As a joint effort of the ISIM, the Felix Meritis foundation in Amsterdam, and the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS), a workshop on madrasas, or Islamic religious seminaries, was held... Show moreAs a joint effort of the ISIM, the Felix Meritis foundation in Amsterdam, and the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS), a workshop on madrasas, or Islamic religious seminaries, was held on 16 May 2002 in Amsterdam. Following the attacks in the United States and the ensuing war in Afghanistan, the perception of the madrasa as a training camp for jihad regained strength and was linked to the debate on the position of Islamic education in the West. The workshop presented a bird's-eye view of the history and role of madrasas in Pakistan, Indonesia and Europe, and addressed a number of related current issues. Show less
On 29 and 30 June 2001 nine young female scholars met at the University of Constance (Germany) to discuss how female identity is constructed in various contemporary Muslim societies, and what... Show moreOn 29 and 30 June 2001 nine young female scholars met at the University of Constance (Germany) to discuss how female identity is constructed in various contemporary Muslim societies, and what constitutes this female Muslim identity. Sponsored by a special university programme aimed at the encouragement of academic research by women (Anreizsystem zur Frauenfrderung) and in cooperation with the Forum of Social Research (www.socialresearch.de), Schirin Amir-Moazami (Department of Political and Social Sciences, Florence) and Wiebke Ernst (Department of History and Sociology, Constance) organized the workshop to give a panel of young scholars the opportunity to discuss their respective research projects with a view to this topic. Show less
Can a woman become an alima? While there is a vast amount of information and literature on the subject of Muslim men's learning in madrasas, this is not the case for the women's religious schools.... Show moreCan a woman become an alima? While there is a vast amount of information and literature on the subject of Muslim men's learning in madrasas, this is not the case for the women's religious schools. A visit to a women's madrasa called Jamiatul Banaath, located in India's sixth largest city, Hyderabad, is the basis for further research on this topic. Show less
