{"product_id":"religion-and-the-invisible-world-el-sayed-el-aswad-9781649033703","title":"Religion and the Invisible World: Sanctity and Spiritual Transformation in Egypt from Pharaonic Times to the Present","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA broad critical history of the transformation of religious thought in Egypt from ancient to modern periods\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhen a civilization disappears, its heritage does not vanish. It survives in different potentially hybrid forms and becomes part of the legacy of humanity. \u003ci\u003eReligion and the Invisible World\u003c\/i\u003e is a broad survey of the development and transformation of interrelated forms of invisibility, sanctity, and religious beliefs and rituals in Egypt. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDrawing on forty years of research as an anthropologist, historian, and Egyptologist, el-Sayed el-Aswad shows how concepts of sacredness and invisibility have been core elements in the spiritual transformations in Egypt as embodied in the early pharaonic religion, Egyptian-Hellenistic religion, Christianity, and Islam, and how these practices of spirituality and cosmology cut across many divides of ethnicity, gender, region, religion, language, and social class. He draws on available prior ethnographies and descriptions pointing to the \"invisible\" world in Egyptian villages and urban settings, including dreams, rituals, trance, bodily practices, and what a century ago were called \"survivals.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBy focusing on concepts of invisibility and sanctity, this book provides a holistic understanding of the similarities and differences between religious beliefs and rituals that have existed in different historical epochs in Egypt from the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms to the contemporary world--a span of five thousand years.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e El-Sayed El-Aswad\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1649033702\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781649033703\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e American University in Cairo Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 12\/16\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 288\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover","brand":"El-Sayed El-Aswad","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":46906884587775,"sku":"9781649033703","price":79.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_b5f8ffd1-6bb5-41f4-836e-3e982b3724ae.jpg?v=1748771662","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/religion-and-the-invisible-world-el-sayed-el-aswad-9781649033703","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}