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O'Meara, Simon (2022) 'Sacred Space.' In: Leaman, Oliver, (ed.), Routledge Handbook of Islamic Ritual and Practice. London: Routledge.

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Abstract

This exploratory chapter proposes that the term sacred space is a misnomer in the Islamic context, since the binary concept of sacred and profane does not exist in premodern and earlier Islamic culture. Instead, the chapter argues, one should talk of opened space: space that is opened by rewardable, ritualised actions. This opened space draws the ritual actant into momentary engagement with the divine other world for the potential accrual of rewards. Lastly, the chapter discusses ritualised actions meant exclusively for the pilgrimage in Mecca but performed elsewhere, too, because of their presumed efficacity in opening space in this potentially rewarding way.

Item Type: Book Chapters
SOAS Departments & Centres: Departments and Subunits > School of Arts > Department of the History of Art & Archaeology
ISBN: 9780367491239
Copyright Statement: This is an Accepted Manuscript of a book chapter published by Routledge in Leaman, Oliver, (ed.), Routledge Handbook of Islamic Ritual and Practice (2022). Re-use is subject to the publisher’s terms and conditions
DOI (Digital Object Identifier): https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003044659-30
Date Deposited: 09 Aug 2021 16:08
URI: https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/id/eprint/35434

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