Sensational Piety: Practices of Mediation in Islamic and Pentecostal Movements in Abuja, Nigeria

Product Description
Grounded in anthropological comparison and the concept of materiality, this book offers an in-depth ethnographic study of similarities and differences in various forms of religious practices in a Pentecostal Church (Christ Embassy) and an Islamic group (NASFAT) in the Nigerian capital of Abuja.While many scholars focus on inter-religious contestations and conflicts, 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.
About the Author
Murtala Ibrahim is a postdoctoral researcher in cultural anthropology at Utrecht University, the Netherlands.


Amy Whitehead is Senior Lecturer in Social Anthropology at Massey University, New Zealand.


Birgit Meyer is Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Utrecht, The Netherlands.


Crispin Paine is a Visiting Fellow at the Open University, UK.


David Morgan is Professor of Religious Studies at Duke University, USA.