Formations of the secular: Christianity, Islam, modernity

Opening with the provocative query "what might an anthropology of the secular look like?" this book explores the concepts, practices, and political formations of secularism. The focus is on major historical shifts that have shaped secular sensibilities and attitudes towards Islam in the modern West and the Middle East

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction: Thinking about Secularism -- 1 What Might an Anthropology of Secularism Look Like? -- 2 Thinking about Agency and Pain -- 3 Reflections on Cruelty and Torture -- 4 Redeeming the "Human" Through Human Rights -- 5 Muslims as a "Religious Minority" in Europe -- 6 Secularism, Nation-State, Religion -- 7 Reconfigurations of Law and Ethics in Colonial Egypt -- Index

What might an anthropology of secularism look like? -- Thinking about agency and pain -- Reflections on cruelty and torture -- Redeeming the "human" through human rights -- Muslims as a "religious minority" in Europe -- Secularism, nation state, religion -- Reconfigurations of law and ethics in colonial Egypt