In presenting and comparing three different endeavors of ʻspeaking for Islamʼ in the Muslim communities of zongos in Asante, this essay analyzes what renders this act into a felicitous performance. Accordingly, I delineate and discuss the grounds on which one is accorded or denied the authority to make consequential pronouncements on Islamic matters within the discursive tradition of this religion. As I argue, this authority does not solely hinge on one’s erudite Islamic learning and one’s abilities to implement it in one’s rhetoric; it also depends on one’s personal demeanor and reputation in the community. In order to have the actual chance to make consequential pronouncements on Islamic matters, which include religious as well as moral issues, one’s authority has to be accorded by those over whom it is exercised, and can neither be claimed nor enforced as such.

中文翻译：

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'为加纳阿桑特的宗戈斯的伊斯兰教和宗教权威代言'

本文通过展示和比较阿桑特 zongos 穆斯林社区中“为伊斯兰教代言”的三种不同努力，分析了是什么使这一行为成为一场恰如其分的表演。因此，我描述并讨论了在该宗教的话语传统范围内，人们被授予或拒绝有权对伊斯兰问题作出相应声明的理由。正如我所说，这种权威不仅仅取决于一个人博学的伊斯兰学识以及一个人在修辞中实施它的能力；这也取决于一个人的个人风度和在社区中的声誉。为了有实际机会就包括宗教和道德问题在内的伊斯兰问题发表重要声明，一个人的权威必须由其行使权力的人授予，