"Islam Observed"

Paper Summary:

This paper shows how, in his book, Geertz offers a general context for the comparative analysis of religion and applies it to the study of the development of Islam in two very different countries: Indonesia and Morocco. The paper looks at Geertz's sentiments regarding religion, ideology and culture, and how he addresses these considerations in his book.

From the Paper:

"In comparing religious practices in two communities, Geertz is trying to "determine just how and in what way particular ideas, acts, and institutions sustain, fail to sustain, or even inhibit religious faiths." (2). Geertz wonders how the common man's "religious sensibility reacts when the machinery of faith begins to wear out" What do they do when tradition falters?" (3) Moreover, the author wonders particularly what cultural and circumstantial processes influence those reactions."

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