The leading questions in discussing the role of the Islam in Europe are: how and in what ways did Europeans and Muslims interact, and what is the role of religion therein? And for those Europeans... Show moreThe leading questions in discussing the role of the Islam in Europe are: how and in what ways did Europeans and Muslims interact, and what is the role of religion therein? And for those Europeans who had never met a Muslim: what was their image of Islam, and how did they study the Muslim? This book shows that in the course of thirteen centuries the Muslim as well as Islam have undergone many metamorphoses. The Muslim has entered the European stage as a conqueror, antichrist, scholar, benign ruler, corsair, tradesman and fellow citizen. The image of Islam has meandered accordingly, as a religion that was feared as an enemy or embraced as a partner against heretical Christians, despised as an abomination or admired as a civilization, and studied for missionary, academic, colonial or security purpose. Show less
The 2011-2014 controversies between the Ethiopian Government and Muslim communities on the role of Islam in Ethiopia have highlighted the precarious nature of religious relations in Ethiopia.... Show moreThe 2011-2014 controversies between the Ethiopian Government and Muslim communities on the role of Islam in Ethiopia have highlighted the precarious nature of religious relations in Ethiopia. Statements by public figures and religious leaders recently have drawn attention to the nature and scope of the Ethiopian secular state order. This paper describes the recent Muslim protest movement and the response to it by the government in the light of the secular state model. While the challenges to it also extend to the large Christian community in Ethiopia, the problems became prominent mainly in the case of the Muslims, who contest perceived 'government interference' in their community life and self-organization. I present an overview of key recent events and of factors inducing conflict between state and religion. The discussion makes reference to more general debates on the 'secular model' in Ethiopia and to the familiar though somewhat worn-out paradigm of 'identity politics'. State repression of Muslim civic protest in Ethiopia revealed insecurities of the state: rather than an instance of the process of 'othering' a religious community, we see a case of political crisis, and a search for new modes of governance of diversity and communal religiosity in Ethiopia. As a result of the contestations, however, the secular order of the country will not be threatened, but modified. Show less
This dissertation provides a comprehensive and cross-religious analysis of representations of religious conversion in early modern English drama. An urgent topic due to the religious upheavals of... Show moreThis dissertation provides a comprehensive and cross-religious analysis of representations of religious conversion in early modern English drama. An urgent topic due to the religious upheavals of the early modern period, conversion provoked questions about a variety of religious and social issues, including divine and human agency, mystical experience, the demarcation of religious identities and the nature and possibility of religious transformation. The stage, which served an important socio-cultural role in early modern England, responded to these questions in dramatizations of conversion that investigated conditions under which it could be successful. By distinguishing between spiritual and interfaith conversion, this study demonstrates that in plays perceptions of faith in spiritual terms were increasingly replaced by an understanding of belief in terms of mutually exclusive denominational identities. Moreover, despite the great interest in interfaith conversion, and despite the importance of religious change and transformation on the stage, early modern playwrights did everything in their power to suppress conversion and the idea that the same depraved Muslim, Jewish, Catholic or pagan identities they had constructed could be shed and exchanged for a righteous (Protestant) Christian one. Show less
This study is about the history of the relationships between Islam and politics in Madura, Indonesia from 1990 until 2010. It covers two periods; the first is the last years of the New Order (1990... Show moreThis study is about the history of the relationships between Islam and politics in Madura, Indonesia from 1990 until 2010. It covers two periods; the first is the last years of the New Order (1990-1998) and the second is the first years of a period that is known as the post-New Order. The discussion here is directed towards exploring local politics in Madura in the two different periods in which Islamic complexities and local cultural elements coexist, flourish, interlace, and strive in complex, pragmatic, and mutually beneficial relationships. This study explains that the relationships are understood as an aspect of centralisation during the New Order and decentralisation during the post-New Order. The argument of this study is that changes, continuities, repetitions, and developments in the relationships between Islam and politics in Madurese society in the two different periods should be understood as the accum ulated outcome of a long historical process of interactions between different segments of society. The transformation from one administration to another on Madura, however, should not be understood as an automatic shift from an authoritarian rule to a democratic one. The processes have been marked by many undemocratic changes, continuities, repetitions, and developments in Madurese society Show less
This dissertation addresses the question of what it means to remake everyday life in the shadow of disaster. Focusing on the city of Banda Aceh, Indonesia, in the years after the devastating Indian... Show moreThis dissertation addresses the question of what it means to remake everyday life in the shadow of disaster. Focusing on the city of Banda Aceh, Indonesia, in the years after the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami of December 26, 2004, it explores how tsunami survivors have been remaking the everyday ever since that moment. Based on ethnographic research in the post-disaster years, the five chapters of this dissertation discuss various dimensions of the remaking of everyday life that were important to the tsunami survivors, including the reconstruction of houses, interactions between survivors, international organizations and the state, the narrative experiences of the tsunami, the process of grieving and its entanglement with Islam, the creation of collective memory and forgetfulness in urban space, and ideas about the future that build on notions of moral and socio-economic improvement. In these chapters the concept of subjectivity is used to show how individuals creatively shape their lives in the context of tremendous social, economic, and political changes. The dissertation concludes that the anthropology of disaster, that has up to now predominantly focused on post-disaster social change and continuity and on structural historical patterns of vulnerability and resilience, can be enriched by ethnographic studies of subjectivity. Show less
Ce volume collectif rassemble les résultats de travaux menés par des chercheurs sénégalais et néerlandais selon trois axes de recherche concernant le Sénégal: la relation entre islam et politique,... Show moreCe volume collectif rassemble les résultats de travaux menés par des chercheurs sénégalais et néerlandais selon trois axes de recherche concernant le Sénégal: la relation entre islam et politique, la relation entre islam et économie, le rôle de l'islam dans le débat public sur la bonne gouvernance. Faisant suite à une introduction par Mayke Kaag intitulée 'Islam et engagements au Sénégal', les textes des contributions ont pour titre: Islam et politique au Sénégal: logique d'articulation et de co-production (Cheikh Guèye et Abdourahmane Seck) - Les usages des liens confrériques religieux dans l'économie sénégalaise (Abdou Salam Fall) - Islam et espace public au Sénégal: les acteurs religieux dans l'amélioration du débat public sur la bonne gouvernance (Mamadou Bodian et El Hadj Malick Sy Camara) - L'implication des acteurs islamiques dans la lutte contre le sida au Sénégal: étude de cas de l'ONG Jmara (Selly Ba). Show less
In Ethiopia, as in other parts of Africa, relations between Christians and Muslims show a new dynamic under the impact of both state policies and global connections. Religious identities are... Show moreIn Ethiopia, as in other parts of Africa, relations between Christians and Muslims show a new dynamic under the impact of both state policies and global connections. Religious identities are becoming more dominant as people's primary public identity, and more ideological. This development has ramifications for the 'public sphere', where identities of a religious nature are currently presented and contested in a self-consciously polemical fashion. This shared space of national political and civic identity may become more 'fragmented' and thus lend itself to conflict and ideological battle. This article examines recent developments in the polemics of religion in Ethiopia, and the possible role of the state as custodian (or not) of an overarching civic order beyond religion, as well as the emerging rivalries between communities of faith. A crucial question is what social effects these polemics will have on communal relations and patterns of religious coexistence. Polemics between believers have a long history in Ethiopia, but a new and potentially problematic dynamic has emerged which may challenge mainstream believers, their intergroup social relations, and Ethiopian state policy. Polemics in Ethiopia express hegemonic strategies and claims to power, and are rapidly evolving as an ideological phenomenon expanding in public space. The secular state may need to reassert itself more emphatically so as to contain its own erosion in the face of assertive religious challenges. development has ramifications for the 'public sphere', where identities of a religious nature are currently presented and contested in a self-consciously polemical fashion. This shared space of national political and civic identity may become more 'fragmented' and thus lend itself to conflict and ideological battle. This article examines recent developments in the polemics of religion in Ethiopia, and the possible role of the state as custodian (or not) of an overarching civic order beyond religion, as well as the emerging rivalries between communities of faith. A crucial question is what social effects these polemics will have on communal relations and patterns of religious coexistence. Polemics between believers have a long history in Ethiopia, but a new and potentially problematic dynamic has emerged which may challenge mainstream believers, their intergroup social relations, and Ethiopian state policy. Polemics in Ethiopia express hegemonic strategies and claims to power, and are rapidly evolving as an ideological phenomenon expanding in public space. The secular state may need to reassert itself more emphatically so as to contain its own erosion in the face of assertive religious challenges. Show less
The title of this study raises questions about the meaning and the significance of the words 'modernity', 'tradition' and 'Political Islam' in contemporary Iran. The purpose of this study is to... Show moreThe title of this study raises questions about the meaning and the significance of the words 'modernity', 'tradition' and 'Political Islam' in contemporary Iran. The purpose of this study is to reveal true meanings of the thoughts and practises of the post-revolution Iranian elites and intellectuals, in relations to and alongside the social events, to emphasize the existence of a modernisation process in the institution of state and the moderate re-interpretation of Islam in the religious establishment, which together have given rise to the distinctly Iranian features of political development. This study shall be in a socio-historical setting because political changes and social events in contemporary Iran are difficult to identify and impossible to understand unless their roots are discovered in their true locations. Show less
orms of representation and imagination of communities in the Indonesian audio-visual mediascape, and addresses the impact of discourses and film mediation practices on the production of collective... Show moreorms of representation and imagination of communities in the Indonesian audio-visual mediascape, and addresses the impact of discourses and film mediation practices on the production of collective identities and social realities. The account ranges from discourses on idealized Indonesian identities in television and film discourses under President Soeharto’s New Order regime, to a topsy-turvy heated debate about the representation of the Indonesian nation and the social and daily-lived realities of the people in film and on television during the era of Reform, up to 2007 Show less
This book is a study of Dutch mosque designs, objects of heated public debate. Until now, studies of diaspora mosque designs have largely consisted of normative architectural critiques that reject... Show moreThis book is a study of Dutch mosque designs, objects of heated public debate. Until now, studies of diaspora mosque designs have largely consisted of normative architectural critiques that reject the ubiquitous ‘domes and minarets’ as hampering further Islamic-architectural evolution. The Architectural Representation of Islam: Muslim-Commissioned Mosque Design in The Netherlands represents a clear break with the architectural critical narrative, and meticulously analyzes twelve design processes for Dutch mosques. It shows that patrons, by consciously selecting, steering and replacing their architects, have much more influence on their mosques than has been generally assumed. Through the careful transformation of specific building elements from Islamic architectural history to a new context, they literally aim to ‘construct’ the ultimate Islam. Their designs thus evolve not in opposition to Dutch society, but to those versions of Islam that they hold to be false. Show less
The main focus of this dissertation is exploring the position of people with disabilities within two Islamic sciences, namely, Islamic Theology and Islamic Jurisprudence as reflected in the early... Show moreThe main focus of this dissertation is exploring the position of people with disabilities within two Islamic sciences, namely, Islamic Theology and Islamic Jurisprudence as reflected in the early and modern writings of Muslim scholars. Within Islamic Theology, attention is paid to the opinions of early and modern Muslims theologians and philosophers on the existence of disability in this life, the wise purposes behind the existence of this phenomenon in addition to the efforts of these scholars in order to reconcile between the existence of this phenomenon on one hand and specific divine attributes such as the Mercy of God. Within Islamic Jurisprudence, the contentions of early and modern Muslim specialists in Islamic law have been probed into concerning a broad scope of topics with modern relevance such as the human dignity of people with disabilities, their employability, medical treatment, social life with main focus on marriage-related issues, financial life and means of living for this group of people. Show less
In public debate and academic discussions about Islam in Western society, reference is often made to the role of the imam in processes of acculturation of Muslims. Throughout these debates, we come... Show moreIn public debate and academic discussions about Islam in Western society, reference is often made to the role of the imam in processes of acculturation of Muslims. Throughout these debates, we come across the important question of how imams transmit Islamic norms and values to Muslims living in secular, non-Islamic societies. This descriptive-exploratory research considers this question specifically looking at the role of the imam in the local mosque in the Netherlands. This dissertation describes and analyses the external perspective of the views circulating in the public debate on imams between 1993 and 2004. The internal perspective has been brought into focus empirically by describing and exploring his role, authority and influence in two mosque-communities and one Islamic student association. The internal perspective further divides into the perspective of the imam and the perspective of a group practising, mostly young and highly educated Muslims who grew up in the Netherlands. The imam finds himself in a field of tension between expectations from the majority society and expectations of the believers. The indicative findings from the internal perspective have been compared with the external views. The outcome of this comparison is used to clarify the ongoing public __imam-debate__. Show less
Religious scholarship can be offensive to believers, as conflicts from the time of Galileo and Spinoza to the recent critique of Danish religious scholars in the wake of the infamous Muhammad... Show moreReligious scholarship can be offensive to believers, as conflicts from the time of Galileo and Spinoza to the recent critique of Danish religious scholars in the wake of the infamous Muhammad cartoons have shown. Studies of this type of scholarship have been appropriated by believers as a means of reinventing their own identities - as the training of twentieth-century Muslim clergy demonstrates. This volume offers a unique collection of training materials from European Muslim clergy since the 1940s - including Third Reich reports on debriefing imams, surveillance files on Muslim activists, and information on Bosnian clergy and their training centres - as well as an exploration of religion and academic freedom in general, accompanied by appendices in both Arabic and English Show less
Every culture has to balance innovation and conservation. Most innovations are bad because they are maladaptive, but since a few of them turn out well, absence of innovation in a culture is also... Show moreEvery culture has to balance innovation and conservation. Most innovations are bad because they are maladaptive, but since a few of them turn out well, absence of innovation in a culture is also maladaptive. The question is where the balance is to be struck, and in the Islamic case the answer was well toward the conservative end of the spectrum. Show less
For much of the 20th century, it was widely assumed that early modern Arabic-Islamic civilisation had been in an advanced state of 'decadence' or 'sclerosis'. The 'golden' or 'classical' age of... Show moreFor much of the 20th century, it was widely assumed that early modern Arabic-Islamic civilisation had been in an advanced state of 'decadence' or 'sclerosis'. The 'golden' or 'classical' age of Arabic-Islamic civilisation had, it was believed, come to an end in the 13th or 14th century, giving way to a 'dark age' of intellectual stagnation - an age of 'imitation and compilation' - that lasted until the 19th century 'renaissance' (nahda). This sad intellectual state of affairs was also thought to mirror an imagined economic and demographic decline attributed to Ottoman (mis)rule and/or shifts in international trade routes. Show less
This book has been nominated for the Conover-Porter Award 2008 - This bibliography on Islam in contemporary Sub-Saharan Africa has been prepared as part of the African Studies Centre/Centre d'Étude... Show moreThis book has been nominated for the Conover-Porter Award 2008 - This bibliography on Islam in contemporary Sub-Saharan Africa has been prepared as part of the African Studies Centre/Centre d'Étude d'Afrique Noire project entitled "Islam, the Disengagement of the State, and Globalization in Sub-Saharan Africa" that was funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The present bibliography lists over 4,000 references to secondary literature in European languages about Islam in contemporary Sub-Saharan Africa. It supplements and updates two existing bibliographies, Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Partially Annotated Guide by Samir Zoghby and Islam in Africa South of the Sahara: A Select Bibliographic Guide by Patrick Ofori, both of which were compiled in the 1970s. Since then, there has been considerable academic interest in Islam in Africa and publications such as the Paris-based journal Islam et Sociétés au Sud du Sahara have regularly informed readers about new publications on Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa. The main objective of the present work is to bring together bibliographical information that has been published in different publications and to provide individuals interested in the topic with a simple and practical research tool. Show less
