Guests of the Sheik

Write a summary and review of the ethnography Guests of the Sheik, taking up the following tasks: First, summarize the main points of the ethnography. What is the main argument or point of the manuscript? Cite examples from the text to support your points, using short quotations, paraphrasing, and citing the relevant page numbers. What do we learn from this ethnography? What theories or concepts are elucidated through the ethnography? What do we learn about the fieldsite in question, as well as its place in the world? How does this book support or refute common stereotypes regarding Islam and Muslims, especially Muslim women? In what ways and to what degrees do the women of El Nahra show agency? In what ways are their lives shaped by external social structures? Compare your impressions of Muslim women before and after reading the book. In popular discourse, “Muslims” and “Islam” are often taken to refer to one singular tradition or group of people. How does Guests begin to develop a picture of the diversity expressed within Islamic belief and practice and the Muslim community as a whole (by sect, class, ethnicity, region, rural/ urban, nomadic/ settled, etc.)? How does it demonstrate some of the differences between ideal versus actual lived Islam? More specifically, how are Shi’i Muslims differentiated? How do Gypsies differ from the villagers? How do market people differ from tribal members? Note the different rituals and customs practiced in the book. Describe anthropological features of El Nahra society such as descent, marriage, residence, and subsistence patterns. How do these shape the lives of those in the village? When and why do these social structures support, override, or contradict religious beliefs? Or conversely, how was the development of Islamic morality influenced by Arab and Middle Eastern cultural patterns? Anthropology prides itself on its ability to provide information by “being there on the ground.” Although Guests is from an earlier era, it is one of the last ethnographies carried out in Iraq before the country was cut off to researchers during Saddam Hussein’s regime. Is there any cultural data in this book that speaks to your knowledge of the political, social, and military situation in Iraq today? Finally, describe which audiences would most benefit from reading this work (undergraduate or graduate students, policymakers, academics, the general public, e.g.). Format: 5 pages, double-spaced, 1-inch margins, Times New Roman or Arial font