State, Society and Islam in the Western Regions of the Sahara: Regional Interactions and Social Change

This book explores the complex and nuanced relationships between statehood, Islam, nation-building, and identity formation among the Hassaniya-speaking groups in northwest Africa. It provides a fresh analysis of these populations through interdisciplinary contributions from scholars from the global North and South, using up-to-date fieldwork. The book highlights the adoption of urban ways of life, the shifting social hierarchies, new gendered power dynamics, and generational changes in the re-interpretation of tradition. It also reveals the close association of the Hassaniya-speaking groups with Islam, both as a religious expression and a cultural marker.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 374 pages
Publication date: 22 February 2024
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

This open-access book takes a deeper and broader perspective on the Hassaniya-speaking groups of the western region of the Sahara. There has been a surge of interest in this region, often centered around sensationalist news reports and policy briefs. But in-depth understanding and analysis remain neglected, and little work has been undertaken on the diverse experiences of these groups and the contrasting political regimes under which they live. The contributors here focus on the complex and ambiguous relations between statehood, Islam, nation-building, and identity formation in Hassaniya-speaking northwest Africa, ranging from southern Morocco, the Western Sahara, and Mauritania to Algeria. The book uses up-to-date fieldwork to provide fresh analysis and an insider's perspective on these populations and their regional interactions, with contributions from the fields of law, Islamic studies, history, anthropology, politics, gender, and media studies, and the research of scholars from both the global North and global South. This interdisciplinary collection shows how urban ways of life are being adopted, with Hassaniya-speaking actors adjusting to state-administered social policies and new modes of settling disputes and legal claims. In doing so, the book sheds new light on the region's shifting social hierarchies, the new gendered power dynamics, and generational changes in the re-interpretation of tradition. As well as displaying that the Hassaniya-speaking groups are pivotal to the development of the region's political culture, the book also reveals their close association with Islam, both as a religious expression and as a cultural marker. A much-needed contribution on the intersections of politics, Islam, and identity in northwest Africa. The ebook editions of this book are available.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780755643486