On 9 and 10 July 2008, the Netherlands Science Organization (NWO), in co-operation with ISIM, organized a conference titled “Gestures: Religion qua Performance” at Utrecht University. This... Show moreOn 9 and 10 July 2008, the Netherlands Science Organization (NWO), in co-operation with ISIM, organized a conference titled “Gestures: Religion qua Performance” at Utrecht University. This conference, convened by ISIM’s Martin van Bruinessen with Prof. Anne-Marie Korte of Utrecht University, is part of the large NWO-funded research programme “The Future of the Religious Past,” which examines new forms of the religious. Show less
On 7 and 8 July 2008, more than thirty people gathered at the Snouck Hurgronjehuis in Leiden for the workshop on “Studying Islam in Southeast Asia: State of the Art and New Approaches,” which was... Show moreOn 7 and 8 July 2008, more than thirty people gathered at the Snouck Hurgronjehuis in Leiden for the workshop on “Studying Islam in Southeast Asia: State of the Art and New Approaches,” which was organized under the auspices of the Australia-Netherlands Research Collaboration (ANRC) and ISIM. Martin van Bruinessen (ISIM) and Greg Fealy (Australian National University) were the convenors. Show less
There was a time when Western relief and development agencies working in Muslimmajority countries would, as a matter of course, choose secular or non-Muslim NGOs as their local partners (or, not... Show moreThere was a time when Western relief and development agencies working in Muslimmajority countries would, as a matter of course, choose secular or non-Muslim NGOs as their local partners (or, not infrequently, help in establishing such NGOs to be their counterparts). Even where there were Islamic organizations, often much better connected at the grassroots level than the secular actors, these were generally not perceived as proper NGOs and distrusted because of their religious nature and unfamiliar agendas. During the past decades, however, the number and range of activities of Islamic associations involved in charity, relief, and the empowerment of underprivileged groups have dramatically increased; they can no longer be ignored. Show less
On 22-26 March 2006 in Florence and Montecatini Terme, Italy, Stefano Allievi and Martin van Bruinessen convened a workshop titled “Public Debates about Islam in Europe: Why and How ‘Immigrants’... Show moreOn 22-26 March 2006 in Florence and Montecatini Terme, Italy, Stefano Allievi and Martin van Bruinessen convened a workshop titled “Public Debates about Islam in Europe: Why and How ‘Immigrants’ became ‘Muslims,’” sponsored jointly by ISIM and the Robert Schuman Centre of the European University Institute. The workshop was part of the Seventh Mediterranean Social and Political Research Meeting of the European University Institute. Show less
Nurcholish Madjid, Indonesia’s best known Muslim intellectual, died in August last year after a prolonged and painful illness. At the time of his death, the country appeared to be drifting away... Show moreNurcholish Madjid, Indonesia’s best known Muslim intellectual, died in August last year after a prolonged and painful illness. At the time of his death, the country appeared to be drifting away into increasing religious intolerance: physical attacks by radical Muslims on makeshift churches and assaults on the main centre of the Ahmaddiyah movement, death threats against liberal Muslim thinkers, fatwas of Indonesia’s Ulama Council, once a paragon of moderation, against “liberal Islam,” secularism and religious pluralism. The days in which Nurcholish’ voice of moderation and inter-religious understanding was almost hegemonic, at least in the media, are rapidly fading away, and memories of Nurcholish resonate with nostalgia for times of greater harmony. Show less
