Description: What does it mean to be young, modern, and Muslim? Documenting everyday life in Lamu (Kenya), this book explores the mundane practices of behavior and speech that create moral personhood. In elaborating everyday practices of Islamic pluralism, the book shows how Muslim societies critically engage with change while sustaining a sense of integrity and morality.
Brief description: Sarah Hillewaert is Assistant Professor of Linguistic Anthropology at the University of Toronto.
Review Quotes: Gesturing to the changing nature of social hierarchies in this historic Swahili town, this book opens up an important discussion on the role of language and materiality in both signifying and complicating social inequities in a conservative Muslim society, while also highlighting new expressions of moral belonging among youth in Lamu. Moreover, the heshima, or respect, that Hillewaert shows her host community and interlocutors makes this work a model for ethical engagement with ethnographic research subjects.-- "African Studies Review"