Mar 15, 2025

Hearing Islam

The Sounds of a Global Religious Tradition

Lauren E. Osborne

Hosted by Shehnaz Haqqani

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Summary

In Hearing Islam: The Sounds of a Global Religious Tradition, Lauren Osborne delves into the sonic dimensions of Islam, exploring how the tradition’s rich soundscape offers deep insights into culture, identity, and spirituality. In this innovative work, Osborne shifts the focus from the written word to the auditory, asking, "What can we learn about Islam when we enter through its sounds, instead of books?" This approach provides a unique lens through which to study the intersections of modernity, belonging, and pluralism in Muslim-majority cultures.

The book explores the centrality of sound within Islam, from the recitation of the Qur’an to the daily practices of prayer, the call to prayer (adhaan), and the sonic expressions found in Islamic chantings, nasheeds, qawwalis, and even contemporary genres like hip-hop. Osborne also tackles the underexplored intersection of deafness and Islam, shedding light on how the experience of deafness intersects with a traditionally "hearing" religion.

In today’s interview, Osborne discusses the core themes of the book, including the debates around music’s role in Islam, the relationship between Sufism and music, and the significant cultural conversations surrounding hip-hop’s place within the Islamic world. This book is an essential resource for students of Islam, religious studies, world music, and anyone interested in the profound role of sound in shaping human experiences across diverse cultures.

Your Host

Shehnaz Haqqani

Shehnaz Haqqani is a scholar of Islam whose research focuses on gender, sexuality, religious authority, and Muslim lived experience. She earned her PhD in Islamic Studies with a focus on gender and sexuality from the University of Texas at Austin in 2018. Her first book, Feminism, Tradition, and Change in Contemporary Islam: Negotiating Islamic Law and Gender, was published by Oneworld Publications in 2024. Her current book project examines Muslim women’s interfaith marriages and relationships, exploring questions of religious authority, agency, family, and lived experience. Her research has been supported by the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Project Development Grant, the American Association of University Women (AAUW), and the Fox Center for Humanistic Inquiry, among others. She can be reached at shaqqan@emory.edu.

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