The three-day conference of the African Association for the Study of Religions (AASR) will be held from February 5-8 2004, and hosted by the Department for the Study of Religions, University of... Show moreThe three-day conference of the African Association for the Study of Religions (AASR) will be held from February 5-8 2004, and hosted by the Department for the Study of Religions, University of Ghana, at Legon. It will be an important forerunner of the next International Association for the History of Religions (IAHR) Congress planned for March 24-30 2005, in Tokyo. The conference is sponsored by the IAHR and the ISIM. Show less
As Operation Iraqi Freedom has come to a close, the US has declared victory in achieving its objectives. Given the rapid pace of this campaign, most analysis focused on the course of events, with... Show moreAs Operation Iraqi Freedom has come to a close, the US has declared victory in achieving its objectives. Given the rapid pace of this campaign, most analysis focused on the course of events, with little academic and often inaccurate assessment of the war and its aftermath in Iraq. Such assessments are crucial when addressing the question of whether Iraq will survive as a viable state, as well as what form it will take. Faulty forecasts about Iraq's future, combined with failing to understand its internal political dynamics could have disastrous effects on both the Iraqi people and the American and UK forces stationed there. Show less
The central function of the ISIM is to conduct and promote research in contemporary 'Muslim societies'. The term refers to both a 'particular' culture and a geographical area of the world, albeit... Show moreThe central function of the ISIM is to conduct and promote research in contemporary 'Muslim societies'. The term refers to both a 'particular' culture and a geographical area of the world, albeit one which is dispersed across the Middle East, South and South-East Asia and Africa. While the term may offer a common identity for scholars working on countries ranging from Morocco and Iran to India and Indonesia, it can also invoke a sense of anxiety and hesitation. It is not just that as an analytical category 'Muslim societies' may be vague and therefore lacks coherence, but some may fear that it can cause more intellectual harm than benefit. By employing such a broad category are we not in a sense 're-orientalizing' Muslim societies and cultures, constructing homogenous entities where they do not exist? Is it valid to speak of, say, 'Christian societies' or 'Buddist societies'? Does the category 'Muslim societies' not imply that we consider religion, i.e., Islam, as the defining feature of these societies? Finally, would this category not exclude, and otherize, the non-religious and non-Muslim from membership in Muslim majority nations? While such questions address legitimate concerns, I would like to suggest that 'Muslim societies' can serve as a useful analytical category. Show less
There has been a growing political urgency in several Western European countries to institutionalize and create facilities for imamtraining. With the formation of the Conseil Français du Culte... Show moreThere has been a growing political urgency in several Western European countries to institutionalize and create facilities for imamtraining. With the formation of the Conseil Français du Culte Musulman (CFCM) earlier this year the French government aims to create a uniform training system for imams. This state-sponsored institutionalization of Islam offers more 'traditional' organizations the opportunity to appropriate 'French Islam', possibly at the expense of alternative structures that have emerged in the French Muslim community over the last few decades. Show less
ISIM and The Working Group Modernity and Islam of the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin collaborated for the third workshop of the project 'Jewish and Islamic Hermeneutics as Historical Critique'. The... Show moreISIM and The Working Group Modernity and Islam of the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin collaborated for the third workshop of the project 'Jewish and Islamic Hermeneutics as Historical Critique'. The latest workshop was held in Leiden from 23-26 October 2003 under the title, 'Textuality, Intertextuality: Interactive Cultural Practices in Judaism and Islam'. Show less
On the Apsheron Peninsula of Azerbaijan, in particular in the so-called 'green belt', regarded by many as a stronghold of traditional Shi'i religiosity, including such small towns as Nardaran and... Show moreOn the Apsheron Peninsula of Azerbaijan, in particular in the so-called 'green belt', regarded by many as a stronghold of traditional Shi'i religiosity, including such small towns as Nardaran and Mashtaga near Baku, the concept of having the 'gift' (vorki) of healing and telling the future has remained part of popular belief. Vorki is obtained from S hi'i imams and other holy people by means of dreams. Show less
Edward W. Said played a unique role in the contemporary Palestinian national movement. It is difficult to imagine it being reproduced by another individual Palestinian, a judgement that reflects... Show moreEdward W. Said played a unique role in the contemporary Palestinian national movement. It is difficult to imagine it being reproduced by another individual Palestinian, a judgement that reflects both Said's extraordinary qualities and the fundamental transformation of the environment in which he operated during the past three decades. Show less
Research on Muslim communities in Europe has recently shifted focus from labor and social policy concerns to issues of 'religion' and 'culture'. In particular, there has been a growing interest in... Show moreResearch on Muslim communities in Europe has recently shifted focus from labor and social policy concerns to issues of 'religion' and 'culture'. In particular, there has been a growing interest in the possible emergence of a specifically 'European Islam'. Through examining the religious attitudes and practices of Muslim girls in Belgium, the author investigates the viability of a 'European Islam' and in so doing poses questions about the nature of secularization, free will and individualization of religious practice and belief. Show less
The play Waanzee (Mad See) recently toured through the Netherlands. Based on the novel Waanzee by Robert Haasnoot, the play is a reconstruction of events in a small Dutch Protestant fishing... Show moreThe play Waanzee (Mad See) recently toured through the Netherlands. Based on the novel Waanzee by Robert Haasnoot, the play is a reconstruction of events in a small Dutch Protestant fishing community in 1915 and centers around the character of Arend Falkenier, a deeply religious man. Out at open sea he seeks to convince the captain and the crew that he received a divine message revealing that the end of time had come and that they were the only survivors and should head for the Eternal City of Jerusalem. To prove this prophecy he breaks his compass and cuts off the sails, claiming that God alone can lead them through him. He has three reluctant fishermen killed. A Norwegian freighter eventually finds the vessel and returns the surviving crew to safety. The stage version of Waanzee was performed in Arabic with actors from Morocco with supertitles in Dutch. Show less
The ISIM project 'Rights at Home: A n Approach to the Internalization of Human Rights in Family Relations in Islamic Communities' convened its third Sounding Board Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia... Show moreThe ISIM project 'Rights at Home: A n Approach to the Internalization of Human Rights in Family Relations in Islamic Communities' convened its third Sounding Board Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 15 to 17 January 2003. This meeting was organized in close collaboration with its Malaysian counterparts: the International Movement for a Just World (JUST) and Sisters in Islam (SIS), an NGO committed to promoting the rights of women in the framework of Islam. Earlier sounding boards were convened in Yemen and Tanzania ( See ISIM Newsletter 10, pg.4, and 11, pg.4). Show less
Any effort at the reconstruction of Islamic thought, whether in the modern period or medieval period, has to sift through the debris of history in order to explore the limits of the material-cum... Show moreAny effort at the reconstruction of Islamic thought, whether in the modern period or medieval period, has to sift through the debris of history in order to explore the limits of the material-cum-historical in its encounter with what is transcendent. This is one of many lessons I took from the Muslim Intellectuals workshop in April 2000 organized by ISIM. This gathering to a large extent was also about history: how do Muslims with their inherited subjectivities navigate an era that is very different to what their forebears in time experienced? Show less
The Social Science Research Council's Programme on the Middle East & North Africa has selected the project 'Migrant Domestic Workers in the Middle East: Becoming Visible in the Public Sphere?'... Show moreThe Social Science Research Council's Programme on the Middle East & North Africa has selected the project 'Migrant Domestic Workers in the Middle East: Becoming Visible in the Public Sphere?' to receive an International Collaborative Research Grant to support the joint research by Ray Jureidini (American University Beirut), Annelies Moors (ISIM/University of Amsterdam), Ferhunde zbay, (Bogÿ azii University, Istanbul) and Rima Sabban (Dubai University College) for the period 1 July 2003 to 31 December 2004. This research project is linked to the ISIM research programme, Migrant Domestic Work: Transnational Spaces, Families, and Identities (see www.isim.nl). Show less
Abdulkader Tayob, ISIM Chair at the University of Nijmegen, talks with Muhammad Khalid Masud about his early career in Islamic studies, his sources of inspiration, his role as a Muslim intellectual... Show moreAbdulkader Tayob, ISIM Chair at the University of Nijmegen, talks with Muhammad Khalid Masud about his early career in Islamic studies, his sources of inspiration, his role as a Muslim intellectual, and his experiences in Nigeria and in the Netherlands. Show less
Jordan has been a particularly interesting location to observe the trends, patterns and dynamics of long-term emigration from Iraq over the last period of Baathist rule. Between the 1991 Gulf War... Show moreJordan has been a particularly interesting location to observe the trends, patterns and dynamics of long-term emigration from Iraq over the last period of Baathist rule. Between the 1991 Gulf War and the fall of Saddam Hussein, circulation between Iraq and all its other neighbours officially stopped periodically, whereas the flow of people, goods and capital never ceased across the border with Jordan, which remained Iraq's primary economic partner. The Jordanian authorities granted Iraqis almost unconditional entry; they allowed Iraqi international businessmen and cross border traders to skirt the embargo by using Amman as a base, tolerated the presence of the Iraqi intelligence services, and even admitted Iraqi opponents as long as they were not active politically. While airports in Iraq were closed due to the embargo, Jordan was the gateway to the outside worldÑnot only for the Iraqi business and political elite who were travelling internationally, but also for the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi exiles who left the Middle East over that period. Show less
In a series of interviews with David Barsamian when Eqbal Ahmad was asked to comment on Edward Said's intellectual contributions, he summed it up as follows: 'I think the singular achievement of... Show moreIn a series of interviews with David Barsamian when Eqbal Ahmad was asked to comment on Edward Said's intellectual contributions, he summed it up as follows: 'I think the singular achievement of Said, as a literary critic, beginning with Orientalism, has been to put imperialism at the center of Western civilization... He put therefore the whole issue of Western expansion, domination and imperialism as central forces in defining the nature of civilization itself.' Reflecting, in turn, on why he dedicated his book Culture and Imperialism to Eqbal Ahmad, Edward Said wrote that 'it was because in his activity, life and thinking Eqbal embodied not just the politics of empire but that whole fabric of experience expressed in human life itself, rather than in economic rules and reductive formulas. Show less
Edward Said's death was front-page news in the Netherlands and a Dutch journalist's interview with him in 1999 was broadcast on national television. This is the kind of attention given only to... Show moreEdward Said's death was front-page news in the Netherlands and a Dutch journalist's interview with him in 1999 was broadcast on national television. This is the kind of attention given only to intellectuals of the stature of Sartre or Foucault. When he saw the interview on television, Pierre Audi, the artistic director of The Netherlands Opera, said that he had felt touched as though by the Allegro of Beethoven's great symphonies. Show less
Henna rituals associated with the marriage celebration have been gradually disappearing in urban Egypt in the past half-century. Yet the art of henna has recently been revived among certain circles... Show moreHenna rituals associated with the marriage celebration have been gradually disappearing in urban Egypt in the past half-century. Yet the art of henna has recently been revived among certain circles of young middle- and upper-class Cairene women who have reincorporated the tradition of henna painting into the pre-nuptial 'hennanight' party. Show less
Annelies Moors holds the ISIM Chair at the University of Amsterdam for the social science study of contemporary Muslim societies. On 13 March 2003, she delivered her inaugural lecture entitled '... Show moreAnnelies Moors holds the ISIM Chair at the University of Amsterdam for the social science study of contemporary Muslim societies. On 13 March 2003, she delivered her inaugural lecture entitled ''Muslim Cultural Politics': What's Islam Got To Do With It?' In this lecture she presented the research programme 'Muslim Cultural Politics', which she has initiated at the ISIM, and briefly summarized the results of some ongoing research projects. Show less
