The Ethical Soundscape

This is a substantial anthropological study that delves deep into the meaning and significance of cassette sermons in the context of Islamic revival. The author carried out his fieldwork in Egypt in order to explore the recontextualisation of Islam within modernity through the medium of the present technological order. He manages to bring home the efficacy of cassette sermons in directing both men and women to the causes of both their religious identity and participation as citizens in society. The chapter entitled “Rhetoric of Da[iya” (pp.143–172) is full of insights. According to the author, the following concepts mostly permeate the sermons of Egyptian du[at: (1) ethical topics highlighting virtues such as those of faith, modesty and patience; (2) social topics such as the role of women in society, warning against drinking and adultery, and enjoining good and forbidding evil in general; (3) eschatological concerns such as divine recompense and the Hereafter and (4) exemplary histories of the Prophets as role models. Needless to add, such sermons help reinforce the moral fibre and Islamic identity of the audience. The author tries to establish a link between the rise of fundamentalism and the popularity of these sermons. However, he is quick enough to demolish the myth that these serve as a tool for militant indoctrination. This book is a welcome analytical study which should be of profit to many