This study examines the social world of reconciliation and healing in the aftermath of the protracted Mozambican civil war. Using a multidisciplinary approach (sociology, history, legal and medical... Show moreThis study examines the social world of reconciliation and healing in the aftermath of the protracted Mozambican civil war. Using a multidisciplinary approach (sociology, history, legal and medical anthropology, and international law) this research explores how reconciliation and healing unfold contributing to the repair of a devastated social world. It examines the war survivors__ judgments regarding the potential roles of various forms of transitional justice in redressing the abuses and crimes of the past, the contributions of the agricultural cycle and customary justice to reconciliation, and those of healing practices in addressing ill-health problems. The overall goal is to elucidate how the various social practices invested in reconciliation and healing contribute to rebuilding the shattered social world, to peace and to social stability. The study demonstrates that amidst the indescribable and appalling human disruption and material destruction coupled with the officially orchestrated post-war cultures of denial, war survivors in Gorongosa have laboured to create and maintain peace and social stability by breaking the cycles of injustice and unaccountability, reconciling with former enemies and healing the wounds of war. Show less
The permissability of hymen repair surgery is a controversial topic in Islamic contexts, as the opposing views of doctors convening at the 1987 meeting of the Islamic Organization of Medical... Show moreThe permissability of hymen repair surgery is a controversial topic in Islamic contexts, as the opposing views of doctors convening at the 1987 meeting of the Islamic Organization of Medical Sciences testified. One would expect to find an even more diverse plethora of voices on the Internet, but the authors show that notwithstanding the image of the net as a decentralized medium that spurs pluralism, in practice it functions as a filter in which only a few dominant voices are heard in tremendous duplication. Show less
Gender issues are becoming politicized to the detriment of women in contexts where armed interventions usher in new blueprints for governance and “democratization.” Using illustrations from... Show moreGender issues are becoming politicized to the detriment of women in contexts where armed interventions usher in new blueprints for governance and “democratization.” Using illustrations from Afghanistan, this article shows that the nature of emerging political settlements may jeopardize stated international commitments to a women’s rights agenda, especially in contexts where security and the rule of law are severely compromised, where Islam becomes a stake in power struggles, and where ethnic/sectarian constituencies are locked in power struggles for representation in defence of their collective rights. Show less
In this article, Barlas joins the debates on the right and authority of Muslim women to interpret the Quran.1 As a way to move the conversation beyond simply asserting or refuting the right of this... Show moreIn this article, Barlas joins the debates on the right and authority of Muslim women to interpret the Quran.1 As a way to move the conversation beyond simply asserting or refuting the right of this or that person to read the Quran on this or that condition, she distinguishes between different types of interpretations and authority. Simultaneously, she attempts to come to grips with the tensions between an individual believer’s reading of the Quran and that of the community. Show less
