Shamanism and Islam : Sufism, healing rituals and spirits in the Muslim world / edited by Thierry Zarcone and Angela Hobart.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contextual variations of shamanic 'healing' in South Siberia : from 'obtaining luck' to relieving misfortune -- Healing in Central Asia : syncretism and acculturation -- Religious traditions among the Kazakhs and the Kirghizs -- Muslim shamans in Kazakhstan -- Interrelation to the invisibile in Kirghizistan -- Two indigenous healing methods among Iranian Turkmen -- Shamans in Afghanistan? -- The people of the air : healing and spirit possession in South Iran -- Shamanism in Turkey : bards, masters of the Jinns, and healers -- The Bektashi-Alevi 'dance of the crane' in Turkey : a shamanic heritage? -- Dreaming in the practice of African marabouts in Paris -- Healing among traditional practitioners of the Algerian Sahara -- Shamanism among the gypsies of Southeastern Europe -- Spirit healing in a Hindu/Muslim area : shadow theatre in Java and Bali.

The figure of the shaman has always been a prominent motif within the Islamic world, particularly in relation to the mystical domain of Sufism. Here, Thierry Zarcone and Angela Hobart offer a vigorous and authoritative exploration of the link between Islam and shamanism in contemporary Muslim culture, examining how the old practice of shamanism was combined with elements of Sufism in order to adapt to wider Islamic society. Shamanism and Islam thus surveys shamanic practices in Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, and the Balkans, to show how the Muslim shaman, like his Siberian counterpart, cultivated personal relations with spirits to help individuals through healing and divination. It explores the complexities and variety of rituals, involving music, dance and, in some regions, epic and bardic poetry, demonstrating the close links between shamanism and the various arts of the Islamic world. This is the first in-depth exploration of "Islamized shamanism," and is a valuable contribution to the field of Islamic Studies, Religion, Anthropology, and an understanding of the Middle East more widely.