E-Book Overview
South Beirut has recently become a vibrant leisure destination with a plethora of cafés and restaurants that cater to the young, fashionable, and pious. What effects have these establishments had on the moral norms, spatial practices, and urban experiences of this Lebanese community? From the diverse voices of young Shi'i Muslims searching for places to hang out, to the Hezbollah officials who want this media-savvy generation to be more politically involved, to the religious leaders worried that Lebanese youth are losing their moral compasses, Leisurely Islam provides a sophisticated and original look at leisure in the Lebanese capital.
What makes a café morally appropriate? How do people negotiate morality in relation to different places? And under what circumstances might a pious Muslim go to a café that serves alcohol? Lara Deeb and Mona Harb highlight tensions and complexities exacerbated by the presence of multiple religious authorities, a fraught sectarian political context, class mobility, and a generation that takes religion for granted but wants to have fun. The authors elucidate the political, economic, religious, and social changes that have taken place since 2000, and examine leisure's influence on Lebanese sociopolitical and urban situations.
Asserting that morality and geography cannot be fully understood in isolation from one another, Leisurely Islam offers a colorful new understanding of the most powerful community in Lebanon today.
E-Book Content
Leisurely Islam Princeton Studies in Muslim Politics Dale F. Eickelman and Augustus Richard Norton, series editors A list of titles in this series can be found at the back of the book Leisurely Islam Negotiating Geography and Morality in Shiʿite South Beirut Lara Deeb & Mona Harb Princeton University Press Princeton and Oxford Copyright © 2013 by Princeton University Press Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540 In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press, 6 Oxford Street, Woodstock, Oxfordshire OX20 1TW press.princeton.edu All Rights Reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Deeb, Lara, 1974– Leisurely Islam : negotiating geography and morality in Shi’ite South Beirut / Lara Deeb and Mona Harb. pages cm — (Princeton studies in Muslim politics) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-691-15365-0 (hardcover : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-691-15366-7 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Leisure—Lebanon—Beirut. 2. Shiites—Lebanon—Beirut. 3. Recreation areas—Lebanon—Beirut. 4. Leisure—Religious aspects—Islam. I. Harb, Mona. II. Title. BJ1498.D324 2013 306.4ʹ8120956925—dc23 2012049867 British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available This book has been composed in Stempel Garamond Printed on acid-free paper. ∞ Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents List of Figures vii Preface and Acknowledgments ix Note on Language Introduction: Exploring Leisure, Morality, and Geography in South Beirut 1 New Leisure in South Beirut xiii 1 35 2 P roducing Islamic Fun: Hizbullah, Fadlallah, and the Entrepreneurs 66 3 Mapping Leisure and Café Styles 102 4 Flexible Morality, Respectful Choices, Smaller Transgressions 135 5 Comforting Territory, New Urban Experiences, and the Moral City 176 6 G ood Taste, Leisure’s Moral Spaces, and Sociopolitical Change in Lebanon 208 Appendix: Quoted Figures and Characters 223 Notes 227 Glossary 261 References 263 Index 277 Figures 1.1 Fantasy World amusement park 2.1 Image from the LAA