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Performance Activism in the Contemporary Middle East, North Africa, and Beyond

Performance Activism in the Contemporary Middle East, North Africa, and Beyond cover

Description

This book by Joseph Alagha examines social practice manifestations of performance activism among contemporary Islamic movements in the MENA and beyond.

Performance Activism in the Contemporary Middle East, North Africa, and Beyond links jurisprudential concepts of Middle Eastern and Islamic studies to Social Theory and International Relations theories, most notably Joseph Nye's hard, soft, smart, and sharp power. Alagha highlights the social practices of contemporary Islamic movements, as soft power, by discussing changes in religious discourses on art and entertainment, the reception and consumption of pious art productions by different audiences, and the metamorphosis of Islamic ethics into aesthetic forms. This book explores Sunni and Shi'i discourses on humor, music, political satire, and the performing arts, especially singing, dance, dark comedy, and revolutionary theater; Jihad through music among Islamic movements; the Salafi and Wahhabi conceptions of Anashid (“religious and ideological songs”); the “taranas” of the Taliban, and the opinions of the Lebanese resistance movement Hizbullah on performance activism or “Resistance Art.”

Table of Contents

Introduction: Post-Islamism and Performance Activism
Chapter 1: Jihad al-Tabyyin, Humor, and Performance Activism in Contemporary Muslim Societies
Chapter 2: Sunni Discourses on Performance Activism: Jihad al-Lisan and Moderation (Wasatiyyah)
Chapter 3: Shi'i Discourses on Performance Activism: Jihad al-Tabyyin and Pious Entertainment in Hizbullah's Islamic Cultural Sphere
Chapter 4: Jihad al-Tabyyin vis-à-vis Music: Hizbullah's and the Taliban's Performance Activism
Chapter 5: Jihad al-Tabyyin vis-à-vis Dance: Fadlallah's and Al-Banna's Performance Activism
Conclusion
Appendix: List of Interviews
Glossary
Bibliography
Index

Product details

Bloomsbury Academic Test
Published 21 Aug 2025
Format Ebook (Epub & Mobi)
Edition 1st
Extent 232
ISBN 9781666975390
Imprint Bloomsbury Academic
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Author

Joseph Alagha

Joseph Alagha is Professor of Political Science, S…

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