contrasting civilizations, the Indonesian and the Moroccan."

Mr. Geertz begins his argument by outlining the problem conceptually and providing an overview of the two countries. He then traces the evolution of their classical religious styles which, with disparate settings and unique histories, produced strikingly different spiritual climates. So in Morocco, the Islamic conception of life came to mean activism, moralism, and intense individuality, while in Indonesia the same concept emphasized aestheticism, inwardness, and the radical dissolution of personality. In order to assess the significance of these interesting developments, Mr. Geertz sets forth a series of theoretical observations concerning the social role of religion.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0226285111
• ISBN13: 9780226285115
• Release Date: August 1971
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.34 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.3" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

The Social Role of Religion: Islam in Morocco & Indonesia

From back cover: "MR. Geertz begins his argument by outlining the problem conceptually and providing an overview of the two countries. He then traces the evolution of their classical religious styles which, with disparate settings and unique histories, produced strikingly different spiritual climates. So in Morocco, the Islamic conception of life came to mean activism, moralism, and intense individuality, while in Indonesia the same concept emphasized aestheticism, inwardness, and the radical dissolution of personality. In order to assess the significance of these interesting developments, Mr. Geertz sets forth a series of theoretical observations concerning the social role of religion."

An Excellent Comparative Ethnography

When I picked up this book, I was mainly reading for the analysis of Moroccan Islam. However, Geertz approaches both countries in such an eloquent and accessible fashion. The purpose of this short work is to compare the practices of Muslims in Indonesia and Morocco. That's going to be tough to do, but Geertz admits to the inherent problems early on, and (I believe) succeeds in confronting them by the end of the book. He begins with the introduction of Islam to both spaces, and covers the formative periods of their religious development. He ends each analysis during the post-colonial phases of the country's history. The concluding chapter, which draws conclusions regarding the comparison of religious sensibilities, does so through the capturing of a society's "common sense". Geertz plays this out much better than I ever could, but it suffices to say that Geertz comes to very thoughtful conclusions about our imagination-made-large qua religion. I'd recommend this book to anyone who is interested in comparative religion, Islam, North African/Asian Islam, or who wants to read a really cool ethnography.

Excellent, cross-cultural Anthropological Study of Islam

This is a classic work on Islam from an anthropological perspective written by a great anthropologist. Essentially it works because it has a gimick--being that it focuses on Islam in two cultures that are vastly different from one another. Indonesia and Morroco are at oppossite pole of the 'Islamic World' and the practice of Islam in each respective country are even farther apart, in the traditional sense. Geertz shows that while these two cultural manifestations of Islam may seem infinitely divergent from one another, they are nonetheless connected and complimentary. While this book now shows its age and has its weaknesses, it's short and contains many insights that make it an enjoyable read. It makes for a good partner to engage within scholarly dialogue while at the same is and equally good partner for casual reading for those with just a general interest in Islam as a cultural phenomenon.