Aliakbar Jafari

An analysis of material consumption culture in the Muslim world

In this paper, we examine the notion of material consumption culture in Islamic societies. We differentiate between institutionalized religion and religion as culture. We contest the orientalist portrayal of Islam as a fanatic ideology opposed to western modernity’s features of secularism, individualism and pluralism. With reference to the Qur’anic text, we discuss that such qualities are embedded with Islam. We do not interpret the Qur’an from a theological perspective; rather, we seek to demonstrate the possibilities of its multiple interpretations. We argue that, in their everyday life consumption practices, Muslims (re)interpret religious guidelines in different ways, and refer to Islam as a transcendental set of guidelines to make better sense of their cultural practices in different ways. We summarize our discussion by highlighting the importance of analysing the culture of consumption from the lens of insiders and offer directions for future research.

Islamic marketing: insights from a critical perspective

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to encourage a critical dialogue within the realm of Journal of Islamic Marketing. It invites marketing scholars and practitioners working on various topics related to Islam and Muslim societies to adopt fresh theoretical and methodological positions that would enhance the understanding of multiple marketing and market dynamics in Muslim societies.Design/methodology/approach – The author uses a critical approach.Findings – The author suggests that the advancement of knowledge in the area of Islamic marketing requires reflexivity and self‐critique.Research limitations/implications – The paper highlights the constructive value of critical approach to the development of marketing theory and practice.Originality/value – This paper reflects the authors personal viewpoint on the production of knowledge and improving practice in the realm of Islamic marketing.

“We are not terrorists!” UK‐based Iranians, consumption practices and the “torn self”

This paper presents an exploratory study of the consumption practices of UK‐based young Iranians. Based on a series of in‐depth interviews and participatory observation we provide an insight into the identity‐constituting meanings associated with consumption practices. We illustrate how individuals use consumption discourses to tackle a series of ideological tensions in their sociocultural settings, both in Iran and in the UK. We describe how in a theocratic state individuals use commodified cultural symbolic mediators to construct and reaffirm a sense of self and identity and also to covertly resist the dominant order. We discuss consumers paradoxes and dilemmas when confronted with a complex set of clashes between restricting political/institutional dynamics and the emancipatory forces of Western consumption. We conclude by discussing how these contradictions and strategies lead to a form of “torn” self.

Globalization, reflexivity and the project of the self: a virtual intercultural learning process

In this paper, the authors examine the consumption practices of young adult Iranians in the context of cultural globalization. Based on the analysis of qualitative data collected through participatory observation, in-depth interviews, and focus groups with 28 individuals in Tehran and Karaj, the authors demonstrate how, through its cultural flow (circulation of images, signs, products, etc.) globalization stimulates reflexivity in “an ongoing process of virtual intercultural learning” through which people reconstitute their lives and change their everyday consumption practices and lifestyle choices. The key contribution of the study lies in the fact that it examines consumers’ subjective consumption experiences in a society where the traditional/institutional dynamics enforce their own values and ideal lifestyles on individuals.

Consumer ethnicity three decades after: a TCR agenda

Abstract Research into consumer ethnicity is a vital discipline that has substantially evolved in the past three decades. This conceptual article critically reviews its immense literature and examines the extent to which it has provided extensive contributions not only for the understanding of ethnicity in the marketplace but also for personal/collective well-being. We identify two gaps accounting for scant transformative contributions. First, today social transformations and conceptual sophistications require a revised vocabulary to provide adequate interpretive lenses. Second, extant work has mostly addressed the subjective level of ethnic identity projects but left untended the meso/macro forces affecting ethnicity (de)construction and personal/collective well-being. Our contribution stems from filling both gaps and providing a theory of ethnicity (de)construction that includes migrants as well as non-migrants.

Islamic encounters in consumption and marketing

In recent years, Islam has become highly visible in media, politics, and the marketplace. The increasing popular and academic attention to Islam is partly driven by the events of 9/11 and the related imperative to ‘‘better’’ understand Muslims. The interest is also stimulated by broader socioeconomic developments, in particular neoliberal transformation and the so-called Islamic resurgence. Beginning in the late 1970s and accelerating in the 1980s and 1990s, Islamization has become a major social and political force impacting the Muslim world and beyond. Studies conducted in various fields of social sciences discussed the rise of Islamist movements and the spread of political Islam in connection to globalization and as an expression of resistance to Western-style modernization and secular modernity (e.g. Comaroff and Comaroff, 2000; Dekmejian, 1995; Esposito, 1998). For example, in his influential book, Globalized Islam , Olivier Roy (2004) linked the rise of contemporary Islamism to cultural disruptions and dislocations of a globalizing world, which made people, uprooted from their original cultures, susceptible to ‘‘fundamentalist’’ forms of Islam

Rethinking religion in the context of ethnicity and well-being

Identifying the “religion–ethnicity–well-being” nexus as an understudied topic in marketing and consumer behavior research, we propose three main trajectories for future research: Firstly, given the politics of religions, there is a need for studying societies that suffer from and are affected by religioethnic tensions and also different types of risks that threaten people’s well-being in such contexts. Secondly, future research should investigate how and why markets may generate and mediate religioethnic prejudices and antagonism that put society’s well-being at risk. Thirdly, with the upsurge of transcultural alternative religiosities/spiritualities, researchers should examine how through the processes of religious hybridization and hybrid consumption people change their existing consumption patterns and how alternative religiosities/spiritualities influence their sense of well-being, particularly in contexts where religious shifts are contested.

Two Tales of a City: an exploratory study of cultural consumption among Iranian youth

The complexity of the issues of youth has made this broad subject a focal theme for a large number of researchers and scholars who have looked at it from different perspectives (e.g., anthropology, sociology, psychology, and politics). Positioned in consumer culture theory, this paper is another attempt to explore a different dimension of the youths world: cultural consumption among Iranian youth. The article, therefore, follows two objectives: First, within the context of cultural consumption among young Iranians, it seeks to demonstrate the complexity of consumption as a creative process of reflecting and constructing identities, meanings, and values. Second, it examines the impact of cultural globalization on the identity of such consumers and the varying relationships between their consumption patterns and identity construction. In so doing, the first part of the paper will concisely elaborate on consumer culture. Then, cultural globalization will be briefly defined and, within this framework, consumer culture among Iranian youth will be discussed.

New directions in researching ethnicity in marketing and consumer behaviour : a wellbeing agenda

This special commentary section proposes new directions in researching the nexus of ethnicity and well-being under three themes of (1) mobility and shifting identities in relation to place, (2) empowerment and identity performance in relation to the virtual space, and (3) religious conflicts in relation to markets and spaces of consumption. The three short essays in this collection are geared towards accelerating research on ethnicity in marketing and consumer behaviour. They problematize the very nature of ethnicity in relation to space and how ethnicity is performed in different spaces by looking at the issues of social relations, transformations and conflict. They suggest potential areas of enquiry, particularly for new (doctor of philosophy) research projects, policy-focused research grant applications, conferences/seminars/workshops and also classroom activities and teaching purposes.

Exploring Researcher Vulnerability: Contexts, complications and conceptualisation

Abstract Research involving vulnerable consumer populations is on the increase, and understanding the social consequences of consumption within different marketing contexts has become a common theme across Consumer Culture Theory, transformative consumer research, and critical marketing. Yet the diverse difficulties faced by researchers who investigate consumer vulnerability have not been sufficiently addressed. In line with the need for greater reflexivity in research, this paper reflects on our own research experiences, and highlights the complexities associated with conducting research on sensitive topics in challenging contexts. With reference to such experiences, we illustrate the phenomenon of researcher vulnerability and discuss its implications for knowledge generation within the marketing domain.