Suchergebnisse

AbstractThis article advances a framework aimed at capturing the political life of ethical intensity by putting autonomist theory in resonance with ethnographic material pertaining to quietist Muslim milieus in post‐Soviet Russia. The emancipatory and prefigurative potential of collective projects of self‐legislation – in this case, 'halal living' – are explored through the notions of ethical form of life and Rule/Law. It will be argued that autonomist theory (a) is helpful in conceptualizing the friction between ethical projects (however quietist) and dominant moral/political orders; (b) has the potential to broaden anthropological conversations on virtue beyond existing fault lines (notably between what I call 'traditionist' and 'liberal' theoretical families) as well as conceptual silos ('religion', 'secularity'); and (c) can help us envision a radical, politically engaged anthropology of ethics.

The 'halal movement' is an orientation predominantly mobilised by urban youth and by the emerging urban middle class in Tatarstan. It articulates a cosmopolitan, universal Islamic discourse, explicitly separates ethnicity and Muslimness, and stages religion as an ethical issue, tied neither to a nation nor to a theological doctrine.