DOCSLIB.ORG

ISIM Chair at Utrecht University Professor Martin Van Bruinessen

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
ISIM Chair at Utrecht University Professor Martin Van Bruinessen ISIM NEWSLETTER 4 / 9 9 ISIM 3 Institutional news APPOINTMENT ISIM Chair at Martin van Bruinessen initially studied theoretical physics and mathematics, only later turning to an- thropology and Islamic studies. When still a student in physics, he took a number of long trips to the Mid- Utrecht University dle East that aroused his lasting interest in the re- gion. He then followed courses in anthropology and started learning Turkish and Persian. After a few years as a mathematics teacher, he received a re- search grant for fieldwork among the Kurds, which Professor Martin allowed him to spend two years in the Kurdish-inhab- ited parts of Iran, Iraq, Iran and Syria. He received his PhD from Utrecht University in 1978, with a thesis on the social and political organization of Kurdistan. One of the major themes in this thesis concerns the van Bruinessen social and political roles of Sufi orders (especially Naqshbandiyya and Qadiriyya) among the Kurds. Van Bruinessen has frequently revisited Kur- ung (West Java) for almost a year. Not surpris- among other things, a book on the ‘tradition- This work was established as one of the key texts on distan, and has published numerous articles ingly, perhaps, he found little radicalism but a alist’ Nahdlatul Ulama, which is probably the Kurdish society, and it was translated into various on Kurdish society and history, with a strong lot of magic and mysticism and discovered largest organization in the entire Muslim languages, including Turkish, Kurdish and Persian.* emphasis on the place of religion. In order to that ‘traditionalist’ Islam remains very vital in world. Van Bruinessen spent altogether al- give his work more historical depth, he took a modern urban setting. most nine years in Indonesia and has pub- up Ottoman studies and worked on a number Van Bruinessen’s next Indonesian experi- lished numerous articles in English and four of Ottoman sources about Kurdish society. ence was to be when Indonesia’s Institute of books in Indonesian on various aspects of Is- Some of this work was published as an edition Sciences (LIPI) invited him as a consultant for lam in Indonesia. and analysis of one of the major 17th-century field research methods (1986-90). He took Since 1994, Van Bruinessen has taught sources on Kurdish society, Evliya Çelebi’s fa- part, inter alia, in a large research project on Turkish and Kurdish studies in the Depart- mous travelogue (Evliya Çelebi in Diyarbekir, the worldview of Indonesia’s ulama, carried ment Oriental Languages and Cultures at Brill, Leiden, 1988). out by Indonesian researchers. This position Utrecht University, with a one-year interrup- Meanwhile, Van Bruinessen had moved on enabled him to travel throughout the Muslim tion as a guest professor of Kurdish Studies at to another part of the Muslim world, Indone- parts of Indonesia and get to know numerous the Institute for Ethnology of Berlin’s Free sia. A stroke of good luck landed him a tem- ulama and Muslim intellectuals. Having en- University. He was involved in drawing up porary research position at the Royal Institute countered many ulama affiliated with the ISIM’s research profile and was initially a of Linguistics and Anthropology (KITLV) in Naqshbandiyya, he began collecting material member of the academic committee but Leiden, which allowed him to spend consid- for a systematic survey of that Sufi order (pub- withdrew from it to apply for the ISIM chair at erable time in Indonesia (1983-84). His first re- lished as a book in Indonesian in 1992: Tare- Utrecht University. search project was concerned with whether kat Naqsyabandiyah di Indonesia, Mizan, His present research interests include shift- the Islamic resurgence and Islamic radicalism Bandung). ing religious and ethnic identities in Turkey, were triggered by rural-to-urban migration In 1991, after a brief period in the Nether- the transformation of Sufi orders in modern and relative deprivation, as has often been as- lands and in Kurdistan, he returned to Indo- urban settings, contemporary developments serted to be the case in the Middle East. In- nesia to teach sociology of religion and relat- in Muslim socio-political thought and civil so- stead of starting with Muslim radicals, howe- ed subjects at the State Institute of Islamic ciety, and transnational Muslim networks. ♦ ver, he decided to look at the situation of ru- Studies (IAIN) of Yogyakarta, within the ral-to-urban migrants who clearly experi- framework of the Indonesian-Netherlands *A revised English version was published in 1992 enced relative deprivation and register their Cooperation in Islamic Studies (INIS). He re- as Agha, Shaikh and State: The Social and Political responses. He lived in an urban slum in Band- mained there until early 1994, and wrote, Structures of Kurdistan, Zed Books, London..
Load more

Recommended publications
  • STUDIA ISLAMIKA Indonesian Journal for Islamic Studies Volume 2, Number 3, 1995
    STUDIA ISLAMIKA Indonesian Journal for Islamic Studies Volume 2, Number 3, 1995 EDITORIAL BOARD, Hanm Nasution Mastuhu M. Quraisb Sbibab A. Aziz Dab/an M. Satria Effendi Nabilab Lubis M. Yunan Yusuf Komarnddin Hidayat M. Din Syamsuddin Muslim Nasution WabibMu'tbi EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, Azyumardi Azra EDITORS, Saiful Muzani Hendro Prasetyo ]oban H. Meuleman Nuru!Fajri Badri Yatim ASSISTANTS TO THE EDITOR, Arief Sub ban HeniNuroni ENGUSH lANGUAGE ADVISOR, judith M. Dent ARAEIC lANGUAGE ADVISOR, Fuad M. Facbruddin COVER DESIGNER S. Prinka STUDIA ISLAMIKA (ISSN 0215-0492) is a journal published quarterly by the Institut Agamalslam Negeri (lAIN, The State Institute for Islaruic Studies) SyarifHidayatullah, jakarta. (SIT DEPPEN No. 129;SK,ll!IJEN/PPG/STT/1976) and sponsored by the Deparnnent of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia. It specializes in Indonesian Islamic studies, and is intended to communi­ cate original researches and current issues on the subject. This journal warmly welcomes contributions from scholars of related disciplines. All articles published do nm necessarily represent the views of the journal, or other institutions to which it is affiliated. They are solely the views the authors. © Copy Right Reserved Editorial Office STUDIA [SIAMIKA, Gedung Pusat Pengkajian Islam dan Masyarakat, ]I. Kertamukti No.5, PO Box 225, Ciputat 15401,]akarta, Indonesia. Phone (021) 7492648, 7401925, 7401606, Facs; (021) 7401592. Account; 0027793001 Bank Negara Indonesia 1946, Kebayoran Barn/lAIN, jakarta. Subscription rate" Rp 50.000 ($ 25.00), one year; Rp 100.000 ($ 50.00 ), two years. Order for single copies must be accompanied with prepayment of Rp 12.500 ($ 7.00). For orders outside Indonesia, add$ 8.00 per copy for airmail delivery; for special postal delivery or other special handlings, please contact STUD !A ISIAMIKA for correct rate.
    [Show full text]
  • Kurdistan, Kurdish Nationalism and International Society
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by LSE Theses Online The London School of Economics and Political Science Maps into Nations: Kurdistan, Kurdish Nationalism and International Society by Zeynep N. Kaya A thesis submitted to the Department of International Relations of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London, June 2012. Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 77,786 words. Statement of use of third party for editorial help I can confirm that my thesis was copy edited for conventions of language, spelling and grammar by Matthew Whiting. 2 Anneme, Babama, Kardeşime 3 Abstract This thesis explores how Kurdish nationalists generate sympathy and support for their ethnically-defined claims to territory and self-determination in international society and among would-be nationals. It combines conceptual and theoretical insights from the field of IR and studies on nationalism, and focuses on national identity, sub-state groups and international norms.
    [Show full text]
  • What Happened to the Smiling Face of Indonesian Islam? Muslim Intellectualism and the Conservative Turn in Post-Suharto Indonesia
    The RSIS Working Paper series presents papers in a preliminary form and serves to stimulate comment and discussion. The views expressed are entirely the author’s own and not that of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. If you have any comments, please send them to the following email address: [email protected]. Unsubscribing If you no longer want to receive RSIS Working Papers, please click on “Unsubscribe.” to be removed from the list. No. 222 What happened to the smiling face of Indonesian Islam? Muslim intellectualism and the conservative turn in post-Suharto Indonesia Martin Van Bruinessen S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies Singapore 6 January 2011 About RSIS The S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) was established in January 2007 as an autonomous School within the Nanyang Technological University. RSIS’ mission is to be a leading research and graduate teaching institution in strategic and international affairs in the Asia-Pacific. To accomplish this mission, RSIS will: Provide a rigorous professional graduate education in international affairs with a strong practical and area emphasis Conduct policy-relevant research in national security, defence and strategic studies, diplomacy and international relations Collaborate with like-minded schools of international affairs to form a global network of excellence Graduate Training in International Affairs RSIS offers an exacting graduate education in international affairs, taught by an international faculty of leading thinkers and practitioners. The teaching programme consists of the Master of Science (MSc) degrees in Strategic Studies, International Relations, International Political Economy and Asian Studies as well as The Nanyang MBA (International Studies) offered jointly with the Nanyang Business School.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction
    Notes Introduction 1. There is, of course, no consensus on the precise meaning of democracy, much less dem- ocratic values. 2. Also sometimes known as the Constitution of Medina. The original document has not survived, but a number of different versions can be found in early Muslim sources. 3. The word caliph is derived from the Arabic khalifa, which means both “successor” and “deputy.” 4. In Arabic, Shari’a literally means the “path leading to the watering place.” 5. The word “Shia” is derived from the Arabic Shiat Ali, meaning “party of Ali.” While “Sunni” means those who follow the Sunnah, the exemplary words and practices of the Prophet Muhammad. The names are misleading, as Ali is revered by the Sunni—albeit not to the same extent as by the Shia—and the Shia also attach great importance to the Sunnah. 6. Starting with Ali through to Muhammad al-Mahdi, who received the imamate in 874 at the age of five. Muhammad was taken into hiding to protect him from his Sunni enemies. However, in around 940 he is regarded as having left the world materially but to have retained a spiritual presence through which he guides Shia divines in their interpretations of law and doctrine. Twelvers believe that he will eventually return to the world as the Mahdi, or “Messiah,” and usher in a brief golden age before the end of time. There have also been divisions within the Shia community. In the eighth century, during a dispute over the rightful heir to the sixth imam, Jafar al-Sadiq, the Twelvers backed the candidacy of a younger son, Musa al-Kazim.
    [Show full text]
  • Martin Van Bruinessen
    Martin van Bruinessen Martin van Bruinessen, "The Kurds and Islam". Working Paper no. 13, Islamic Area Studies Project, Tokyo, Japan, 1999. [this is a slightly revised version of the article in Islam des Kurdes (Les Annales de l'Autre Islam, No.5). Paris: INALCO, 1998, pp. 13- 35] The Kurds and Islam Martin van Bruinessen After Turkish, Arabic and Persian, Kurdish is the fourth language of the Middle East in number of speakers.[1] Presently the Kurds number, by conservative estimate, 20 to 25 million, which makes them the largest stateless people of the Middle East. Numerous Kurds have played important roles in the history of Islam but this has often remained unnoticed because they did not explicitly identify themselves by their ethnic origins; when they expressed themselves in writing they usually did so in one (or more) of the three neighbour languages. Kurdistan, the mountainous region where most of the Kurds lived, has long been a buffer zone between the Turkish-, Arabic- and Persian-speaking regions of the Muslim world. Politically, Kurdistan constituted a periphery to each of these cultural- political regions, but it has also had the important cultural role of mediation between them. Learned Kurds have frequently acted as a bridge between different intellectual traditions in the Muslim world, and Kurdish `ulama have made major contributions to Islamic scholarship and Muslim literature in Arabic and Turkish as well as Persian. Islam has, conversely, deeply affected Kurdish society; even ostensibly non-religious aspects of social and political life are moulded by it. As in other tribal societies, networks of madrasas and sufi orders have functioned as mechanisms of social integration, overcoming segmentary division.
    [Show full text]
  • Comparing the Governance of Islam in Turkey and Indonesia Diyanet and the Ministry of Religious Affairs
    The RSIS Working Paper series presents papers in a preliminary form and serves to stimulate comment and discussion. The views expressed in this publication are entirely those of the author(s), and do not represent the official position of RSIS. This publication may be reproduced electronically or in print with prior written permission obtained from RSIS and due credit given to the author(s) and RSIS. Please email [email protected] for further editorial queries. NO. 312 COMPARING THE GOVERNANCE OF ISLAM IN TURKEY AND INDONESIA DIYANET AND THE MINISTRY OF RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS MARTIN VAN BRUINESSEN S. RAJARATNAM SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES SINGAPORE 3 MAY 2018 About the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies The S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) was officially inaugurated on 1 January 2007. Prior to this, it was known as the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS), which was established 10 years earlier, on 30 July 1996, by Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam, then Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence. Dr Tony Tan later became the elected seventh President of the Republic of Singapore. Like its predecessor, RSIS was established as an autonomous entity within Nanyang Technological University (NTU). RSIS’ mission is to be a leading research and graduate teaching institution in strategic and international affairs in the Asia Pacific. To accomplish this mission, it will: Provide a rigorous professional graduate education with a strong practical emphasis Conduct policy-relevant research in defence, national security, international relations, strategic studies and diplomacy Foster a global network of like-minded professional schools Graduate Programmes RSIS offers a challenging graduate education in international affairs, taught by an international faculty of leading thinkers and practitioners.
    [Show full text]
  • Van Bruinessen, Martin [1992] Agha, Shaikh and State
    f?.1^ Agha, Shaikh and State Agha, Shaikh and State The Social and Political Structures of Kurdistan Martin Van Bruinessen Zed Books Ltd London and New Jersey Agha, Shaikh and State was first published by Zed Books Ltd, 57 Caledonian Road, London NI 9BU, UK, and 165 First Avenue, Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey 07716, USA, in 1992. Copyright © Martin Van Bruinessen, 1992. Cover designed by Andrew Corbett. Typeset by Derek Doyle & Associates, Mold, Clwyd. Printed and bound in the United Kingdom by Biddies Ltd, Guildford and King's Lynn. All rights reserved. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library US CIP data for this book is available from the Library of Congress ISBN 185649 018 IHb ISBN 1 85649 019 X Pb Contents Preface ix Introduction 1 How this book came to be written 1 Subject of this study 6 A note on the written sources 8 1. General Information on Kurdistan 11 Geography 11 Geopolitical situation 13 Population 14 Other economic activities: crafts/industries and trades 18 Language 21 Religion 23 The Kurdish national movement, 1960-85 25 Iranian Kurdistan and the Islamic Revolution 34 The Iran-Iraq war and the Kurds 38 Saddam Hussein's solution to the Kurdish question 42 Recent changes in Turkey's attitude 45 2. TVibes, Chieftains and Non-tribal Groups 50 The tribe and its subdivisions 5 1 Kurdish terms 59 Blood feud and other conflicts 64 Higher than the tribe? 74 Leadership and conflicts 78 Leadership: titles and functions 80 The guest-house 81 Economic aspects: tribute to the agha 85 Leadership situation among a number of different tribes 87 Power as a process: the colonization of the northern Jazira 94 Subject 'non-tribal' peasantry and their relations with tribal Kurds 105 The guran and the Guran 109 Nomads and peasants: one or two peoples? 115 Conclusion 122 3.
    [Show full text]
  • The Kurdish Movement in Turkey and Rojava
    Southeast European and Black Sea Studies ISSN: 1468-3857 (Print) 1743-9639 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/fbss20 The ambiguities of democratic autonomy: the Kurdish movement in Turkey and Rojava Michiel Leezenberg To cite this article: Michiel Leezenberg (2016) The ambiguities of democratic autonomy: the Kurdish movement in Turkey and Rojava, Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, 16:4, 671-690, DOI: 10.1080/14683857.2016.1246529 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14683857.2016.1246529 Published online: 24 Oct 2016. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 252 View related articles View Crossmark data Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=fbss20 Download by: [80.110.78.185] Date: 24 November 2016, At: 09:44 SOUTHEAST EUROPEAN AND BLACK SEA STUDIES, 2016 VOL. 16, NO. 4, 671–690 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14683857.2016.1246529 The ambiguities of democratic autonomy: the Kurdish movement in Turkey and Rojava Michiel Leezenberg Faculty of Humanities, Department of Philosophy/Program Islam in the Modern World, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY This paper traces the ideology of democratic autonomy, as developed Received 4 July 2016 by PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan from the libertarian and anarchist Accepted 30 September 2016 writings of Murray Bookchin, as an alternative to the authoritarian and KEYWORDS centralist nation state, not only in the Kurdish-inhabited provinces, PKK; Turkey; Syria; Rojava; but in Turkey at large. It explores, first, the ideological underpinnings democratic autonomy; and second, the practical implementation of democratic autonomy libertarianism; anarchism; both in south-eastern Turkey and in north-eastern Syria, or Rojava.
    [Show full text]
  • Sectarianism in the Syrian Jazira: Community, Land and Violence in the Memories of World War I and the French Mandate (1915- 1939)
    Sectarianism in the Syrian Jazira: Community, land and violence in the memories of World War I and the French mandate (1915- 1939) Cummunitarisme in de Syrische Jazira: Herinneringen aan Gemeenschap, land en geweld tijdens de Eerste Wereldoorlog en de Franse Mandaat (1915-1939) (met een samenvatting in het Nederlands) Proefschrift ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Universiteit Utrecht op gezag van de rector magnificus, prof.dr. G.J. van der Zwaan, ingevolge het besluit van het college voor promoties in het openbaar te verdedigen op dinsdag 21 juni 2011 des ochtends te 10.30 uur Seda Altuğ geboren op 3 November 1975 te Istanbul Promotor : Prof.dr. M.M. van Bruinessen TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................................... 4 MAPS ......................................................................................................................................... 6 TABLES .................................................................................................................................... 9 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................. 17 Sectarianism ............................................................................................................................ 24 Memory ................................................................................................................................... 33 Memory-History ..................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Martin Van Bruinessen, 'Indonesian Muslims and Their Place in The
    Martin van Bruinessen, ‘Indonesian Muslims and Their Place in the Larger World of Islam’, Paper presented at the 29 th Indonesia Update conference, Australian National University, Canberra, September 30 – October 2, 2011. 1 Indonesian Muslims and Their Place in the Larger World of Islam Martin van Bruinessen* With over 220 million Muslims, Indonesia has the largest community of Muslims in the world. Nevertheless, Indonesian Muslims do not play a role in global Muslim thought and action that is commensurate with their numbers. Indonesian Muslims have been eager to learn from Arab as well as Indian, Turkish and Persian thinkers, but do not seem to think they may have something valuable to offer in return. In Indonesian bookshops one finds the translated works of classical and modern Arabic authors, as well as studies of and by major Indian, Pakistani, Iranian and Turkish authors. But Malaysia is the only other country where one can find works by Indonesian Muslim authors, and there are virtually no serious studies of Indonesian Islam by scholars of other Muslim nations. The Arab world has shown a remarkable lack of interest in Asia in general, let alone in the social and cultural forms of Islam in Southeast Asia. 1 Though more outward looking, other Muslim regions of Asia have not taken a serious interest in their Southeast Asian co-religionists either. 2 Indonesians are pursuing Islamic studies in India, Pakistan, Iran and Turkey, as well as in the Arab world and in the West. Indian and Turkish Muslims travelling to Indonesia, on the other hand, are not going there as students but as teachers and missionaries.
    [Show full text]
  • Search for an Ethno-Secular Delimitation of Turkish National Identity in the Kemalist Era (1924-1938) With
    SEARCH FOR AN ETHNO-SECULAR DELIMITATION OF TURKISH NATIONAL IDENTITY IN THE KEMALIST ERA (1924-1938) WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO THE ETHNICIST CONCEPTION OF KEMALIST NATIONALISM The Institute of Economics and Social Sciences of Bilkent University by AHMET YILDIZ In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements For The Degree Of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN POLITICAL SCIENCE AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION in THE DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION BILKENT UNIVERSITY ANKARA May, 1998 T l^e s'ıS DfL S9o ' V5^ 1 99* JU 2648 I certify that I have read this thesis and in my opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science and Public Administration. Assoc. Prof. Ayşe Kadıoğlu Supervisor I certify that I have read this thesis and in my opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science and Public Administration. Examining Committee Member I certify that I have read this thesis and in my opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science and Public Administration. Assoc. Prof. Ahmet igduygu Examining Committee Member I certify that I have read this thesis and in my opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science and Public Administration. 11 I certify that I have read this thesis and in my opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science and Public Administration.
    [Show full text]
  • Indonesian Muslims in a Globalising World Westernisation, Arabisation, and Indigenising Responses
    The RSIS Working Paper series presents papers in a preliminary form and serves to stimulate comment and discussion. The views expressed in this publication are entirely those of the author(s), and do not represent the official position of RSIS. This publication may be reproduced electronically or in print with prior written permission obtained from RSIS and due credit given to the author(s) and RSIS. Please email [email protected] for further editorial queries. NO. 311 INDONESIAN MUSLIMS IN A GLOBALISING WORLD WESTERNISATION, ARABISATION, AND INDIGENISING RESPONSES MARTIN VAN BRUINESSEN S. RAJARATNAM SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES SINGAPORE 3 MAY 2018 About the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies The S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) was officially inaugurated on 1 January 2007. Prior to this, it was known as the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS), which was established 10 years earlier, on 30 July 1996, by Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam, then Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence. Dr Tony Tan later became the elected seventh President of the Republic of Singapore. Like its predecessor, RSIS was established as an autonomous entity within Nanyang Technological University (NTU). RSIS’ mission is to be a leading research and graduate teaching institution in strategic and international affairs in the Asia Pacific. To accomplish this mission, it will: Provide a rigorous professional graduate education with a strong practical emphasis Conduct policy-relevant research in defence, national security, international relations, strategic studies and diplomacy Foster a global network of like-minded professional schools Graduate Programmes RSIS offers a challenging graduate education in international affairs, taught by an international faculty of leading thinkers and practitioners.
    [Show full text]