Place of publication: United States, Ann Arbor; ISBN=9781083635334
Ph.D.
Western Sydney University (Australia)
2018
With focus on the sermons delivered in the mosques of Sydney during Friday's congregational prayers, the prime objective of this thesis was to investigate whether imams are agents of socialisation. The first step to achieving this overarching aim involved an examination of the acts that form Friday's congregational prayer from the frame of Goffman (2002) and Schechner's (2013) 'Performance Studies' theories. The methodological approach adopted was of an ethnographic orientation involving the observation of the congregational prayers performed in Sydney's mosques and the conclusion reached was that most of what can be observed during Friday's congregational prayers represent 'restorations' of the acts performed by Muhammad (pbuh) and the first community of Muslims. The 'stage' and the 'setting' as well as the costumes worn by the 'actors' are also to a limited degree 'restorations' of Muhammad's mosque in Madina and the clothes he wore. These restorations are achieved through following the fiqh for Friday's congregational prayers, which I compare to a 'script' that actors follow. Within the script, however, there is some scope for variation. In the role performed by the imam, with some exceptions, the 'script' allows for delivery of a sermon on a topic of their preference. This aspect of the sermon presents the prospect for imams to influence the behaviours of their audiences, thereby acting as agents of socialisation.
Religion; Social psychology; Islamic Studies
(UMI)AAI10820653;Philosophy, religion and theology;Social sciences;Psychology