This book takes the study of Islam in fundamentally new directions. Instead of looking at pietistic milieus and Islamist identity politics in metropolitan areas, the authors explore the contemporary role of Islamic traditions in previously almost neglected social contexts. The case studies of this volume take up subjects such as Islamic spiritual tourism, Islam and soccer, Islam and climate, the re-invention of halaqa communities in the United States, and the global role of the rather small but influential World Federation of the Shia Khoja community. The single contributions all highlight contemporary interpretations of Islamic traditions in the context of globally relevant cultural frameworks, but they do so in different ways. In this way, the book contributes with new insights to central theoretical and empirical debates of both the fields of Islamic and Religious Studies.

Dietrich Jung is a Professor in Middle East and Islamic Studies at University of Southern Denmark and an Adjunct Professor at the Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, University of Copenhagen. His most recent book is Orientalism and Islamic Studies. Religion, Science, and Colonialism in Nineteenth Century Europe (Equinox).