The Politics of Family Cohesion in the Gulf: Islamic authority, new media, and the logic of the modern rentier state

This article explores the politics of family cohesion in a Muslim polity simultaneously committed to the application of Islamic law, the preservation of cultural identity, and socio‑economic modernization. The article focuses on the work of Qatar’s Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs, a gover...

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Main Author: Alexandre Caeiro
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Centre Français d’Archéologie et de Sciences Sociales de Sanaa 2019-01-01
Series:Arabian Humanities
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/arabianhumanities/3762
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author Alexandre Caeiro
author_facet Alexandre Caeiro
author_sort Alexandre Caeiro
collection DOAJ
description This article explores the politics of family cohesion in a Muslim polity simultaneously committed to the application of Islamic law, the preservation of cultural identity, and socio‑economic modernization. The article focuses on the work of Qatar’s Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs, a government body that seeks to make Wahhābī Islam relevant to a society in the midst of rapid social change. Drawing on an analysis of the Ministry’s fatwas on family life, the article shows how Qatar’s media muftis have incorporated modern assumptions into their discourse and adjusted to new power configurations. The dissonance between the discourses articulated within official religious institutions and those found in other state bodies reflects the growing polarization of Qatari society, the normative pluralism undergirding modernization in the Gulf, and the regulatory ambitions of proliferating state institutions in a rentier economy.
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spelling doaj-art-d1cb28a927a24e64a6f806fa93530e8a2025-08-20T02:26:45ZengCentre Français d’Archéologie et de Sciences Sociales de SanaaArabian Humanities2308-61222019-01-011010.4000/cy.3762The Politics of Family Cohesion in the Gulf: Islamic authority, new media, and the logic of the modern rentier stateAlexandre CaeiroThis article explores the politics of family cohesion in a Muslim polity simultaneously committed to the application of Islamic law, the preservation of cultural identity, and socio‑economic modernization. The article focuses on the work of Qatar’s Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs, a government body that seeks to make Wahhābī Islam relevant to a society in the midst of rapid social change. Drawing on an analysis of the Ministry’s fatwas on family life, the article shows how Qatar’s media muftis have incorporated modern assumptions into their discourse and adjusted to new power configurations. The dissonance between the discourses articulated within official religious institutions and those found in other state bodies reflects the growing polarization of Qatari society, the normative pluralism undergirding modernization in the Gulf, and the regulatory ambitions of proliferating state institutions in a rentier economy.https://journals.openedition.org/arabianhumanities/3762QatarfatwainternetmodernisationWahhabismedroit musulman
spellingShingle Alexandre Caeiro
The Politics of Family Cohesion in the Gulf: Islamic authority, new media, and the logic of the modern rentier state
Arabian Humanities
Qatar
fatwa
internet
modernisation
Wahhabisme
droit musulman
title The Politics of Family Cohesion in the Gulf: Islamic authority, new media, and the logic of the modern rentier state
title_full The Politics of Family Cohesion in the Gulf: Islamic authority, new media, and the logic of the modern rentier state
title_fullStr The Politics of Family Cohesion in the Gulf: Islamic authority, new media, and the logic of the modern rentier state
title_full_unstemmed The Politics of Family Cohesion in the Gulf: Islamic authority, new media, and the logic of the modern rentier state
title_short The Politics of Family Cohesion in the Gulf: Islamic authority, new media, and the logic of the modern rentier state
title_sort politics of family cohesion in the gulf islamic authority new media and the logic of the modern rentier state
topic Qatar
fatwa
internet
modernisation
Wahhabisme
droit musulman
url https://journals.openedition.org/arabianhumanities/3762
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