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Mobilizing Faith: religious inscriptions, vernacular identity,and urban belonging in Jordan

​This study investigates the use of religious inscriptions displayed oncars in Jordan as a visual-linguistic practice that indexes Islamicidentity in public space. Drawing on Social Identity Theory andmaterial semiotics, the research analyses 126 religious inscriptionsdocumented over four months, supplemented by semi-structuredinterviews with 50 vehicle owners/drivers. The findings revealthat these inscriptions serve multiple functions: apotropaicprotection, mne​monic reinforcement of moral values, and publicassertions of Muslim cultural identity. Far from being ornamental,these inscriptions constitute mobile performances of piety thatresist secular visual norms and re-inscribe sacred meaning ontostate-regulated infrastructures. By situating these acts within theframeworks of vernacular religiosity and urban semiotics, thestudy offers new insights into how faith is spatialized, embodied,and circulated through everyday mobility. It contributes tobroader debates on the politics of religious visibility, identityformation, and the contested boundaries of public religiosity incontemporary Arab contexts.​