The book relies on a 15months field research in an Azerbaijan village and treats gender spe-cific ideologies in the two domains of kinship and religion. It is shown, that the native classi-fication of kins in “bone” and “milk” is based on the sibling group of brother and sister, that milk kinship is independent from agnatic groups and that it refers to the general process of life. It is this topic of the general life process which is constituted in tension to “orthodox” Islamic concepts in the predominantly female religious practice of dreams, fortune telling, pilgrimage and during life cycle rituals.

Im Westen wird der Islam oft als eine monolithische und übermächtige Religion empfunden, die alle Lebensbereiche von Muslimen durchdringt. Aber wie heterogen ist die muslimische Welt wirklich? Gibt es kulturübergreifende Gemeinsamkeiten, die auf die Religion des Islam zurückzuführen sind?