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Here’s a book on topic rarely discussed: Silat & Islam. It’s based upon a dissertation so it’s a dense read but yet contains alot of little unknown information upon the subject.This is the first in-depth study of the Malay martial art, silat, and the first ethnographic account of the Haqqani Islamic Sufi Order. Drawing on 12 years of research and practice in Malaysia, Singapore, and England, social anthropologist and martial arts expert D.S. Farrer considers Malay silat through the transnational Sufi silat group called Seni Silat Haqq, an off-shoot of the Haqqani-Naqshbandi Sufi Order.This account combines theories from the anthropology of art, embodiment, enchantment, and performance to show how war magic and warrior religion amalgamate in traditional Malay martial arts, where practitioners distance themselves from “becoming animal” or going into trance, preferring a practice of spontaneous bodily movement by summoning the power of Allah. Silat and Sufism are revealed through the social dramas of 40-day boot-camps where Malay and European practitioners endeavor to become shadows of the Prophet, only to have their faith tested through a ritual ordeal of boiling oil. The unseen realm and magical embodiment is further approached through an account of Malay deathscapes where moving through the patterns of silat summons the spirits of ancestral heroes.Those interested in Malaysia, Sufism, transnational Islam, and the study of religion, conversion, magic, sorcery, theatre and martial arts will find this book indispensable.Amazon.comD.S. FarrerShadows of the Prophet:Martial Arts and Sufi Mysticism(2009) | PDF-315pgs | 20 MB|PART I: ReflectionsChapter 1Seni Silat Haqq Melayu: A Sufi Martial ArtPrologueDeviationist Religious CultsNote on OrganizationEntry to the GroupThe Fieldwork The Central QuestionsThe Field of SilatThe Haqqani Sufi Tarekat and Seni Silat Haqq MelayuNew Age?The ChaptersChapter 2Silat: Art, Magic and PerformanceBeyond RationalismSupernatural VulnerabilityMysticism and the OccultMalay ShamanismSilat ScholarshipMagic in WarWar MagicThe Anthropology of PerformancePerformance and IdentityEmbodied MagicThe Anthropology of ArtBecoming Intense—Becoming AnimalPART II: EchoesChapter 3The Performance of EnchantmentThe Art and Aesthetics of Seni Silat MelayuWeapons of SilatMartial DanceHexis as Embodied AestheticsSilat KinestheticsStyles of SilatPre-Systematized SilatDistinctive Features of Seni Silat Haqq MelayuChapter 4The Enchantment of Performance Tricks of the Devil The Malaysian Haqqani-Naqshbandi Sufi Tarekat Reading the International Haqqani-Naqshbandi Sufi Tarekat Secrets of the Prayer The Prayer BuahShadows of the Prophet Taming the EgoDhikrPART III: DoublesChapter 5The Guru SilatThe War MagicianThe Veneration of Shaykh NazimRitual Empowerment: The Creation of SilatThe Sundang CeremonyChapter 6Social and Aesthetic DramaSilat Training in LondonSeclusionReligious OrientationShadows of St. Ann’sBack to the TheatrePART IV: ShadowsChapter 7 Divination and RevelationThe Lime and Flower BathsDivination: An Implicit Personality Theory Revelation: The Ordeal by Boiling Oil Towards an ExplanationChapter 8Deathscapes of the Malay Martial Artist Deathscapes The Four Corner Dance The Urobos The Shadow Soul The Graveyard Ordeal Death of a Silat Master Appendixes:(A) Basic Motions of Pattern Formation(B) Naqshbandi Silsilah: The Golden ChainGlossaryReferencesIndex

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