Introduction: Welcome to another immersive episode of Dariyaa, your go-to podcast for deep dives into the captivating world of politics, culture, society, and policy.

The anthropologist Samuli Schielke suggests that scholarship on the anthropology of Islam has put too much emphasis on Islam itself. He warns against the risk of essentialism, where one aspect of a Muslim's life, such as moments of piety, are portrayed as representative of their entire experience. Schielke argues that for most individuals, moral subjectivities are marked by ambiguity and a range of reference points rather than being neatly coherent.

He argues that while the ‘piety turn’ has guided numerous innovative studies, it seems to overlook crucial inquiries concerning everyday religious and moral practices, particularly the ambiguity, inconsistencies, and fluidity inherent in people's lives that do not neatly fit into a single tradition.

In this conversation, we speak to Dr. Sertac Sehlikoglu to understand as to where her scholarship is situated within this debate and the contribution it makes to the existing arguments. Dr. Sehlikoglu is Principal Research Fellow at the Institute for Global Prosperity at University College London. She is a social anthropologist specialising in subjectivity, gender, and sexuality in the Middle East. Her work often focuses on the intangible aspects of human subjectivity that enable humans to change and transform social life.

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Episode Hosted By Saniya Ahmad Produced By Ergo Collective