John R. Bowen, Ph.D., the Dunbar-Van Cleve Professor in Arts & Sciences; chair, Program in Social Thought & Analysis; professor of anthropology
(Cambridge University Press, 2003)
In Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, Muslims struggle to reconcile radically different sets of social norms and laws, including those derived from Islam, local social norms and contemporary ideas about gender equality and rules of law.
In his newest book, Bowen examines these struggles firsthand through research and interviews with locals in Sumatra.
“Muslims throughout the world are thinking through how best to interpret Islamic norms and traditions for their societies, and reworking their legal systems on the basis of their reflections,” Bowen said. “Gender equality is central to these changes, and many of the most interesting debates on that issue have taken place in Indonesia, which has the largest Muslim population in the world.
“For obvious reasons, many of us are interested in Islam, but much of what we read is very general, on the order of ‘Islam says such-and-such’, with little appreciation of how varied and frankly fascinating the ongoing debates and changes are.”
The book is written with a scholarly bent and will be appreciated by students across social sciences, especially anthropology, cultural sociology and political theory.
“I have been working in and on Indonesia since 1978, and most of what I have written concerns Islam: ritual, everyday life, families, and law,” Bowen said. “So the book is the product of a long-term study, but the topic is particular important now.”
The underlying theme of the book is one that Bowen hopes will reach even the readers with a casual interest in Islam and the struggles between Muslims and non-Muslims.
“(I hope people will understand) that Muslims everywhere are engaged in serious thinking and experimentation with respect to Islam, the norms of international and national law, and their own local traditions,” Bowen said.
— Andy Clendennen