| ID | 164020 |
| Title Proper | Unknown in the Egyptian uprising |
| Other Title Information | towards an anthropology of al-Ghayb |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Mittermaier, Amira |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | During the Egyptian uprising in 2011, a TV crew accidentally filmed a ghostly horseman in the midst of protesters. This essay takes the ghostly horseman as a starting point for thinking about the possibilities of an anthropology of al-ghayb, the invisible and unknown. Drawing on fieldwork in Egypt, as well as online reports and contestations of apparitions, visions, and dreams seen during the uprising, I suggest that accounts of the unseen pose a profound challenge to (and open up new possibilities for) doing ethnographic research, writing ethnography, and thinking anthropologically. Inspired by Michael Taussig, I suggest that the challenge is not to undo the invisible but to find a language that runs along the seam where the visible and the invisible connect and disconnect. |
| `In' analytical Note | Contemporary Islam Vol. 13, No.1; Apr 2019: p.17–31 |
| Journal Source | Contemporary Islam Vol: 13 No 1 |
| Key Words | Christianity ; Egypt ; Dreams ; Visions ; Arab Spring ; Invisibility Islam |