Islam and China are topics of relevance and contention in today's economic political and
religious climate. In this work Tiffany Cone makes an important contribution to these
contemporary discourses through an ethnographic case study of Islamic leadership and the
cultivation of charismatic power by Sufi disciples at a shrine site in Northwest China. Though
this volume focuses on a specific religious community it carries valuable insights into
religious unity syncretism and religious legitimacy materialism and religious integrity and
the stability of religious institutions in light of rapid economic growth. Cultivating
Charismatic Power speaks to global concerns about the rise of a militant Islam and an
increasingly aggressive Chinese State. As such it will appeal to scholars and practitioners
across a range of fields including anthropology philosophy religious studies Islamic Studies
and Chinese Studies.
