The workshop on 'Family, State, and Civil Society in Islamic Communities: Legal and Sociological Perspectives', held in Florence, Italy, from 21 to 25 March 2001, was a follow-up of a previous... Show moreThe workshop on 'Family, State, and Civil Society in Islamic Communities: Legal and Sociological Perspectives', held in Florence, Italy, from 21 to 25 March 2001, was a follow-up of a previous workshop held in Berlin (see ISIM Newsletter, 6, p. 3). Both comprise part of a series of meetings, organized by the ISIM and the AKMI, which is devoted to relations between family, state and civil society in Islamic communities in the Islamic world and Europe. The 'Family, State, and Civil Society' workshop was hosted by the Robert Schuman Centre at the European University Institute in Florence as part of the 2nd Mediterranean Social and Political Research Meeting. The workshop directors were Abdullahi A. An-Nacim (Emory University, Atlanta, Visiting Professor at ISIM) and Laila al-Zwaini (ISIM). Muhammad Khalid Masud opened the workshop. Show less
From 9 to 11 November 2001 the ISIM will hold a workshop on 'Islam, Women's Rights and Islamic Feminism: Making Connections between Different Perspectives'. Some consider 'Islamic' and 'feminist'... Show moreFrom 9 to 11 November 2001 the ISIM will hold a workshop on 'Islam, Women's Rights and Islamic Feminism: Making Connections between Different Perspectives'. Some consider 'Islamic' and 'feminist' perspectives as mutually exclusive or deny the need for an Islamic feminism with the argument that Islam as it is has already given women all their rights. An investigation of women's activism in Muslim societies through the prism of 'Islamic feminism' takes a different point of departure. Show less
Annelies Moors' interest in the Middle East dates from the 1970s when she travelled extensively in Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. Having spent time with Arabic-speaking people in... Show moreAnnelies Moors' interest in the Middle East dates from the 1970s when she travelled extensively in Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. Having spent time with Arabic-speaking people in southern Iran, she decided to study Arabic. Initially she did so through an Arabic language programme at the University of Damascus. After returning to the Netherlands, she continued studying Arabic and Islamic studies at the University of Amsterdam, but soon decided to make a disciplinary move to anthropology in order to be able to work not only with texts, but also with people. Her first fieldwork brought her to the Nablus region (West Bank) where she conducted research on transformations in family relations and the division of labour in the rural areas. After graduation, she was appointed as part-time lecturer at the Department of Anthropology at the University of Amsterdam. Show less
From 6 to 8 December 2001 the ISIM, together with the Research Centre Religion and Society, will hold an international conference on 'Religion, Media and the Public Sphere' at the University of... Show moreFrom 6 to 8 December 2001 the ISIM, together with the Research Centre Religion and Society, will hold an international conference on 'Religion, Media and the Public Sphere' at the University of Amsterdam. Since the 1990s, three themes have featured prominently in debates in the social sciences and cultural studies: the crisis of the post-colonial nation-state, the increasing global accessibility and proliferation of electronic media, and the rise of religious movements. Show less
