DOCSLIB.ORG

Limits of Conversion: Islamic Dawa, Domestic Work and Migrant South

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Limits of Conversion: Islamic Dawa, Domestic Work and Migrant South Limits of Conversion: Islamic Dawa, Domestic Work and Migrant South Asian Women in Kuwait by Attiya Ahmad Department of Cultural Anthropology Duke University Date: August 24, 2009 Approved: ___________________________ Katherine Ewing, Co-Advisor ___________________________ Diane Nelson, Co-Advisor ___________________________ Deborah Thomas ___________________________ Charles Piot ___________________________ John L. Jackson ___________________________ Ebrahim Moosa Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Cultural Anthropology in the Graduate School of Duke University 2009 i v Limits of Conversion: Islamic Dawa, Domestic Work And Migrant South Asian Women in Kuwait by Attiya Ahmad Department of Cultural Anthropology Duke University Date: August 24, 2009 Approved: ___________________________ Katherine Ewing, Co-Advisor ___________________________ Diane Nelson, Co-Advisor ___________________________ Deborah Thomas ___________________________ Charles Piot ___________________________ John L. Jackson ___________________________ Ebrahim Moosa An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Cultural Anthropology in the Graduate School of Duke University 2009 i v Copyright by Attiya Ahmad 2009 Abstract Tens of thousands of migrant domestic workers, women working and residing within Kuwaiti households, have taken shehadeh, the Islamic testament of faith over the past decade. Drawing on 21 months of ethnographic fieldwork in Kuwait, and 2 months of research in Nepal, this dissertation analyzes the processes through which South Asian domestic workers develop newfound Islamic pieties, processes that underscore the importance of the household as a site of intersection between transnational migration and globalizing Islamic movements, and that point to the limitation of conventional understandings of wage labour and religious conversion. iv To Rifat J. Ahmad, Syed I. Ahmad, S. Z. Ahmad, Salma A. Ahmad, and Ebtehal Al-Khateeb and family v Table of Contents Abstract ...........................................................................................................................................iv Acknowledgements .........................................................................................................................ix Preface...........................................................................................................................................xiii 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Moments .............................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 First Moment: Rosa Recites the Shehadeh; and, the Reworking of My Research Topic.... 2 1.3 Kuwait’s Complicated and Contradictory Cosmopolitanisms .......................................... 10 1.4 Second Moment: Noura and Sophia’s Discussion of Conversion to Islam versus Becoming Muslim ................................................................................................................... 17 1.5 Moments Reprised............................................................................................................. 23 1.6 Theoretical Approaches to the Study of Religion and Islam............................................. 28 1.7 Two Limits of Conversion: Another Account of Domestic Workers’ Newfound Islamic Practice and Pieties.................................................................................................................. 40 1.8 National versus Globalizing Forms of Muslim Belonging................................................ 44 1.9 National Formations in Spaces of Global Interrelations ................................................... 47 1.10 Fieldwork and Methods Adding a Table in Landscape Orientation................................ 53 1.11 Overview of the Dissertation........................................................................................... 62 2. From Interregional to Transnational Relations; or, the Production of Foreign Residents and Migrants in Kuwait ........................................................................................................................ 66 2.1 Temporary Lawg ............................................................................................................... 66 2.2 The Cusp of Transnationalism: Mary/Maryam’s Journey to Kuwait................................ 69 2.3 Tandem Formations: National/Transnational and State/Global ........................................ 74 vi 3. Global Productions of State and State-Like Institutions: Kuwait’s Domestic Work Sector...... 94 3.1 Pregnant Silences............................................................................................................... 94 3.2 Household Governance and Vetting: Kafeel in Kuwait .................................................... 97 3.3 Notable Exceptions.......................................................................................................... 111 3.4 Domestic Work Sector: State-like in the Absence of States ........................................... 119 3.5 State-come-lately? ........................................................................................................... 142 4. Dawa and Dialogical Islam ...................................................................................................... 145 4.1 Transnational Trajectories and Interrelations: Demography and Dawa.......................... 145 4.2 Kuwait’s Islamic Dawa Movement and Domestic Workers ........................................... 152 4.3 Halaqa: Circle of Diversity, Discussion and Deliberation .............................................. 155 5. Domestic Work and Deferred Lives ........................................................................................ 166 5.1 Absence of Presence........................................................................................................ 166 5.2 Overview ......................................................................................................................... 170 5.3 Santa/Sophai: The Difficulty of Domestic Work ............................................................ 173 5.4 Rethinking Markets, Solidarity and Family: Household Workers’ Interrelations, Gifting, and Patron-client Relations, Families through Commodities................................................ 185 5.5 Mary/Maryam: A Part, Yet Apart.................................................................................... 199 5.6 Deferred Livings: In-Deference to Propriety and Family ............................................... 220 5.7 Post-Script and Anticipatory Preamble: Islam in Domestic Suffusion ........................... 239 6. Explanation is not the Point: House-Talk and Muslim Becomings ......................................... 241 6.1 House-Talk ...................................................................................................................... 241 6.2 Dwelling Awhile.............................................................................................................. 243 vii 6.3 Everyday Routines and Possibilities................................................................................ 249 6.4 Quickened Learnings: The Dawa Center......................................................................... 251 6.5 Everyday Becomings....................................................................................................... 259 7. A Moment of Muslim Belongings and Becomings.................................................................. 262 7.1 A Moment........................................................................................................................ 262 7.2 Unfurling the Moment ..................................................................................................... 268 7.3 Sister Zaynab Explains Fitra and Muslim Being............................................................. 271 7.4 Sister Tahira’s Speech and the Plurality, Play and Proliferation of Muslim Belonging . 276 7.5 Karima and Sonia’s Transnational Travels, Travails, and Newfound Routings ............. 283 7.6 Muslim Being, Becomings and Belongings .................................................................... 292 Bibliography................................................................................................................................. 298 Biography..................................................................................................................................... 321 viii Acknowledgements Words cannot express how grateful I am to the many people who not only made this dissertation possible, but who also made the process of its formation and crafting an incredibly enriching and transformative experience. Dissertations bear individual stamps in ways belying the myriad collaborative forms that make them possible. This is surely the case with this dissertation. I would, however, like to add one caveat: the inspiration and interesting bits of this dissertation come from others; the awkward and still-turgid sections are all mine. First, I would like to thank the many people in Kuwait and Nepal—domestic workers, employers, Islamic dawa and reform movement members, individuals
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Fire of 884/1479 at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus and an Account of Its Restoration
    DORIS BEHRENS-ABOUSEIF SCHOOL OF ORIENTAL AND AFRICAN STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF LONDON The Fire of 884/1479 at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus and an Account of Its Restoration Among the series of fires that are reported to have hit the Umayyad Mosque of Damascus during its pre-modern history, the fire of 884/1479 is so far the least known.1 The well-known sources for this period, such as the contemporary Cairene chronicles of Ibn Iya≠s and al-S˛ayraf|, do not mention it; nor does al-Sakha≠w| refer to the subsequent substantial restoration of the Umayyad Mosque in his long list of Qa≠ytba≠y's construction and renovation works.2 The Syrian historian Ibn T˛u≠lu≠n (880–953/1476–1546), whose chronicle starts in 884, the same year when the fire broke out, when he was still a child, refers only briefly to the restoration works that followed this fire.3 In his biographical dictionary of the viceroys of Damascus, however, he does not include any reference to this fire under the entry of Qa≠ns˝u≠h al-Yah˝a≠w|, the viceroy in charge at that time.4 However, a detailed description of the catastrophe and the following restoration works can be found in the chronicle H˛awa≠dith al-Zama≠n wa-Wafaya≠t al-Shuyu≠kh wa-al-Aqra≠n by the Damascene historian Ah˝mad ibn Muh˝ammad ibn ‘Umar al- Middle East Documentation Center. The University of Chicago. 1Earthquakes occurred in 132/748, 233/847, 587/1191, 702/1302, and 1173/1759, and fires in 461/1069, 552/1157, 562/1166, 570/1174, 646/1247, 740/1340, 803/1401, 884/1879, and in 1893.
    [Show full text]
  • Islamic Law Perspective Regarding the Weretiger in the Malay Archipelago
    Turkish Journal of Computer and Mathematics Education Vol.12 No.3 (2021), 2912-2919 Research Article Islamic Law Perspective regarding the Weretiger in the Malay Archipelago Abdulrahman M.A.Albelaihi1, Mohd SyukriYeoh Abdullah2, Amani Ali Elmetwaly3 1School of Human Development and Techno-communication, University Malaysia Perlis, Perlis, Malaysia 2Institute of the Malay World and Civilization (ATMA), National University of Malaysia 3Faculty of Applied Science and Humanity, University Malaysia [email protected], [email protected],[email protected] Article History: Received: 10 November 2020; Revised: 12 January 2021; Accepted: 27 January 2021; Published online: 05 April 2021 Abstract:This article discusses the origin, traits and role of the Weretiger within the context in Malay Archipelago communities. The Weretiger is type of Jinn that existence pre-dates human and its‟ relationship with human have been establish prior to Islam. The Islamisation of the Malay Archipelago see‟s that a syncretisation of old tradition into Islam and thus the practice of Weretiger still exists until todays. The scholar (ulama) are still debating in the Islamic Law perspective not just the ties between Weretiger and human but Jinn and human as whole using references from Al-Qur‟an, Hadith and previous scholarly works. Keyword:Weretiger - Jinn - Scholar 1. Introduction TheWeretiger discipline is a type of knowledge that is taught and practice in the Malay Archipelago (Alam Melayu)1 prior to the coming of Islam. The purpose of this knowledge is to protect the practitioner, his family and wealth from any threat whether it is physically or spiritually. The practitioner of this knowledge is bound by several conditions and agreement with the Weretiger and this knowledge are still in practice generation by generation even after the Islamisation of the Malay Archipelago.
    [Show full text]
  • Real Estate Guidance 2017 1 Index
    Real Estate Guidance 2017 1 Index Brief on Real Estate Union 4 Executive Summary 6 Investment Properties Segment 8 Freehold Apartments Segment 62 Office Space Segment 67 Retail Space Segment 72 Industrial Segment 74 Appendix 1: Definition of Terms Used in the Report 76 Appendix 2: Methodology of Grading of Investment Properties 78 2 3 BRIEF ON REAL ESTATE UNION Real Estate Association was established in 1990 by a distinguished group headed by late Sheikh Nasser Saud Al-Sabahwho exerted a lot of efforts to establish the Association. Bright visionary objectives were the motives to establishthe Association. The Association works to sustainably fulfil these objectives through institutional mechanisms, whichprovide the essential guidelines and controls. The Association seeks to act as an umbrella gathering the real estateowners and represent their common interests in the business community, overseeing the rights of the real estateprofessionals and further playing a prominent role in developing the real estate sector to be a major and influentialplayer in the economic decision-making in Kuwait. The Association also offers advisory services that improve the real estate market in Kuwait and enhance the safety ofthe real estate investments, which result in increasing the market attractiveness for more investment. The Association considers as a priority keeping the investment interests of its members and increase the membershipbase to include all owners segments of the commercial and investment real estate. This publication is supported by kfas and Wafra real estate 4 Executive Summary Investment Property Segment • For the analysis of the investment properties market, we have covered 162,576 apartments that are spread over 5,695 properties across 19 locations in Kuwait.
    [Show full text]
  • University Newsletter 2017 (Vol-Ii)
    Contact: +925826-960044 : [email protected] UNIVERSITY OF KOTLI Azad Jammu and Kashmir UNIVERSITY NEWSLETTER 2017 (VOL-II) EDITORIAL BOARD PATRON IN CHIEF PROF.DR. SYED DIL NAWAZ AHMAD GARDEZI PATRON DR. SABAHAT AKRAM CHIEF EDITOR SHAHID HUSSAIN MIR CO-EDITOR MR ZAFAR IQBAL CO-EDITOR MR KEFAYAT NAQVI MEMBERS MR RAJA ZAFAR ISHAQ MR HAROON AHMED MR FAHEEM ASLAM MS AFSHAN AHMED INSIDE STORIES SEMINARS CONFERENCES WORKSHOPS TRAININGS VISITS STUDY TOURS DEBATES/SPEECHES MEETINGS DEVELOPMENTS APPOINTMENTS NEWSLETTER 2017 MESSAGE FROM THE VICE CHANCELLOR It is indeed a matter of great pleasure and honor that I have taken up the baton of University of Kotli as its 2nd Vice Chancellor, an institution of significance for imparting knowledge and promoting research in the region, since its establishment in 2014. As a new Vice Chancellor of the University, I am committed to make this University among one of the high ranking institutions of the country in every respect. In order to achieve this goal, I would fully utilize my energies, experience and potentials. As University of Kotli ushers into its fourth academic year and achieved significant milestones and there is much that the institute has yet to be achieved in coming years. Higher Education and creation are key sources for the enlightening & developing communities, nations and will be highly sought-after within Pakistan and around the world. Our challenge is to generate ideas that will benefit society, and to educate and train people to work in fields where they will be valued both for their specialized knowledge, and their ability to research, and derive solutions of problems through discussion.
    [Show full text]
  • Study of Change Detection in Urban Growth of Kuwait City
    International Journal of Environmental Science and Development, Vol. 10, No. 5, May 2019 Study of Change Detection in Urban Growth of Kuwait City Fahad Almutairi and Mohamed Ait Belaid techniques for better results. Abstract—Kuwait City has witnessed rapid urban The process of identifying and detecting change in land development, with a clear change in land use in Kuwait City use (change detection) over a period of time of recent during the last period. In the second half of the twentieth processes and trends, and the knowledge of urban growth century, Kuwait witnessed an urban development due to the helps to understand and analyze patterns of land use, and economic boom and the discovery of oil. This development is accompanied by a huge increase in the number of residents and factors affecting them [1]. Incoming; Resulting in an increase in economic and urban activities, and one of the most affected areas of Kuwait City. This research aims to study the urban growth of Kuwait City I. DETERMINE THE STUDY AREA using aerial photographs and high-resolution satellite imagery. The city of Kuwait is located within the cities and suburbs The study is based on the first two aerial photographs for the of the Capital Governorate. The study area is located between years 1976 with a spatial resolution of 1.5 meters and the second two latitudes (30 '21 ° 29 'and 30 °' 29 °) north of the equator for 1991 with a spatial resolution of 60 cm and two satellite imagery (IKONOS) for 2000 by 1 meter and the second for the and between longitude (30 '57 ° 47 'and 20' 0 ° 48) east of satellite (WorldView-2) for 2011 at 50 cm.
    [Show full text]
  • PDF Fileiranian Migrations to Dubai: Constraints and Autonomy of A
    Iranian Migrations to Dubai: Constraints and Autonomy of a Segmented Diaspora Amin Moghadam Working Paper No. 2021/3 January 2021 The Working Papers Series is produced jointly by the Ryerson Centre for Immigration and Settlement (RCIS) and the CERC in Migration and Integration www.ryerson.ca/rcis www.ryerson.ca/cerc-migration Working Paper No. 2021/3 Iranian Migrations to Dubai: Constraints and Autonomy of a Segmented Diaspora Amin Moghadam Ryerson University Series Editors: Anna Triandafyllidou and Usha George The Working Papers Series is produced jointly by the Ryerson Centre for Immigration and Settlement (RCIS) and the CERC in Migration and Integration at Ryerson University. Working Papers present scholarly research of all disciplines on issues related to immigration and settlement. The purpose is to stimulate discussion and collect feedback. The views expressed by the author(s) do not necessarily reflect those of the RCIS or the CERC. For further information, visit www.ryerson.ca/rcis and www.ryerson.ca/cerc-migration. ISSN: 1929-9915 Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Canada License A. Moghadam Abstract In this paper I examine the way modalities of mobility and settlement contribute to the socio- economic stratification of the Iranian community in Dubai, while simultaneously reflecting its segmented nature, complex internal dynamics, and relationship to the environment in which it is formed. I will analyze Iranian migrants’ representations and their cultural initiatives to help elucidate the socio-economic hierarchies that result from differentiated access to distinct social spaces as well as the agency that migrants have over these hierarchies. In doing so, I examine how social categories constructed in the contexts of departure and arrival contribute to shaping migratory trajectories.
    [Show full text]
  • Looking for That Other Face Women Muslim Leaders and Violent Extremism in Indonesia
    LOOKING FOR THAT OTHER FACE In this publication, six women tell their story. Six devout Indonesian Muslim women who have their roots in the traditional pesantren world, the world of the Indonesian Islamic boarding school. Not hampered but inspired by their faith, they oppose patriarchal dominance and other forms of oppression: sexual and domestic violence, social inequality and, last but not least, rising political extremism of Islamists in the largest Muslim country in the world. ey all tell a story of social change, religious reform and emancipation. e actions of these women have an impact in their own schools, their own communities, in their districts, and sometimes even on a national level. WOMEN MUSLIM LEADERS AND VIOLENT EXTREMISM IN INDONESIA ese women have not just been shaped by their faith; they shape their faith and they do it as experts in Islamic theology. ey seek and use all options for personal theological interpretation and refl ection that Islam has to o er. eir Muslim activism has its roots in the conviction that all creatures are equal to God, a principle of equality that has moral as well as sacred signifi cance to them. We think these stories are important to be heard. Not only as gripping examples of personal courage and liberation, but more importantly as a contribution to discussions taking place on countering violent extremism in communities worldwide. ese practices provide inspiring examples of preventative mechanisms in and from religious communities to combat violent repression and extremism. LOOKING FOR ISBN 978-90-73726-79-6 THAT OTHER FACE 9 7 8 9 0 7 3 7 2 6 7 9 6 WOMEN MUSLIM LEADERS AND VIOLENT EXTREMISM IN INDONESIA FRANK LIERDE VAN FRANK VAN LIERDE cover170-240-totaal.indd 1 19-02-13 09:55 LOOKING FOR THAT OTHER FACE WOMEN MUSLIM LEADERS AND VIOLENT EXTREMISM IN INDONESIA FRANK VAN LIERDE CORDAID THE HAGUE, 2013 Colophon This publication was financed and © Cordaid, 2013 commissioned by Cordaid and PO Box 16440 co-commissioned by the Human Security 2500 BK The Hague Collective.
    [Show full text]
  • Dynamics of Iranian-Saudi Relations in the Persian Gulf Regional Security Complex (1920-1979) Nima Baghdadi Florida International University, [email protected]
    Florida International University FIU Digital Commons FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations University Graduate School 3-22-2018 Dynamics of Iranian-Saudi Relations in the Persian Gulf Regional Security Complex (1920-1979) Nima Baghdadi Florida International University, [email protected] DOI: 10.25148/etd.FIDC006552 Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd Part of the International Relations Commons, and the Other Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Baghdadi, Nima, "Dynamics of Iranian-Saudi Relations in the Persian Gulf Regional Security Complex (1920-1979)" (2018). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3652. https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/3652 This work is brought to you for free and open access by the University Graduate School at FIU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of FIU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY Miami, Florida DYNAMICS OF IRANIAN-SAU DI RELATIONS IN THE P ERSIAN GULF REGIONAL SECURITY COMPLEX (1920-1979) A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in POLITICAL SCIENCE by Nima Baghdadi 2018 To: Dean John F. Stack Steven J. Green School of International Relations and Public Affairs This dissertation, written by Nima Baghdadi, and entitled Dynamics of Iranian-Saudi Relations in the Persian Gulf Regional Security Complex (1920-1979), having been approved in respect to style and intellectual content, is referred to you for judgment. We have read this dissertation and recommend that it be approved. __________________________________ Ralph S. Clem __________________________________ Harry D.
    [Show full text]
  • Transnational Connections and the Arab Gulf
    Transnational Connections and the Arab Gulf This volume presents a study of transnational cultural flows in the Gulf region and beyond. It combines an understanding of the region’s historical connections with the outside world and an assessment of contemporary consequences of these connections. In the context of current theoretical debates, empirical case studies are presented to demonstrate that the Gulf is not only an exporter of oil and capital, but also of culture and religion. As these travel to distant locations, they are transformed in ways not intended by those who initiated the process – at the same time, the Gulf remains an importer of labour, the latest technology, economic skills and ideas, whose roots are no longer possible to locate. Transnational Connections and the Arab Gulf challenges both the definition of globalisation and transnationalism as one way processes generated mainly by the Western World and the view that transnationalism is solely a twentieth century phenomenon. The authors collected here analyse and map historical and contemporary manifestations of transnational networks within this region, linking them to wider debates on society, identity and political culture. This volume will interest students and researchers of politics, the Middle East, anthropology and transnationalism. Madawi Al-Rasheed is Professor of Anthropology of Religion at King’s College, University of London. Transnational Connections and the Arab Gulf Edited by Madawi Al-Rasheed Contents List of illustrations ix List of contributors xi Acknowledgements
    [Show full text]
  • Politicizing Islam: State, Gender, Class, and Piety in France and India
    Politicizing Islam: State, gender, class, and piety in France and India By Zehra Fareen Parvez A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Michael Burawoy, Chair Professor Raka Ray Professor Cihan Tuğal Professor Loïc Wacquant Professor Kiren Aziz-Chaudhry Fall 2011 Abstract Politicizing Islam: State, gender, class, and piety in France and India by Zehra Fareen Parvez Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology University of California, Berkeley Professor Michael Burawoy, Chair This dissertation is a comparative ethnographic study of Islamic revival movements in Lyon, France, and Hyderabad, India. It introduces the importance of class and the state in shaping piety and its politicization. The project challenges the common conflation of piety and politics and thus, the tendency to homogenize “political Islam” even in the context of secular states. It shows how there have been convergent forms of piety and specifically gendered practices across the two cities—but divergent Muslim class relations and in turn, forms of politics. I present four types of movements. In Hyderabad, a Muslim middle-class redistributive politics directed at the state is based on patronizing and politicizing the subaltern masses. Paternalistic philanthropy has facilitated community politics in the slums that are building civil societies and Muslim women’s participation. In Lyon, a middle-class recognition politics invites and opposes the state but is estranged from sectarian Muslims in the working-class urban peripheries. Salafist women, especially, have withdrawn into a form of antipolitics, as their religious practices have become further targeted by the state.
    [Show full text]
  • Comparative Geomatic Analysis of Historic Development, Trends, And
    University of Arkansas, Fayetteville ScholarWorks@UARK Theses and Dissertations 5-2015 Comparative Geomatic Analysis of Historic Development, Trends, and Functions of Green Space in Kuwait City From 1982-2014 Yousif Abdullah University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd Part of the Near and Middle Eastern Studies Commons, Physical and Environmental Geography Commons, and the Urban Studies and Planning Commons Recommended Citation Abdullah, Yousif, "Comparative Geomatic Analysis of Historic Development, Trends, and Functions of Green Space in Kuwait City From 1982-2014" (2015). Theses and Dissertations. 1116. http://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/1116 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UARK. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UARK. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Comparative Geomatic Analysis of Historic Development, Trends, and Functions Of Green Space in Kuwait City From 1982-2014. Comparative Geomatic Analysis of Historic Development, Trends, and Functions Of Green Space in Kuwait City From 1982-2014. A Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment Of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Art in Geography By Yousif Abdullah Kuwait University Bachelor of art in GIS/Geography, 2011 Kuwait University Master of art in Geography May 2015 University of Arkansas This thesis is approved for recommendation to the Graduate Council. ____________________________ Dr. Ralph K. Davis Chair ____________________________ ___________________________ Dr. Thomas R. Paradise Dr. Fiona M. Davidson Thesis Advisor Committee Member ____________________________ ___________________________ Dr. Mohamed Aly Dr. Carl Smith Committee Member Committee Member ABSTRACT This research assessed green space morphology in Kuwait City, explaining its evolution from 1982 to 2014, through the use of geo-informatics, including remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS), and cartography.
    [Show full text]
  • Copyright by Nathan Alexander Moore 2016
    Copyright by Nathan Alexander Moore 2016 The Report committee for Nathan Alexander Moore Certifies that this is the approved version of the following report: Redefining Nationalism: An examination of the rhetoric, positions and postures of Asaduddin Owaisi APPROVED BY SUPERVISING COMMITTEE: _______________________ Syed Akbar Hyder, Supervisor ______________________ Gail Minault Redefining Nationalism: An examination of the rhetoric, positions and postures of Asaduddin Owaisi by Nathan Alexander Moore, B.A. Report Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts The University of Texas at Austin December 2016 Abstract Redefining Nationalism: An examination of the rhetoric, positions and postures of Asaduddin Owaisi Nathan Alexander Moore, MA The University of Texas at Austin, 2016 Supervisor: Syed Akbar Hyder Asaduddin Owaisi is the leader of the political party, All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul- Muslimeen, and also the latest patriarch in a family dynasty stretching at least three generations. Born in Hyderabad in 1969, in the last twelve years, he has gained national prominence as Member of Parliament who espouses Muslim causes more forcefully than any other Indian Muslim. To his devotees, he is the Naqib-e-Millat-The Captain of the community. To his detractors he is “communalist” and an “opportunist.” He is an astute political force that is changing the face and tone of Indian politics. This report examines Owaisi’s rhetoric and postures to further study Muslim-Indian identity in the Indian Republic. Owaisi’s calls for the Muslims to uplift themselves also echo the calls of Muhammad Iqbal (d.
    [Show full text]