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The term 'local Islam' has been coined to describe local responses to the effects of globalisation in the Islamic world. All contributions to this volume present cases of 'local Islam' as well as discussing the term itself. But what all of this group of anthropologists and historians convey is a feeling of dissatisfaction with the very term. Their uneasiness relates to the conceptual problems arising from seeing Islam as either local or global. Rather, the authors argue in favour of a focus not on Islam but on the lives of Muslims, putting their lives into the context of complex historical.

Changing attitudes to Islam profoundly influence political cultures and national identities, as well as policies regarding immigration, security and multiculturalism. Given that the majority of relevant scholarly works have either adopted monocultural perspectives, or approached Islam in its general, non nation-specific dimension, the need for in-depth, multi-nation studies is urgent. Islam itself, and responses to its rise, are becoming increasingly internationalised. It is therefore importa

Should women's rights and gender justice be defined and guaranteed within an exclusively religious or secular framework? Is it at all possible to create the basis for a dialogue about the different normative positions that are held? These are questions that are the focus of current debates in South Asia. In view of the demographic development and profound transformation of India's and Pakistan's societies since the 1980s, which also includes the religiously defined minority and majority communities, it now seems a necessity to focus more strongly on the younger generation of Muslim men and women in both countries. For this special issue of our journal, we chose to bring together and showcase an appropriate selection of articles written by young researchers who are based in India, Pakistan, Germany and the United States. All of them engage in and contribute to the ongoing discussion about theoretical and methodological approaches to this research area, to the formulation of new research perspectives and to various other questions that need to be addressed as well within the scope of research related to Islam and South Asia. (Asien/GIGA)