Circulation 8,000 M a r c h 1 9 9 9 4 8 p a g e s N e w s l e t t e r 2

postal address telephone e-mail P.O. Box 11089 +31-(0)71-527 79 05 i s i m@r u l l e t . l e i d e n u n i v . n l 2301 EB Leiden telefax www The Netherlands +31-(0)71-527 79 06 h t t p:/ / i s i m . l e i d e n u n i v . n l

6 7 1 7 2 8 Abdou Filali-Ansary Oliver Roy Ziba Mir-Hosseini Aysha Parla Secularism in Societies of Muslims Sunni Conservative Fundamentalism Divorce Iranian Style interviews Lila Abu-Lughod Digital Islam: Changing the Boundaries of

The phenomenal popularization and transnational prop- agation of communications and information technolo- gies (hereafter referred to as IT) in recent years has gen- erated a wide range of important questions in the con- Religious Knowledge? text of Islam’s sociology of knowledge. How have these technologies transformed Muslim concepts of what Sayyid Qutb, Ali Shariati, and Abu'l Ali Mawdudi, Islam is and who possesses the authority to speak on its serves to politicize Islam before an audience of behalf? Moreover, how are they changing the ways in unprecedented proportions. Recordings of ser- which Muslims imagine the boundaries of the u m m a? mons by dissident Saudi culama, such as Safar al- Hawali and Salman al-cAwda, also circulate wide- ly both inside and outside the Kingdom, and this marks the first time that material openly critical PETER MANDAVILLE of the Saudi regime has been heard by relatively large sections of that country’s population. The The book, pamphlet, and newsletter were taken website of a London-based Saudi opposition up with urgency by Muslims in the nineteenth group has also made Salman al-cAwda’s sermons century in order to counter the threat posed to available over the Internet using the latest audio the Islamic world by European imperialism. The streaming technology.2 ‘Now that media tech- culama were initially at the forefront of this revo- nology is increasingly able to deal with other lution, using a newly expanded and more widely symbolic modes’, notes the anthropologist Ulf distributed literature base to create a much Hannerz, ‘we may wonder whether imagined broader constituency for their teachings. An communities are increasingly moving beyond inevitable side-effect of this phenomenon, how- words’.3 ever, was the demise of their stranglehold over It is perhaps on the Internet, however, that the production and dissemination of religious some of the most interesting things are happen- knowledge. Muslims found it increasingly easy ing. Can we meaningfully speak today about the Detail from: ‘Alim’ to bypass formally-trained religious scholars in emergence of new forms of Islamic virtual com- (ISL Software the search for authentic Islam and for new ways munity? To begin with, we need to make sure C o r p o r a t i o n ) . of thinking about their religion. The texts were in tive. ‘IT doesn’t change the individual’s relation- for about ten years’, Barkatulla observes, ‘but that we have a more nuanced understanding of See page 37 principle now available to anyone who could ship with his religion’, he says, ‘but rather it pro- now they are forced to’. He alludes to something those Muslim identities which use the Internet. read them; and to read is, of course, to interpret. vides knowledge supplements and clarifies the like a ‘race to digitize Islam’ among leading cen- We cannot start talking about new forms of dias- These media opened up new spaces of religious sources of information such that Muslims can tres of religious learning around the world. poric Muslim community simply because many contestation where traditional sources of verify the things they hear for themselves’. Because the modern religious universities have users of the Internet happen to be Muslims. Not- authority could be challenged by the wider pub- Barkatulla sees IT as a useful tool for systematiz- developed comprehensive information systems, ing that in many instances Muslim uses of the lic. As literacy rates began to climb almost expo- ing religious knowledge, but – crucially – only the more conservative, traditional institutions Internet seem to represent little more than the nentially in the twentieth century, this effect was pre-existing juridical opinions. In his terms, IT is are now forced to respond in kind in order to migration of existing messages and ideas into a amplified even further. The move to print tech- only for working with knowledge that has keep up with the times. At the Centre for Islamic new context, Jon Anderson rightfully warns that nology hence meant not only a new method for already been ‘cooked’, and not for generating Jurisprudence in Qom, Iran, several thousand ‘new talk has to be distinguished from new peo- transmitting texts, but also a new idiom of new judgements. There are, however, those who texts, both Sunni and Shici, have been converted ple talking about old topics in new settings’.4 Yet selecting, writing and presenting works to cater disagree with him. Sacad al-Faqih, for example, to electronic form. While Sunni institutions tend we also have to acknowledge the possibility that to a new kind of reader.1 leader of the London-based ‘Movement for to ignore Shici texts, the Shica centres are digitiz- the hybrid discursive spaces of the Muslim Inter- Contemporary Muslims have been speculat- Islamic Reform in Arabia’ and another keen ing large numbers of Sunni texts in order to pro- net can give rise, even inadvertently, to new for- ing about the utility of electronic information advocate of information technology, believes duce databases which appeal to the Muslim mulations and critical perspectives on Islam and technology in the organization of religious that the average Muslim can now revolutionize mainstream, and hence capture a larger share of the status of religious knowledge. As regards knowledge for some time now. Abdul Kadir Islam with just a basic understanding of Islamic the market for digital Islam. notions of political community in Islam, there is Barkatulla, director of London’s Islamic Comput- methodology and a CD-ROM. In his view, the Neither has the rise of electronic ‘print Islam’ also the Internet’s impact on ‘centre-periphery’ ing Centre, explains that he first became attract- technology goes a long way to bridging the eradicated the saliency of the oral tradition. Elec- relations in the Muslim world to be examined. A ed to computer-mediated data storage in his ‘knowledge gap’ between an calim and a lay tronic media are as adept with sound as they are country such as Malaysia, usually considered to capacity as a scholar of hadith, a field which Muslim by placing all of the relevant texts at the with the written word. Certainly we have heard be on the margins of Islam both in terms of involves the archiving and retrieval of thousands fingertips of the latter. ’I am not an calim’, he much about the role of audio cassettes in Iran’s geography and religious influence, has invested upon thousands of textual references. The CD- says, ‘but with these tools I can put together Islamic revolution, where recordings of Khomei- heavily in information and networking technolo- ROM has provided an invaluable medium for his something very close to what they would pro- ni’s sermons were smuggled over from his gies. As a result, when searching on the Internet work. The entire Qur'an (including both text and duce when asked for a fatwa’. Neauphle-le-Chateau headquarters near Paris for descriptions of programmes which offer for- recitation) along with several collections of That is certainly not to say, however, that the and, much to the Shah’s dismay, widely distrib- mal religious training, one is far more likely to hadith, tafsir, and fiqh can easily fit on a single culama have been entirely marginalized. In fact, uted in Iran. The Friday sermon, or khutba, is encounter the comprehensive course outlines disc. Barkatulla sees this development as having some religious scholars have become quite today recorded at many mosques throughout provided by the International Islamic University the greatest relevance for those Muslims who enthusiastic about computer technology them- the Muslim world and the distribution of these of Malaysia than to stumble across the venerable live in circumstances where access to religious selves. ‘Traditional centres of Islamic learning recordings along with addresses by prominent institutions of Cairo, Medina, or Mashhad. scholars is limited, such as in the West. For him, (such as al-Azhar in Cairo and Qom in Iran) did ideologues consciously emulating the rhetoric such CD-ROM selections offer a useful alterna- not respond to the opportunities offered by IT of influential modern Muslim thinkers such as Continued on page 23 2 ISIM I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9

The inaugural issue of the ISIM Newsletter has received favourable have recently stimulated fresh research into the swiftly expanding response. We tried to reach a large audience and reactions to the worlds of broadcasted and – even – digital Islam. Issues of gender first mailing, indeed, came from all over the globe. These positive and of other social and cultural categories, like age (youth) and eth- reactions demonstrate the existence of a demand for information nic background, feature in a number of articles, varying from on the multifaceted field of the study of modern Islam and Muslim reflection on methodologies to performing arts and song. Most, communities – or ‘communities of Muslims’ as Filali-Ansary puts it but not all, contributions deal directly with Islamic or Muslim cate- ( p . 6) – as well as for an exchange of ideas and findings generated gories. Some deal with aspects of societies which are predominant- by research. In this second issue, we try to continue along this line. ly Muslim in composition, but which have no, or no direct, bearing In comparison to the inaugural Newsletter, the geographical on religious thought or practice, but then no society of Muslims can ISIM Newsletter 2 spread of the contributions to this issue is ex- be solely understood from religious angles. Fur- March 1999 48 pages panded, bringing us to the geographical margins thermore, Muslim societies are also to be under- of the world of Islam: Vietnam, The Philippines, stood from the perspective of their historical ISSN 1 388-9788 E d i t o r i a l Australia, South Africa, Trinidad and the Czech experiences. More articles in this issue reflect this Editorial Office Republic. More than anything else, this global perspective than in the first. Visiting Address Rapenburg 71, Leiden expanse shows that the world of Islam – through migration and The ISIM Newsletter has the ambition of covering activities concern- Postal Address conversion – is interwoven with other worlds, both old and new. ing the study of Islam and Muslim societies. This information, along ISIM, P.O. Box 11089 This interwovenness, however, does not mean that the mutual with news on vacancies, grants, and fellowships, is presented in the 2301 EB Leiden, The Netherlands T e l e p h o n e (and self) images and conceptions which Muslims and non-Muslims ISIM ‘Info Pages’. In order to offer updated information, the ISIM +31-71-527 79 05 have necessarily imply social or religious affinities. In several con- relies on its readers. You are invited to send us (by e-mail, fax, etc.) T e l e f a x +31-71-527 79 06 tributions, the rapport – but also the lack thereof – is dealt with comments on the contents of specific articles or the Newsletter as a E - m a i l directly or indirectly, both within the range of academic and ideo- whole, and information on activities you think relevant to our audi- I S I M N e w s l @ r u l l e t . l e i d e n u n i v . n l WWW Homepage logical discourse (e.g. secularism in Muslim and Christian experi- ence (also by digital forms on our website). When processed, the h t t p : / / i s i m . l e i d e n u n i v . n l ences) and of societal and political practice (e.g. political represen- information will be made available also on the ISIM website. ♦

E d i t o r tation and radicalization). The growing interest in non-political Dr Dick Douwes Islam, too, is evident in this issue; the religious debates within Islam Desk editor DICK DOUWES Gabrielle Constant receive increased attention, in particular the more ‘liberal’ trends, e d i t o r Copy editor & advertisements as do the more mystical currents. Mass culture and the new media Drs Dick van der Meij D e s i g n M I S C E L L A N E O U S De Kreeft, Amsterdam P r i n t i n g Dijkman Offset, Diemen ISIM Academic Committee ISIM Professorial Fellowhip Letters to the Editor N e t h e r l a n d s - F l e m i s h The following scholars have become The first Professorial Fellowship The ISIM solicits your response to Institute in Cairo Coming issue members of the ISIM Academic o f ISIM has been granted to Prof. Dr t h e ISIM Newsletter. We intend to allow Deadline: April 15, 1999 Committee, which is still in formation. Muhammad Khalid Masud. A graduate space for reactions to, and comments Nederlands-Vlaams Instituut Published: June 1999 of McGill University, Montreal, Professor o r opinions on, articles contained in this i n Cairo (NVIC) Style sheets may be obtained upon Prof. Dr Mamadou Diouf Masud became affiliated with the Islam- publication. If you wish to contribute to request from the ISIM Secretariat Prof. Diouf is affiliated with the ic Research Institute, International Islam- this section, please do so via one of the On February 10, 1999 the o ro n the ISIM website. Université Cheikh Anta Diop Dakar- ic University, Islamabad, Pakistan following addresses. Be sure to indicate Netherlands Institute for Archaeology Fann and the Council for the Develop- ( S e e also ISIM Newsletter 1 page 43 for ‘Letter to the Editor’. and Arabic Studies in Cairo (NIAASC) Staff ISIM ment of Social Science Research in details on this institute). His interests are changed its name. The NIAASC is now • Prof. W.A.L. Stokhof Director in Charge Africa (CODESRIA) in Dakar, Senegal. wide but he is in particular known for his ISIM Newsletter / Letter to the Editor called the Nederlands-Vlaams • Dr D. Douwes H e is an anthropologist and historian. work on Islamic law and legal philoso- P.O. Box 11089 Instituut in Cairo (NVIC) in Cairo Academic Coordinator He is the author of, amongst others, phy. His geographical interest comprises 2301 EB Leiden ( a l-M achad al-Hulandi al-Falamanki bi • Drs M.E. Bakker L e Kajoor au XIX siècle: pouvoir ceddo most parts of the Muslim world, in par- The Netherlands l-Qahira in Arabic). The name change Administrative Coordinator e t conquête coloniale, Paris, 1990. ticular South Asia. Professor Masud is a E-mail: [email protected] was witnessed by representatives of • E.C. Oostveen prolific author and has published books Fax: +31-71-5277906 the Dutch and Belgian governments, Administrative Assistant Prof. Dr Jean-François Leguil-Bayart and articles in many scholarly magazines the presidents of the General Board Prof. Leguil-Bayart is director of and journals. He is the author of I q b a l ’ s R e t r a c t i o n and the Scientific Council, and by Governing Board t h e Centre d’Études et de Recherches Reconstruction of Ijtihad, IRI & Iqbal The ISIM Newsletter editors would representatives of participating • Dr S.J. Noorda (Chairman) Internationales (CERI) in Paris. His Academy. Among his most well-known like to apologize for a misprint in the institutions. Representatives of President of University of Amsterdam interests include political sciences, editing works is Islamic Legal Interpreta- inaugural issue. On page 42, the various Egyptian scholarly and • Drs J.G.F. Veldhuis historicity of the state and foreign tion: the Muftis and their Fatwas, co- director’s name and address of the CIE cultural institutions as well as foreign President of Utrecht University • Drs L.E.H. Vredevoogd politics. His geographical interests are edited with Brinkley Messick and (Centre for Islam in Europe) figured institutions based in Cairo were also President of Leiden University Sub-Saharan Africa, Turkey and Iran. David Powers, Cambridge, USA, 1996. o n the bottom of the page under the p r e s e n t . Most recently he has published information for the NIAASC Academic Committee l ’ I l l u s i o nI d e n t i t a i r e, 1996. Dr S.J. Noorda: (Netherlands Institute for Archaeology At the occasion, the role of the (in formation) P r e s i d e n t of the U n i v e r s i t y and Arabic Studies in Cairo). N V I C (NIAASC) in Arab Studies in • Dr M.M. van Bruinessen Prof. Dr Gudrun Krämer of Amsterdam t h e Netherlands was highlighted by Utrecht University Prof. Krämer holds the chair of On 1 January 1999, Dr S.J. (Sijbelt) T h ec o r r e c t addresses are as follows: P r o f .D r R. Kruk of Leiden University, • Prof. Mamadou Diouf I s l a m i c Studies at the Free University of Noorda was appointed President of the Chairperson of the Scientific Board CODESRIA, Dakar Berlin since 1996. Her fields of interest University of Amsterdam (UvA). He had Centre for Islam in Europe o f the NVIC. Prof. Dr U. Vermeulen • Prof. D.F. Eickelman are: modern Middle Eastern history and been acting President after the untimely Director: Professor Herman de Ley o ft h e Catholic University Leuven, Dartmouth College, Hanover, current Arab affairs, contemporary death of his predecessor, Dr J.K.M. Gev- Address: Blandijnberg 2 member of the Scientific Council of N e wH a m p s h i r e • Prof. Gudrun Krämer Islamic political thought, and ers. Dr Noorda had been vice-president B-9000 Gent, Belgium the NVIC, spoke about the role of Free University Berlin m i n o r i t i e s in the Muslim Arab world. of the University of Amsterdam since Tel: +32 9 264 40 251 NVIC in Arab Studies in Flanders. • Prof. Jean-François Leguil-Bayart Her main geographical interest is Egypt. 1991. The UvA is one of the founding Fax: +32 9 264 6441 CERI, Paris To appear soon is Der Gottesstaat als universities of ISIM. Dr Noorda is Chair- • Prof. J.F. Staal R e p u b l i k. man of the Board of ISIM. He studied Nederlands-Vlaams Instituut in Cairo University of California at Berkeley Theology at the Vrije Universiteit Ams- ( N V I C ) • Prof. P.T. van der Veer Sami Zubaida terdam and at the Union Theological Former Netherlands Institute for University of Amsterdam Sami Zubaida is reader in Sociology, Seminary/Colombia University in New Archaeology and Arabic Studies in • Sami Zubaida Birkbeck College, University of London, York and defended his PhD thesis at Cairo (NIAASC) Birkbeck College, University of London and chairman of the Department of Utrecht University. D i r e c t o r : • Prof. E.J. Zürcher Politics and Sociology since 1997. His Before embarking on his career as Professor Johannes den Heijer Leiden University interests are wide and include religion, university board member, he worked as Address: 1, Mahmud Azmi Street

The ISIM Newsletter is a tri-annual publication of ethnicity, and nationalism, and food a scholarly member of the Bible Transla- Zamalek, Cairo Egypt the International Institute for the Study of Islam and culture. His geographical interests tion and Hermeneutics section of Vrije Tel: +20 2 3400076 i n the Modern World (ISIM). Responsibility for the comprise Egypt, Iran, Iraq and Turkey. Universiteit Amsterdam. He is currently Fax: +20 2 3404376 facts and opinions expressed in this publication H e is the author of Islam, the People Chairman of the project board of the rests solely with the authors. Their views do not a n d the State, London, 1993. new translation of the Bible into Dutch. necessarily reflect those of the Institute or its supporters. The ISIM Newsletter is free of charge. I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9 ISIM 3

I S I M DICK DOUWES ISIM Opening Day

On Tuesday, 20 October 1998, the International Insti- the election of Khatami as president of Iran, it duplex ordo, dividing science and religion. This tute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World (ISIM) had become apparent to many that the `situa- does not imply that the activities of ISIM will be The Emerging Public Sphere celebrated its official opening day. Well over 300 people tion in Iran was more complex. The invitation left to isolation within the academic communi- ‘Without fanfare, the notion of Islam as dia- attended the gathering in the renovated Concert Hall of and her acceptance reflected a growing open- ty. On the contrary, ISIM should prove its rele- logue and civil debate is gaining ground. Like Leiden. It was to become a memorable day, attracting ness in mutual policies. Others were far less vance to society at large by rendering the aca- the ‘‘Copernican revolution”, the current break extensive media coverage following protests by Iranian welcoming, particularly the community of demic research accessible to a broader audi- in religious authority in the Muslim world is asylum seekers. The morning programme consisted in Iranian refugees in the Netherlands (about ence. Cohen situated the founding of ISIM likely to be seen as significant only in retro- the more official aspects of the day, featuring an open- 30,000). Word of her participation was received within the Netherlands’ government policy to spect. A new sense of public is emerging ing speech by State Secretary of Justice and – what with astonishment and anger. Certain groups support initiatives aimed at increasing knowl- throughout Muslim-majority states and Mus- sparked off an angry response of the demonstrators – strongly opposed to her presence at the open- edge and research on societies and cultures lim communities elsewhere. It is shaped by an address by Faezeh Hashemi, member of Parliament ing requested and gained permission of the that are important to the Netherlands and increasingly open contests over the use of the of Iran and editor-owner of the oppositional Z a n p e r i o d- local police to demonstrate against her and Europe. ‘This includes, of course, and increas- symbolic language of Islam. Increasingly, dis- ical. The address did not take place. After a short musi- the Islamic Republic. In their eyes, being a ingly so, the Muslim world – a world which is cussions in newspapers, on the Internet, on cal intermezzo, the afternoon programme had a more Member of Parliament meant that she repre- more and more part of our own. Today, mil- smuggled cassettes, and on television cross- academic tone: a lecture by anthropologist Professor sented the Iranian regime and, moreover, lions of Muslims live in Western Europe, cut and overlap, contributing to a common Dale Eickelman and a forum discussion on the format being the daughter of former president Raf- 800,000 of which live here in the Netherlands. public space. and plans of the ISIM. sanjani, some held her accountable for their In order for the Netherlands to develop a truly New and accessible modes of communica- sufferings during his presidency. coherent multi-cultural society, knowledge of tion have made these contests increasingly its contributing cultures and societies is essen- global, so that even local issues take on The Demonstration t i a l . ’ transnational dimensions. Muslims, of course, The morning of the opening, scores of demon- act not just as Muslims but according to class strators assembled at the entrance of the Con- In contrast to the eventful morning session, interests, out of a sense of nationalism, on cert Hall in the main street of the inner city. The the afternoon programme ran smoothly. The behalf of tribal or family networks, and from all supporters of the Mujahidin-i Khalq were clearly Moroccan singer Amina Alaoui and her the diverse motives which characterize human the most vocal group. Their slogans were sup- acoustic ensemble performed four Arabo- endeavour. Increasingly, however, large num- ported by beating drums. They waved banners Andalusian songs. bers of Muslims explain their goals in terms of containing the picture of their leader Rajavi. The the normative language of Islam. Muslim iden- other demonstrators belonged to various leftist Opening Lecture tity issues are not unitary or identical, but such groups who carefully kept some distance from The opening lecture, ‘Islam in the Global issues have become a significant force in both the Mujahidin. The demonstrations were not Public Sphere’, was delivered by Prof. Dr Dale Muslim-majority states and those in which limited to the exterior of the building; a number Eickelman, Professor of Anthropology and Muslims form only a minority of the popula- of opponents of the Iranian regime entered the Human Relations, Dartmouth College (USA). tion. It is in this sense that one can speak of an Concert Hall – the opening day was indeed a The text in the sidebar is taken from the con- emerging Muslim public sphere. public affair – and some supporters of the clusion of his speech. (The lecture will be pub- This distinctly public sphere exists at the Mujahidin succeeded in approaching Faezeh lished by ISIM shortly.) intersections of religious, political, and social Hashemi just after she had arrived. In the com- life and contributes to the creation of civil soci- motion, Mrs Hashemi decided to leave. F o r u m ety. With access to contemporary forms of The Opening Day was concluded by a forum communication that range from the press and This decision proved to be a wise one, for discussion on the plans and policies of the broadcast media to fax machines, audio and later, when Dr Martin van Bruinessen attempt- ISIM. The forum included the following mem- video cassettes, from the telephone to the ed to read out the text of Hashemi’s speech, bers: Internet, Muslims, like Christians, Hindus, Jews, many demonstrators in the audience prevent- Prof. Dr Nasr Abu Zayd (Visiting Professor of Sikhs, and protagonists of Asian and African ed him from doing so, mostly by shouting slo- Islamic Studies, Leiden University), Prof. Dr values, have more rapid and flexible ways of gans – including ‘Death to Rafsanjani’ and Dale F. Eickelman (see above), Prof. Dr Nilüfer building and sustaining contact with con- ‘Death to Khatami’. Some male demonstrators Göle (Professor of Sociology, Bosphorus Uni- stituencies than was available in earlier jumped on the stage in an attempt to capture versity), Prof. Dr P.S. van Koningsveld (Profes- decades. The asymmetries of the earlier mass the microphone. The demonstrators could not sor of Religious History of Islam in Western media revolution are being reversed by new be quieted down. During lunchtime the orga- Europe, Leiden University), Prof. Dr Peter van media in new hands. This combination of new nization – with the great help of some Iranians der Veer (Professor of Comparative Religion media and new contributors to religious and living in the Netherlands – succeeded in con- and Dean of the Amsterdam School for Social political debates fosters an awareness on the vincing the demonstrators that Mrs Hashemi Science Research, University of Amsterdam). part of all actors of the diverse ways in which had left. The demonstration was disbanded, Dr N.H. Biegman, author of Egypt: Moulids, Islam and Islamic values can be created. It allowing the programme to continue as Saints and Sufis (London 1990) and currently feeds into new senses of a public space that is The Guest s c h e d u l e d . Permanent Representative of the Netherlands discursive, performative, and participative, and The coming of Faezeh Hashemi attracted to NATO and WEU, chaired the forum. The pre- not confined to formal institutions recognized much attention, although few were to have The Opening sentations given by the members of the forum by state authorities. the opportunity to actually see her. In the week The programme started as scheduled with a in general, wholeheartedly welcomed the ISIM Just as there is general scholarly recognition before the opening, news of her participation short word of welcome by the ISIM director-in- as an important initiative in the field of the that there are multiple paths to modernity,1 spread quickly. She had been invited on the charge, Prof. W.A.L. Stokhof, on behalf of the study of modern Islam and Muslim societies. there is a practical awareness of multiple basis of her special position in Iran, where she ISIM Board. The Netherlands’ State Secretary of Prof. Nilüfer Göle highlighted the complex claims to the task of staging virtue,2 i n c l u d i n g gives voice to certain opposition currents and Justice, Mr. J. Cohen, then addressed the audi- aspects of modernity in the study of Islam, a public engagement in the name of religion. strives to increase the participation of women ence on behalf of the Dutch government. In whereas Prof. van der Veer pointed at the pos- Publicly shared ideas of community, identity, in public life. Aimed at softening the restrictive both speeches, the autonomy of the new sible danger of perceiving and describing and leadership take new shapes in such character of the present Islamic regime, Hashe- research institute was emphasized, as was the developments in the Muslim world as being engagements, even as many communities and mi’s activities arouse the suspicion of the more importance of national and international tantamount to Islam. As representatives of the authorities claim an unchanged continuity conservative guardians of the Islamic Revolu- cooperation. In the words of Stokhof, ‘… the theological and philological traditions, Prof. with the past. Mass education, so important in tion. Inside Iran, she has gained popularity by ISIM is independent even from the govern- Nasr Abu Zayd and Prof. P.S. van Koningsveld the development of nationalism in an earlier her attempts to alter the Islamic regime from ment that made its existence possible. By this stressed the importance of the integration of e r a ,3 and a proliferation of media and means of within, although she often has to ‘walk a thin autonomy, however, the ISIM depends on the these traditions into the Institute, in particular communication have multiplied the possibili- line’. The fact that she is the daughter of for- networking of scholars to guide its plans and the inclusion of scholarly reference to the nor- ties for creating communities and networks mer president Ali Akbar Rafsanjani helps to activities, lighting our way into the future.’ mative and other texts of the Islamic tradition. among them, dissolving prior barriers of space explain her remarkable performance in the tur- Cohen agreed: ‘ … let me reiterate that the Prof. Dale Eickelman agreed to the latter and distance and opening new grounds for bulent political environment of present-day ISIM is an autonomous institution and is to remarks, pointing to the growing number of interaction and mutual recognition.’ Iran. She operates, not without risk, in particu- determine its own programmes and activities, projects in which scholars of various discipli- lar when it comes to the views expressed in the but not without the participation of other aca- nary traditions cooperate, thus combining N o t e s periodical Z a n, which sometimes are perceived demic institutions both here in the Nether- their specializations. ♦ 1 . S.N. Eisenstadt (1996), Japanese Civilization: as ‘anti-state’ by conservative forces, as reflect- lands and abroad.’ A Comparative View. Chicago: University of ed in the recent trials. Chicago Press, pp. 396-426. Stokhof stressed that modern Islam and 2 . Armando Salvatore (1998), ‘Staging Virtue: Her presence at the opening was met with Muslim societies should be understood within T h e Disembodiment of Self-Correctness and curiosity by some, anxiety by others. The Dutch an historical context and that more classical the Making of Islam as a Public Norm’, Y e a r- academia and media were curious about this approaches in the field of Islamic Studies are book of the Sociology of Islam 1, pp. 87-119. unexpected female guest from a country nor- by no means incompatible to the needs of 3 . Ernest Gellner (1983), Nations and mally perceived as being hostile to most of our research on modern phenomena. He added N a t i o n a l i s m. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, values. During the last year, in particular after that the activities of ISIM are embedded in the pp. 28-9. 4 ISIM I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9

The official opening of the ISIM was enlivened by a brief musical concert of t h e Moroccan-born singer, Amina ISIM Advanced Alaoui, with her repertoire of the Alcantara. Trained in Arabo-Andalusian music and classical piano, Alaoui has D e g r e e P r o g r a m m e specialized in the style of Arabo- Andalusian gharnati singing of In November 1999, the ISIM will begin its Advanced Degree Morocco. Settled in Granada, Amina Programme in cooperation with participating research schools. Alaoui for the first time forged T h e Advanced Degree prepares students (holders of a Master’s t h e musical ‘Alcantara’ (phonetic for t h e Arabic al-Qantara), bridging via d e g r e e or its equivalent) for PhD research. It is open to graduates t h e medium of music, a new style i n the humanities, social sciences, religious studies and theology. between her native town Fes and her T h e applicants must specialize in a field specifically related to Islam adoptive city of Granada. Alaoui’s o r to a Muslim society and must demonstrate outstanding academic understanding and interpretation of the ‘Alcantara’ is a musical qualities. The Advanced Degree programme lasts for one academic year and includes, amongst others, courses in languages (advanced level), research methods (including data organization), and social science and cultural-historical approaches. The emphasis in the selection of Advanced Degree students is clearly placed on proven interpretation of a future which is m a r k e d academic capacity. The programme combines course work and b y a universal and tolerant humanism. Her individual supervision. Most students will be stationed in Leiden, presentation of this, as at the ISIM Opening however, some may be placed at one of the ISIM participating Day, was characterized by her refined vocal universities (elsewhere in the Netherlands). Although the Advanced range and her passion for Andalusia. Degree training is a preparatory programme for PhD research, this A solo performance on the zarb by Bijane does not guarantee entry into an ISIM PhD programme. Chemirani following the four songs by Amina Alaoui made up the musical intermezzo. The tuition fee is 10,000 guilders (currently approximately 5,000 USD). O n eo f her songs best indicative of the spirit o f universal love and tolerance which she tries However, (partial) waivers may be obtained in certain cases. to impart through every musical performance F o r t h e academic year 1999-2000, a limited number of full grants is perhaps ‘Amours ou trop tard me suis pris’, (including tuition and living costs) will be offered. For information Alaoui’s rich, soulful voice reminded everyone a n d application forms, please contact the ISIM secretariat or consult present that the only enduring joy is that which comes from a love which seeks only to serve t h e ISIM website. and give love unto others. The closing date for applications is: 15 April 1999.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9 Policy Debate 5

The Netherlands NICO LANDMAN Imams in t h e N e t h e r l a n d s

In February 1988, the Dutch government published a policy document on imams and their training.1 In pre- vious years, it had strongly advocated such training. The policy document was the preliminary conclusion of Home-made Better a – sometimes heated – debate: Who is in control of future imams? Will the Dutch borders be closed to imams from Turkey and Morocco? than Import?

The Netherlands counts approximately On the other hand, one hopes that imams Objections of Those Against Recent Developments 700,000 persons of Islamic background. Most who have a more positive attitude about the Despite the arguments in favour of local imam In the policy document mentioned above, belong to immigrant communities from Turkey society around them can break the isolation of training, proposals to come to bring this to concrete measures are announced for ‘import’ and Morocco, which settled in the Netherlands some Muslim groups, or at least decrease it. The fruition are strongly objected to by existing Mus- imams: In the future they will have to follow a in the ’60s and ’70s. Between 200 and 250 government assumes that imams trained in the lim organizations. Apart from that, there is doubt foundational course during which they have to imams are employed (with a salary) in the 380 Netherlands will be well integrated into society. about the feasibility of the proposed training learn the Dutch language and acquire relevant mosques in the Netherlands; in the smaller The need for a new type of religious leader structures. knowledge about Dutch society necessary for houses of prayer the religious leaders are usu- who is better equipped to work in non-Islamic The opposition is mainly triggered by fear of their job. The government is awaiting initia- ally unpaid. The majority of professional environments and who is completely indepen- assimilation in the surrounding environment. As tives from Muslim organizations and universi- imams are recruited in the country of origin: dent of foreign governments is also sometimes Muslims grow increasingly more opposed to the ties concerning a new imam training in higher Turkey or Morocco. The majority of the Turkish expressed by Muslims in the Netherlands who norms and values of secular society, their mis- education and limits itself to indicating the imams have been dispatched by the Direc- are critical towards existing Muslim organiza- trust of politicians who promote an Islam adapt- legal possibilities and conditions for applica- torate for Religious Affairs for a period of four tions. They blame the present generation of ed to Europe increases as well. Some Muslim tions in this field. It does not give any financial years, at the end of which they return to imams for preaching an Islamic message which organizations fear that a theological training commitment. Without embarking on juridical Turkey. Other imams have been educated in too much assumes the self-evidence of the truth supported by the government will have to make details, it can be stated that the legal barriers the country of origin, but have settled in the of Islam and offers too little possibilities to enter unacceptable concessions to the dominant cul- for the founding and funding of new institu- Netherlands permanently. into discourse with the non-Muslim environ- ture. This fear is vented amongst others through tions for higher education would be difficult. It Since the beginning of the 1980s, the exter- ment. It is especially those Muslims who con- the rejection of a ‘West European Islam’. Even would be a different matter if an already-exist- nal recruitment of imams has been criticized as structively work together with non-Muslims on though no one would deny that the West Euro- ing university would develop Islamic theologi- being an unwelcome foreign influence on the a daily basis that oppose the isolationist atti- pean context poses specific challenges for Mus- cal training: in that case conditions can be met Muslim communities in the Netherlands and as tude of some imams. Although not doubting lims, the universal, unique and revealed charac- relatively easily. From the policy document, it being a hindrance to their integration in soci- the universal truth of the Islamic teaching, they ter of the Islamic message, which is not open to can be gathered that the Dutch government ety. The Dutch government has ordered sever- stress that it is essential to further define and concessions, is stressed. would like to see the imam training it desires al investigations since 1994 and in 1998, pro- accentuate it in the social and cultural context. In opposing the government policy in favour realized in this way. duced the above-mentioned policy document of local imam training, antagonists refer to the At present, the initiatives of Muslim organi- concerning imams. The document contains The plea for Dutch imam training is further division of Church and State. Through its imam zations are headed in a different direction. On the following aims: 1. Stimulation of a theolog- substantiated by the consideration that Islamic policy, the government would involve itself in the one hand, there are organizations such as ical institution for the training of imams within theologians should not only function within the the internal affairs of a religious organization. Suleymanlis, which transplant training struc- the Dutch educational system; 2. Refresher confinements of the mosque but also in other Even though the division of Church and State in tures they have in their country of origin in the courses for imams who have been educated social structures, such as hospitals and correc- the Netherlands is more an ideological image Netherlands, without demonstrating any need elsewhere; and 3. Restriction on entry for new tional facilities. These institutions have a tradi- than it is descriptive of the actual situation, it has for recognition or funding by the Dutch gov- imams from abroad if candidates in the tion of spiritual care for their clients, which is almost gained the status of a dogma. That is why ernment. On the other hand, there are two Netherlands are available. given from either a Christian, Jewish or human- the government, in its policy document, stresses organizations that do aspire to public recogni- On the one hand, Muslim organizations have ist perspective. The increased number of Mus- that it does not want to violate that division in its tion and funding, but in doing so, opt for hav- reacted with criticism to this government policy lims in Dutch hospitals, and also in correctional proposals. It claims only to facilitate the condi- ing their own university: the Islamitische Uni- by pointing to the division between Church and facilities, justifies the appointment of imams tions under which the Muslims themselves can versiteit Rotterdam (Islamic University Rotter- State. On the other hand, they have devised next to the great number of ministers and create their imam training. Notwithstanding, the dam) which began in 1998 with a very limited educational structures that may be eligible for humanist counsellors. This forms part of the government does try to influence the Muslim budget; and the Stiching voor Islamitisch Hoger recognition and funding of the government. greater structure (hospitals, jails, etc.) and pre- communities in the Netherlands via the imam O n d e r w i j s (Foundation for Islamic Higher Edu- supposes that the imam works together in a policy. A paradox in the discussion about the cation) in Utrecht, which has developed plans Motives of Those in Favour team of people who hold different views. The involvement of the government with the train- for a (an autonomous) Theological University, The Dutch government regards this matter demands of professionalism placed on Christian ing of imams is the fact that in the present situa- in cooperation with Utrecht University. The from the point of view of integration of ethnic or humanist spiritual counsellors have not yet tion a number of imams are under the control of government seems to be getting what it had minorities. With this, the government means been clearly formulated for ‘hospital imams’. a foreign government, namely Turkish. If the asked for all these years, namely Islamic theo- their participation as full citizens in every However, it is clear that theological training in Dutch government interferes in that situation, logical training at an academic level, but in a aspect of society. With disturbing issues such as Turkey or Morocco will not be sufficient for this. for instance by severely limiting entrance of form it does not prefer: independent institu- increasing juvenile unemployment and juve- Therefore, the pursuit of specialized imams in these imams, it is to be questioned whether, by tions. ♦ nile delinquency among certain ethnic minori- institutions forms an argument for imam train- doing so it is supporting the autonomy of local ties, the government intends to develop a ing in the Netherlands. Muslim organizations or limiting it. social-cultural policy in which religion and ‘liv- The last argument for training imams in the Those critical of imam training in the Nether- ing principles’ are included. The role played by Netherlands is simply the need for imams who lands are also opposed to the negative and over- religious leaders, in casu the imams, can be pos- can speak Dutch and who can preach, lecture generalized view of the present generation of itive as well as negative. They can convey and give religious advice in that language. imams. They point to the training that current norms and values that may frustrate the inte- Knowledge of the language of their countries of imams have had for years on end, which begins gration of Islamic migrant communities in origin strongly decreases amongst Muslims at early age. They doubt if the same level of reli- Dutch society. In concreto this means imams who grow up in the Netherlands. It is evident gious knowledge can be obtained by means of who call on their audience to limit, in as much that an imam with insufficient knowledge of training conform to the Dutch educational sys- Nico Landman is a university lecturer in Islamic as possible, contact with the unbelieving infi- Dutch is severely handicapped in his communi- tem. They are annoyed by the pejorative atti- Languages and Cultures, Utrecht University, dels; or those who discourage young Muslim cation with people of the second and third gen- tudes towards the intellectual traditions of t h e Netherlands. In 1996, he conducted research women from studying or pursuing a career, erations. Concern about the Islamic training of madrasahs (religious schools) in the Muslim o nt h e possibility for imam training in based on traditional views on the position of the future generations is the main impetus for world. t h eD u t c h educational system, upon request women. It is implicitly assumed that imams most Muslim organizations that want to train A final question about the proposed imam o ft h eN e t h e r l a n d s ’ State Secretary. who have been trained abroad will propagate their imams locally. training concerns its feasibility. If it is assumed – E-m a i l :l a n d m a n @ d e n i c s e r . l e t . u u . n l such conservative ideas. Apart from that, vari- as it is by the Dutch government – that Muslim ous government bodies – among them the While the motives for imam training in the organizations themselves will have to bear the N o t e Dutch Internal Intelligence Service – have Netherlands greatly differ with the various responsibility, is there enough organizational – The integration policy concerning ethnic voiced their concern that imams could act as actors, and while also the ideological ‘colour’ of strength among these internally-divided orga- minorities in relation to their spiritual ministers. instruments by means of which foreign author- the training they desire varies widely, the need nizations? And, is there sufficient (paid) employ- Report of the Minister of Internal Affairs and State ities or organizations can control Muslim com- for local training facilities for imams is shared by ment for students who would finish the train- Secretary Netelenbos of Education, Culture and munities in the Netherlands. m a n y . i n g ? S c i e n c e s, Netelenbos, The Hague, 1998. 6 General Issues I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9

S e c u l a r i s m ABDOU FILALI-ANSARY The Debate on

The ‘Islam and secularism’ debate began a century ago and does not seem to have progressed. Prevailing atti- tudes, both ‘pro’ and ‘con’, are apparently locked in a stalemate and an endless ‘war of positions’. Why are the Secularism in actors of different trends restating more or less the same formulations on this issue? Is it possible to find a likely interpretation for such a phenomenon? C o n t e m p o r a r y

The Misunderstanding a b o u t S e c u l a r i s m The issue of secularism is addressed in dif- ferent ways, depending on whether the con- Societies of text is Muslim or Christian. In the latter case, it is treated as a process, i.e. a set of historical 1 changes supposed to have affected the regu- lation of the social and political order, and to have permeated the prevailing conceptions M u s l i m s (or worldviews) within society. When the con- text is ‘Islamic’, a clear opposition is posited at stage and which prevails to this day, conveys belonging to the ‘Muslim world’, positive law The reasons for an Impasse the very beginning between ‘Secularism’ and the impression of rejection of the fundamen- and state regulations have replaced traditions The ideas of Ali Abderraziq were strongly ‘Islam’, taken as broad and substantive cate- tal base of religion, i.e. the idea of transcen- and rules drawn from religion or linked to its opposed. He was finally silenced, as were other gories, which are supposed to refer to two dence. In all cases, secularism was understood tenets, with the exception of personal status creative thinkers before and after him. In his separate and irreducible realms of meaning. as an alternative to religion, not as an alterna- and family law, which remains the last resort case, this did not happen as a consequence of The question asked in the first case seems to tive way of ordering society and of conceiving for conservation, or maintenance, of the ‘Islam- popular unrest or of pressure from massive concern ‘how secularization happened in some the world. The majority of Muslims thought ic’ identity. At the same time, the prevailing social movements. The ‘masses’ seemed to be European societies at some time, and how it that secularization imposed abandoning alto- worldviews are strongly permeated by con- rather sympathetic to his ideas, as they were influenced their functioning, and the domi- gether their religious faith, their traditions, ceptions and attitudes linked to modern sci- perceived at that time as an open rebuke of nant attitudes of their members’. In the other their values, etc. Secularization was equated ence and ideologies. A real ‘disenchantment o f despotism. However, although he had a num- case, however, the question is most often: ‘Is to a complete negation of the self, to a total the world’ has made its way to the most dis- ber of followers in the subsequent years, espe- Islam compatible with secularism?’ The dis- rejection of all the views, wisdom and prac- seminated conceptions, even if authors as cially in the academia, the direction he cussion is therefore drawn to conceptual, the- tices inherited from the ancestors, and, above famous as E. Gellner interpret the change as a explored remained neglected. oretical aspects: from the outset it adopts an all, it was perceived as an alien phenomenon, mere replacement of ‘low’ or ‘popular’ by Thus one may nowadays wonder whether approach based on the manipulation of broad introduced into societies of Muslims by those ‘high’ Islam.6 In fact, ideas of determinism, the impasse of societies of Muslims is due to concepts and discoveries, at one stage or who were the ‘historical enemies’, crusaders of modern expectations, and belief in continuous the continuous presence of small groups of another. It is led to, and often locked in, a kind yesterday and colonizers of the day. Then, as progress have by and large replaced the tradi- determined activists who, in the absence of of a p o r i a. Very few studies address the histori- still now, it was perceived in the fullest sense tional attitudes based on resignation and centralized religious authorities, exert a cal aspects of secularization within societies of of the word, as a l i e n a t i o n. Hence, the turn belief in static or cyclical time and in mysteri- strong censorship on public discourses and M u s l i m s ,2 i.e. ask how it affected the life and taken by the debate in the public arena, with ous forces. blackmail political authorities. The recent views of Muslims, or attempt to describe what the small exception of some academic circles.4 The resulting situation is therefore marked events in Iran offer a strong case for this inter- a c t u a l l y happened since the category was dis- Secularists found themselves, except during by strong contradictions: although s e c u l a r i z a- pretation: although the majority of the popu- covered and the changes were experienced by some short intervals, (as, for example, when t i o n has, in a way, happened (or at least lation has shown a clear option for liberal atti- Muslims. Therefore, an ideological bias seems nationalism dominated) on the defensive. achieved many of its effects), secularism i s tudes (through the election of Mohamed to dominate the debate in this field. Their enthusiastic and vibrant apologies of seemingly rejected by the majority of the pop- Khatami), a small group succeeds in blocking The few studies which concentrated on the rationalism, progress, development, freedom, ulation. The call for implementation of the the way to any real and durable progress in historical changes within societies of Muslims democracy, etc., as by-products of secularism, s h a rica, which constitutes the main slogan of this direction. ♦ since the 18th century point to the fact that, were often successfully faced by accusations fundamentalist movements, shows how con- although secularization as an ideology (i.e. from their opponents of unbelief, disrespect servatives feel the disruption of the traditional what the French call l a ï c i s m e) was received for the ‘authentic’ values of society and some- order and its drifting from what they consider from outside, a real, observable ‘secularizing’ times, implicitly, if not openly, of treason. to be the religious norms. Abdou Filali-Ansary is director of publication, process began much earlier. This process was Prologues: revue maghrébine du livre, indeed a reaction to the perceived European Secularism vs. Secularization It was Ali Abderraziq (1888-1966) who, in the C a s a b l a n c a ,M o r o c c o . advance and menace. The need for deep The consequence of this evolution may be mid-twenties, proposed what may be the best reform, and the actions taken in order to set a described as boldly paradoxical in a double approach to bring to a match the prevailing N o t e s new organization of state and society based sense. On one hand, one cannot avoid deep conceptions and the actual situation within 1. We opt for this expression instead of ‘Muslim on rational criteria rather than religious tradi- surprise at the fact that Islam, which potential- societies of Muslims. His main idea, which he societies’ for its greater accuracy. tions, stemmed from the perceived weakness ly has less to oppose secularist worldviews and exposed in his famous essay, Al-Islam wa Usul 2. To the exception of few authors, like A. Al-Azmeh, of Muslim polities and from internal drive to ideals, would come to be seen as the most al-Hukm (Islam and the Foundations of Political A. Charfi and D. Eickelman. See for example: overcome this situation. The irruption of the resistant to secularism. As E. Gellner says: ‘The P o w e r. Cairo, 1925), was to introduce a clear Abdelmajid Charfi: Al-Islam wa al-Hadathah European-originating ideology of secularism, high culture of Islam is endowed with a num- distinction between Islam as a complex of ( I s l a m and Modernity). Tunis: 1990, Aziz Al-Azmeh: and its imposition on societies of Muslims ber of features – unitarianism, a rule-ethic, beliefs, moral norms and rituals, which can be A l-cIlmaniya min Mandhur Mukhtalif ( S e c u l a r i s m through the erection of modern nation-states, individualism, scripturalism, puritanism, an traced to sacred texts (first ‘meaning’), and from a Different Point of View). Beyrouth, 1992 interrupted the evolution of the initial, egalitarian aversion to mediation and hierar- Islam as the history of a community who and Dale Eickelman, ‘Inside the Islamic ‘endogenous’ secularizing process. chy, a fairly small load of magic – that are con- attempted to live up to its beliefs and to imple- Reformation’, in The Wilson Quarterly 22, No 1 Whichever credit is given to these concep- gruent, presumably, with requirements of ment the morality and perform the rituals (Winter 1998). tions, and assuming that secularization (the modernity or modernisation.’ 5 which stem from them (second ‘meaning’). The 3. This choice was made by Jamal-Eddin Al-Afghani ‘real’ and durable phenomenon) was brought Of course, one cannot push aside the wide- community has chosen, for particular historical in the essay he wrote in reaction to attacks on into societies of Muslims from outside, i.e. spread argumentation linking the success of reasons, to live its faith in a particular way, i.e. Islam by Ernest Renan. from an alien culture, it has stirred waves of secularization within European societies to through the creation of a polity designed to 4. Even in academic circles, most approaches address changes and numerous reactions which specific features of Christianity, i. e. the rela- prolong the sacred community of the Prophet. the question from the framework of the deeply influenced the regulation of the social tionship it establishes between the sacred and However, this is not the only way to live the contrasting terms of Islam and X (X being and political order and gave birth to an the profane, between God and Caesar. Howev- faith and to implement its ethical principles. modernity, democracy, human rights, intense and continuous debate within these er, when one considers the long and painful The real, and most important turn in the histo- secularism…) strengthening the reduction of societies. On one hand it is remarkable that, process through which the changes were ry of Muslims is not, as is widely believed, the complex issues to mere oppositions between since the distinction between the ‘secular’ and achieved and the secular order implemented, end of the ‘rightly-guided caliphate’ (A l - K h i l a f a categories. In this, a large number of scholars the ‘regular’ had no equivalent in Arabic, the one can only question the accuracy of this for- a r - R a c h i d a), but rather the death of the seem to be driven in their work by media-defined word chosen initially for secularism was mulation and wonder whether it is rather a Prophet, which signalled the end of a sacred issues and approaches. They contribute to the d a h r i y i n, a Qur'anic term for atheists.3 A l- late justification rather than a real under- community and the creation of a ‘caliphate’ consolidation and legitimation of artificial or though it was replaced later by l a d i n i y y i n, the s t a n d i n g . intended to continue his action. The caliphate, prejudice-born ways of asking, and therefore of semantic choices which were made convey a On the other hand, it is easy to observe that even in its early phases, is Islamic only by answering, questions. strong assimilation between secularism and secularization has found its way to Muslim name. No such political system could legiti- 5. Ernest Gellner, ‘Up from Imperialism’, in: atheism, or at least an opposition to, and reac- societies, and has deeply and irreversibly p e r- mately prevail, since nothing in the sacred cor- The New Republic, 22 May 1989, pp. 35-6. tion against, religion. Even the term ci l m a n i meated their ordering and the prevailing con- pus (i. e. Islam in the first meaning) allows a 6. Ernest Gellner (1992), Postmodernism, Reason (this-worldly) which was introduced at a later ceptions within them. In almost all countries claim of this sort. a n dR e l i g i o n. London. I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9 General Issues 7

R a d i c a l i s m OLIVIER ROY The Radicalization of

The recent burst of violence linked with the Saudi-born Islamic militant, Usama Bin Laden, sheds some light on a recent evolution of Islamic radicalism. In the eighties, most of the violence was linked either to an internal Sunni Conservative confrontation between a state and its Islamist opposi- tion (Syria, Egypt, Afghanistan, and later Algeria) or to a state-sponsored terrorism with strategic goals: for instance, the attacks against US and French barracks in Lebanon in 1983-4 and the hostage-takings of 1985 F u n d a m e n t a l i s m were aimed at ending the Western support for Iraq in the war with Iran. In the nineties, the internal violence movements found their way to Afghanistan, the Mujahidin training camps in August 1998). the Christians. This hostility is heralded in the either decreased or is no longer threatening the state among them many Egyptian leaders: Shawki These groups, which were all involved in sup- name of Bin Laden’s movement ‘World Islamic apparatus. It is rather being directed at ‘side-targets’ Islambuli, the brother of Sadat’s killer; Sheikh porting the Afghan Mujahidin, have openly Front for the struggle against Christians and (like tourists in Egypt, former fellow-Islamists, or the Omar Abdurrahman; Talacat Fuad Qassim; turned anti-Western, in phase with a huge part J e w s ’ . civilian population in Algeria). Mustafa Hamza; Abou Hamza of the Gamaca t ; of the Pakistani intelligentsia. If the Pakistani Nevertheless, the main weakness of these Al Zawahiri of the Jihad (who co-signed most government takes its distance from Bin Laden, movements is precisely their lack of con- Most of the main-stream Islamist move- of Bin Laden’s communiqués in early 1998); it openly supports the Taliban movement. stituency among the large Muslim countries ments endeavoured, more or less successfully, and others. The fact that Sheikh Abdurrahman How can one assess the importance of this (except Pakistan). ♦ to enter the legal political scene (Turkey, Jor- easily obtained a US visa from the American radical movement? It is not solely a rear-guard dan, Yemen, Kuwait, Egypt) and largely gave consulate in Khartoum, followed by a green fighting waged by ‘lost soldiers’. On one hand, up their supra-national agenda in favour of a card in 1992, is certainly a legacy of this peri- it is one of the consequences of the policy of national posture (Refah, FIS), if not nationalist o d . conservative re-Islamization waged by states (Palestinian Hamas, but also … Islamic Iran). The Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan like Saudi Arabia and Pakistan (but also Egypt), But this normalization of the Islamist move- (1989), followed by the collapse of the USSR and is in phase with the entry into the labour ments left aside a new kind of radical fringe. (1991), changed the picture. The USA lost market of thousands of madrasa students. It is The bombing of the World Trade Centre in interest in these militant networks, but for dif- also a consequence of the integration of the New York (1993) was probably the harbinger ferent reasons the Saudis and Pakistanis still mainstream Islamist movements into the of new patterns of radical Islamist violence. supported them. A turning point was the Gulf domestic political scene, which left out mili- The targets are symbolic Western (and more War of 1991: suddenly the ‘Afghans’, as they tants with no state or nation. It is not a coinci- precisely American) buildings or people. There were called, founded a new jihad, this time dence if many of these militants are uprooted is no longer any strategic goal; more precisely, against the West. Palestinian refugees, or come from the periph- there is a huge discrepancy between the Many militants, back in their country of ori- ery of the Middle East (with the notable excep- avowed goals (the departures of Western gin, founded or joined radical groups, some of tion of Egypt). They are not involved in the forces from the Gulf) and the real threat they them being splinter groups from the main- main Middle Eastern conflict, like Palestine, represent for the Western interests. The in- stream Islamist movements. The GIA in Algeria because the struggle is waged by a well-root- volved networks are made of transnational was founded by ‘Afghans’ (Tayyeb el Afghani, ed ‘Islamo-nationalist’ movement like the militants, who often have multiple citizenship Jaffar al Afghani, and Sharif al Gusmi), while Hamas. All the militant actors strongly advo- (or no citizenship at all, like Bin Laden), and do the pro-GIA journal in London, al Ansar w a s cate supra-nationalism and practise it. The Tal- not link their fight with a precise state or headed by Abu Hamza, an Egyptian who was iban even downgraded the ‘Islamic State of nation. Even if they come from some main- severely wounded in Afghanistan. The Kash- Afghanistan’ to a ‘mere’ ‘Emirate’. In Usama stream Islamist movements (like the Muslim miri radical movement Harakat al Ansar was Bin Laden’s networks (the Al Qaida Move- Brothers) they do not identify themselves with also founded by former ‘Afghans’, as was the ment) there are Egyptians, Pakistanis, the present strategy of these movements. Yemenite Jihad, founded by Sheikh Tariq al Sudanese, and Palestinians. Many of the mili- They appeal to uprooted transnational mili- Fadil, involved in a bloody hostage-taking of tants, by the way, are really uprooted. They tants who travel from one jihad to the other, Western tourists in December 1998. By the once fought in ‘peripheral’ jihads, like Bosnia, and identify themselves with a sort of imagi- same token, the head of the group held Kashmir, or Afghanistan, where their relations nary u m m a h. responsible for the attack on a group of with the local population remain uneasy. Abu Almost all of these militants shared a com- tourists in Luxor (November 1997), Mehat Hamza is an Egyptian, acting for the Algerian mon point: they spent some time in Afghanis- Mohammed Abdel Rahman, has also travelled GIA in London, whose son-in-law (who has a tan, in Mujahidin training camps, and they are to Afghanistan. In the Philippines, Abu Baker British passport) was arrested in Yemen based between Lahore (Pakistan) and Kanda- Jenjalani, head of the Abu Sayyaf group (killed (December 1998). Yussuf Ramzi, born in har (Afghanistan). This Afghan connection in 1998), also has an Afghan background Kuwait to Palestinian and Pakistani parents, dates back to the early eighties. In response to (although he is one of the few to have been went to the Philippines and to the USA. In fact, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, a joint ven- supported by Libya). the militants are a pure product of globaliza- ture of Pakistani military services (ISI) and But other militants did not come back to tion and the New World Order – using dollars, Saudi Intelligence (under Prince Turki Bin their own country. They used to travel from English, cellular phones, the internet, and liv- Faysal), with the support of the CIA, endeav- one place to the other, fighting a nomadic ing in camps or hotels. oured to send to Afghanistan a kind of ‘Islamic jihad against the West. A group headed by Their second characteristic is that their ide- legion’ to help the Afghan Mujahidin. The Sheikh Omar Abdurrahman and Yussuf Ramzi ology links a very conservative traditional sponsors had different agendas. The Saudis tried to blow up the World Trade Centre in Islam (shariat and only the shariat) with vio- and the Americans wanted to ‘bleed the Sovi- New York in 1993; both were in Afghanistan lence and terrorism. In particular, they are very ets’ and to defuse the growing anti-Western and the latter fled to Pakistan after the action. a n t i - S h icite. Although their anti-shicism is well Islamic radicalism by diverting it against com- The last operation was the bombing of two US rooted in traditional Sunni fundamentalism, it Dr Olivier Roy is Senior Researcher at the CNRS, munism (especially after the 1983-4 events in embassies in Eastern Africa. The main suspect, has been catapulted by the Wahhabi influ- A i x-en-Province, France. Lebanon). The Saudis were also trying to Mohammed Saddiq Odeh, is a Palestinian who e n c e .1 These neo-fundamentalist radicals are E-m a i l :o r o y @ c o m p u s e r v e . c o m enforce their Islamic credentials against the was trained also in Afghanistan. rather different from the mainstream Islamist Iranian brand of Islamism, by fostering a strict All these militants and networks have kept movements, not only in terms of politics but N o t e s Sunni militant Islam. The Pakistanis had a their ‘Afghan’ connections: Usama Bin Laden also of ideology. The Islamists, although advo- 1. Interestingly enough, the Wahhabi influence had more long-term strategic agenda. They were is living in Afghanistan under the protection cating the implementation of the shariat, have less impact on an other ‘heresy’: sufism. If Sufi the only ones who thought in terms of a post- of the Taliban. They are also supported in Pak- a social and economic programme, coupled practices have decreased, many of these Soviet era. They wanted to establish a kind of istan by a cluster of political and religious with a political agenda; they claim also to fundamentalists, like the Taliban do acknowledge protectorate on Afghanistan through funda- organizations, loosely coordinated in the bypass the shica-sunni divide, to promote their Sufi background and did not indulge in mentalist and ethnically Pashtun movements framework of the Dawat ul Irshad, established women in an Islamic society, and to not con- destroying tombs of the ‘Saints’. (this dual ethnic and religious connection has near Lahore. One finds the Islamist Jamaca t - i fuse Christianism and Western imperialism 2. This anti-Shicas bias is well expressed in a book been a permanent feature of the Pakistani pol- Islami, the more conservative Jamiat-Ulama (Hassan al Banna was eager to establish a rela- written by Maulana Nomani, a Pakistani deobandi, icy, even when they shifted their support from Islami, which controlled the networks of tionship with the Copts; Lebanese Hezbullah Khomeyni, Iranian revolution and the Shica faith, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar to the Taliban in 1994). madrasas from which the Taliban movement and the Iranian Islamist governments have with an introduction by the Indian Muslim salafi The purveyors of these networks were main- originated, and more radical splinter groups also been eager to keep some connections Sayyed Nadwi, denouncing the Iranian Revolution. ly Arab Muslim brothers, like Abdallah Azzam. like the Sepah-i Saheban, whose main goal is with Christian groups). The conservative back- Dharb-ul Mu'min, a journal close to the Taliban and A Palestinian holding a Jordanian passport, he to fight Shicism. Some high-level former Pak- ground of the neo-fundamentalists is by con- published in Karachi, has published some khotbas headed the Peshawar office of the ‘Mektab ul istani officials, like the general Hamid Gul, for- trast clearly expressed by their insistence on of Sheikh Hudaybi, imam of the Masjid-e Nabavi, Khedamat’, which worked as the dispatcher of mer Head of the ISI at the end of the Afghan the mere implementation of the shariat in who severely criticizes Christians, Jews and Shica s , the volunteers flocking from the Muslim War, are also supporting the movement (Gul order to create an Islamic society, on the con- called k u f f a r (unbelievers), r a f a w i z (heretics) and world. (Azzam was assassinated in September protested against the extradition of Ramzi to finement of women, and on hostility against m o n a f i q i n (hypocrites). (August 2 1998, on the 1989.) Many militants from repressed radical the USA and the bombings by the US forces of the Shicites (branded heresy),2 the Jews and Website Taliban.com). 8 General Issues I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9

Human Rights JOE S TORK Human Rights

Human Rights Watch (HRW), an independent non-gov- ernmental organization based in New York, investigates and reports on human rights abuses in some seventy countries, including the United States. HRW’s purpose is W a t c h to hold governments accountable for violations of internationally recognized human rights and humani- tarian law, and to generate pressure from other govern- ments, international organizations, and civil societies to end such abuses. We address the practices of govern- and the Muslim World ments without regard to ideological or geopolitical ori- entation, and of all ethnic and religious persuasions. make a point of addressing the economic, to exercise free expression without harass- ment is the source of the abuse; in other cases The organization also responds to abuses committed by political, and social factors underlying conflicts ment and threats of physical harm, to provide it is more an issue of the government failing to armed insurgent groups. Among the major concerns of that are expressed primarily in terms of reli- him and his wife with adequate security should protect residents against vigilante attacks. the organization are freedom of thought and expres- gious identity. they return to live in Egypt, and to submit new Human Rights Watch has consistently includ- sion, due process and equal protection of the law, tor- Most situations we investigate do not turn legislation that would strengthen guarantees ed, in its monitoring and advocacy, freedom of ture, arbitrary imprisonment, and disappearances. HRW on questions of religious belief. HRW has and protection of freedom of expression and religion and the right to practice (or not to recognizes the indivisibility of human rights, including looked with equivalent scrutiny at the abusive academic research. practice) one’s religious beliefs as among the economic, social, and cultural rights, although its main interrogation and detention practices of the Another area where governments and core universal human rights. We have argued work focuses on civil and political rights, including the governments of Syria, Bahrain, Israel, Iran and movements have attempted to impose their that denial of freedom of belief is almost right of workers to exercise freedom of association and Egypt, for example. In some instances these understanding of Islamic values is women’s always part of a more general pattern of to engage in collective bargaining. abuses arise out of political or armed conflict rights. In Algeria, HRW has called attention to repression and denial. In terms of US policy, involving demands for civil rights and eco- the actions of armed groups claiming to be the problem is not insufficient attention to reli- The organization began modestly in 1978 as nomic justice by communities claiming to suf- Islamic who have raped, mutilated and mur- gious persecution, but rather the overall failure Helsinki Watch, with the purpose of monitor- fer from discrimination and exclusion based on dered women, in some cases for defying their to implement existing human rights legislation ing compliance by the participating states in religious belief. In cases such as Algeria and rules of dress and work outside the home. The to sanction a whole range of grievous abuses, the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Egypt, where armed opposition groups calling organization has condemned the extreme including this one. ♦ Europe with the human rights provisions of the themselves Islamic justify atrocities against steps of the Taliban government in Afghan- Final Act of the conference, known as the civilians in those terms, HRW has condemned istan stripping women of their rights to work, Helsinki Agreement. An Americas Watch divi- the violations of humanitarian law unequivo- travel and attend school. HRW has document- sion emerged in the early 1980s to monitor cally, but also insisted that the governments ed the discriminatory impact of civil and crimi- human rights developments in Central and counter the violence without recourse to out- nal codes in Iran, Pakistan, Morocco, Egypt, Latin America and US human rights policy lawed practices such as torture and arbitrary and elsewhere that, in the name of promoting there. Today HRW also includes divisions that arrests. Furthermore, HRW insists that govern- Islamic values, subordinate women’s social sta- monitor developments in Africa, Asia, and the ments not abridge the rights to free associa- tus and restrict their personal freedoms. The Middle East and North Africa. Three thematic tion and expression of Islamists attempting to organization also works on the problem of divisions focus on Women’s Rights, Children’s promote their political views by peaceful domestic violence around the world, including Rights, and Arms (the role of arms transfers to m e a n s . countries with Muslim majorities or large abusive forces and particular weapons systems Governments in the newly independent minorities, in an effort to persuade govern- that are inherently cruel or indiscriminate, states of Central Asia have reacted warily to ments to fulfil their responsibility to protect such as landmines). A current theme of Human growing interest in Islam, preferring to main- women’s lives and physical security. Rights Watch is international justice, which tain control by appointing clerics and requir- In all these areas, Human Rights Watch works includes support for the special international ing registration of congregations. HRW has closely with local human rights defenders and criminal tribunals in former Yugoslavia and decried the repression of independent Muslim organizations. While local human rights move- Rwanda, the campaign to establish an Interna- activists in Uzbekistan, where the government ments are numerous and active in several Mus- tional Criminal Court, and, following on Spain’s has arrested hundreds of believers on fabricat- lim countries, such as Pakistan and Egypt, gen- request to extradite former Chilean dictator ed drug charges. We have also documented erally speaking the Middle East and North Augusto Pinochet, efforts to encourage discrimination against pious Muslims in educa- Africa probably have the youngest and least- national judicial systems to prosecute crimes tion, such as the dismissal of young men and developed movement. In many countries the of recognized international jurisdiction such as women from schools and universities for wear- groups lack legal status. In Egypt, where the war crimes, genocide and crimes against ing beards and h i j a b. human rights community has become quite h u m a n i t y . One area of HRW’s work that confronts most diverse, they operate very much at the uncer- HRW premises its efforts on the universality directly the claimed Islamic character of cer- tain sufferance of the government. More typi- of the core rights specified in the 1948 Univer- tain human rights abuses involves issues of cally, in Syria and Bahrain for instance, no local sal Declaration and subsequently codified as freedom of belief and of religion. HRW pub- activity is permitted and international organi- treaty law in the International Covenant on lished a 1997 report detailing extensive human zations are generally not allowed to conduct Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Inter- rights violations by the Islamic Republic of Iran fact-finding missions. Tunisia is somewhat national Covenant on Economic, Social and against religious (and ethnic) minorities, unique: few governments in the world devote Cultural Rights (ICESCR). From this perspective notably Baha'is, evangelical Christians, and as much time to promoting their human rights HRW applies the same criteria when it moni- Sunni Muslims. The organization has similarly image while systematically silencing their citi- tors the practices of governments claiming to criticized Saudi Arabia’s official and wide- zens who attempt to present a more accurate be Islamic as when it examines states that dis- spread discrimination against its Shica Muslim picture. The challenges to local human rights criminate against or persecute Muslims. We minority, and its intolerance of non-Wahabi defenders, and to international organizations have been outspokenly critical of Sudan, for beliefs and practices generally, including non- like HRW, go beyond government harassment instance, where the Islamist government has Wahabi Sunni Muslims. In other cases, HRW and repression, however. The overall political invoked religious grounds for its scorched- has protested a government’s failure to pro- environment is generally not hospitable to earth war policy that has targeted civilians in tect the rights of citizens threatened by groups human rights concerns, which are frequently the largely non-Muslim south of the country attempting to impose their interpretation of attacked as self-serving Western constructs and generally employed tactics that cannot be Islam. Human Rights Watch has been critical of not only by the government but also by politi- justified by the tenets of any religion. HRW has recent steps by the Egyptian authorities con- cal opposition groups and media. At the same been a main source of documentation of mass ferring semi-official powers of censorship on time, many political activists and commenta- killings and other atrocities in former Yugosla- the Islamic Research Academy of al-Azhar, for tors, including Islamists, have incorporated via, notably in Bosnia and now Kosovo, where example. We also intervened in the case of human rights into the discourse of their politi- Muslims comprise the majority of victims. In Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd, a professor of Islamic cal programmes and objectives. Human Rights Indonesia, HRW’s Asia division has been moni- Studies and Linguistics at Cairo University, Watch sets a high priority on working in con- toring abuses growing out of, and contributing who felt compelled to leave Egypt following sultation with local groups where they exist to, communal tensions following the resigna- threats against his life after a group of Islamist and in pressing the governments to permit tion of President Suharto. The violence there lawyers had secured civil court judgements such activity where they presently do not. has sometimes been directed at, and at other declaring Abu Zayd an apostate on the basis of The issue of religious persecution has be- times perpetrated by, Muslims. HRW recently his scholarly writings and ordering him to be come a contentious one in US legislative poli- urged the Jakarta embassies of Egypt and Jor- divorced from his wife against their will. HRW tics recently, driven largely by persons who dan to help form a diplomatic delegation to initiated a joint letter of protest to President contend that Christian minorities have increas- investigate attacks by security forces in the Mubarak signed by twenty-one human rights, ingly become targets of discrimination and largely Muslim region of Aceh and to help women’s rights, Arab-American and Muslim abuse in Communist countries like China and Joe Stork is the Advocacy Director of the Middle East defuse mounting tensions there. HRW’s reports American organizations, urging the authorities Vietnam and in several Muslim countries like and North Africa Division of Human Rights Watch, and public advocacy in such circumstances to support publicly Professor Abu Zayd’s right Sudan and Egypt. In some cases the govern- Washington DC, USA. I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9 Regional Issues 9

Middle East JUAN R.I. COLE The Genesis of the Baha'i Faith

Middle Eastern religion is seldom mentioned in the same breath with modernism, at least in the West. How- ever, the Baha'i faith, which originated in nineteenth- century Iran, poses key conundrums to our understand- i n Middle Eastern ing of the relationship between modernity and religion in the global South. M o d e r n i t y

Modernity was conceived in binary opposi- Din Shah by radical Babis in 1852, and thence to 1840s to pacifist, liberal globalism under tions, between superstition and reason, abso- a nation-wide pogrom against the new reli- Baha'u'llah and thence in the twentieth centu- lutism and liberty, nation and Other, civilized g i o n .2 Out of this maelstrom emerged an entire- ry to two contending emphases: a liberal and barbarian, and male and female. Propo- ly different sort of messianic movement, the stream that maintains a universalist and toler- nents of modernity, as Edward Said demon- Baha'i faith, founded in Baghdad in 1863 by ant outlook and a conservative one that strated in his masterful O r i e n t a l i s m,1 m a n a g e d Mirza Husayn cAli Nuri, Baha'u'llah (1817-1892). dreams of theocratic domination and insis- to range a number of such oppositions togeth- Baha'u'llah, a high notable born in Tehran tence on scriptural literalism. The movement er, coding reason, liberty, nation, civilization whose father had been a provincial governor thus defies any easy teleology of modernity, and maleness as European, whereas both married into the royal family, had emerged and in many ways parallels the major reformist Europe’s medieval (‘immature’) past and after the Bab’s execution as a prominent Babi intellectual currents of modern Iran’s Shici t e Europe’s Oriental Others, especially Islam, were leader, though his more radical younger half- majority. ♦ painted as possessing the opposite and inferior brother, Mirza Yahya Subh-i Azal, was more characteristics. European modernity tended to widely recognized as the vicar of the Bab in the hide from itself its own darker traits, including 1850s and early 1860s. Baha'u'llah was exiled chauvinist hatreds, industrialized warfare, first to Ottoman Baghdad (1853), then to Istan- racism, colonialism and male chauvinism, and bul (1863), Edirne (1863-1868) and finally in the degree to which the modern form of these 1868 to Akka on the coast of Ottoman Syria, phenomena was inextricably intertwined with where he lived until his death. In 1867 he had the entire modernist project. broken decisively with Azal, proclaiming him- From a postmodern point of view, modernity self the messianic successor of the Bab and has lacked a sense of ambiguity and irony, and founding a new religion, the Baha'i faith. Partly suffers from limiting its typologies to mere due to his exiles to the Ottoman Empire, which binary oppositions, when in fact social phe- was more directly imbricated in European nomena come in three’s, four’s, and even high- modernity than Qajar Iran, Baha'u'llah turned er ordinals, not just in two’s. North Atlantic Babism from a millenarian protest movement modernists have also privileged the European into one that mixed modernist and utopian experience of modernity in ways that seem realist themes. He expressed approval of some peculiar to anyone who knows something aspects of modernity, whereby he critiqued about world history. Anthony Giddens in T h e the absolutist Ottoman and Qajar states, Consequences of Modernity (Stanford, 1990), including a call for parliamentary democracy, argues that modernity is not a static matter of some separation of religion and state, a guar- binary oppositions, but is rather dialectical. antee of freedom of conscience and expres- Movements against absolutism give rise not sion, greater rights for women, and an end to only to parliamentary regimes, but also to arbitrary decrees, which should be replaced by national security states that appear to many tribunals. At the same time, however, he cri- citizens to deprive them of liberties instead of tiqued nineteenth-century modernity itself, bestowing them, thus generating oppositional condemning chauvinist nationalism (whether grassroots movements campaigning for religious, linguistic or ethnic in character), democracy (as opposed to elitist Liberalism) European colonialism, industrialized warfare and for workers’ rights. That is, he challenges paid for by high taxes on the poor, the anarchy modernists’ insistence that the contenders in of international relations based upon the political battles can be neatly divided into absolute sovereignty of nation-states (which ‘reactionaries’ and ‘progressives’. Giddens he wished to curb through international peace gives the name ‘utopian realist’ to the move- conferences), and what he thought of as over- ments, such as those of workers, women, developed civilization, by which he appears to peace groups and others, that challenge the have meant materialism, pollution and mas- industrial, militant nation-states of bourgeois sively destructive weaponry. m o d e r n i t y . Baha'u'llah’s mixture of rationalization (e.g. Islam’s encounter with nineteenth-century parliamentary institutions and due process), modernity produced not only reactionary, appeal to human rights, and yet his communi- revivalist, millenarian, liberal and fundamen- tarian emphasis on the creation of a new, talist responses, as some have argued, but in revealed missionary religion, prefigured some the form of the Baha'i faith it produced a mix- of the convergences between the old Right ture of millenarianism, liberalism and utopian and Left that French sociologist Alain Touraine realism that later turned sharply toward a sort perceives as characteristic of the turn of the of fundamentalism. The latter turn has tended twentieth century. In a fascinating about-face, to obscure the original emphases of the reli- the later Baha'i faith’s leaders turned increas- gion’s founder, which can only be recovered ingly to the Right, condemning multi-party Juan R. I. Cole is Professor of Middle Eastern and through reading his voluminous letters in their democracy as factious and plutocratic, advo- South Asian History at the University of Michigan, nineteenth-century political and cultural con- cating theocracy, and curbing individual free- USA. He is author of Modernity and the Millennium: t e x t . dom of conscience and expression within the T h e Genesis of the Baha'i Faith in the N i n e t e e n t h The Baha'i faith developed out of the esoteric, community. This right wing shell has preserved Century Middle East. New York: Columbia University kabbalistic Shaykhi movement of Shicite Islam, the utopian realist core of Baha'u'llah’s own P r e s s . founded by Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsa'i (1753- emphases, however, creating a unique sectari- E-mail: [email protected] 1826), and out of the apocalyptic and messianic an community that has remained tiny in the lit- Babi movement, founded by cAli Muhammad erate world, in part because of its strict con- N o t e s Shirazi, the ‘Bab’ or door to the divine, in 1844, trols on discourse, but which has had some 1. New York: Vintage, 1978. which racked Iran with religious ferment and success missionizing in India and elsewhere in 2. Abbas Amanat (1989), Resurrection and Renewal: turmoil, leading to the Bab’s execution in 1850 the global South. The Babi-Bahai movements The Making of the Babi Movement in Iran, and a retaliatory attempt on the life of Nasiru'd- underwent an odyssey from militancy in the 1 8 4 4-1 8 5 0. Cornell: Cornell University Press. 1 0 Regional Issues I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9

A u s t r a l i a tions. Whilst many continue to be invited from KATY NEBHAN the Middle East by the various ethno-religious organizations, these scholars and academics are increasingly coming from North America, A u s t r a l i a n Canada and the United Kingdom. As the largest group of Muslims in Australia are Australian Images of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Opera House, born, it is not surprising that these English- Centrepoint Tower, and Darling Harbour flank the speaking guests continue to draw large audi- mosques of Mecca and Medina on this greeting card ences from both the youth and the educated designed and printed in Australia. This card reflects on M u s l i m middle class.4 As well as crossing the linguistic the theological and cultural struggles experienced by barriers of the members of their audience, their Australian Muslims since their period of mass migration message of tolerance and unity is often more to Australia in the 1970s, particularly among the most relevant to the second and third generation of influential of Australia’s Muslims: the migrants and the Australian Muslims who play an active role in Australian born and bred generation. The experiences D e s t i n i e s organizing these events. However, it must be of both these groups may be understood through a pointed out that as with the Australian Muslim remark made in a recent article published in S a l a m, the N e w s, the majority of these events cater to a official magazine of the Federation of Australian Muslim largely English-speaking Australian Muslim Students and Youth (FAMSY): ‘It is our destiny that we population. Although they acknowledge the found ourselves here (Australia). However, the rest is a benefits of a diverse ethnic, cultural and lin- t e s t .’ 1 Destiny is a fundamental pillar of the Islamic faith. guistic Australian Muslim community, their However, as with the practice of Islam, the ways in which struggle to smooth the disunity which this destiny is perceived differs between particular places, diversity creates has left a gap in their struggle periods, cultures and peoples. How have members of the for tolerance and unity which has yet to be Australian Muslim population conceptualized their des- bridged. That is not to say that attempts have tiny? Where will it lead them? not been made. An example is the annual Australian Multicul- The new interest in Australian Muslims in the tural Eid Festival and Fair (MEFF) held at the last two decades – inspired by the mass migra- end of Ramadan in Sydney. MEFF’s attempt to tion of the 1970s – has produced numerous create such a bridge is evident in the strategy studies, literature and audio-visual material they developed ‘in recognition of the fact that A greeting card within the Australian context. Whilst taking into there is a lack of tolerance and acceptance designed and account the differences which exist among among people of different ethnic, cultural and printed in these, both in terms of medium and content, the linguistic backgrounds within the Australian A u s t r a l i a majority have taken a largely empirical approach Muslim community.’ 5 Creating an exhibitive c o m m e m o r a t i n g centred around the Muslim migrant experience. and socially-relaxed atmosphere with partici- the occasion of Both religious and ethnic identifications are pants from state and regional ethno-religious Eid Al-Adha. central to understanding the ways in which Aus- institutions and non-ethnic based others, gov- tralian Muslim migrants have constructed a distinguish them from others which shared a It was through this shared experience of ernment representatives, and visitors from a place for themselves in Australian society. Whilst common ethnic background but not the faith. struggle and hope that middle and working diverse range of backgrounds including a small religious identification may be important to In a recent interview I conducted with one of class Muslim immigrants harmonized the number of non-Muslims, MEFF attempts to many of these immigrants, it is clear from the the founders of the Lebanese Muslim Associa- Afghan experience with their own. AFIC – the help Australian Muslims ‘adopt and thrive’ not designated names of the majority of associa- tion (est. 1959), the sense of rivalry between peak Muslim organizational body in the country only as a unified Muslim community but also as tions and mosques, that religion, though impor- Lebanese Christians and Muslims was still – was particularly influential in upholding the an Australian one. The relative success of their tant, has not generally acted as the socially or given as the reason for which ‘Lebanese Mus- memory of the Afghan contribution through its initiative may be seen in the increase in partici- organizationally cohesive category. Numerous lim’ was chosen as the definitive title. He point- numerous publications, most notably the A u s- pants from 800 in 1987 to over 30,000 in 1998. mosques including the Albanian Mosque in Vic- ed out that just as Lebanese Christians had tralian Muslim Times. The Afghan experience However, with the rapid changes taking place toria, the Lakemba Mosque built by the established themselves in Australia, they too was codified and used as a positive foundation among the Australian Muslim population today, Lebanese Muslim Association in Sydney, and the wanted to be identified as a distinct ethnic around which subsequent Australian Muslims it is difficult to predict what destiny has in store. various organizations including the Bosnian group albeit with a Muslim identity. could base their historical origins in Australia. Ethno-religious institutions continue to yield Islamic Society and the Islamic Egyptian Society, The active display of this Muslim identity and However, for the children of these migrants some influence among migrants, although they point to significant ethnic divisions among Aus- its influence on relations between many of who now make up the second and third genera- are being eclipsed by ethnically and linguistical- tralian Muslims. This is not surprising since the these ethno-religious institutions has not been tion of Australian Muslims, the largely migrant ly diverse institutions. The growing number of Australian Muslim population represents 64 dis- great. The only significant exception has been character and ethnic orientation of this collec- Australian-born youth continues to set new tinct ethnic groups who speak over 55 lan- the references to the Afghan ‘Muslim’ contri- tive consciousness has proved to be a hin- trends centred around a more religious-based guages. Do these ethnic Muslim groups stand bution to Australia in many of the histories drance. As well as keeping them culturally and identity through the English language. Although detached under the umbrella of the Australian written, with varying degrees of sophistication, socially isolated from the diverse mainstream approached in different ways, attempts at toler- Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC)? Where do by members of these institutions. The modest Australian society, it has also kept them apart ance and unity continue to hold the imagina- ‘other’ Muslims fit into their conceptions of their mosques built by the Afghan cameleers who from Australian Muslims who may also come tions of the Australian Muslim population. While destinies? Is there a sense of a shared Australian came to provide much-needed transport in the from different cultural, linguistic and ethnic they have gained some ground in the last two Muslim identity? outback between 1867 and 1910, are regarded backgrounds. Their reaction to these ethno-reli- decades, as one article in Salam magazine put it, The tendency to form ethno-religious associa- by many Muslims as marking the foundation of gious divisions on the one hand, and the use of ‘It’s a long road, mate…’ ♦ tions is characteristic of the majority of immi- their destiny in Australia. Though this has not the past as a prologue for the construction of a grants to Australia. For many migrants, the necessarily led to the concept of a single des- collective consciousness on the other, have establishment of ethnic associations, clubs, tiny with a dominant Islamic orientation, it has seen the emergence of a radical movement places of worship and shopping centres are a provided a sense of a collective consciousness. which aims to promote the unity of an Aus- means of securing the cultural, linguistic and The sense of struggle which marked the tralian Muslim identity through stronger reli- religious heritage in their new home. Muslim experiences of the Afghan cameleers and the gious identification. immigrants were no exception. As the majority later Muslim migrants appears to have brought Some of the earliest institutions to promote had poor English language skills, resulting from about identification with this collective con- the centrality of an ‘Australian Muslim’ identity the conditions and requirements of work which sciousness. The White Australia policy which over an identity based largely on ethnicity, made it difficult to attend English language denied Afghans the opportunity to bring include FAMSY (est. 1967), the Muslim classes, communication amongst members of spouses and family from their homeland, and Women’s National Network of Australia (est. the linguistically diverse Australian Muslim pop- the replacement of camel driving by the motor 1980s), and more recently the Muslim Commu- Katy Nebhan, Department of History, ulation was extremely difficult. A remarkable truck in the 1920s, saw the small Afghan popu- nity Cooperative Australia (est. 1989). In the last University of Sydney, Australia. amount of ethnic newspapers were, and contin- lation of Australia fade away. Though only a decade, there has also been a marked increase E-mail: [email protected] ue to be, published by various ethno-Muslim few of their mosques remained in Adelaide, in non-ethnic based suburban associations like groups in languages other than English. In many Perth and Broken Hill, for the significant num- the Illawara Islamic Association, and the Islamic mosques today, the Friday sermons continue to ber of working class Muslim immigrants who Society of Manly Warringah. In 1996, the pri- N o t e s be given in the native languages of the majority came to satisfy the labour needs of Australia vately owned Australian Muslim Times w a s 1. H. Ayoubi, ‘The Destiny of Muslim Youth in of those attending. The highest authoritative fig- after 1945, these overseas-born pioneers who replaced by the Australian Muslim News, w h i c h Australia: Expected Role’, in: S a l a m, ure in Australia and the Pacific, the mufti, does worked with a predominantly Anglo-Aus- is owned by AFIC. This saw a major change in January/February 1998, p. 19. not speak English. At present, it appears unlikely tralian population provided a potent symbol. the national and widely read paper. Space pre- 2. Islamic Council of New South Wales: Profile 1994, that the ethnic basis of many of these already ‘Muslims: helping Australia get off its feet’ 2 – viously allotted to non-English languages was Sydney: Islamic Council of New South Wales, 1994, established associations and mosques will dis- these words represent the popular sentiments replaced by a wider variety of local and global p. 22. solve. Further, few of the founding members are of most Australian Muslims. These ‘tough, suc- news as well as advertising in English. 3. F. Imam, ‘Muslims of Australia’, in: S a l a m, February, willing to give up the security and social net- cessful men, held by many Australians in great The importance of language as an agent of 1983, p. 9. works which these associations provide. respect’ provided Muslim working-class immi- change can also be seen through the increase 4. See table 2 in Omar and Allen (1996), p. 25. The incorporation of ‘Muslim’ or ‘Islamic’ in grants with the semblance of hope they need- in the number of overseas scholars and acade- 5. Multicultural Eid Festival and Fair: 1996 Annual the titles of many of these ‘ethnic’ institutions ed at a time when securing good jobs and mics invited to conferences and seminars held Report (1996), Sydney: Australian MEFF was in some cases informed by the desire to social mobility was difficult.3 by AFIC, FAMSY and the various state organiza- Consortium, p. 2. I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9 Regional Issues 11

The Philippines THOMAS M. MCKENNA Armed Separatism

From 1972 to 1980, a ferocious war raged throughout the southern Philippines between Muslim separatist rebels and the Philippine military. An estimated 120,000 people died in the fighting, which also created and Muslim one million internal refugees and caused more than 100,000 Philippine Muslims to flee to Malaysia. That war ended in a stalemate and for the next 18 years an uneasy and fragile cease-fire existed – one periodically broken by armed clashes between the military and sep- Autonomy in the aratist fighters who remain under arms in remote camps. A 1996 peace agreement between the Philip- pine government and the main rebel faction represents the first real progress towards a genuine settlement of the conflict and substantial political autonomy for Southern Philippines Philippine Muslims. This article traces the remote and proximate causes of the Philippine Muslim (or so. Nevertheless, the ability of southern sul- B a n g s a m o r o) rebellion and its consequences for ordi- tanates individually to withstand Spanish hege- nary Muslims. mony for more than 300 years is a testament to their military and diplomatic prowess. The Muslim territories of the Philippines mark With their Reconquista of Muslim Spain a the periphery of the Eurasian Islamic world. recent collective memory, the Spaniards Indeed, with the exception of a few Muslim assigned to the unsubjugated Muslim peoples groups in easternmost Indonesia, no indigenous of the southern sultanates the label previously population of Muslims in the world lives at a far- bestowed on their familiar Muslim enemies from ther distance from the Islamic heartland than do Mauritania: Moros (Moors). The term Moro was the Muslims of the Philippines. There are applied categorically and pejoratively with scant approximately 3 million Muslims in the Philip- attention paid to linguistic or political distinc- pines, the only predominately Christian country tions among various Moro societies. The Ameri- in Southeast Asia. Though they represent only can colonizers who succeeded the Spaniards about 5 percent of the Philippine population, and eventually subdued Philippine Muslims in Muslims are geographically concentrated in the the early twentieth century by means of over- south of the country, and are distinguished from whelming force, continued the usage of the A wedding Christian Filipinos not only by their profession of term Moro even though it had become an epi- procession near Islam but also by their evasion of 300 years of thet used by Christian Filipinos to denote sav- Campo Muslim. Spanish colonial domination. They thus com- ages and pirates. In a bold piece of semantic From: Muslim Rulers and prise the largest un-hispanicized population in alchemy, Philippine Muslim nationalists during Rebels. Everyday Politics the Philippines. At the same time, Philippine the late 1960s appropriated the term Moro, Tensions brought about by massive Christian governor of the Autonomous Region for Muslim and Armed Seperatism in Muslims have always been separated from one shook it free of its colonial and pejorative roots, migration to the Muslim South eventually led to Mindanao, consisting of the four provinces in t h e Southern Philppines another in this archipelagic nation by significant and transformed it into a positive symbol of col- the eruption of sectarian violence in Mindanao the southern Philippines that retain Muslim ( b y Thomas M. M c K e n n a , linguistic and geographic distance. They are lective identity – one that denominated the citi- in 1970. That violence, which in many cases was majorities. He also heads the Southern Philip- University of California divided into three major and ten minor ethno- zens of their newly-imagined nation. For Philip- initiated or exacerbated by government soldiers, pines Council for Peace and Development, a Press, 19 9 8 ) linguistic groups and dispersed across the pine Muslim nationalists, Moro denotes the was a primary justification used by President three-year experimental body designed to chan- southern islands. descendants of those unsubjugated peoples Ferdinand Marcos to declare martial law in 1972. nel development funds to all of the southern Philippine Muslims share their religious cul- whom the Spaniards and their colonized sub- One of the very first actions of the martial law Philippines and, in doing so, to convince majori- ture with the neighbouring majority Muslim jects feared and distrusted. The ‘Moro National regime was an attempt to disarm Philippine ty Christian provinces to join the autonomous nations of Indonesia and Malaysia. They also Liberation Front’ was formed to direct the strug- Muslims. In response, the underground Moro region. Though many political uncertainties retain aspects of an indigenous pre-Islamic and gle for an independent political entity pro- National Liberation Front (MNLF) was activated remain, the Muslim Philippines today is more pre-colonial Philippine culture – expressed in claimed to be the Bangsa Moro or Philippine as an armed separatist movement. Muslim sepa- peaceful than it has been in three decades and dress, music, political traditions and a rich array Muslim Nation. ratist rebels, numbering as many as 30,000 exhibits more potential for prosperity than any- of folk beliefs and practices – that are similar to armed insurgents, fought the Philippine Armed one might have hoped for just a few years ago. those found elsewhere in island Southeast Asia, The Rise of Muslim Nationalism Forces to a stalemate, obliging the Philippine By the standards of modern ethno-nationalist but are today almost entirely absent among and the Armed Separatist government to negotiate a cease-fire and peace movements, the Moro struggle for self-determi- Christian Filipinos. Thus, while Philippine Chris- S t r u g g l e treaty in 1977. Muslim civilians overwhelmingly nation has achieved considerable success. Origi- tians and Muslims inhabit the same state and are The Bangsamoro rebellion developed out of a supported the separatist insurgents and suf- nating as a largely defensive rebellion to protect linked together by various attachments, a pro- political movement for Muslim separatism that fered cruelly at the hands of the Philippine mili- communities and cultural practices, the move- found cultural gulf created by historical circum- originated among a small set of Philippine Mus- tary. The peace settlement, which called for the ment has produced not only a significant mea- stance separates them. lim students and intellectuals in the late 1960s. establishment of a ‘Muslim Autonomous Region’ sure of autonomy for Muslim leaders but also That gulf is the outcome of two inter-linked That movement had as its goal the establish- in the southern Philippines, was never genuinely some substantial new benefits for ordinary Mus- events: the conversion of some regions of the ment of a single independent homeland for all implemented by the Marcos administration. As a lims. The rebellion drew the attention of the Philippines to Islam, and the Spanish colonial the Muslim peoples of the Philippines. The consequence, fighting broke out once more Muslim world and strengthened connections to occupation of other regions shortly afterward. remote causes of Muslim separatism in the mod- before the end of 1977, but did not again the Islamic heartland long attenuated by physi- Philippine Muslim tradition holds that Islam was ern Philippines may be traced to Western colo- approach the level of intensity experienced prior cal distance and disrupted by Western colonial- brought to the Philippines by a wandering nizers. The Spaniards created two distinct popu- to the cease-fire. The Muslim separatist move- ism. One result has been an unprecedented flow prince, the son of a Malay princess and an Arab lations in the archipelago – the colonized and ment entered a period of disarray marked by fac- of external resources for Islamic education. New sharif, in the very early sixteenth century. Islam Christianized peoples of the North and the tional infighting and a weakening of popular institutions established by the separatist leader- may in fact have arrived somewhat earlier or unsubjugated and mostly Muslim peoples of the support. By the early 1980s, it had refashioned ship allowed Philippine Muslims for the first time later but, whatever the date, it seems clear that South. American colonizers yoked those two itself in Mindanao into a mass-based and self- to register births and marriages with a formal Islam was introduced to the Philippines as part populations unevenly together in a colonial, and consciously Islamic movement guided by Islam- governmental authority they felt they could of the last phase of a conversion process that then national, state. A more proximate cause ic clerics. With the fall of the Marcos regime in trust. However, the most pressing need of ordi- swept across Southeast Asia from west to east may be found in the policies and practices of the 1985, movement leaders (with the now-modi- nary Muslims remains mostly unmet. As a result beginning in the late thirteenth century. It is also postcolonial, Christian-dominated Philippine fied aim of genuine political autonomy for of decades of governmental neglect and the well established that the Islamization process State. Until the 1950s, Muslims formed the Philippine Muslims) fully adopted the practices economic toll taken by the rebellion, the Muslim was still under way when the Spaniards gained majority population of almost every region of of popular politics, organizing mass demonstra- provinces of the Philippines remain the very their foothold in the northern Philippines in the southern Philippines. In the early 1950s, the tions to petition the government for political poorest in the country. Without improving the 1571, defeating the fledgling Sultanate of Mani- Philippine government began to sponsor large- autonomy. Meanwhile, armed rebel fighters economic well-being of the majority of its citi- la to do so. After consolidating control of the scale migration from the poor and politically remained in fortified camps in the hills. zens, the autonomous government for which northern tier of the Philippine islands, they troublesome regions of the north and central ordinary Muslims fought and suffered will not failed, despite repeated attempts, to subdue the parts of the country to the agricultural frontiers Moro Autonomy and have rendered their struggles worthwhile. ♦ well-organized sultanates of the South.Little his- of the sparsely populated southern islands. The t h e Aspirations of torical evidence exists to support claims that the large, fertile, and under-populated island of Min- O r d i n a r y Muslims southern sultanates mounted a sustained, uni- danao became the primary destination for Chris- In 1996, seeking an end to more than 25 years fied Muslim resistance to Spanish aggression. As tian migration to the southern Philippines and of political instability in the southern provinces, Dr Thomas M. McKenna is Associate Professor of elsewhere in Southeast Asia, sultanates just as by the late 1960s, Mindanao Muslims found the Philippine government finally signed and Anthropology, Department of Anthropology, often fought with one another, sometimes forg- themselves a relatively impoverished minority in implemented a new peace treaty with Nur Mis- University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA. ing temporary alliances with the Spaniards to do their own homeland. uari, the founder of the MNLF. Misuari became E-mail: [email protected] 1 2 Regional Issues I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9

I n d o n e s i a MARGARET KARTOMI Seudati Inong

Aceh, the northernmost province of Sumatra (known as Serambi Mekah ‘The Verandah of Mecca’) has a wealth of Muslim musical genres and body movement or dance forms. It was one of the first provinces of the Malayo- The Female Form of Indonesian archipelago to develop musical art forms associated with Islam. Unlike in many other Muslim societies, the Acehnese have a martial art tradition which is integrated into performances and includes female as well as male heroism. t h e Martial Art Genre in Meulaboh, West Aceh, Indonesia S e u d a t i In Sufi mysticism as practised in Aceh and terns provided by the girls’ body per- elsewhere, the ecstatic movements of the body cussion, including finger clicking and Seulamat datang bapak ngon ibu Welcome, men and women present are recognized as the expression of sponta- hand and thigh clapping (instead of Keunoe neutuju u Aceh Barat To this place in West Aceh neous emotion caused by the experience of the chest beating as in male s e u d a t i) Ranup neupajoh di dalam puan We prepare betel nut in the container divine. Se u d a t i is the best-known Acehnese while they sing. expression of this. It is believed to have originat- Mulia rakan mameh suara We pay our respects in sweet voices ed in the Pidi area of northeastern Aceh, but is Three seudati Ha ellallah alah e han Oh now found all over Aceh’s coastal areas and p e r f o r m a n c e s Han neutem rila Putroe Baren Putroe Baren does not want people to do certain things even in parts of the interior. In coastal Aceh, s e u- In a sequence of three s e u d a t i Han neutem rila Does not want them to do certain things d a t i is usually performed by men, except in West i n o n g performances, which we re- Aceh, where it is common amongst women as corded in Meulaboh in 1983, a group Ha ellallah Putroe Cut Baren Oh Putroe Cut Baren well. The body percussion and dance or con- of teenage girls performed the Duek ateueh meuligoe Sits on a raised throne certed body movement used in the perfor- dance-songs based on the art of self- Ka geuduek sidroe geutueng puasa She sits alone and fasts mance is a centuries-old Muslim tradition found defence. Eight of the ten girls on not only in Aceh but also in parts of North Africa stage were singer-dancers and two and West Asia. were solo singers who played the role of com- to their own clapped and finger-clicked rhyth- t o n verses probably originated or were popular mander and assistant respectively. Apart from mic accompaniment. The last section, in fast in southwest Aceh. However, the verse is the s y é k and assistant, who sat separately, the tempo, continued to alternate between the adapted slightly to the occasion of this perfor- whole group kneeled closely together in a row. soloist’s melodic line accompanied by the per- m a n c e . Following customary practice, the singers formers’ singing and interlocking body percus- The three items described above are in typi- began with the standard greeting to request sion segments. cal seudati inong style. The young female the forgiveness of their audience for any mis- In this case, the text refers to startling events, dancer-singers produce a specifically female takes in the performance, after which they including earthquakes and the fasting of hero- musical sound and movement, but like the sang a local version of the Arabic phrase ine Putroe Cut Barén, who possesses mystical extremely vigorous male s e u d a t i a g a m, both assalaam mulaikum, and gave thanks to Allah powers. The text contains both Muslim and reflect a specifically Acehnese Muslim piety, for all His gifts. They moved together in a pre-Muslim references (e.g. betel nut offer- fervour, and artistry infused with the Acehnese wave-like fashion – back and forth, or from side i n g s ) . martial spirit. to side, sometimes with every second per- Music referred to in this article (with tran- former moving diagonally backwards while The Second Performance scribed texts and translations) may be heard her immediate neighbours moved diagonally In the second performance the s y é k s t a r t e d on the author’s compact disc entitled ‘Muslim forwards. They clapped their hands together or by singing the customary greeting to Allah and Music of Indonesia: Aceh’, which is part of a 16- beat their shoulders and other body parts to the Prophet as well as the guests. She sang in volume CD set entitled ‘The Music of Islam’ produce interlocking rhythmic sections or sharp slow metre to a five-tone palette, after which (Executive Producer Eckart Rahn), Celestial The ureueng In Sumatra, males, not females, perform most rhythmic statements. the chorus repeated the s y é k’s melodic line Harmonies, 1998, available by e-mail at (celes- dancers in a Muslim associated art forms. Even when a and text. The slow, unmetered singing by both [email protected]) and on internet at http: seudati inong dance by a mixed couple is portrayed, both The First Performance soloist and chorus without body percussion in //www.harmonies.com ♦ p e r f o r m a n c e . roles are played by men. This is because of the The s y é k opened the first performance by some sections contrasted with the metered Muslim preference not to have women per- singing a four-tone melody to a text, which singing accompanied by body percussion in forming on stage in front of men. However, a offered greetings to the parents of a boy to be others. The dancer-singers described their range of specifically female genres is per- circumcised, as well as to the guests present. dance movements in their song texts as well as formed by groups of teenage girls in West Aceh After a while, the members of the chorus dancing them, dwelling on the fact that they (and elsewhere). They range from laments at clicked their fingers in a cyclic rhythm. The all came from the same school, and alluding to the death of a child to seudati inong, the female chorus then echoed the soloist’s line, continu- themselves in verse as small yellow birds. song and dance form based on the art of self- ing into a section of rhythmic finger clicking defence. which alternated with a section of rhythmic The Third Performance S e u d a t i is performed in open air, either by a clapping. Subsequent verses referred to the In the third performance, the two p a n t o n group of eight men, a soloist, and his assistant Prophet, sometimes alternating between sec- (quatrain couplets) presented images of boats, (seudati agam), or by a group of eight women, a tions of soft or loud singing and body percus- the sea, a river, flowers and a garden. They soloist and her assistant (seudati inong) . sion sections without singing. To the accompa- alluded to the verse’s real meaning – that the Whether male or female, the performers accom- niment of the finger-clicked and hand-clapped sad male singer is waiting for a girl (a flower) to pany their movements with body percussion, rhythms by the members of the u r e u e n g, the grow up so that he can marry her, and that he Prof. Margaret Kartomi is a ne t h n o m u s i c o l o g i s t beating out interlocking or sharp, striking soloist moved into a medium-fast metre, is crying at the thought of such happiness. a n dP r o f e s s o r of Music, Monash U n i v e r s i t y , rhythms with their hands on the ground, hand singing a three-tone melody. Soloists and cho- Since there is a reference to the port of Singkil M e l b o u r n e ,A u s t r a l i a . clapping and chest slapping. The dancers sing rus each sang very short phrases in alternation in the southwest, we may assume that the p a n- E-m a i l : margaret.kartomi@arts. monash.edu.au poetry in p a n t o n (Malay) or s y a é ( A c e h n e s e ) form with verses either telling of Aceh’s past glory or presenting religious themes, topical Bismillah ratep meuseukat With Allah’s permission we sing this sad song events, or political ideas. Se u d a t i and s e u d a t i Taloe peuet urat geupuphon sambong Four pieces of rope begin to be joined up (to bear the corpse) i n o n g are nowadays generally performed at Allah nibak malam nyoe Allah tonight wedding ceremonies or other joyful occasions. Allah kamoe meunari Allah we dance In former times, performances often lasted all Allah dalam istana Allah in the palace night for several successive nights. Shorter ver- Allah kamu meunari Allah we dance sions have been devised for present-day use, such as when troupes are invited to perform at a Deungo lon kisah uroe kiamat Hear the following story government or corporate function. Malam Jumeu'at phon teuka geumpa On Friday night the earthquake began In the female se u d a t i, led by a s y é k ( f e m a l e Geumpa keudua malam Aleuhat The second earthquake was on Saturday night commander and song leader) and her assistant, Geumpa ka meuhat ‘oh watee isya The earthquake happened after Magreb prayers the performers present a series of song-dance Nyawong geutanyoe di dalam badan Our souls are contained in our bodies sections in varying tempi. A major feature of the Barang pinjaman siat tuhan bri Our lives are borrowed for a short time music is tempo change, from relatively slow, Oh troh bak watee ka neucok pulang When the time comes (Allah) takes our lives back through to medium-fast and fast. Another fea- Nyawong lam badan tuhan peuerebre From our bodies soon we shall be separated ture is the variety of timbres and rhythmic pat- I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9 Regional Issues 13

M a l a y s i a CHANDRA MUZAFFAR Power struggle

When Anwar Ibrahim was sacked from the government and the ruling party at the beginning of September 1998, the reason given by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad for his drastic action was Anwar’s ‘low i n M a l a y s i a morals’. Anwar was allegedly guilty of sexual miscon- duct, including sodomy. Mahathir and his lieutenants were convinced that as soon as the former Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy UMNO President was put on trial, the truth would become obvious to everyone and his The Anwar Crisis massive support among the Malaysian people would decline rapidly. quite a bit of resentment within UMNO espe- son. There were a couple of other bailouts too, no coincidence. The book, it is obvious, was cially among party stalwarts who had joined allegedly linked to corporate figures close to written at the behest of Anwar’s adversaries in Now, it appears that the court proceedings the organization long before Anwar was co- the Prime Minister which Anwar was not order to character assassinate him. It appears are having the opposite effect: many opted into government. In fact, from 1982, enthusiastic about. that Mahathir, who was angered and incensed Malaysians are persuaded that the sex charges there were groups who sought to drive a by what he regarded as his heir apparent’s against Anwar are utterly ludicrous. The con- wedge between Mahathir and Anwar through Demonstrations betrayal and disloyalty, was not averse to the tradictory stances of prosecution witnesses; poison-pen letters and whispering campaigns. As the rift between Mahathir and Anwar production and distribution of the book. He the way in which preposterous bits of evidence Then in May 1997, Mahathir sent the clearest widened, yet another factor began to have an knew it would serve his purpose of slandering have been introduced into the trial; the strenu- signal yet to UMNO, the government, and the impact on their relationship. This was the and shaming someone who had the audacity ous attempts by the prosecution to exclude people that Anwar would be his successor. This explosive situation in Indonesia which came to to go against him. Thus, Anwar’s enemies suc- certain other pieces of evidence; and most of was by appointing him Acting UMNO President a head in May 1998. Suharto was becoming the ceeded finally in merging their goal with all, the decision of the court to amend the and Acting Prime Minister when he went off on principal target of massive street demonstra- Mahathir’s motive. charges and to expunge a great deal of the evi- two months’ leave. Anwar’s adversaries in the tions that zeroed in upon his long tenure – dence at the close of the prosecution’s case, party, some corporate figures who regarded his 3 2 years in power – and the enormous wealth Loyalty have given the impression to the public that ascendancy as a threat to their interests and a that his family had accumulated during his rule. Mahathir’s insistence on loyalty is not in the State is determined to convict Anwar at all few individuals in certain public institutions In the end, popular fury over his ‘nepotism, itself an unusual feature of politics. In most costs – however flimsy the evidence may be, viewed his appointment as a sign of danger. In cronyism and collusion’ forced Suharto to quit. political systems, ancient or modern, a deputy and however farcical the trial has become. July 1997, they circulated a signed document Opposition political parties, NGOs, and youth or the number-two man is expected to be loyal The decision to expunge all references to alleging that Anwar had an adulterous relation- and student groups in Malaysia, already critical to his chief. Within UMNO – given its feudal sexual misconduct from the court records has ship with the wife of his Confidential Secretary, of the growing involvement of Mahathir’s sons history and culture – unquestioning loyalty to particularly incensed the people. They now on the one hand, and a homosexual relation- in big business and somewhat unhappy about the paramount leader is one of the most cher- realize that the sex charges were introduced in ship with his wife’s former driver, on the other. the Prime Minister’s own long stay in power (18 ished traits of membership. It is because the first instance to humiliate Anwar via the The Prime Minister, according to the local years by July 1999), began to draw parallels Mahathir was absolutely certain that Anwar trial, even though the State knew all along that media, had the police investigate the allega- between Suharto and Mahathir. Some of them had betrayed him that he has marshalled all his it could not sustain those allegations. It is the tions and in late August 1997, he announced felt that the time had come for Mahathir to resources to annihilate him. The virulence of shaming of Anwar in such a crude and vulgar publicly that investigations had revealed that r e t i r e .1 the annihilation can perhaps be best explained manner which has brought Mahathir into there was no basis to the allegations. The question of corruption was raised by by the fact that Anwar was, all said and done, odium. It has eroded his support base and has some UMNO Youth leaders close to Anwar at Mahathir’s protégé. weakened his political position to such an Differences the party’s annual assembly in June 1998. What made the protégé’s sin of disloyalty an extent that he is now regarded in some quar- The sex allegations would have ended there, Mahathir saw it as a blatant attack upon his unpardonable crime was Anwar’s reluctance to ters as a liability to the ruling party in the com- except for a series of developments since leadership. Though he managed to blunt the protect the business interests of Mahathir’s ing general election. August 1997 which brought them into the attack by revealing that others, including family and friends. By questioning the bailout The government’s failure to identify the limelight again and which had an adverse Anwar’s family and friends, had also benefited for Mahathir’s son, Anwar was telling his boss police personnel who had assaulted Anwar impact on the Mahathir-Anwar relationship. In from the allocation of shares and the govern- that he was not prepared to salvage the while he was in police custody and to take the wake of the East Asian financial crisis, with ment’s privatization programme, the raising of Mahathir family. For an ageing leader who wit- action against the culprit or culprits, has creat- the ringgit and the stock market declining, the ‘corruption’ issue at the assembly, wors- nessed what happened in South Korea and ed serious doubts in the public mind about the businesses collapsing, and people losing their ened the deteriorating ties between Mahathir what is now happening in Indonesia, Anwar’s government’s integrity. Though an indepen- jobs, the general public became more and and his heir apparent. attitude was the antithesis of the ironclad dent Commission of Inquiry has now been more critical of the leadership of Dr Mahathir. Mahathir was now convinced that the UMNO guarantee he was looking for in a post- established – four months after Anwar’s black Though the crisis was largely due to an exter- Youth criticisms, seen against the backdrop of Mahathir era. eye became public knowledge – the damage nal factor – volatile equity capital suddenly attempts to draw parallels between him and At the root of the expulsion of Anwar from the done to Mahathir’s reputation is irreparable. exiting East Asian markets – the popular per- Suharto; Anwar’s lukewarm attitude towards government and the party is the question of Anwar’s trial and the harsh treatment meted ception was that Dr Mahathir had not man- certain bailouts; differences in approach power. Mahathir sensed an attempt to ease him out to him in police custody have helped to aged the economy well. towards the economic crisis between him and out of power. He responded to the perceived convince a substantial segment of Malaysian The foreign media, on the other hand, por- Anwar; the foreign media’s antagonism toward challenge with vigour and without scruples. society that there are ulterior political motives trayed Anwar, who was also Finance Minister, him in contrast to the accolades showered Anwar felt that Mahathir’s power base was behind his dismissal. Indeed, there are more as a sober and sensible person who under- upon Anwar; and the general erosion of sup- weakening. He sought to send a message – and people today than at the outset of the crisis stood global financial markets. Their praise for port for his leadership, were clear indications was repulsed. Though Mahathir has been able who believe that Anwar is in fact a victim of a him created the impression that he was ‘their that there was an organized, systematic to ward off the Anwar challenge for the time high-level conspiracy to destroy his political man’. Some of them even suggested that endeavour to force him out of office. The man being, the question is whether he will be able to career. Anwar has argued all along that Anwar and not Mahathir should be running the behind this endeavour, Mahathir reasoned, perpetuate his power for much longer. ♦ Mahathir and some of his cohorts in politics country. In fact, in June 1998 a number of was Anwar Ibrahim. He therefore decided to and business are determined to eliminate him regional and international newspapers and move against his protégé. because he is an obstacle to their interests. magazines openly called for Mahathir’s resig- nation. The media, in a sense, brought to the A l l e g a t i o n s R e l a t i o n s h i p surface certain differences in approach It is revealing that it was around this time, in Dr Chandra Muzaffar is the President of It was Mahathir who brought Anwar into between Mahathir and Anwar in their handling June 1998, that the sex allegations that t h e International Movement for a Just World. government, in 1982. It was Mahathir who of the economic crisis. Right from the outset, Mahathir had dismissed in August 1997, resur- H ei salso Professor-cum-Director of the Centre for groomed Anwar, accelerated his ascendancy Mahathir preferred a credit expansionary poli- faced through a thick book entitled 50 Reasons Civilisational Dialogue at the University of Malaya, within UMNO, and exposed him to a variety of cy aimed at stimulating the economy and pre- why Anwar cannot become Prime Minister, M a l a y s i a . governmental roles until he assumed the man- venting it from sinking into recession. Anwar which included a whole host of other slander- tle of Deputy UMNO President and Deputy took the more conventional route and sought ous charges against him. The book, inter alia, N o t e Prime Minister. Anwar was indisputably to cut back on expenditure and impose a cred- alleged that Anwar was not only a womanizer 1 . There are significant differences between the Mahathir’s heir apparent. Though the older it squeeze. and sodomist but also a murderer, who was Suharto and Mahathir leaderships and between man was instrumental in the younger man’s These differences which generated some corrupt, had abused power and was, at the Indonesia and Malaysia which some of Mahathir’s meteoric rise, Anwar himself was undoubtedly uneasiness in the market did not, however, same time, a CIA agent and a traitor to the critics fail to appreciate. Unlike Suharto, Mahathir an astute politician with a knack for mass cause the split between the Prime Minister and nation. At the UMNO General Assembly, the is a popularly elected leader who derives his mobilization and for the intrigues of intra- his Deputy-cum-Finance Minister. What exac- book was distributed to party delegates. In mandate from a democratically constituted party manoeuvres. Besides, he was also a gift- erbated their relationship was Anwar’s initial spite of a court injunction restraining the dis- electoral process. Unlike the Suharto family, ed orator who enjoyed tremendous rapport reluctance to endorse some of the rescue oper- tributor from circulating the book or its con- Mahathir’s children have not established with his followers. ations of big local corporations hit by the tents, 50 Reasons is easily available and has monopolies over entire sectors of the economy. Anwar reciprocated Mahathir’s patronage by financial crisis. One of these corporations appeared in different forms. Neither corruption, nor poverty nor giving unstinted support to the latter whenev- which had accumulated huge debts was Kon- That this poison-pen book designed to authoritarianism in Malaysia today bears any er he was confronted by a political crisis. This sortium Perkapalan – a shipping firm associat- smear Anwar should appear almost simultane- semblance to the situation in Indonesia under relationship between the two men created ed with Mirzan Mahathir, the Prime Minister’s ously to Mahathir’s loss in confidence in him is Suharto. 1 4 Regional Issues I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9

V i e t n a m JAY WILLOUGHBY The Cham Muslims

Islam was brought to Hindu/Buddhist Champa (present- day southern Vietnam) by Arab and Persian sailors and merchants who plied the rich Asian trade routes during the first Islamic century. As the region’s aloewood soon of Vietnam became a profitable commodity, small commercial set- tlements appeared. Islam made slow but steady progress among the Cham aristocracy and educated classes. At the time of Champa’s final military defeat and territorial absorption by Vietnam in the 1490s, the Cham were predominantly Muslim. After their loss of political independence and during subsequent Viet- namese dynastic struggles, in which the Cham fared quite badly, many Cham fled to Cambodia. The Cham royal court remained centred in Phan Rang until 1693, after which it moved to Cambodia and continued to function for over a century in a much diminished capac- ity. The Cham who remained behind were isolated by successive Vietnamese dynasties from the Islamized Malay world, with which they shared a common religion and culture and, to a lesser degree, language. With the incorporation of Vietnam into the French colonial empire during the nineteenth century, all official assim- ilation policies stopped and were replaced by a policy of benign neglect. Under the French, the Cham found themselves in two different colonies: Cochin China in the south, and Annam in the centre. As a result, the communities grad- ually became quite distinct from each other. This remains the case today, and has resisted all attempts at achieving ethnic unity.

The Cham of Annam The Cham Today lengthy bureaucratic procedures, and the peo- In the centre of Vietnam, the French set up Today, the Cham in Vietnam number less ple are allowed to raise money locally and the protectorate of Annam, which they ruled than one percent of Vietnam’s approximately abroad. Islamic literature is allowed, but there through a compliant court in Hue. The local 70 million people. They are concentrated in are some restrictions. For example, various Cham divided themselves into two groups: three areas: the region surrounding the former members of the Cham Muslim Foundation Cham Bani and Cham Kafir (or Cham Jahit). Cham capital of Phan Rang, Ho Chi Minh City, have spent years translating the meaning of Both groups, although very unorthodox, saw and the southern provinces of Tay Ninh and the Qur'an into Vietnamese, as well as books themselves as true Muslims. Among the Cham Chau Doc. The province of Chau Doc hosts the on basic Islamic beliefs, the life of the Prophet Bani, each family provided one person to be local ‘institute’ of higher Islamic studies. Teach- Muhammad, and stories of his Companions. trained in religious matters. Known as the o n g ing is supplemented by village elders and oth- When these books appear in Vietnam, they c h a r, this person observed the cult of the ances- ers who have some Islamic knowledge. Cham may or may not be banned. Books also come in tors and other religious duties in the village. communities remain isolated from the Viet- through Malaysian and Indonesian diplomatic The ong mam prayed and fasted on behalf of namese by mutual suspicion. Most of their channels. In the near future, one thousand the community, while the villagers showed members are poorly educated, as school is not copies of the Vietnamese translation of the their devotion by prostrating during the compulsory and parents need their children’s meaning of the Qur'an are scheduled to be prayers and bringing offerings to the temple. labour in the fields and the home. Schooling is printed in Vietnam. Cham students can leave available in the Cham language for approxi- the country to study Islam or other subjects, The Cham Kafir followed the old ways. Their mately 3 years, after which the language of provided they are high school graduates and worship centred around two Cham kings: Po instruction is Vietnamese. academically qualified, and if they have Klong Garai and Po Rome. Temples to these enough money. Almost no Cham can meet two kings still stand in Thap Cham (Phan Rang) The Cham Jahit have retained pre-Islamic these requirements, as their communities are and have become tourist sites. Each year, the religious elements. For example, I attended poor and the level of formal education is quite Cham historic mon- The Cham of Cochin China faithful would go to the temple to wash and t a r a w i h prayer services in a Cham Jahit low. In addition, I was told that at least one uments: Statues in In Cochin China, the Cham were largely con- clothe the statues of the kings, and then mosque in Phuoc Nhon in 1993. Many worship- Vietnamese government official has been sent Thap Cham temple centrated in 7 villages in the province of Chau parade them outside in a time-honoured cere- pers, dressed in white robes, performed the to Saudi Arabia to study Arabic and Islam so near Phan Rang, Doc. Their leaders’ authority was restricted to mony. During the rest of the year, the temple Buddhist triple prostration while facing the that the government will have a better idea of 1993. village religious affairs. The leading official of was closed. direction of prayer. Only the imam and his Islam and Islamic culture. ♦ each village, the Saykol Islam (Shaykh al Islam), assistants were fasting and praying their ver- was appointed by the French. Lesser officials of The Cham of Annam were concentrated sion of the prescribed prayers. Their a d h a n the religious hierarchy, in order of importance, around Phan Rang: in the districts of Phan Ri, bore no resemblance to the traditional Muslim were the h a k e m, who served as judge and vil- Phan Thiet, Ah Phuoc, and Binh Thuan. Origi- a d h a n, nor did the prayer ceremonies which lage head; the ong mam (imam), who was in nally, the French were in charge of their affairs, were conducted by roughly 10 assistants recit- charge of the village mosque; and the a h l y, but during the 1930s and 1940s the French ing and bowing before what appeared to be who oversaw the small communal worship appointed Cham officials to manage their dis- very tall candles while the imam sat to one side halls (s u r a u) and religious activities in the tricts’ affairs. and talked with those sitting close to him. I was c o u n t r y s i d e . shown their Qur'an, which was a thick book A m a d r a s a was attached to each mosque. Education, as in Chau Doc, was confined containing Qur'anic verses in Arabic along with Local education consisted in memorizing and largely to Islam. The Cham ‘scholars’ taught an interlinear Cham explanation. However, as reciting the Qur'an, as well as explaining its Kitab (the Qur'an) and Kitab al Hamd, and con- very few of them could read Cham and none meaning to the children. The language of tinued to use the traditional Cham script (a k a l could read Arabic, we were told that the book instruction was J a w i (Malay written in a modi- t a u k). As their society was closed, the language was a mystery. When my travelling companion fied Arabic script). Because of its central impor- stagnated and gradually incorporated many read it in Arabic and explained it to them in tance in Cham communal life, Malay soon Vietnamese words. Currently, approximately Cham, they were amazed. became the language of the local Cham elite. In two-thirds of the Cham dialect spoken in this the 1930s, the Cham started to write their own area consists of Vietnamese words. As many The Vietnamese government’s attitude language in a similar modified Arabic script, as Malay words have been incorporated into the toward the Cham is becoming more relaxed, the traditional Sanskrit-derived script was no Cham dialect in the Chau Doc, communication partly due to Hanoi’s good relations with Jay Willoughby is a founding member of the Cham longer in use. A romanized alphabet was also in Cham between the two areas is sometimes Indonesia and Malaysia. Permits to expand or Muslim foundation and works for TRW in Virginia, used. Both scripts are still in use today. p r o b l e m a t i c a l . build mosques are granted, usually after U S A . I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9 Regional Issues 15

I n d i a THEODORE GABRIEL The Sufi Tariqas

The enchanting coral archipelago known as Lakshad- weep comprises ten inhabited and seventeen uninhab- ited islands, which lie about 200 to 400 kilometres off the Indian west coast in the Arabian Sea. The islands of the Lakshadweep span from north to south for approximately 350 kilome- tres. The inhabitants of all the islands are ethnically very similar and speak a dialect of Malayalam, the lan- guage of the neighbouring Indian state of Kerala.1 T h e population numbering 50,000 is almost entirely Mus- Islands, India lim, mainly Sunnites, apart from a smattering of Waha- bis and Ahamadiyyas who are not very popular with the with the more dignified Sufi ritual and the gal who strokes the wound areas softly. It is Lakshadweep are devoted to Islam. Their faith other population. lower castes with the more lively and charis- believed that the dancers are healed instanta- is strong, as is their adherence to Islamic prac- matic d h i k r. This is in keeping with the ideolo- neously and completely. Not a drop of blood is tice and law. This includes the youth, a mainly Sufism and Caste gy of the Riffai order that was inclined to self- shed during the entire ceremony in spite of all university-educated and professional genera- The islanders are devout Muslims and main- mortification, a result of the belief in the abili- the frenzied self-mortificatory acts. tion. This commitment is in no small measure ly orthodox in their orientation, but there is a ty of the spirit to overcome the flesh. Perhaps The dancers must perform w u d u before par- due to the Sufi ideology and practice in the substratum of Sufism underlying their faith this reflects the persecution suffered by the ticipating in the rituals, otherwise it is believed islands which lend charisma to the practice of and practice. The Sufi leaders, known as Tan- Melacceris at the hands of the upper castes, that they will suffer pain from their wounds. the faith, stimulating and attracting the popu- gals, are extremely popular and highly regard- and their quest to overcome poverty, sorrow The elders recount that in former times they l a t i o n . ♦ ed, and their followers engage in a lot of heal- and misery by the spiritual acts of the d h i k r, even used to gouge out their eyes and slice off ing, and performing of miracles. The Sufis of that exemplified the transcendence of the their tongues. The islanders also say that it is Lakshadweep belong to two orders, namely spiritual over the worldly and the material. impossible to photograph the ra t i b ritual and the Quadiriyya and the Riffai. The two orders Caste-based discrimination is usually only that the pictures come out blank if someone are identified with two different caste groups visible in social and economic affairs. The tries to photograph the d h i k r. in the islands. Caste-like stratification is Melacceris resented its extension to religious noticeable among Muslims in various parts of matters when they were not allowed to partic- The Tangals India, though none of them can compare in ipate in Mohideen ceremonies. Some Melac- The Tangals of the Sufi orders are all rigidity and chauvinism with the caste system ceri youths secretly learned their songs and in believed to be descendants of the Prophet of the Lakshadweep Muslims. Many attribute 1950 went to the Mohideen mosque at Amini and are highly regarded, not only in Lakshad- the caste systems among Muslims to the ves- and forcibly participated in the d h i k r c e r e m o- weep and in neighbouring Kerala but also in tiges of their Hindu ancestry.2 Modernity has ny being performed there. The Koyas, highly Sri Lanka and even as far away as Malaysia, attenuated the discrimination and social sepa- incensed by this intrusion into what they con- where they are sought after for their miracu- ratism of the caste system of the islands. How- sidered their prerogative, complained to the lous powers and their teachings. One Androth ever, the castes are still endogamous and Tangal, the head of the Quadiriyya order. The islander is a teacher at the prestigious Al Azar caste names are often used in conjunction Tangal, however, held that there was to be no of Cairo. They are known for their powers and with Muslim names. The most prominent discrimination in matters of faith and would charismatic personalities and many periodi- castes among the islanders are the Koya, the not admonish the Melacceri devotees. The cally undertake what the islanders call s a f a r, superior caste, traditionally land and sailing Koyas, taken aback by the Tangal’ s unexpect- journeys to distant lands returning with much ship owners, and the Melacceri, who are their ed response, established their own mosques wealth from the gifts and donations of their serfs and engaged by the Koyas in coconut in each island and conducted their cere- admirers from distant shores. tree climbing, toddy making and menial monies separately, a practice which continues Some have taken to secular education and duties. The Quadiriyya and the Riffai Sufi to this day. No caste discrimination is shown at secular professions. A member of the orders of the Lakshadweep islands are associ- the Mowlid festivals, the annual commemora- Ekkarpally family of the Riffai order Secretary ated with the Koya and the Melacceri castes tion of the Sufi saints whose d a r g h a s a b o u n d for Planning in the Lakshadweep government. r e s p e c t i v e l y . in the islands. Huge amounts of food are pre- The oldest members of the Aranikkat and The origin of the Quadiriyya t a r i q a in Lak- pared and distributed at these events where Ekkarpally families are of course the Khalifas of shadweep is obscure. The Hindu inhabitants all the population of each island takes part. the two orders. The descendants of Ubaidal- of the islands are said to have been converted lah, the first Muslim missionary of the islands, to Islam by Ubaid Allah, a grandson of Caliph D h i k r are mostly to be found in Androth. They are as Abu Bakr. Ubaid Allah was shipwrecked on The Sufi rituals are termed r a t i b in Lakshad- respected as the Tangals, being charismatic Amini Island in 41 AH, where legend has it that weep. The Quadiriyya r a t i b ritual has two rows and miracle-performing individuals, though he was attacked by the population, but mate- of singers, ten to sixteen in number, clad in they do not hold particular offices in the Sufi rialized tigers and other wild animals hitherto white, with white caps, and holding tam- orders. never seen in the islands. It is said that when bourines in hand. They stand facing each Legends of the wonder-working deeds of he stamped his foot on the western shore, the other and sing devotional songs to Allah, the former times abound. For instance, the Sheikh island tilted towards the West, and this is Prophet and Abdul Kadar al Gilani. The singers Mohammed Kasim is said to have blessed the when the astounded population accepted bow as they sing and tap their tambourines, ladies of the island with painless childbearing. Islam wholesale. He performed similar mira- very slowly at first, the tempo slowly increas- However, this sans trauma child-birth is a cles in the other islands. These legends laid ing until it reaches a crescendo of singing and blessing only for the native inhabitants of the foundation for mysticism in the islands genuflecting, when the singing suddenly Kavaratti and not for expatriate workers. Simi- and led to a more charismatic form of the stops. The euphoria of the singers is clearly larly, the inhabitants of Chetlat Island were faith. Ubaid Allah’s m a q b a r a (tomb) is still visible to the onlookers. The singers’ move- blessed by a local saint with the ability to found at the Juma m a s j i d in Androth Island ments and singing are well synchronized. The climb coconut trees without the aid of ropes and is the scene of a popular and grand festi- Head of the order, the Aranikkat Tangal, if pre- or any of the usual apparatus, a fact I have val each year. sent, stands at the head of the group. A copy observed personally. Sheikh Mohammed Kasim Tangal (died AH of the Qur'an is placed on a pillow at the end The minority community of Wahabis in the 1140), whose tomb is found in Kavaratti Island, of the two rows. Lakshadweep islands is extremely critical of near the picturesque Ujjra mosque that he The Riffai ritual also includes singing praises the Sufi rituals. This is in tune with the general built, is said to have introduced the thau- to God, Muhammad and the founder of the Wahabi opposition to Sufism, which holds maturgical and self-mortificatory Riffai d h i k r order, Ahmad ar Riffai. The tambourine wield- that this latter abounds in allegedly heretical to the islands. The present leadership of the ing singers are also present. However, about concepts, such as polytheism in the venera- Quadiriyya and the Riffai Tariqas in Lakshad- six or seven murids, clad only in loincloths also tion of saints, idolatry in rituals such as circum- weep are from the Aranikkat and Ekkarpally take part in the ceremony. Some swords, ambulation and prayers performed at tombs families of Kavaratti Island, both of whom are knives and awls lie piled up in front of the Tan- and shrines to saints, and syncretism such as considered to be the descendants of Sheikh gal, the head of the order, who hands them the adoption of concepts and rituals from Mohammed Kasim. out to the partially-clad dancers after blessing non-Muslim religions. The Wahabis in Lak- Dr Theodore Gabriel is Senior Lecturer at the School The Mohideen mosques – after Mohideen the instruments. The singing and drumming shadweep are mostly Arabic teachers who of Theology and Religious Studies, Cheltenham and Sheikh, by which name Abdul Quadr al Gilani begin slowly and as it works up to a faster have been in contact with the dynamic Gloucester College of Higher Education, UK. is known – are the venues of the Koyas, the pace, the dancers enter the arena moving Wahabi community of Kerala. They were for- E-m a i l :T g a b r i e l @ c h e l t . a c . u k upper caste group. The Quadiriyya d h i k r ( a slowly at first and as the rhythm and singing merly students in the Arabic madrasas run by remembrance ritual) performed by them is a work up to a furious pitch, they begin swaying Wahabis in Kerala in this neighbouring state. N o t e s sober affair when compared to the Melacceri from side to side as though intoxicated. They However, unlike in Kerala, Wahabism has not 1. Except for Minicoy Island which is Maldivian. d h i k r which involves magical acts of self-mor- begin to slash their bellies, pierce their cheeks been able to make much headway in Lakshad- 2. See, for instance, Ahmad, Imtiaz (1978), tification (see below). It is interesting that the and throat and hit their heads with hammers, weep. Moreover, Sufi rituals are seen to be as Caste and Social Stratification among Muslims land owning upper caste group is associated etc. The wounded dancers approach the Tan- popular as ever in the islands. The people of i nI n d i a, New Delhi, Manohar. 1 6 Regional Issues I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9

Central Asia ADEEB KHALID Jadidism in Central

Muslim modernism in Central Asia at the turn of the twentieth century remains virtually unknown to schol- ars of Muslim cultural history. What little we know comes through a thick prism of nationalist or Soviet his- Asia: Islam and toriography that loses the Islamic dimension of the movement. Yet, approaching Jadidism, as this move- ment is usually called, as a Muslim movement allows us to broaden our understanding of the Muslim world’s encounter with modernity, and to reconsider many of Modernity in the the categories we habitually invoke in studying the Muslim world. Russian Empire

Jadidism arose in Central Asia in the 1890s, a to devote their energies to it. In the end, the This very brief exposition of Jadidism allows generation after the Russian conquest. Its pro- Jadids were constituted as a group by their us to pose a few basic questions about the ponents, the Jadids, formulated a harsh cri- own critical discourse. Their sense of cohesion relation of ‘Islam’ and ‘the West’. The paradigm tique of their society based on a fascination came from their shared vision of the future as of ‘Westernization’ seeks to interpret change in with modernity. The distinct flavour of Central well as their participation in common activities the non-Western world as simply a case of imi- Asian Jadidism is captured in the following and enterprises. The basic institutions of Jadid tation, or the transplantation of ideas or insti- exhortation penned by Munawwar Qari in reform were the press and the new-method tutions fully developed in a monolithic and 1 9 0 6 : s c h o o l . homogeneous ‘West’. It also assumes clear O Co-religionists, o compatriots! Let’s be just The Jadids avidly read the Turkic-language boundaries between ‘cultures’, so that influ- and compare our situation with that of other, press of both the Russian and Ottoman ences from ‘outside’ may clearly be delineated advanced nations. Let’s secure the future of our empires, as well as newspapers in Persian and from ‘authentic’ developments taking place coming generations and save them from becom- even Arabic, published in the Middle East, ‘inside’ a culture. But were the Jadids ‘insiders’ ing slaves and servants of others. The Europeans, India, and Europe. This made them part of a or ‘outsiders’? Does fascination with European taking advantage of our negligence and igno- transnational public of Muslim newspaper might (and wanting it for themselves) make rance, took our government from our hands, and readers, open to ideas developed far away. But them ‘Westernizers’? What is the ‘West’ in this are gradually taking over our crafts and trades. If in a more fundamental sense, print made case anyway, given that the relationship we do not quickly make an effort to reform our Jadidism p o s s i b l e. Jadidism was articulated in a between Russia (the colonizing power here) B e h b u d i ’ s affairs in order to safeguard ourselves, our print-based public space which disadvantaged and ‘the West’ remains a matter of debate, not magazine A y i n a, nation, and our children, our future will be the traditional cultural elite to the benefit of least for Russians themselves? Perhaps these the most important extremely difficult. Reform begins with a rapid the Jadids. The authority of the ulama, for categories are not very useful. Rather, it is Jadid publication start in cultivating sciences conforming to our instance, had been based on their cultural cap- much more fruitful to see Jadidism as an exam- in Central Asia. times. Becoming acquainted with the sciences of ital acquired in years of study in the madrasa. ple of the open-ended transformation of cul- the present age depends upon the reform of our Such cultural markers also served to limit the ture at a time of intense social and economic schools and our methods of teaching.1 the Jadids’ view of Russia and Europe was field of debate over questions of culture and change – a time when new groups in society quite positive: they were living examples of the religious authority. Entry into the new public arise and bring new means of communication The sense of decline and impending doom links between knowledge, wealth, and military space, by contrast, required only functional lit- and organization to bear on their struggles. A was widely shared by the Jadids. Reform was might that the Jadids constantly asserted. eracy. Debates in this public space in turn more useful conceptualization would pose the necessary to avoid extinction. Its advocacy Such positive images were not simply the served to discredit the very assumptions on same questions to Muslim modernism that are rested on a harsh critique of the corrupt pre- result of the Jadids’ europhilia. They all had a which the authority of the ulama had rested. posed to the transformation of Europe in the sent. Judged by the needs of the age, much, if didactic purpose: to exhort their own society Madrasas came to be criticized for not meeting early modern period, questions that, instead of not all, in Central Asian society was deemed to to acquire all the aspects of Europe that they the needs of the age; for producing corrupted emphasizing cultural absolutes, deal with the be in need of urgent change. The solution lay admired – knowledge, order, discipline, and versions of Islam; and even for being hotbeds impact of modern means of order and disci- in cultivating knowledge, which appeared as a power. This fascination with Europe coexisted of laziness and docility. pline on society and culture. ♦ panacea to the Jadids for the ills they diag- with a fear that if Muslim societies did not The new-method schools were the site of the nosed in their society. The very name ‘catch up’, their situation would become ‘even struggle for the hearts and minds of the next ‘Jadidism’ is connected with education. It more difficult’. The practically unchallenged generation. Through them the Jadids dissemi- refers to the advocacy by the reformers of the encroachment of European powers over the nated a cognitive style quite different from phonetic, or new, method (usul-i jadid) of rest of the planet sustained these fears. Ulti- that of the maktab and thus created a group in teaching the alphabet in the maktab. From the mately, the hope of the Jadids was for Muslims society that was receptive to their ideas. These new method, Jadid reform went to the advoca- to join the modern world as respected and schools were also crucially important in the cy of the new-method school, a transformation equal partners. They wanted the modernity of social reproduction of the movement. If the of the syllabus, and ultimately a new concep- Europe for themselves. first new-method schools had been founded tion of knowledge. The first proponents of reform often had tra- single-handedly by a few dedicated individu- In common with other modernists of the ditional Muslim education, but they had also als, by 1917 new-method schools were often period, the Jadids ascribed the ‘decline’ and experienced the modern world through travel staffed by their own graduates. The Jadids also ‘degeneration’ of their community to its depar- and reading newspapers. The father of Mah- enthusiastically adopted such new forms of ture from the true path of Islam. When Muslims mud Khoja Behbudi, the most respected figure sociability as benevolent societies. followed true Islam, the Jadids argued, they in Central Asia, was qazi in a village on the out- were leaders of the world in knowledge, and skirts of Samarqand, and Behbudi was taught Muslim empires were mighty. Corruption of the standard madrasa texts of the time at the faith led them to ignorance and political home by his father and uncles. The family was and military weakness. The solution was a prosperous enough for Behbudi to travel return to ‘true Islam’. But ‘true Islam’ had come abroad. A trip in 1900 to Istanbul and Cairo, en to mean something quite new to the Jadids. route to the hajj, was a turning point in Behbu- The idea of progress, a historical consciousness di’s intellectual trajectory. First-hand experi- defined by constant change, and a modern ence of modernist reforms in those places con- conception of geography, all in different ways vinced him to propagate similar ideas in his transformed the way in which Central Asians own land. Abdurrauf Fitrat, the leading Bukha- could imagine their world. New conceptions of ran Jadid, had studied at a madrasa before he time and space allowed a far-reaching histori- travelled to Istanbul for further education. By cization of the world that produced new, ratio- about 1910, the Jadid profile begins to change: nalist understandings of Islam and being Mus- the younger Jadids still came from traditionally Adeeb Khalid is an Assistant Professor of History at lim. True understanding of Islam required not learned families, but their madrasa credentials Carleton College, USA. He is author of The Politics of insertion in a chain of authoritative masters, were scantier. Muslim Cultural Reform: Jadidism in Central Asia. but the mastery of the textual sources of Islam, What the Jadids had in common was a com- E-mail: [email protected] now available in print. Knowledge alone could mitment to change and a possession of what lead Muslims to the true faith. Pierre Bourdieu has called ‘cultural capital’. N o t e s Knowledge also explained the superiority of This disposed them to conceive of reform in 1 . Munawwar Qari Abdurrashid Khan oghli, the ‘more advanced’ societies (Russia and cultural terms, and the modicum of comfort ‘Islah ne demakdadur’, K h u r s h i d ( T a s h k e n t ) , Europe in general) over Muslims. Up until 1917, that most enjoyed in their lives allowed them 2 8S e p t e m b e r1 9 0 6 . I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9 Regional Issues 17

I r a n ZIBA MIR-HOSSEINI The Making of

Divorce Iranian Style is a documentary film directed by Kim Longinotto and Ziba Mir-Hosseini. It is set in a small courtroom in central Tehran, and follows a number of women who come before a non-plussed judge and by Divorce Iranian Style turn use whatever they can – reason, argument, charm, outrage, pleas for sympathy, patience, and wit – to get nating characters in their own right, especially what they each need. There are four main characters: Mrs Maher, the court secretary, who had worked Massy, who wants to divorce her inadequate husband; in the same branch for over 20 years. She was an Ziba, an outspoken 16-year-old who proudly stands up extremely capable woman who understood our to her 38-year-old husband and his family; Jamileh, who project, and her daughter Paniz was a real gift. brings her husband to court to teach him a lesson; and Both soon became fundamental to the film. Maryam, remarried and desperate to regain custody of After a week, we too became part of the court her two daughters.1 life. The presence of an all-woman crew changed the gender balance in the courtroom and The idea of making a film about the working undoubtedly gave several women courage. Like- of Sharica law in a Tehran family court was born wise, the fact that the crew had both Iranian and in early 1996 when a friend introduced me to foreign members, I believe, helped transcend Kim Longinotto, the documentary filmmaker. I the insider/outsider divide. The camera was also had seen and liked Kim’s film, Hidden Faces a link in this respect, as well as between public (1991), on women in Egypt. Kim had for some and private. We never filmed without people’s time wanted to make a film in Iran: she was consent. Before each new case, I approached the intrigued by the contrast between the images two parties in the corridor, explained who we produced by current-affairs television docu- were and what our film was about, and asked mentaries and those in the work of Iranian fic- whether they would agree to participate. I tion filmmakers. The former portrayed Iran as a explained that we wanted to make a film that country of fanatics, the latter conveyed a much zations, and so on. All of them wanted us to over, they were true to their word. Three weeks foreign audiences could relate to, to try and gentler, more poetic sense of the culture and change our theme, to do a film on an issue later, visas were issued for Kim and sound- bridge the gap in understanding, to show how people. As she put it, ‘you wouldn’t think the which was ‘politically correct’ and that could recordist Christine Felce, enabling them to Iranian Muslim women, like women in other documentaries and the fiction were about the give a ‘positive image of Iran’, such as marriage bring the 16mm camera and sound equipment. parts of the world, do the best they can to make same place.’ We discussed my 1980s research in ceremonies, female members of parliament, or After their arrival, with letters of introduction sense of the world around them and to better Tehran family courts and I gave her a copy of my mothers of martyrs. Clearly, what Kim and I saw from the Ministry of Guidance, and aided by the their lives. Some agreed, others refused. On the book, Marriage on trial.2 as enchanting, as positive, were often things Public Relations Section of the Ministry of Jus- whole, and perhaps not surprisingly, most The first step was to apply to British TV com- that could not be filmed. In our discussions, we tice, we visited several Judicial Complexes. There women welcomed the project and wanted to be missioning editors for funding and to Iranian had to show how a film about marital disputes, are sixteen of these scattered around Tehran. filmed. officials for access and permission to film. Kim shot in the family courts, could present a ‘posi- Each contains a number of courts and deals with We filmed for four weeks in November- focused on the first and I on the second. As will tive’ image. We had to distinguish what we (and disputes filed by local residents, which differ in December. Back in London, we started editing become clear, I had to negotiate not only with we hoped our target audiences) saw as ‘posi- nature, given Tehran’s geographical division our over 16 hours of footage. It was already clear the Iranian authorities for permission and tive’, from what many people we talked to saw along socio-economic lines – broadly, the mid- to us who the main characters were likely to be. access, but also with myself. As a novice in film as ‘negative’, with the potential of turning into dle classes in the North, the working classes in When we put together the rushes, we found we making, I had to deal not only with theoretical yet another sensationalized foreign film on Iran. the South. This posed a problem for us. Our Min- had material on 17 cases, but only in the eventu- and methodological questions of representa- Images and words, we said, can evoke different istry guides wanted us to show the diversity of al six cases (only four of them fully developed) tion and the production of anthropological nar- feelings in different cultures. For instance, a the courts and the range of disputes heard; they shown in the film could we make usable stories. ratives, but also with personal ethical and pro- mother talking of the loss of her children in war were keen for us to film in courts headed by both It was heart breaking to have to abandon some fessional dilemmas. The film’s subject-matter – as martyrdom for Islam, is more likely in Western civil and religious judges and to cover marital very moving, but unresolved stories. In going the operation of Islamic family law in Iran today eyes to confirm stereotypes of religious zealotry disputes in different socio-economic strata – to through the material, rather than focusing on – inevitably entailed both exposing individuals’ and fanaticism, rather than evoke the Shica idea do a kind of sociological survey. But we wanted the exotic and the different, we tried to focus on private lives in a public domain, and tackling a of sacrifice for justice and freedom. What they to work in a single court, to capture something commonalities: how difficult marriage can be major issue which divides Islamists and femi- saw as positive could be seen as negative in of the life of the court itself. We knew that in and the pain involved in its breakdown. We also nists: women’s position in Islamic law. Western eyes, and vice versa. One answer was Tehran, with a population of over ten million, no tried to show what it is like inside a Tehran law We wrote a proposal for a documentary film to present viewers with complex social reality court could be representative, and we did not court, and to give glimpses into the lives of ordi- to be shot in a court in Tehran, and in March and allow them to make up their own minds. want to make a ‘sociological survey on film’. We nary people. Although clearly some ‘contextual 1996 an application for a permit to film was sub- Some might react favourably, and some might wanted to focus on characters and develop sto- information’ was essential, we were anxious not mitted to the Iranian Embassy in London. We not, but in the end it could give a much more rylines. We also knew that our project depended to overcrowd the film with facts and figures, not phrased the proposal carefully, knowing the ‘positive’ image of Iran than the usual films, if much on the goodwill of the judge and the court to tell viewers what to think, but to allow them sensitivity of the theme. We stated that our aim we could show ordinary women, at home and in staff. It was thus important for us to work in a to draw their own conclusions. Above all, we was to make a film that would reach a wide court, holding their own ground, maintaining court where we were welcome, where our pro- wanted to let the women speak, to show how audience and challenge prevailing stereotypes the family from within. This would challenge ject was understood, and where staff members they are strong individuals going through a diffi- about women and Islam. This we wanted to do some hostile Western stereotypes. were willing to take part. cult phase in their lives, and to communicate the by addressing a universal theme cutting across In the end, the Ministry of Guidance seemed This was difficult to explain to the officials, but pain – and the humour – involved in the break- cultural and social barriers, which ordinary peo- to be convinced: we were told to make a fresh finally we settled on the Imam Khomeini Judicial down of marriage. ♦ ple could relate to emotionally as well as intel- application through the Embassy in London, Complex, the largest one, located in central lectually. Marriage, divorce and the fate of chil- and were promised a permit in a month. Mean- Tehran near the Bazaar. It housed some Ministry dren, we argued, provide a perfect theme for while, with the help of the Islamic Human Rights of Justice offices, including the Public Relations such a film. Commission, we sought Ministry of Justice Section, as well as thirty-three General Courts. Dr Ziba Mir-Hosseini is a Research Associate at In October 1996, we learned that our applica- approval to film in the courts: this proved less Two courts dealt with family disputes, both t h e Department of Social Anthropology, University of tion was rejected, no reasons given. But Kim and difficult, as the Public Relations Department of headed by clerical judges: Judge Deldar, who sat Cambridge, and at the Centre of Near and Middle I were now committed to the project, so we con- the Ministry was then producing a series of only in the morning, and Judge Mahdavi, who Eastern Studies, SOAS, London, UK. tinued to lobby the Iranian Embassy, attending short educational films shot in Tehran family sat only in the afternoon. We were introduced to E-mail: [email protected] its functions to meet visiting dignitaries and courts for Iranian television. both judges; both said we could film in their explain our project. In December, we heard that We returned to London, intending to come courts. N o t e s one of our proposals for funding had come back and make the film before the May presi- At first we filmed in both courts, but soon we 1 . Irreconcilable Differences: ‘Divorce Iranian Style’, through: Channel 4 TV was prepared to fund us dential elections while those who had approved confined ourselves to that of Judge Deldar, b y Nick Poppy, Indiewire, 9 Dec., 1998: to make a feature-length film for its prestigious it were still in office. But the months passed and which we found more interesting. As Judge h t t p : / / w w w . i n d i e w i r e . c o m / f i l m / i n t e r v i e w s / True Stories documentary slot. We were enor- the official permit never arrived. It took a new Mahdavi dealt only with divorce by mutual con- i n t _ L o n g i n o t t o _ M i r H _ 9 8 1 2 0 9 . h t m l . mously encouraged. government, and President Khatami’s installa- sent, that is, cases where both parties had See also our interviews for Women Make Movies, So in mid-January 1997, we decided to go tion in August 1997, for our project to get off already worked out an agreement, there was lit- ‘ M a k i n g Divorce Iranian Style’: Tehran to follow up our application – to argue the ground. We submitted another application tle room for negotiation: the dynamics of the h t t p : / / w w w . w m m . c o m / a d v s c r i p t s / c t m n f r m . a s p ? our case in person with the Ministry of Islamic and, in October, I went to Tehran to follow it up, cases heard were rather uniform, and the cou- s o u r c e = c a t p g f r m . a s p ? r e c i d = 4 5 4 . Guidance – and also to see whether we could presenting our case again to the Ministry of ples rarely revealed the real reasons behind the and Marriage Among the Mullahs, by C y n t h i aJ o y c e , work together. I wanted Kim to see Iran for her- Guidance, now headed by a reformist personal- breakdown of marriage. Judge Deldar, on the Salon Magazine, 16 Dec. 1998: self, to get a feel for the place and culture. We ity. This time, Ministry officials were more open other hand, dealt with all kinds of marital dis- h t t p : / / w w w . s a l o n m a g a z i n e . c o m / m w t / f e a t u r e / talked about our project to people ranging from to our ideas; they were not afraid of dealing crit- putes, thus we found a much wider range of sto- 1 9 9 8 / 1 2 / 1 6 f e a t u r e . h t m l . independent filmmakers to officials in televi- ically with internal issues and were less fright- ries and a more spontaneous environment. 2. Marriage on Trial, A Study of Islamic Family Law: Iran sion, the Ministry of Guidance, women’s organi- ened of what the outside world thinks. More- Besides, the court staff members were also fasci- and Morocco Compared. London: IB Tauris, 1993. 1 8 Regional Issues I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9

E g y p t EVERT SCHREUR National Heritage

’The Musafirkhana was beautiful. It gave you a feeling for work. You were surrounded by nice woodwork, cal- ligraphy and coloured glass windows. You were in the centre of Cairo, but you didn’t hear any noise.’ Painter Cairo Style Mohammed Abla is soft-spoken yet very angry. Stand- ing in the courtyard of the burned Musafirkhana palace in the heart of Islamic Cairo, Abla sighs and moans. For inal – that is, every element of subse- 21 years he had his studio in this late 18th-century quent use – and open it to the public Ottoman palace. In the ’60s, the then Minister of Cul- as a museum. This became the ture, Sarwat Okasha, had decided in a fit of wisdom to accepted idea of what a monument provide studios for artists in the Musafirkhana. is. In the case of the pharaonic her- itage it seems to make sense but now Last October the building burned down and the Egyptian authorities try to apply Abla lost 90 per cent of his work. With real it to the Islamic city as well. The estate speculation thriving in the neighbour- Antiquities Organization treats mon- hood, Abla thinks it was arson. ‘The govern- uments as isolated structures. They ment people say the fire started by a burning are no longer dealing with some- rubbish pile in the alley outside. They thing that is a part of the surround- promised an investigation. I do not believe ing city. Even if you have 600 Islamic them. For them the Musafirkhana was just monuments, there are still some number 20 out of many other numbers. They 9000 buildings within the old city don’t care. Corruption has no feeling.’ and most of them are of some his- Whether arson or negligence, the loss of the toric value and not registered as Musafirkhana is a case in point in the steady s u c h . decline of the old Fatimid city of Cairo. On a list On the other hand, all experts call of 622 monuments drawn up in 1950, the for enforcing stringent building Musafirkhana was registered as number 20. At codes, that is, controlled develop- the time the list included some 130 buildings ment sympathetic to the old city fab- that did not exist anymore. They were listed ric. They are furious with the concept deliberately to meet the UNESCO criterion of of sterilizing the city by moving out 600 historic buildings to secure for the city of ‘offensive’ sights such as the onion Cairo the status of ‘world heritage’. Since 1950 and garlic market in front of Al Hakim another 20 to 30 buildings on the list have Mosque and to replace it with tourist been demolished. During the Nasser era, shops selling busts of Nefertiti. preservation of Islamic architecture was a non- Right in the heart of Islamic Cairo issue. In those days the Egyptian Antiquities stands Qasr Bashtak, a huge Mamluk Organization had an annual budget of LE600. palace. The building was restored by In the Gamaliyyah district of Islamic Cairo sev- the Germans in the ’80s. It was sup- eral monuments were demolished to make posed to be a cultural centre for exhi- room for schools. In the ’70s and ’80s, the bitions and concerts. It never notion of preservation finally dawned upon worked. Besides, how many cultural the authorities. However, most attention was centres, exhibition rooms, and muse- given to Egypt’s pharaonic past. It was only ums can you have in Cairo? The only after the 1992 earthquake – which caused only chance for the city fabric to survive is minor damage – that the government felt chal- if the buildings remain part of the liv- lenged by the Islamists, notably the Muslim ply and sewerage. All these services either simply the original street level. Since the 10th ing city, as they once were. This means servic- Brotherhood, to start paying attention to the refuse to cooperate or engage in some form of century, when Fatimid Cairo was laid out, the ing with piped water, sewerage and electricity, country’s Islamic architectural heritage. The horse-trading. The result is stagnation and city has been rising through the continuous and that requires cooperation among govern- most manifest initiatives, however, were taken d e c a y . dumping of dirt on the streets. This thick layer ment agencies headed by jealous bureaucrats by Ismailis from abroad who felt strongly The physical situation of the old city is des- of urban fill sits like a sponge on top of the unwilling to yield power. attracted to the old capital of the their perate. The streets are so packed with people original silt layer. Until last year when a sewer And then there is traffic. In the ’80s a fly-over medieval Fatimid caliphate. Apart from the that they have to work in shifts. As one expert was built from Bab Zuwayla to Bab Al Khalq, was constructed over Al Azhar Street, right into Agha Khan Foundation, a group of Bohras from observes: ‘You have somebody who is selling the ‘moat’ of Salih Talaci was a stinking pool. the heart of Islamic Cairo ‘to ease congestion’. Pakistan and India raised capital to refurnish f u u l in the morning, then he moves away and Unfortunately the US-funded Greater Cairo Of course traffic only got worse and now a tun- the Al Hakim Mosque – named after the dis- in his place comes a man who sells sweets. Waste Water Project has still not been extend- nel is being drilled under the old city. The con- puted Fatimid caliph – in an Indian sub-conti- Every single square meter is used. The pressure ed to Fatimid Cairo. tractor managed to start tunnelling exactly on nental style, with outlandish white stone bat- is so high that even if you remove these people Meanwhile water levels keep rising. One top of the old eastern city wall that had been tlements. By 1998, the Antiquities Organiza- you’ll have other people very soon coming expert predicts lakes on the streets of Cairo in covered with urban refuse over the centuries. tion – meanwhile renamed the Supreme Coun- back. In front of the Sabil Mohammed Ali, on the near future. As all buildings are made of When they hit a tower dating back to Salah cil for Antiquities – had its budget for Fatimid the main north-south thoroughfare of the old limestone, the groundwater penetrates Eddin, the authorities immediately fenced off Cairo raised to LE247 million. Fatimid city, there are clothes stores on the through capillary reaction up to two to three the site, forbidding entry to archaeologists, not Still very little has been done to save the city street. The shopkeepers hang their items from metres above street level. The water evapo- even for one day. However, people of the Agha from total collapse. The problems are numer- makeshift scaffolding. It is like the interior of a rates, the salt stays, and starts to attract more Khan Foundation, who have their office nearby, ous. Especially in Egypt there is no public big shop and you cannot even pass. Right water. The salt crystallizes within the stone. managed to videotape the demolition from debate yet on what restoration should be. behind them there is a big empty lot, which This means expansion. Stones turn into pow- their rooftop. Critique and self-critique are taboo. All can be a wonderful market area. The city has so der. Buildings crumble away. In addition, there Some experts wonder whether the govern- experts involved in the politically sensitive much unused space, obviously because there is aggressive air pollution and the effects of ment will decide to tear down the fly-over once preservation business, Egyptians and foreign- is total mess in legal issues.’ heavy traffic. The inner city has been left to rot. the tunnel is finished. Others are more cynical: ers alike, are only willing to talk on condition of Whereas city development and population However, on a recent visit to the old city, ‘They will never regulate traffic. All the talk anonymity. pressure take their toll, the actual cause for the President Hosni Mubarak made the on-the-spot about pedestrian zones and electric delivery The administration of Cairo’s Islamic monu- crumbling of monuments is rising groundwa- decision, ‘like all his wise decisions’, that the cars is sheer fantasy.’ The verdict on the preser- ments is chaotic. Most buildings are owned by ter levels. The process has been going on for preservation of Fatimid Cairo should be sped vation of Islamic Cairo can only be harsh. Coun- the Ministry of Awqaf – religious endowments. more than 30 years. Contrary to popular think- up. Over the coming years, the inner city is to tries like Turkey, Syria and Tunisia rank much No rental is collected, apart from the odd two ing, it has nothing to do with the Aswan High be turned into an ‘open-air museum’. All gov- higher than Egypt in taking care of their her- piaster a month for workshops established in Dam. In fact the groundwater is up to several ernmental, commercial and residential uses itage. And it is even more disturbing that no some monuments. Quite a few buildings have metres above the Nile. This is exclusively due that conflict with the requirements of preserv- one has any recipe to change the course of been turned into schools and are the property to the leaking of water pipes and sewers. Inci- ing antiquities are to cease. As one long-time m a t t e r s . ♦ of the Ministry of Education. Responsibility for dentally, this explains why daily water usage observer of dying Cairo sneers: ‘This is their maintenance and restoration, however, rests per capita in Cairo amounts to an estimated concept of preservation; they want to turn with the Supreme Council for Antiquities, 400 litres, whereas, for instance, in the Nether- Cairo into an Islamo-Disneyland. Anything they under the Ministry of Culture. Finally, there is lands it is 130 litres. think of as historical value is to be locked up the Cairo Governorate, the Ministry of Hous- Just off Bab Zuwayla, beyond the Fatimid and used as a display for Western tourists.’ It is ing, Utilities and Public Works, and the Ministry enclosure, is the 12th-century mosque of Salih the same idea European archaeologists had of Interior (traffic). At a lower level are the vari- T a l aci. The mosque is surrounded by a two- about pharaonic temples: Clear them from Evert Schreur is a free-lance journalist living in Cairo, ous departments of utilities, such as water sup- metre deep ‘moat’. The bottom of this ‘moat’ is inhabitants, remove everything that is not orig- E g y p t . I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9 Regional Issues 19

E g y p t VALERIE J. HOFFMAN Saints and Sheikhs

Belief in the existence and powers of ‘saints’ or ‘friend of God’ (wali, pl. a w l i y a) is pervasive throughout the Muslim world. Such individuals are often associated with Sufism, or Islamic mysticism, though the notion of in Modern Egypt human perfection probably developed first among the S h ica . According to some branches of the Shica, the imams inherited from the Prophet a spark of divine light granting them a perfection and sinlessness denied to ordinary human beings. The perfection of the saints in Sunni Islam is also a divine grace, and is often also associated with putative inheritance from the Prophet, though it usually also derives from the arduous disciplines of self-denial and devotion that are peculiar to the Sufi way. A true Sufi sheikh, or spiritual master, should be a friend of God, one who by virtue of his closeness to God may see by the light of God what no ordinary person can see, and who is therefore qualified to give each disciple the discipline and instruction that befits him or her. Nonetheless, not all those who are recognized as saints are follow- ers of the Sufi path, and not all those who func- tion as sheikhs are commonly recognized as s a i n t s . Since there is no body in Islam authorized to canonize saints, as there is in Catholicism, the process by which sainthood is recognized is entirely informal and necessarily a matter of contention. Typically, disciples regard their masters not only as saints, but usually as the greatest of all saints, the q u t b (axis) or g h a w t h (help). Nonetheless, the problem of unquali- fied individuals being granted a certificate to function as Sufi sheikhs has been broadly rec- ognized by Sufis themselves. So who is a saint, and how is he or she recognized? The qualities typically deemed mandatory for saints include piety, observance of the as a blessing, a notion that has caused some thought to have curative powers, especially for Mubarak, thanking him for his role in bringing S h a r ica, knowledge of God, and the perfor- outsiders to ridicule the Sufis, but which allows eye diseases. The protagonist, Ismacil, is raised about reconciliation between Muslims and mance of miracles – typically miracles of such individuals to be accepted into society, near the shrine. His father sacrificially sends his Christians in the Imbaba district of Cairo after knowledge, such as the ability to ‘read hearts’ rather than shunned as they are in the West. son to England for medical training, where he fighting broke out between the two communi- and to communicate mind-to-mind with other Sufi writings on sainthood assure us that becomes an ophthalmologist. When he returns ties in 1991.6 Regardless of the efforts of saints or one’s own disciples, breaking through saints exist in all countries and will continue to to Egypt he scorns what he now regards as the reformers of both fundamentalist and mod- barriers of time and space, and providing spec- exist as long as the world exists; indeed, they ignorant superstition of his family and country- ernist persuasion to undermine Sufism and tacular assistance to those in need. Yet this are essential for the well-being of the world. men who venerate Sayyida Zeinab and employ faith in saints, belief in the powers and moral inventory of attributes is deceiving, for the The Sufi disciple can derive benefit from noth- oil from the saint’s lamp to try to heal the eyes authority of God’s friends remains deeply root- experts on Muslim sainthood also tell us that ing more than sitting at the feet of a ‘knower’ of his cousin, Fatima. Ismacil tries in vain to heal ed among the people. ♦ sainthood (w i l a y a) is by definition hidden (ca r i f, often translated as ‘gnostic’), one who his cousin using modern Western techniques, among God’s creatures, especially the saints of knows God and who knows what medicine will and in desperation turns again to the oil of the the highest rank. So the person who is serving successfully heal the disciple’s spirit. This ben- saint’s lamp, which, combined with Western tea to the guests may in fact be of a higher efit is not limited to explicit teaching, for techniques, successfully heals his cousin’s spiritual rank than the sheikh who is revered by Ahmad Radwan says that the gnostics ‘pour affliction. The book beautifully evokes the rev- his disciples. There is hierarchy among saints, out the bounty of God which He has bestowed erence of the Egyptians for the saint as well as with a diversity of spiritual types, habits and upon them onto those who sit with them in the the need for Westernized youth to find their functions. The qu t b, or axis, is said to be hidden a s s e m b l y ’ .3 In modern and late medieval roots in faith while learning the science of the and largely unrecognized. Even a child might Sufism, Sufis become saints at least partly by W e s t . be a saint. In Cairo there is a tomb for a boy inheriting the asrar – spritual essences or In Egypt, there are occasional newspaper who, after his death, identified himself as a ‘secrets’ – of their masters. This occurs upon editorials condemning the ‘superstition’ of the saint by means of a dream given to a person the latter’s death. Appointment as sheikh in people that drives them to venerate the saints, who had never known him. Nonetheless, the theory ought to follow this inheritance, but but visitors to the tombs include the well-edu- man built a shrine over the place where the clearly this is not always the case. In Egypt, the cated and politically powerful. The saints are dead boy was buried, and his tomb is visited by son of a sheikh inherits the position of his deeply loved and celebrated in annual festivi- people seeking his b a r a k a. father, which is not seen as a corrupt practice, ties, the m a w l i d s (locally called m o u l i d s), that Some saints ought not to be taken as sheikhs as often the physical heir is also the spiritual sometimes draw pilgrims from very distance Valerie J. Hoffman is Associate Professor of Religion, at all. These include the people of j a d h b, the heir. But daughters may inherit as well as sons, provinces. The m o u l i d s include songs, the per- University of Illinois, USA. m a j a d h i b, who are violently ‘attracted’ to God, though Egypt’s Supreme Council of Sufi Orders formance of d h i k r (rituals of ‘remembrance’ of E-mail: [email protected] leaving their minds bewildered by the shock of does not recognize the membership of women God) and hospitality as well as the compulsory sudden mystical illumination and incapable of in the Orders, much less their leadership. There visits to the tombs of the honoured saint. Peo- N o t e s carrying out legal obligations. Such people is also no guarantee that the son of a sheikh ple may be recognized as saints in their life- 1. Ahmad Radwan (1986), Al-Nafahat al-rabbaniyya, indeed have a sound spiritual state with God, will follow his father’s inclinations or inherit times, and a few even had m o u l i d s c e l e b r a t e d 3rd ed. Kom Ombo, Egypt: Yusuf Ja’Lus, but should not be followed or imitated. An the full measure of his father’s gifts, which may for them before their deaths. Parents bring p p .2 4 2 – 2 4 3 . Egyptian sheikh, Ahmad Radwan (d. 1967), be distributed among a number of the latter’s their children’s school books to living saints so 2. Valerie J. Hoffman (1995), Sufism, Mystics and warned his followers not to ask the m a j a d h i b d i s c i p l e s . they will lay their hands on them and bless Saints in Modern Egypt. Columbia: University of to pray for them, ‘because they will pray that Throughout the Muslim world, the presence them. Former President Gamal Abdul Nasser South Carolina Press, p. 209. An extended you have poverty and illness, since by these of saints has been a source of comfort to peo- constructed a railway station near the remote discussion of j a d h b and m a j a d h i b is on pp. 208–13. God makes the Muslims enter paradise.’ 1 ple. The mere presence of a saint’s tomb in the retreat of Ahmad Radwan in Upper Egypt and 3. N a f a h a t, p. 39. Nonetheless, a Sudanese sheikh living in Cairo neighbourhood is thought to confer blessings, sought his advice on political matters. This 4. Qandil Umm Hashim, translated by M.M. Badawi said that the m a j a d h i b serve as God’s police- protection and prosperity. This is a theme that relationship was not without controversy for a s The Saint’s Lamp. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1973. men; though they appear to engage in bizarre was touchingly interpreted in a novelette writ- both Nasserites and Sufis,5 but illustrates the 5. Hoffman, Sufism, Mystics and Saints in Modern and meaningless behaviour, they report any ten in 1944 by Yahya Haqqi, describing the continuing relevance of such individuals to E g y p t, pp. 266–7. misbehaviour among the Sufis to the heavenly devotions of the Egyptians to the shrine of the public affairs. One of Radwan’s disciples, 6. Personal communication. Sheikh ‘Izz’s life is c o u r t .2 Often those with mental illness are per- Prophet’s granddaughter, Sayyida Zeinab.4 Sheikh cIzz al-cArab al-Hawari, is proud to have described in Sufism, Mystics and Saints in Modern ceived as m a j a d h i b, and their presence is seen The oil from a lamp in the saint’s shrine was a letter from the current President, Husni E g y p t, pp. 270 – 5. 2 0 Regional Issues I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9

M a u r i t a n i a RAHAL BOUBRIK T r a d i t i o n a l

Since the early 1980s, the ideological landscape of Mau- ritania, dominated by an elite that originated from the political struggle for independence, has fallen into decline. In a time of economic, social, and political crisis, ‘Men of Religion’ neither the political elite nor the military was capable of meeting the expectations of Mauritanian society. The modernist projects, timidly undertaken since the inde- pendence, only reinforced economic and cultural dependency on the Western model. The failure of the and Political Power national elite was blatant, and new social frameworks began to emerge in order to end the ‘state of grace’ enjoyed by the political power at the time. i n M a u r i t a n i a

From the beginning of the 1980s, and espe- sermon, to be merciful towards them. The pres- approached from all sides by parties and politi- gious register. The Islamists, on their side, cially with the advent of political pluralism, reli- ident conceded. Moreover, according to certain cal personalities to take advantage of the polit- avoided direct confrontation with the f u q a h â ’ gion became more than ever central to politi- sources, it was Ould Taya who asked the imam’s ical influence they had to offer. However, in and brotherhood leaders. Nonetheless, they cal, social, cultural, and identity-related issues intervention to resolve the crisis.5 The political majority, they supported those (already) in marked their distance with the religious inter- in Mauritania. A ‘religion of contestation’ would power thus made pragmatic choices and relied power. The son of Hamahullâh, Shaykh pretations and practices of that milieu; the dec- gain territory not only by criticizing the political on traditional religious personalities without, Muhammadou declared: ‘Ahmed Ould Daddah larations of certain streams in this respect are power-holders and the moral ‘drifting’ of soci- however, allowing them the opportunity to [president of the UFD: opposition party] came an open discrediting of the traditional religious ety, but also by opposing other traditional reli- develop a notoriety that could go beyond its to see me. Hamdi [Hamdi Ould Maknas presi- order. gious representations of Islam. This conjunc- control. dent of the PPD: opposition party] phoned me. Thus the ulamas are accused of being ‘official tion provoked the returning to force of tradi- The second category of men of religion to I have his written request for my support. I d e d- clerics good for legitimating any governmental tional models, either because those involved in which the authorities would turn to were the icated prayers to him, as I did for Ahmed Ould a c t i o n ’ (Nouveaux Horizons, No 2, 1991, p. 5) in these latter were looking to defend their sym- leaders of brotherhoods, who until then had Daddah and Mouawiya Ould Sid'Ahmd Taya the same sense they are qualified as cUlamas of bolic space of action, or because they were been kept at a distance. With the indepen- (PRDS: Parti Republique Democratique et the Sultan closer to the Ummayad period than reactivated by the political power to counteract dence, the State, while opting for Islam, careful- Social]. We are above these political divides’. 9 to ours’ (Nouveaux Horizons, No 5, 1993, p. 4 ). the emergence of a militant Islam, which ly referred to its scriptural aspect, other expres- This displayed neutrality is only superficial, as The men of brotherhood are also criticized as threatened the established order.1 sions and models being excluded indirectly. indicated by the s h a y k h himself when he then having diffused an archaic Islam de spectacle i n In denouncing the use of religion in politics This concealed its will to limit the influence of stated: ‘The people of this village asked me to manipulating the collective religious imagina- under the pretext that the law forbade political other traditional religious actors, notably the advise them in their choice amongst the newly tion of the masses (Nouveaux Horizons, No 6 parties based on religion: ‘Islam can not be the brotherhood leaders. These latter were deni- emerging parties. I suggested they go to the n.d., p. 6). exclusive prerogative of a political party’,2 grated and denounced officially by the state PRDS for the following reasons: 1 – Its leader is Islam in its orthodox form transformed itself those in power did not abstain from using reli- party at the time (Mauritanian People’s Party) at the leader of the State. He won the presidential almost into an official Islam; the men of tradi- gious personalities to reinforce their political its 1968 congress.6 elections and is more experienced than the tional religion became more or less civil ser- legitimacy. The creation of an official institution The marginalized brotherhood leaders of the others. 2 – He holds something in his hands, as vants of the State which aimed at monopoliza- echoed this; on 16 February 1992, a decree was post-colonial period were to return to the opposed to someone who is seeking’. 1 0 The vil- tion and manipulation of the political, social, promulgated concerning the organization and national political scene with the regional politi- lages under the direct influence of the Qâdirî and cultural fields. Mosques, Qur'anic schools, functioning of the ‘Islamic High Council’ (HCI – cal crisis and the introduction of a multi-party brotherhood leaders as well as the Tijânî vote and institutes for higher education, are con- Haut Conseil Islamique), a body which had system. During the blood-shattering events of massively in favour of the party in power, PRDS. trolled directly or indirectly by the authorities already been announced in article 94 of the 1989 between Senegal and Mauritania, the The pluralism and opening of the – electoral – in power. The emergence of new religious 1991 constitution. The five members of the leaders were to play an important role in the political arena facilitated the emergence of tra- actors emphasized the State’s control over reli- Council were appointed by the president, all reconciliation between the two countries. In ditional leaders as important actors on the local gion and on reactivating all categories of tradi- belonging to tradition milieus: f u q a h â ’ a n d fact, the ties of brotherhood between the two and national political scene. The f u q a h â ’, the tional men of religion. This policy cannot halt leaders of brotherhoods. The president was banks of the Senegal River are century-old. The brotherhood leaders and tribal leaders were the development of an Islam of contestation Mohamed Salam Ould Addoud, descendant of descendants of the Moorish s h a y k h ( s ), who had mobilized, above all, for electoral purposes. encouraged by a quest for identity, a precari- an influential and educated family from Trarza, conquered a large population in Senegal at the These three principal actors coordinated their ous economic and social situation, the obvious whose m a h d r a (traditional school) was one of beginning of the century, had retained close work in certain domains, all the while remain- social disparities and a discredited political sys- the best known in the country. Addoud situat- ties with their followers. Belonging to a broth- ing in competition and rivalry in order to obtain tem. ♦ ed his official role in the HCI within the conser- erhood was more powerful and more concrete maximal advantages in return for their service. vative sunni tradition, which had managed the than belonging to a nation. The annual pilgrim- For this reason, the alliances were often tempo- rapport between scholar and monarch: ‘Since ages made by the faithful to the holy places of rary and vague. It should be noted that the trib- the end of the reign of the four rashidun Califs, their brotherhood leaders were the expression al factor was very decisive in these alliances, all the sovereigns lacked the necessary con- of permanent spiritual connections. This especially during the elections. duct. There were the just, but there were also transnational and trans-ethnic spiritual estab- The traditional religious body is not homoge- Rahal Boubrik is a fellow of the Berlin-based Working the shameless. There were always pious schol- lishment allowed the network of brotherhoods nous, religious dignitaries grant their support Group Modernity and Islam (Berlin, Germany) for the ars and guides at their side. All maintained, to actively involve itself in the bloody conflict to one political party or another, depending on academic year 1998/99. E-mail: [email protected] with the regime in power, relations based on between the black-African community and the their personal interests. They react in a social integrity, devotion and the accomplishment of Moorish community. Following the 1989 tribal framework, and often play the role of N o t e s duty. They occupied various positions: judges, events, and before the opening of the official intermediary between political forces and their 1 . The data for this article do not cover the period imams, guides, gatherers (…). They would give borders, the s h a y k h brotherhoods worked for own tribes, at times in coordination, at others in before 1995: certain parties and political figures no credit to the lies of a sovereign, just as they reconciliation, not only by official means, but competition, with tribal leaders. The support have changed since then. However, the spirit would not validate his abuses. Nonetheless, also from the base. Relations between the that some amongst them granted to the state remains the same. they would not seek to plot against him, nor shaykh(s) and their disciples from the two party or to the opposition is situated more 2 . Art. 4, the regulation relating to promulgated would they seek to incite disorder and anarchy banks remained intact despite ethnic tensions. within a traditional alliance between notables political parties, 25/7/1991, by the Military to influence the scene. They limited themselves The transnational position of the brotherhood than it is in an explicit political alliance. This Committee of National Salvation. to enjoining people to do good and forbidding leaders earned them such sobriquets as ‘the attitude is not unique to traditional followers of 3. Mauritanie Nouvelle, No 103, from 6 to 13 them to commit reprehensible acts.’3 man who traverses the two banks’, attributed religion; it is also the attitude of modernist November 1994, p. 7. Pesident Ould Taya furthermore relied on to Shaykh Abd al-Aziz Ould Talib Bouya Ould political personalities and the vast majority of 4 . CLAUSEN, U., Demokratisierung in Mauretanien, independent religious figures, such as Boud- Saad Bouh when the following question was the young intellectual elite. The leaders of Deutsche Orient-Institut, Hamburg, 1993, p. 87. dah Ould Bousayri, imam of the principle posed to Shaykh Mohamadou Ould Hamahul- political parties played the game; the most pro- 5 . Mauritanie Nouvelle, No 102, from 30 Oct. mosque of Nouakchott who had distinguished lâh – son of the founder of Hamallism: 7 ‘ O f gressive amongst them and the most critical t o 6 Nov. 1994, p. 9. himself since the eighties by his preaching, what nationality are you (Malian or Mauritan- towards tribalism turned to tribal alliances dur- 6 . National unity: an old aspiration of our people which was then to be heard on the radio each ian)?’; he responded: ‘My nationality is my ing their electoral campaigns. realized within the PPM, State Ministry on national Friday. He was considered the unofficial advisor brotherhood (t a r i q a) and all my disciples are of The conservative f u q a h â ’ and the leaders of orientation, Ministry of Information and to the president. It was he who advocated the same nationality as I am’.8 brotherhoods in majority chose for those Telecommunications, Islamic Republic of peace at the time of the call to j i h â d , l a u n c h e d In the past few years, the brotherhoods have already in power. While preaching a fundamen- Mauritania, 1975, p. 38. by Islamist leader Ould Sidi Yahya on the eve of begun to conquer urban areas. They opened talist religious discourse strongly opposed to 7 . Branch of the brotherhood Tijâniyya, founded by the rejection of his party’s (Omma) legislation z â w i y y a in the form of traditional educational the Westernization of customs, they remained Hamahullah (d. 1943). (18 November 1991).4 Still in his role as media- centres in the cities of Nouakchott and Nouadi- critical of militant Islam. They felt the threat 8 . Mauritanie Nouvelle, No 91, from 2 to 9 May 1994, tor between civil society and the authorities, he bou. Although the brotherhood leaders are rel- represented by the new movements focusing p. 19. intervened in the arrests of Islamist youths in atively reticent towards politicians, they have on the young generation. Also, they situated 9 . Ibid, p. 20. 1994 and asked the president, during a Friday become involved during elections. They were their political and social actions in a new reli- 10. Ibid, p. 20. I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9 Regional Issues 21

M o r o c c o KATHERINE E. HOFFMAN Singing the Distance

The virtual wholesale migration of post-pubescent males from the Igherm region of the Moroccan Anti- Atlas mountains to northern Moroccan cities and to Europe leaves women and young children to inhabit the Gendered Experiences mountain villages for most of the year. Migrants retain strong emotional and economic links to their home vil- lages, which they reaffirm during the annual summer return. This scattering of people makes it difficult to cir- cumscribe the boundaries of any given local communi- of Migration in Anti- ty. But people try to do just that through collectively- produced song: poetry sung in the local Berber vernac- ular, Tashelhit. Both the implicit rules that govern which individuals sing out and what they literally say articu- late ideas about where community boundaries begin Atlas Community Song and end in the Anti-Atlas, and about how people make sense of the emotional and social ramifications of that accompanies parting, whether due to mar- constitutes local community and customs that The grandmothers who act as gatekeepers human movement. riage or to migration to the cities can lead to a song refrain which draws on the between the mountain hamlets are the ones experience of reflection itself. authorized to call out such verses. Girls are less Although some migrant men take their allahu akbar adunit takufremt In contrast to objectification of interested in maintaining community bound- wives and children to Casablanca with them, ar ukwan taTat mdden wakha suln the homeland, year-round moun- aries than they are in crossing them – whenev- most women experience migration from their tain residents use the term t a m a z i r t er possible – to visit saints’ tombs or relatives, remote mountain villages, watching people By God I swear, the world is a heathen to mean an inhabited land or a attend weddings, or any occasion that will and goods come and go, which constantly it divides people although they’re still alive. place which can be as small as a broaden their familiarity with the social and remind them of their ruralness and the combi- hamlet or as large as a nation-state. geographical landscape. nation of disdain and nostalgia with which city allah ihanikum a tamdakult a rbbi bdanagh What migrant men talk about as t h e Migrants are an integral and crucial compo- dwellers perceive their way of life. More ighkm tektir ar talagh ighkm tugh henagh tamazirt, is for year-round residents nent of village communities and economies, immediate concerns are tending the sparse, a highly-diversified conglomeration providing the necessary revenue to sustain the rain-fed barley fields and the animals which Farewell oh my friend, God divided us of multiple t i m i z a r n, multiple inhab- rural population as well as the widely-valued provide the staple of their diet, and ensuring If I remember you I’ll cry, if I forget you I’ll be fine. ited places. Women talk informally symbolic capital of urban familiarity which peaceful social relations. The work of main- about how much they want to flee they share with villagers during their annual taining community in these unforgiving hills the hard labour of the tamazirt f o r return. The two poles of what sustains the con- involves ensuring coherence within social Females who spend the year in the city with- urban conveniences and a break from agricul- cept of the t a m a z i r t – men in the cities who groups, establishing where alliances begin out hearing these verses cannot produce them tural work. But their public use of the term make money and women in the countryside and end, and carefully overseeing movements even if they understand and can speak Tashel- t a m a z i r t does not imply an urban counter- who work their men’s fields and maintain fam- in and out of the villages. This constant moni- hit, which is not the case for many contempo- p o i n t . ily honour – are the people whose voices are toring helps ensure a level of comfort within rary schooled city-dwellers, despite their One example comes from a grandmother in heard in collectively-produced community volatile social and economic constraints. mountain origins. Females who divide the year her mid-50’s who refers to the tamazirt (‘tama- music. Women’s singing of the t i z r a r i n genre of Remittances from migrant workers have evenly between city and village tend to have a zar’, altered to fit the song metre) as a place, sung poetry in liminal moments solidifies ties been subsidizing the females who stay behind passive familiarity with the verses but remain assuming the voice of the bride. She sings between rural communities and expresses nor- and keep Anti-Atlas traditions alive since at quiet. This leaves the year-long mative emotional aspects of the ways villagers least the first quarter of this century, when mountain residents to sing out. a haii fkigh y timizar ur khaliDagh and urban migrants alike experience the dis- French colonial ethnographers began docu- Appropriately enough, the ur iyi gis baba ur gis imi qanDgh placement of migration. Life for year-round menting village demographics. One local oral lyrics of their verses reflect very ur iyi gis id dada magh imalan residents of the Anti-Atlas mountains is a bal- tradition is the call and response genre of local experience. ancing act between two extremes of human t i z r a r i n sung poetry, which is sung in four to The significance of locality Here I am I was given to a tamazar I’m not familiar with existence: t e m a r a, ‘hard labour’ and laab o r six-part verses. The t i z r a r i n are not flashy; they takes on a different meaning my father isn’t here, my mother isn’t here, I’m lonely l h w a, ‘playing,’ which often implies music. require bare voices with no accompanying for migrant villagers estranged there’s no older brother to show me how to behave. ‘Playing’ brings together the different compo- drumming, musical instruments or dancing. from their lands than for the nents of Anti-Atlas communities, but their dif- They will probably never make it into the ‘folk- year-round residents. In the ferential roles in musical production reflect lore’ circuit performed in package tour hotels Anti-Atlas, this corresponds roughly to a gen- In another verse, a woman articulates the their social roles in maintaining the idea and in Moroccan cities. Instead, the verses are per- der division. One recurring theme illustrates widespread Anti-Atlas norm of respecting the tangibility of the homeland. Participating in formed by village females off-stage, so to this division: that of the t a m a z i r t, a word that boundaries of places that are not one’s own the singing signals adherence to a group with speak, marking liminal moments and spaces: could be glossed as ‘homeland,’ or ‘country- which members share daily when people are sitting waiting to be served side,’ as well as the more generic ‘place.’ Both igh ilkm yen imi n tamazirt irard aDar labours and simple joys. Just meals, riding in the back of a pickup truck Arabic and Berber-speaking Moroccans pre- ardas nan ait tamazirt marhaba serk like with words in these com- from the bride’s village to that of the groom, sume that for Tashelhit speakers, the home- munities, it is perhaps less or welcoming guests into a village. land i s the countryside. At an earlier historical If you arrive at the edge of a tamazirt pull back your foot important what one says than These sung verses are never the explicit moment this may have been true, but genera- until the people of that tamazirt welcome you there. the fact that one says some- focus of attention, yet they perform the tions of rural-urban migration have complicat- thing. ♦ important function of suggesting cohesion in ed such an elision. potentially messy situations, which inevitably Male migrants and female villagers dwell dif- Regardless of whether they spend the bulk of characterize gatherings of 300-500 people. ferently in the t a m a z i r t. Experiences of place the year in cities or mountains, people attached Women, both through the practice of singing are reflected in song as well as everyday termi- to the Anti-Atlas are hyper-aware of movement. t i z r a r i n and in the words themselves, reaffirm nology. For urban dwellers, the t a m a z i r t is a Men move from the countryside to the city to Katherine E. Hoffman is a doctoral candidate in the bonds linking villages and tribes by articu- concept, an almost fictive land, a place that in earn a living. For many women, the most signif- Socio-cultural Anthropology at Columbia University lating communally-held norms. Interdepen- reality they visit about once a year – hence the icant move they will undertake is from their par- in New York, USA. E-mail: [email protected] dence may be articulated explicitly, such as in kind of objectification that leads them to cele- ents’ home to that of the verse sung by a grandmother sitting with brate the concept of the t a m a z i r t h o m e l a n d their groom. Marriage zayd aoudi zayd ukkan ima lrzq ad gan dar moulay rbbi the bride’s fellow villagers at the home of the and its accompanying amarg, that is, its ‘mood’ in rural Morocco is ar tawin yen silin ur itm groom or ‘music.’ These two concepts inspired the more about this move refrain of one performance of Igherm-area than about romance. Go on, my dear, go on still fate is in the Lord’s hands a yen anga nkki dun yen shur nsherik men’s collective song and dance (a h a w a s h), in The common Tashel- it takes one to places we never would have dreamed. nsherik idek yuta d li‘yun arsan nit which the chorus juxtaposed the terms, singing hit way of saying ‘she u le tagwwa inagh nswa nsu winun ‘tama tamazirt, amarg amarg, ay.’ Although the is going to marry a arja ditawin ay aman arJa jalnas lyrics merely accompanied the group dance boy in a place called ad saram yawigh a tamazirt igan darnagh We are one, me and you, we share walls and drumming, and arguably were not the Tililit’ (tra Tililit) means we share with you boundaries, springs, they remain as they are highlight, it is notable nonetheless that the ‘she is going to T i l i l i t ’ The hope that you have for finding water that runs from you, and the seguias that nourish us, we drink from yours. lyrics were sung by men back from their jobs or literally, ‘she wants brings you to a land that is ours, that you haven’t seen. working in corner grocery stores in Casablanca. Tililit’. The theme of Urban dwellers are familiar with mass Moroc- movement is reflect- wallah amkd usigh aDar a ilih nsen, There are significant differences between can media which posits rural collective song as ed in wedding verses, is ur inkhalaf ghid d lmakaninu themes treated by females of a younger gener- a symbol of Berber custom; some men taking a their lyrics reinforced ation. Unmarried girls, who presumably have break from their a h a w a s h even asked this for- by their being sung By God, you won’t put down your foot little experience managing inter-village social eign researcher what she thought of their ‘f u l k- while moving and in until we know that this place isn’t different from my place. relations, are more likely to sing about the pain l o r e.’ It is precisely such objectification of what liminal moments 2 2 Regional Issues I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9

South Africa ABDULKADER TAYOB Transitional Islamic

Until recently, observers were generally unaware of the Islamic presence in southern Africa. It was assumed that Islam, in its southern spread, stopped somewhere around Lake Malawi. Little was known about the arrival I d e n t i t i e s of Muslims in the slave hulls of colonialism and during nineteenth-century international trade in sugar, gold and British manufactured goods. This obscurity changed dramatically when groups of Muslims joined anti-apart- heid demonstrations in the 1980s, which the interna- in Southern Africa tional media beamed across the world. Since then, Islam has taken its small but influential place in the media islands of Southeast Asia and some parts of not strictly define gender spheres, but men and preted in such a way that the basic rights of all mosaic of southern Africa. In some cases Muslims are India, established the foundations of what women generally gravitate around living are not violated. This is but one example of important social and political leaders in the region, came to be called the ‘Cape Malays’. Shaykh rooms and kitchens, respectively. The religious issues facing Muslims today. emerging as champions of dramatic campaigns. Yusuf, a political exile banished to the Cape in sector, however, does not reflect this more lib- This change since the first democratic elec- 1694, has become a founding symbol for this eral social space. Women experts in religious tions is not restricted to social and political first Muslim community in South Africa. How- sciences are rare. In the western Cape, there issues. One can even suggest that Muslims are ever, Muslims were only allowed to establish exists a more egalitarian understanding of beginning to rediscover their religious roots mosques and schools in the nineteenth centu- women’s rights within Islam. Women play a because apartheid had cast a shadow on the ry, over a hundred years after Shaykh Yusuf’s large role in religious organizations including social and political responses of all religions. landing. Since then, however, they have anchorpersons at community radio stations, There is a visible and palpable increase in Sufi become one of the most significant groups in women’s movements and more traditional groupings in the country. Cape Town. A second distinct group of Mus- Mawlid organizations. However, under the Muslims in South Africa can be compared to lims arrived from India from 1860 onwards as tutelage of the powerful mosque imams and the recently formed communities in Australia, British indentured labour on sugar plantations, the dominant interpretations of Islam, a more Europe and North America. Their institutions and a little later as independent traders, mer- egalitarian approach to the woman’s place in reflect a modern history of Christian or Euro- chants and hawkers. The latter contributed to South African Islam is severely limited. The pean dominance of over three hundred years. the building of mosques, schools and cemeter- overwhelming majority of religious leaders Some of the choices that Muslims have made ies, and have since lived mainly, but not exclu- have resisted any explicit change in this during this time may be seen in the contempo- sively, in the northern and eastern regions of respect, even as Muslim women make progress rary struggles and challenges they face in the country. Muslims from further north, par- outside the mosques. these regions. Perhaps the history of South ticularly Malawi, but also Zanzibar, form the In a forthcoming book from University Press Africa may provide interesting ideas for reflec- third component of South African Muslims. Florida entitled Mosques, Imams and Sermons, I tion. On the other hand, the politics of Although less influential than the Malays or have explored the meaning of Islam through apartheid has produced a particular relation Indians, they have also contributed to the par- some of its enduring institutions, notably the with modernity and globalization. It has tend- ticular ethos of Islam in South Africa. Finally, mosque and the imam. These latter are regard- ed to insulate, and isolate, Muslim communi- conversion has formed another distinct group: ed, in the study, as patterns and institutions ties. Muslims in South Africa can learn a great During the nineteenth century, the Cape Town that shape expectations and future directions deal from these much newer communities in region witnessed significant conversion of for Muslims. A mosque is not simply a building more open, democratic societies. ♦ indigenous people who were assimilated into within which religious obligations are per- the Cape Malay community. Missionary activity formed. More than that, it is an institution since the 1950s has led to a more distinctive developed in the context of a specific history and notable presence of indigenous African by individuals who make a variety of religious Muslims in the townships of South Africa. They and political choices. In this regard, the history constitute the fourth visible group of the het- of colonialism and apartheid and a particular erogeneous Muslim presence. understanding of the Hanafi, Shafii, Ashari, and South African Muslims represent only 0.2 Deobandi approaches have shaped mosques percent of the total population. While Muslims and imams in South Africa. themselves had given their numbers as close One can say that Islam in South Africa, and to one million, the last government statistics particularly its institutions, reflect the tenacity of published in 1991 recorded only 324,400. Nev- a religious group that has been able to with- ertheless, Muslims in South Africa are a highly stand a long history of prejudice and denial. visible urban group concentrated in the major Against all odds, they built mosques, schools cities of Cape Town, Durban and Johannes- and welfare organizations and maintained their Imams in Islam in South Africa consists of a number of burg. They are now well represented in gov- religious obligations in tightly knit communities C a p e t o w n , communities that together constitute a broad ernment and in professions such as medicine, on the margins of the greater society. Thus, in 1 9 9 1 Islamic presence in the region. In spite of the accountancy and law. The economic base in spite of their small numbers, there is a mosque in ‘universal nature’ of Islam, one which Muslims the past had been business and trade among almost every town of South Africa. From the certainly espouse and experience, plural iden- Indians, and building and craftsmanship 1950s onwards, however, many Muslims in tities are deeply inscribed in religious institu- among the Cape Malays. They have come a South Africa began to make tentative moves in tions and rituals. Muslims in South Africa con- long way from being slaves, indentured the broader social space. Greater and more stitute a cosmopolitan group consisting of a labourers and hawkers. Muslims from Malawi, widespread exposure to modern education led variety of ethnicities, language groups, and however, have been less economically suc- to greater mobility, which has led to an intense social classes. These were formed by a combi- cessful as labourers in factories, farms, and debate on how to relate to Islam in the modern nation of willing and unwilling immigrants f o r e s t r y . world. At the time, the modernization of society during various periods of colonial rule and In 1922, the Jamiatul Ulama Transvaal was was enmeshed with the challenge of apartheid apartheid, and more recently, indigenous peo- formed to represent the aspirations of imams and the debate on how Muslims should respond ples who have converted to Islam. These iden- and religious scholars. Since then, similar asso- to it. Not many Muslims openly supported tities are historically unequal: The economic ciations have followed, representing different apartheid, but there were many that placed the support of Indians for mosques, in alliance regions and religious orientations. These have preservation of the community above the need with a particular religious outlook, dominates played a significant role in promoting Islam. A to stand up for justice. As apartheid drew to a Abdulkader Tayob is Associate Professor at the Islam in South Africa, but other identities con- number of welfare and youth groups also serve close, the difference between traditionalists and Department of Religious Studies, University of Cape tinue to thrive. Ironically, the particular history the community and express a variety of orien- modernists widened, and continues today. Town, South Africa. of South Africa, especially its apartheid conun- tations among Muslims. Sometimes, they rep- In post-apartheid South Africa, Muslims are drum, gave concrete shape to an Islamic uni- resent particular political approaches, such as redefining themselves in relation to the Further reading versalism with two broad tendencies. One sup- with the Claremont Muslim Youth Association nation-state, democracy, and human rights. – Esack, Farid ported the nation-building exercise of the new of 1957 or the Call of Islam in 1983. These are the challenges thrown by the State 1997, Quran, Liberation and Pluralism: South Africa; the other espoused an exclusion- The role and place of Muslim women in to Muslim individuals and communities as the T o w a r d sa n Islamic Perspective of Inter-Religious ist Islamic position. Both, in one way or anoth- South African society should be mentioned greater South African society enters the global Solidarity Against Oppression. er, placed an emphasis on relationships among separately. In the western Cape, they con- community. The country’s constitution makes O x f o r d :O n e w o r l dP u b l i c a t i o n s . the local communities, the nation and the tribute significantly to the financial well-being provisions for Muslim personal law, which – Tayob, Abdulkader I international Muslim u m m a. of the household. This was the case in Durban must be in conformity with the bill of rights. 1995, Islamic Resurgence in South Africa: The Muslim Muslims first arrived on the southern tip of and Johannesburg as well, but most often in Some Muslims, led by the u l a m a, insist that the Youth Movement, Cape Town: UCT Press. Africa in 1658 from the Indonesian archipel- the context of family businesses in which right to freedom of worship takes precedence 1999 (forthcoming), Islam in South Africa: Mosques, ago. For the next 150 years, a steady stream of women’s contributions were not clearly reflect- over the equality clauses. A small group of Imams and Sermons, Gainesville: University of political exiles, convicts and slaves from the ed or acknowledged. Most Muslim homes do Muslims believe that Islamic law may be inter- South Florida Press. I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9 Regional Issues 23

Ottoman Empire ELIZABETH FRIERSON The Debatability

The Hamidian cheap illustrated press was a highly pro- ductive arena for debate on Ottoman identities, includ- ing discussions of Muslim inflections of daily life, and of patriotic duties and responsibilities. By the end of the o f I s l a m century, this debate involved not only hundreds of new professional journalists, but also readers who respond- ed critically to editorials, articles, and advertisements. In addition, the several branches of the Hamidian bureaucracy which participated in censorship – Min- in Late-Ottoman istries of Education, Interior, and Police, and other inspection and judiciary offices competed against each other to promote or delimit client publications and jour- nalists. Serials and Censorship

Once pan-Islamic ideology and Muslim iden- tion) often contrasted with local or foreign tity became part of official ideology in the Christians, who were increasingly presented as Hamidian era, then Islam became debatable, the miscreants in cautionary tales about and was debated widely and by far more par- immorality, criminality, lack of Ottoman patrio- ticipants in a public forum than ever before. tism, or just plain weird and freakish behav- Journalists, readers, and censors have left a far- iours. For example, multiple births to Muslim reaching record of newly expanded public mothers were reported as bereket-i tenasül debate on a variety of topics. A close study (abundance or blessing of reproduction), a title reveals subtler and unexpected readings of with a decidedly positive air, as when the wife Islam by newly literate participants in the serial of Ismail ibn Shacban gave birth to triplets, two press, as well as alignments of political influ- boys and one girl, all in fine health and ‘among ence revealed by conflict among and with the living’. Births to minority Ottoman women Hamidian censors over Islam in particular. For often carried a far different inflection, as with example, letters to the editor and conflicting the report of a deformed baby on the island of editorials show different, wider perspectives Patras, with the deformities described in over what, precisely, writers and readers painful detail, or when the editors of a ladies’ thought was loyal and patriotic to the weekly gazette reported with horror the mur- Ottoman state and sultan. Increasingly in the der of a child on the island of Rhodes. In Istan- 1890s and 1900s, loyalty and patriotism, as bul, the largely Christian minority and Euro- well as public propriety, were inflected with pean neighbourhood of Galata was the site of discussions of Islam, and in many ways which shocking chid-related events as well, as do not always fit into our current notions described in an article entitled ‘Birth in the cheap illustrated press that lay and non-elite Elizabeth Frierson is Assistant Professor, Department about how Islam and modernity were debated. Streets’. This short item described a woman members of society were beginning to re-evalu- of History, University of Cincinnati, USA. The cheap illustrated press brings forth find- who was walking in the streets of Galata when ate Islamic models of male and female piety for ings by others (Davison, B. Lewis, McCarthy, she felt her first labour pains and took refuge the rapidly changing social and economic con- N o t e : Mardin, van Zürcher, to name a few) that Islam in a tavern, where she gave birth. Female ditions of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. – My findings are drawn mainly from archival came to bear a greater weight as a component breaches of propriety were not limited to fam- This has led me to explore the possibility that records, and from publications of loyalists and of ethnic identity from the 1890s onwards. In ily matters, though, as proven by the long-run- this increase in journalistic attention to Muslim t h e loyal opposition of the Hamidian era from this sense, being Muslim acquired much more ning career of a gypsy pickpocket operating at identity in the public sphere was accompanied 1876-1908/9, with limited reference to Young Turk significance as a public marker of identity ferry stops. by a spiritual reappraisal of Islam, especially publications. A fuller discussion of foreign/local towards the middle and end of the Hamidian Clearly being Muslim in the Hamidian era among the non-elite sectors of society repre- and Muslim/non-Muslim identities can be found era, as reforms and rhetoric carried out in the came to hold a number of new or altered sented by the readership (and ‘listenership’) of i n my essay, ‘Mirrors Out, Mirrors In: Domestication name of a modern Islamic monarchy began to valences of identity, especially in attempting to the illustrated gazettes. I was unable to come up and rejection of the foreign in late-Ottoman bear fruit among the growing adult literate keep separate the distinct m i l l e ts which social with definitive conclusions on this point, and so women’s magazines (1875-1908)’ in the population. For example, in the cheap illustrat- Darwinist notions threatened to blur into a few continue to re-read print and archival sources forthcoming volume from SUNY Press, edited by ed press, Muslims began to play the part of scientifically flattened categories of human with these questions in mind. Suggestions and D. Fairchild Ruggles, Women, Patronage, and Self- moral and patriotic exemplars, (see illustra- being. There are also some indicators in the feedback would be most welcome. ♦ Representation in Islamic Societies.

Continued from front page: Digital Islam / b y Peter Mandaville

It is usually amongst the diasporic Muslims of hands. Through various popular newsgroups ate a new form of imagined community, or a re- the Western world that we find the Internet and e-mail discussion lists, Muslims can solicit imagined u m m a. The Muslim spaces of the being appropriated for political purposes. The information about what ‘Islam’ says about any Internet hence offer a reassuring set of symbols American media has recently been full of scare- particular problem. Not only that, notes al-Faqih, and a terminology which attempt to reproduce mongering about ‘radical fundamentalists’ who ‘but someone will be given information about and recontextualize familiar settings and terms Dr Peter Mandaville is a Lecturer in International use the United States as a fundraising base for what Islam says about such and such and then of discourse in locations far remote from those Relations at the Department of Politics and their overseas operations. Reports often cite the others will write in to correct or comment on this in which they were originally embedded. As has International Relations at the University of Kent at Internet as a primary tool for the dissemination opinion/interpretation’. Instead of having to go become apparent, the encounter between Canterbury, UK. E-mail: [email protected] of propaganda by Islamic militants. A more down to the mosque in order to elicit the advice Islam and the transnational technologies of sober examination of the situation, however, of the local mullah, Muslims can also now receive communication is as multifaceted as the reli- N o t e s reveals that very few of the Muslim groups who supposedly ‘authoritative’ religious pronounce- gion itself. The rise of IT has led to considerable 1. Geoffrey Roper (1995), ‘Faris al-Shidyaq and the have a presence on the Internet are involved in ments via the various e-mail fatwa services intermingling and dialogue between disparate Transition from Scribal to Print Culture in the this sort of activity. Moreover, there are also which have sprung up in recent months. The interpretations of what it means to be ‘Islamic’ Middle East’, in: George N. Atiyeh (ed.), The Book in those who argue that the Internet has actually Sheikhs of al-Azhar are totally absent, but the and the politics of authenticity which inevitably the Islamic World: The Written Word and had a moderating effect on Islamist discourse. enterprising young mullah who sets himself up ensue from this also serve to further fragment Communication in the Middle East, Albany: SUNY Sacad al-Faqih, for example, believes that Inter- with a colourful website in Alabama suddenly traditional sources of authority, such that the Press, 1995, p. 210. net chat rooms and discussion forums devoted becomes a high-profile representative of Islam locus of ‘real’ Islam and the identity of those 2. See http://www.miraserve.com/ to the debate of Islam and politics serve to for a particular constituency. 5 Due to the largely who are permitted to speak on its behalf 3. Ulf Hannerz (1996), Transnational Connections: encourage greater tolerance. He believes that in anonymous nature of the Internet, one can also become ambiguous. This, in many ways, is an Culture, People, Places, London: Routledge, p. 21. these new arenas one sees a greater conver- never be sure whether the ‘authoritative’ advice Islam with a distinctly modern, or perhaps even 4. Jon Anderson (1996), ‘Islam & the Globalization of gence in the centre of the Islamist political spec- received via these services is coming from a clas- p o s t -modern ring to it. The vocabulary here is Politics’. Paper presented to the Council on trum and a weakening of its extremes. sically-trained religious scholar or an electrical eclectic, combining soundbites of religious Foreign Relations Muslim Politics Study Group, Thus, for the overwhelming majority of Mus- engineer moonlighting as an amateur calim. knowledge into novel fusions well suited to New York City, June 25, 1996, p. 1. lims who seek Islam online, the Internet is a More than anything else, the Internet and complex, transnational contexts. Most impor- 5. Some of these sites are registering several forum for the conduct of politics within their reli- other information technologies provide spaces tantly, the changing connotations of authority thousand hits per day. Their users are often gion. In the absence of sanctioned information where diasporic Muslims can go in order to find and authenticity in digital Islam appear to be ‘nomadic’, spending several days or weeks in one from recognized institutions, Muslims are others ‘like them’. It is in this sense that we can contributing to the critical re-imagination of the discussion forum before moving on to populate increasingly taking religion into their own speak of the Internet as allowing Muslims to cre- boundaries of Muslim politics. ♦ another site. 2 4 Regional Issues I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9

Former Czechoslovakia Brikcius’ positive, strongly romantic and emo- M ILOSˇ M E N D E L tional relationship with the Arabs and Islamic civilization had been shaped in his youth in the ’20s. This rapport was developed during his B e g i n n i n g s journeys to the Middle East and had ripened in a context of the international political situation, Historically, the Czech experience with Islam was mainly especially in terms of the British and French rule influenced by the ‘Turkish Menace’ (the 150-year Otto- over much of the Islamic world. Brikcius had man presence in Hungary, including land which later some bad experiences with the British authori- became southern Slovakia, and the two Ottoman sieges o f t h e M u s l i m ties. As a European Muslim he was treated with of Vienna in 1529 and 1683). Due to its geographical suspicion in India as well as East Africa, and, location and the nature of its historical development, together with his Muslim friends, he perceived however, the territory of historical Czech Lands (Bohe- the arrogance of the colonial authorities as a mia and Moravia) never actually had direct contact with humiliating conspiracy. In this spirit he was also Islamic civilization. R e l i g i o u s willing to understand the sympathy of the Turks and many Arab nationalists to the Third Reich. This simplified vision prevented him from see- ing the danger posed by Nazism to his own country (although unambiguous signs of a C o m m u n i t y tense right-wing nationalism can be found in his pre-Protectorate texts), as well as that posed by Nazi racial theory to his beloved Arabs. His beliefs reached their climax in the years of war, when in H l a s (Voice), the mouthpiece of the in Former Community, he had published a couple of pure- ly anti-Semitic and pro-Nazi articles. Brikcius’ image of Islam as a remarkable civi- lization rather than a religious system can espe- cially be seen in his books and articles. He C z e c h o s l o v a k i a worked mostly as a journalist in the Prague Mid- day Paper and in the Vlajka (The Banner) journal By 15 July 1912, the demographic charges the Prague intelligentsia, business circles inter- of the Czech Fascists. Only there and in the had eventually led to Emperor Franz Josef I‘s ested in trading with Islamic countries and the Community’s H l a s did he have the opportunity signing of Act no. 159/1912 of the Imperial Code diplomatic missions of Islamic states. to formulate his sharpest critiques of Britain, in Bad Ischl, by which the State henceforth rec- Four basic components contributed to the ‘Jewish Bolshevism’ and Zionism and never ognized the ‘Hanafite Islamic religious rite’. On birth of the Community: a) foreign Muslims liv- stopped informing those persuaded Arabs and the basis of this Act, the Hanafite madhad w a s ing in CSR; b) foreign Islamic institutions; c) other Muslims that Germany would rid them of ‘to be understood within the Crown Lands and representative bodies of some Islamic states; Western colonialism, Marxism and the ‘Zionist those Lands represented in the Imperial Council and d) Czech converts. Available archive mate- conspiracy’. However, nowhere in the archive as a religious community in the sense of the rials reveal that the Community was the focus material does Brikcius express sympathy for basic constitutional law of 21-12-1867’, i.e. the of a mostly stable set of foreign practising Nazi ideology as such. Unlike him, most other December Constitution, which legally anchored Muslims, who saw in their participation in the Czech Muslims of a younger generation lived in the new constitutional framework as part of Community, an opportunity to reinforce their a kind of schizophrenia concerning prevailing Austro-Hungarian settlement. The Act demand- own spiritual identity amidst a ‘foreign’ civi- pro-Nazi feelings in many Islamic countries. In ed that legal and ritual norms be upheld so as to lization, to organize Islamic rituals in collectivi- the post-war political milieu, they changed their comply with the established legal customs in ty and to broaden societal life in the spirit of views immediately. Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Act permitted the their own traditions. The idea of vehemently In their ideas, Brikcius and his adherents were participation of ulama' from Bosnia in setting up spreading the Islamic mission never seemed to unable to define a clear boundary between and running the communities within the be in the forefront – perhaps only because of Islam as a religious system (or at least a civiliza- Brikcius a few days There were, of course, marginal contacts on Empire. However, their work had to be moni- the foreigners’ caution in their relations to the tion based thereupon) and the actual political before his death the medieval commercial routes running tored and if it was felt to contravene the ‘public Czech state authorities, which did not seem to situation. When Hadji professed his admiration i n1 9 5 9 through the Lands, the negligible participation interest’, it could be forcibly disbanded. In terms express a particular understanding for the of Islam, he often referred to its humiliation – of the Premyslid Dynasty in the Crusades to the of later development, the key section of the Act Community’s purposes. On the government’s most frequently in the form of the betrayal and Holy Land, and individual journeys of discovery was para. 7, which stated that ‘concerning the side, the Ministry of Culture and Education, the exploitation of Arabs by the English in 1916 and made by Czech burghers and nobles to the marriages of adherents of Islam and the mainte- Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Justice 1917 in following their own colonial interests. Islamic East. The cultural influence of Islam was nance of birth, marriage and death records’ alike, repeatedly postponed and administra- He was a romantic, a person who sincerely and also tepid, evidenced only in the orientalist one‘s own (secular) regulations had to be tively complicated the Community’s demands spontaneously adored the Islamic world of trend of the contemporary nobles (Turkish and a p p l i e d . for recognition and some facilities throughout deserts, oases and urban oriental architecture, other Islamic motifs in fashion and architecture, The year 1918 marked the disintegration of the entire period of the ‘30s. Even the authori- just as he did the openness and hospitality of e.g. the Romantic minaret from the turn of the the Habsburg monarchy, but the previous ties of Protektorat Böhmen und Mähren after 15 the local populations. On the other hand, as a 18th century at the Liechtenstein estate in Led- demographic movements did not abate with March 1939 did not take much notice of the leader of a Muslim community, he did not nice, Southern Moravia) and in certain elements the creation of the new borders. Many of the group of foolish ‘exhibitionists‘, excepting the always have very precise ideas about Islamic of the urban lifestyle (‘Turkish’ coffee houses in Balkan Muslims who had settled in the territory, occasional suspicion of citizens of foreign ori- countries and customs, the peripeteia of Islamic Prague, etc.). The modern Czech experience which had become the Czechoslovak Republic, g i n . legislation and the plurality of modern currents with Islam has been, however, somewhat more decided to remain and others were attracted by Besides the ‘foreign’ Muslims, in terms of of Islamic thought. varied, yet always mediated and shaped within the better economic situation as well as by pre- modern Czech history (and even current think- The Czech Muslim community was at least the context of the political rivalry between the vious business and family relationships. These ing on ‘Euro-Islam’), the rather small group of recognized in December 1941, in the darkest Habsburg monarchy and the Ottoman Empire. were soon joined by the numerous Islamic emi- Czechoslovak citizens who had converted to days of Czechoslovak history. No wonder that The situation changed markedly only after the grants from the Soviet Union (especially the Islam, is worthy of special mention. It was they after May 1945, when the presidential ‘decrees’ Austro-Hungarian occupation of Bosnia and Cherkess and the Tartars). Only in the mid-1930s who made the greatest efforts in spreading the were implemented, all the laws and decrees Herzegovina in 1878 and full annexation in did the Muslims, mostly residing in Prague and faith in the CSR. The most influential figure from the years of occupation were eliminated. 1908. Thereafter, Bohemia and Moravia were Brno, begin to form a religious association. among them was Alois Bohdan Brikcius, who Thus, neither the ‘First Republic’ nor the post- components of a state body which incorporated Before then, only individuals gathered sponta- assumed the name Mohammed Abdullah after war democratic regime was ready to accept an a significant Islamic community. At first, the neously to practise Islamic rituals – usually with conversion. In addition, his name in his books ‘innocent’ Muslim group in the midst of the Bosnian (as well as Croat) Muslims resisted Aus- members of the same nationality. and in certain official documents is often pre- Czech society. It is quite natural that after the trian intervention, but during the period lead- The first considerations about the establish- ceded by the honorary title H a d j i, which Brik- Communist takeover (February 1948) the Mus- ing up to World War I, the Muslim national orga- ment of an Islamic community were concretized cius had the right to bear as a member of the lim community practically ceased to exist. The nizations used professed loyalty to the Habs- by the end of 1934. The mixed group of both 1933 pilgrimage to Mecca. This was shortly life of Muslims under the Communist rule and burg authority to fend off the radical national- foreign and Czech individuals assembled a after accepting the Islamic faith in the French after the political events of the year 1989 is a ism of the Serbs and Croats. Of course, the Aus- group of practising Prague Muslims to found colony of Djibouti with his second wife Marie story of quite another chapter of the Czech con- trian annexation brought no important eco- the ‘Muslim Religious Community for Czecho- through the decree of a local q a d i. temporary history. ♦ nomic benefits to the Bosnian population; some slovakia with a Centre in Prague’. The partici- Brikcius was certainly a complex personality Muslims even took advantage of the mobility pants agreed to ascertain the number of Prague to whom the author of this article cannot do within the new borders to seek work elsewhere. Muslims and to evaluate their willingness to justice without a certain subjective impression, From 1878 to 28 October 1918 (foundation of take part in building up a community, to obtain even after so many years and with an almost the Czechoslovak Republic), there was a contin- as much information as possible about one complete documentary background available. uous latent migration of ‘Bosnians’ to the north- another, to organize educative and cautious The only sources missing are those concerning ern regions of the monarchy. Most were minor missionary activities and to construct a mosque his alleged imprisonment, having been sen- craftsmen, confectioners, ice cream manufac- in Prague. The Community was then solemnly tenced to eight years on the basis of president Dr Miloˇs Mendel is a research fellow of the Oriental turers, grocers, and university students in founded on April 25, 1935 as an assembly, Edvard Benesˇ’ ‘little decree’, punishing pro- Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Prague and Brno. which included ‘numerous sympathizers’ from Nazi collaborators. Republic. E-mail: m e n d e l @ o r i e n t . c a s . c z I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9 Regional Issues 25

Western Europe JOCELYNE CESARI Pluralism in the Context

Nearly seven million Muslims live in Western Europe, their presence being the unforeseen consequence of migration flows towards the continent at the beginning of the 1960s. Later, during the 1972-4 recession, Euro- of Globlalization pean immigration policy drastically changed: Govern- ments halted labour immigration yet allowed for family reunification. From the 1970s, religious and cultural dimensions did become important issues in relations between Muslim communities and European societies European Muslim since the contact surface had been greatly expanded. Islam is a major aspect of this settlement process in terms of the increasing need for mosques, halal butcheries, Koranic schools or Muslim cemeteries. Yo u t h

Around these issues arise questions, doubts, With reference to the minority condition, the vance are also the outcome of individual and sometimes-violent oppositions, all linked introduction of Islam into democratic societies choice. Thus, within one generation, one can to the integration of these newcomers in dif- contributes to changing the terms of the simultaneously observe a wholesale abandon- ferent national communities. The confronta- ongoing ‘Islam and democracy’ debate as far ment of Muslim attachments and the attrac- tion no longer has the temporary, discreet or as tolerance and pluralism are concerned. This tion of Islam as a global symbol of resistance to even shameful character as it did in the 1950s. may pose a challenge as most European Mus- Western political and cultural imperialism.3 Islam is a stable religion with adepts that lims come from countries where Islam is either Our own field experience allows us to assert demonstrate a growing will to be recognized. the religion of the State or the majority.1 N e w that the rediscovery of Islam can take various Muslims are becoming increasingly politically ways of reflecting upon the Minority condition forms. First, it is a credible option for those active, reinforced by the emergence of the are now in debate among Muslims in the West who experienced unemployment, drug and ‘second generation’. This is why the main by which conventional interpretations of alcohol use, and delinquency. It enabled some migration issues are now cultural and political, Islamic tradition are being reformulated.2 youth to recover personal dignity and to pro- not only economic. It is noteworthy that it was Concerning practices, the major change is in ject a better image of themselves. This is a clas- not until the ’80s that Islam became the focus the process of individualization and privatiza- sic use of religion as salvation. Second, most of of attention. This resulted from a number of tion of Islam. Membership to a post-migration these ‘new Muslims’ actually come from Euro- international incidents, such as the Islamic rev- religious minority affects the Islamic identifica- pean societies’ middle classes. They want to olution in Iran, the civil war in Lebanon, the tion among contemporary Muslim youth. New reaffirm their identity and live according to Rushdie Affair, the Gulf War and the collapse of forms of religiosity defined by individualism, Islamic teachings, while trying to avoid the the Soviet Empire. It was suggested that a con- secularism and privatization replace with temptations of the non-Muslim environment. nection existed between Islamic fundamental- increasing frequency the uprooted Islam of the This identification to Islam, despite common ism, as it was developing in many Muslim first generation. This emergence of the individ- opinion, is not exclusively the expression of an countries, and the migrant groups in Europe. ual is partially the consequence of the migra- opposition to the West, but often results in an This contributes to Islam still being defined as tion process. The process engenders differ- affirmation of self-confidence among young a ‘problem’. Often only conflict situations, as ences in value transmission. For example, Muslims. Many of these latter are coming back seen in the Rushdie Affair in Britain or the among North African migrants, the gap to an Islam ‘purified’ from the ‘accidents’ of its ‘headscarves affair’ in France, are taken into between the values of the first generation and traditional readings. For the more educated, it account to define Islam in Europe. those of their children is more pronounced is no longer an Islam of the Moroccan, Algerian This Islam-as-a-threat approach implies a than among other migrant groups. Parents, for or Pakistani countryside, but rather a ‘return to major misperception. It neglects the important instance, belonging to the working class in the basics’ of Islamic teaching direct contact transformations in Islamic identity in general French society, have struggled to maintain the with its sources, the Koran and Sunna. Islam in and among the new generations born or edu- cultural system of their country of origin; while the West should have a specific and appropri- cated in the West in particular. With the settle- their children have been more socialized by ate actualization. This is the message the youth ment of Muslim groups, the controversial ques- French institutions such as schools and social are clearly conveying. tion of Islam and modernity is actually trans- work. Arabic language capacity as well as vari- The current reflection on the Koran and ferred from the Muslim context to that of the ous cultural practices are lost. The growth of a Sunna serves to question the relevance of the West. The key debate on compatibility of Islam- ‘vernacular’ Islam in Europe is the most inter- old concepts of Dar Al-Islam versus Dar Al- ic values with secular organizing principles of esting sign of this change. Increasingly, ser- Harb. This classic terminology is no longer Western societies, a debate very well known to mons, literature and public discussions are appropriate to describe the condition of Mus- the Muslim world, is still going on, only this being conveyed in the local European lan- lim citizens in the context of secularized time within the Western democracies. In g u a g e . democracies. Accordingly, opinions of the Europe, the debate does not concern Islamic Islam is now embodied in a paradigm of sec- ulama in the Muslim world on the situation of governance as it does in Muslim societies, but ularization that was, until now, the major Islam in Europe have evolved. Their perception rather the experience of pluralism and democ- specificity of Western society. This means the of the European context along with the specif- Jocelyne Cesari, CNRS - Groupe de Sociologie des racy. This question must be placed in a dynam- decline of religious references in structural dif- ic situation of the Muslims has forced them to Religions et de la Laicité, Paris,Visiting Professor at ic perspective, taking the new context into ferentiation of society. Individualization means re-consider previous assertions: to keep dis- New York and Columbia Universities. account. In others words, being a minority in a sharpening of self-consciousness, privileging tant from the host society; not to take the Europe implies deep change in Muslim identi- personal choice over the constraints of reli- nationality of a Western society; to keep in N o t e s ties and practices, especially among the new gious tradition. This individualization is most mind that they must ‘go back home’ as soon as 1. This politicization of Islam in various countries of generations born in the West. A relevant analy- often associated with privatization. This term possible. All of these statements, presented as origin is a more accurate explanation than the one sis should thus take into account changes that means that religion is more confined to the pri- fatwa, did not match the reality anymore and a focusing on the fact that the minority condition concern not only the Muslim groups, but also vate sphere and that religious values and rules considerable number of ulama have eventually within a voluntary migration had not been examined the host societies. In this perspective, multicul- are not placed at the centre of one’s personal come to the idea that the duty of Muslims in by Muslim Law. According to this explanation, this is turalism seems to become a real issue, redefin- orientation to life, but rather is conceived of as Europe is to reflect upon organizing their because the latter was elaborated between the 8th ing public space as it now means competition a kind of annex or compartment. As with Euro- future in this area.4 and 9th centuries, a time when Islam was dominant amongst differing claims to universalism. pean Christians, many Muslims now experi- So it is necessary to analyse these Islamic both culturally and economically. This argument was Embracing this new phenomenon requires an ence religion only during large festivals, at identities within the European context. It is brought by Bernard Lewis (1994), ‘Legal and integrated approach to the main features of birth, marriage and death. In this way, Euro- impossible to understand the behaviour of historical reflections on the position of Muslim Muslims groups and European societies as well. pean Islam is similar to other European reli- new generation Muslims without keeping in populations under non-Muslim rule’, in: Lewis, B. This scientific posture goes beyond the simplis- gions, especially among the youth. Like ‘con- mind that they now constitute a part of Euro- a n d Schnapper, D. (eds), 1994. Muslims in Europe, tic vision of Islam as a threat; it considers Islam sumers’, people are increasingly choosing pean youth. In the West, in general, there is a P i n t e r Publishers, 1, p. 19. as contributory to the process of integ r a t i o n . which tenets and rules of their religion to rec- questioning of progress and modernity. When 2. See for example, the Journal of the Institute of A point worthy of mention here is the com- ognize and which to ignore. The inculcation of the collective landmarks provided by schools, Muslim Minority Affairs published in England. petition between ethnic and Islamic ties, which Western values through the educational sys- political parties, and trade unions are weak- 3. About this complex and contradictory use of Islam is responsible for the most important cleav- tems certainly has an influence and can explain ened or missing and economy is insufficient to see J. Cesari (1998), Musulmans et Republicains, les ages among Muslim communities in Europe. the emphasis on critical debate and reflexive define social status, religious membership can jeunes, l’islam et la France. Bruxelles, Complexe. This can be partly attributed to the emergence q u e s t i o n i n g . contribute to shaping new collective identities 4. For a reflection on this change and the main political of ‘new Muslims’. This means, on the one hand, But individualization as well as reflexive for a growing number of young people from all and cultural effects of this innovative debate on the new elaboration and discussions on the minor- questioning can also be associated with collec- religious groups, not only for Muslims. ♦ relationship to Sharica, in the French context, see also ity condition, and on the other had, new prac- tive and social identification to religion. In oth- J. Cesari, Musulmans et Republicains, les jeunes, tices and identifications to Islam. ers words, fundamentalism or strict obser- l’Islam et la France, op-cit. 2 6 Regional Issues I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9

B e l g i u m MONIQUE RENAERTS Elections in the

After 25 years of equivocation, the matter concerning the representation of secular affairs of the Muslim com- munity is finally on the verge of finding a resolution acceptable to both the Muslim communities and public Muslim Community authorities. In Belgium, the State recognizes and finan- cially supports various faiths: Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican, Jewish, and Muslim. Even secular- ism is supported. Unlike the other recognized faiths, Islam does not fully benefit from the advantages that of Belgium are conferred theoretically to its followers. Until now, the absence of a representative body, unanimously rec- legitimate and democratic base to a body that actual elections, and the process of validating and minority participation. At present, follow- ognized by all Muslim groups, has been used in dis- would finally be able to obtain official recogni- results. The project anticipated the election of ers still frequent the religious loci of their own course to justify this discriminatory situation. tion and which would have all of the powers a 51-member assembly. This assembly was to communities. However, there are certain normally conferred to a Chef de Culte ( R e l i g i o u s be increased by 17 co-opted members, 10 of minorities of which the converts do not have As in other European countries, Belgium has Group Leader). which were to be nominated by the current their own mosques. Not taking this into seen during the last thirty years the nascence In March 1998, the Executive Body re-sub- Executive Body and 7 by those elected, plus account would have given preference to of Islam as the second most professed religion mitted its project proposal to the Minister of the first 10 members. Moroccans, who clearly constitute a majority. in the country. Not having viable statistics at Justice and, on June 12, the Council of Minis- The goal of co-opting is to allow for continu- Muslims over 18 years of age domiciling in our disposition, which is due to the fact that it ters ratified the project, entrusting the organi- ity in the work of the Executive Body as well as Belgium since more than one year prior, were is forbidden to register people according to zation of elections to the Executive Body. to give equilibrium to results taken from the authorized to register to vote between Sep- religion, the number of Muslims in Belgium is On 21 June 1998, the Executive Body invited voting boxes, calling upon Muslims who would tember 1 and October 31, 1998. On the register estimated at approximately 350,000. Included the representatives of all mosques, religious be less likely to be elected: women, youth, cer- form, the voter was asked to indicate his pref- in this number are both practising and non- teachers, and religious charity workers coun- tain community minorities, and those with erence for voting either at a mosque or in a practising Muslims, as well as those of Muslim try-wide, in order to explain by means of a specific technical qualifications useful for the public place. origins who have become atheist or agnostic. multi-media demonstration, the i ns and o u ts of c o m m u n i t y . Muslims (male or female) over 25 years of The number of converts to Islam, however, is the project. It was the first time that such an These 68 persons would have to assign, from age domiciling in Belgium since more than 5 highly speculative. According to sources, none event, bringing together Muslims from diverse amongst themselves, the Religious Group years prior, utilizing their civil rights, having of which are genuinely viable, the number of ethno-national communities and various dog- Leader Organ, which would include 17 mem- neither political nor diplomatic mandate and converts could be anywhere from 3,000 to matic sensibilities, took place in Belgium. bers comprised of 7 Moroccans, 4 Turks, 3 con- mastering one of the official languages of the 1 5 , 0 0 0 . July 1998 saw the formation of an accompa- verts, and 3 ‘other nationalities’. country, could present him/herself as a candi- The Executive Body of Muslims in Belgium, nying committee comprised of, on the one To respect the elective principle, at least date. Each mosque had the right to present temporary interlocutor for public powers of hand, three officials representing the Ministry three-fourths of the members of the Religious from one to three candidates. limited function, was set up after long negotia- of Justice, the Ministry of the Interior, and the Group Leader Organ should be directly elected. In order to give a chance to those who do tions in the different Muslim communities dur- Centre for Equal Opportunity and the Fight Regardless of what is claimed by certain reli- not frequent a particular mosque, persons ing the course of 1993. The Executive Body against Racism, and on the other hand three gious tendencies, deciding upon a contingent wishing to do so could freely present them- proposed, in agreement with the Minister of members of the Executive Body. Its purpose per community group has as its objective to selves as candidates, 50 supporting signatures Justice, to organize elections in order to give a was to follow the preparation for elections, the assure, from the outset, equal representation being required.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9 Regional Issues 27

T r i n i d a d HALIMA KASSIM Muslims and

The Caribbean has seen two waves of Muslim migration, the first wave of which was comprised of slaves from Africa. Indentured labourers of India, who came to the shores between 1845 and 1917, formed the second. M i s s i o n a r i e s

The estate proved to be the first place for the reconstitution of organized religion. While men … continued from previous page well-versed in Islamic knowledge generally did not leave India, there were a few who arrived of Trinidad and served a full or abbreviated indentureship: Those wishing to participate in the Religious Syed Abdul Aziz of Iere Village came to Trinidad faith, aiding the continuity of form or remedy- TML, led by m o u l v i Ameer Ali, proclaimed a Group Leader Organ furthermore should have in 1883 from Afghanistan; Ruknudeen Meah, a ing discord, which would allow for a revamp- non-conformist position. That is, they did not a secondary school diploma. Punjabi of Tunupuna, arrived in 1893; and Hafiz ing of Islam. conform to any one particular school of At the closing of registration there were Nazruddeen of Tunupuna came to Trinidad in Although missionaries were arriving, there thought. In the late 1960s, the TML became 72,000 voters and 264 candidates. Amongst 1913. These were some of the indentured immi- was also a reciprocal ‘back to India’ movement. linked with the Ahmadi movement, but since the latter, there were 8 converts, 43 ‘other grants who assisted in the reconstitution of Yacoob Ali, at age thirteen in 1888, was sent 1976 they have abandoned this latter orienta- nationalities’ (Algerian, Tunisian, Pakistani, Islam. The unlettered immigrants depended back to India by his father to acquire an Islamic tion and reverted to their non-conformist posi- Egyptian, Syrian, and sub-Saharan African), 170 upon these learned men to nurture their faith, education. He returned ten years later as a t i o n . Moroccans, and 43 Turks. Albanians did not either on the estate or in the villages. At some h a f i z and q a r i and established several m a k t a b s. Missionaries continued to arrive from India participate in the voting: based on their own estates, for instance that of Waterloo, there were In 1923, another youth, Ameer Ali, left for and Pakistan. But simultaneously, around the statistics, they demanded beforehand a certain mosques, or ‘bamboo sheds near to the barracks Lahore. He was influenced by m o u l v i F a z a l late 1960s, missionaries from the Middle East number of seats attributed without consulta- where Muslims met nightly to read their prayers Karim Khan Durrani, a Punjabi missionary of began visiting Trinidad and, along with return- tion in the grand assembly of 68. and read the Qur'an’ (Fazal Ali, interview with ex- Woking, England, who had been invited to ing nationals educated at Al-Azhar University Days before the election, the voters were indentured immigrant, 26/02/1998). Trinidad by local Muslims in 1921. Durrani left in Cairo and universities in Saudi Arabia, called upon by mail. The preferred location for As village settlements developed, circa 1870, in 1923 and within a few months, Ali, by his altered the practice of Islam. They attempted voting, as indicated by the voter on the regis- each village or set of villages established its encouragement, left for the Ahmaddiya Anju- to purge the faith of its Indian and Western tration form (mosque or public place), was own mosques with imams. John Morton, a man Ishaat-i-Islam Institute in Lahore. influences, hoping to make it ‘pure’. While they taken into account, as well as proximity to the Presbyterian missionary, noted in his diary that Ali returned to Trinidad in 1930 as a m o u l v i encountered opposition from the traditional voter’s domicile. The elections took place on mosques began to appear as early as the 1860s and immediately became involved with the Muslims, the youths disenchanted with the December 13 between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. at as ‘nice little buildings with galvanized roofs’ TIA. He introduced a spirit of inquiry into the seeming apathy and stagnation within the 124 voting stations, of which 20 were in public (Sarah Morton, John Morton of Trinidad, 1916). faith and preached Islam in conformity with faith were attracted to their ideas. The Tablighi places (schools, foreign integration centres, Former immigrants and their descendants, new thought and scientific discoveries. For movement has, in recent times, gained ground communal locales) and 104 in mosques. These once they became prosperous, built mosques, instance, he propagated that Jesus was dead in Trinidad. While its followers constitute a latter were chosen from amongst all mosques usually made of wood. The mosques that and that he was not taken up to Heaven alive minority, their influence is nonetheless felt in the county by drawing lots. The electoral sprang up throughout Indo-Muslim settle- and as such could not return, and that the within some of the mosques of the island. Tab- process in the Muslim communities was a first ments were primarily male bastions of worship m i r a j (ascension) of the Prophet Muhammad lighi missionaries from the subcontinent also not only for Belgium, but for all of Europe as until circa 1928. It was at that point that the (u.w.b.p.) was not in conformity with the ethos visit the island from time to time. Sunni Islam is well. Many countries followed the process with females of Peru Village (St. James) began of p u r d a h (veil or curtain of segregation) as prevalent, but there are small bands of Ahmadi great interest. attending certain special mosque activities, expounded by the Qur'an. Furthermore, he and Qadiani followers. While Shicite Islam The election results were validated on 6 Jan- such as the cId-ul-Fitr and cId-ul-Adha prayers. advocated equal privileges for women in order never gained momentum, during the month of uary 1999. The first co-optation took place in By the early 1930s, m a k t a b s (religious classes) to aid in the social development of communi- Muharram, the battle of Kerbala was celebrat- the second week of January. Elected members were held in the mosque compound. These ty. He also spoke, without condemnation, of ed with t a d j a h s (tomb-like structures, usually and the first co-opted group came together for classes were taught by imams or elderly Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, nineteenth century large, colourful and disposable) in some dis- the first time on Friday, January 15. They pro- learned men of the district, imparting the rudi- founder of the Ahmaddiya movement in India. tricts. This practice has continued, but is ceeded to co-opting 7 additional persons. ments of Islam to young boys and girls. Classes Traditionalists (Sunnis) at the time were prone marked with fierce condemnation by Sunnis. The members that fulfilled the diploma and included such subjects as Arabic, Urdu, to persecuting Ahmad for his claims of being a Nevertheless, during the early part of the language requirements were asked whether prayers, and other basic Islamic knowledge. recipient of revelations, the Promised Messiah month of Muharram, there are visits by Shici t e they wished to take part in the Religious Group Prior to the establishment of m a k t a b s, young and m a h d i (the One Rightfully Guided). Much missionaries from the United States. Leader Organ. The names of those who boys and girls were socialized into Islam by of his preaching ran counter to the beliefs and The Muslim community continues to be a responded affirmatively are to be presented to emulation and by the knowledge imparted by interpretations of the faith as understood by minority in Trinidad and Tobago. Still for the the Ministry of Justice. Though the Minister their parents and grandparents. In some the Sunnis. most part Sunni, other variations of Islam are does not have the right to designate the repre- instances, this practice continued even after The ideas introduced by the m o u l v i met with present. Islam in Trinidad continues to be open sentatives of religious groups, he can nonethe- young girls began attending m a k t a b. a storm of opposition. He was forced by his to external influence, just as it was during the less reserve the right to refuse certain candida- From the early twentieth century, Muslims peers to declare his position as either Sunni or epoch of indentureship and post-indenture- tures for reasons of public security. began forming religious groups that would Ahmadi. Ali refused to condemn Mirza Ghulam ship. ♦ Despite the fact that candidates were cater to their specific needs. These groups Ahmad and it was therefore assumed by the informed of this step in the process ahead of pressed for the recognition of Muslim mar- traditionalists that he was indeed a secret time, it still risks being the most delicate part of riages, the right to establish their own schools believer of his creed. He was consequently the process. Amongst the names accepted by with state recognition, encouraged island- accused of being a k a f i r (unbeliever) by the tra- the Minister, each community group is to wide Muslim unity, and sought to improve reli- ditionalists. By 1931, a schism developed with- choose its representatives for the Religious gious knowledge and increase spiritual aware- in the TIA as a result of these varying ideologi- Group Leader Organ. Should a community ness. These religious organizations all sought cal positions. One faction remained the TIA, group not come to an agreement, the grand state recognition, first as Friendship Societies more open to the then current intellectual assembly will intervene. If the entire process and later as incorporated bodies. The first thought and scholarly trends relative to Islam; runs smoothly, the Religious Group Leader among the multiple religious organizations to while the other camp, now known as Anjuman Organ will be, in theory, instituted by the end be formed was the Islamic Guardian Associa- Sunnat-ul-Jamaat Association (ASJA, Propaga- of February at the latest. ♦ tion (IGA) of Princes Town in 1906. This group tion Group for the Way of Life of Prophet was organized by Syed Abdul Aziz, an ex- Muhammad, u.w.b.p.), retained a conservative indentured labourer from Afghanistan, who and traditional view of Islam. had settled in Iere Village near a Presbyterian In order to consolidate their positions, these mission. Aziz was also instrumental in the two groups engaged in d awca h, that is, spread- establishment of the East Indian National Asso- ing Islam through preaching and education. ciation (EINA), an all-Indian pressure group, in They also encouraged foreign missionaries 1897. As a believer in Muslim unity, Aziz, along from India to visit the island to substantiate with other prominent Muslims of the colony, the claims of their respective, traditionalist or held a meeting at Crescent Hall, St. Joseph in modernist, positions. Again, lectures were the 1925. Their intention was to organize the Mus- medium used to consolidate the varying lim community into one large religious body. stances and increase the number of followers. By the following year, the Tackveeyatul Islamia From circa 1944, the TIA was again plagued Association (TIA, Society for the Strength of by tension, litigation and injunctions resulting Islam) was formed, and in 1931 it became an from disputes over the rightful claim to leader- Monique Renaerts, Centrum voor Gelijkheid incorporated body. Islam was also consolidat- ship. This led to a split in the TIA and the sub- v a n Kansen en voor Racismebestrijding / ed through the intermittent arrival of mission- sequent formation of the Trinidad Muslim Halima Kassim, Department of History, Centre pur l’Égalité des Chances et la Lutte aries from India, which began as early as 1914. League (TML) on August 15, 1947, the same U n i v e r s i t yo f the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad. C o n t r el e Racisme, Brussels, Belgium. Each of these missionaries rejuvenated the date as the partition of India and Pakistan. The E-m a i l :k a s c 0 0 1 2 @ c e n t r e . u w i . t t 2 8 Research I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9

Research approaches encourage them to enter it) while enforcing new AYSHA PARLA I N T E R V I E W S norms of the private, now elaborated as a LILA ABU-LUGHOD unique and busy domain in which women F e m i n i s m , should exert themselves. A.P. — The implicit term prowling around the Aysha Parla, doctoral candidate in Anthropology at already vexed relationship between modernity New York University interviews Lila Abu-Lughod, Pro- and feminism, is, as you stress, the West. In fessor of Anthropology and Middle East Studies at New nationalist discourses of modernization, we wit- York University, USA. N a t i o n a l i s m , ness over and over women’s central role simul- taneously as the representatives of civilization and progress, and as the bearers of the so-called A.P. — Beginning with unique, authentic, traditional values that distin- the 1980s, we observe a guish the nation from those aspects of the West proliferation of writing on M o d e r n i t y seen as corrupting, such as sexual license, excess women in various parts of individualism. Similarly, you emphasize how the Middle East (and also A.P. — One of the critical terms that marks tions. Novel visions of child rearing and house- women’s issues have all too easily become the South Asia), in particular the collection is ‘modernity.’ In your introduc- hold management – and the prescriptive litera- grounds on which battles over cultural authen- on the ways women have tion, you urge a rethinking of the ways in which ture through which they were reiterated – not ticity are waged. What does this mean for the been cast as the icons of discourses of the modern have been deployed only intersected with nationalist projects but place of feminism within postcolonial politics? nationalist identity within by various political groups at critical historical articulated the national struggle in terms of a distinct modernization moments. How do you understand/define politics of modernity. Moreover, this new L.A. — You’ve put your finger on the most projects of postcolonial/ modernity, and through what sort of critical domesticity worked to enforce a single bour- troubling question for scholars and activists post-independence Middle lens do you view it, especially as it pertains to geois norm, devaluing other forms of marriage alike: the relationship between modernity and Eastern nation-states. gender, or to use that favourite phrase of and family. The sources of these new visions of the West. In colonial or semi-colonial contexts, How would you locate nationalist discourse, to the ‘woman question’? women’s roles can be traced to Europe, whose the distinction between modernity and tradition your edited volume on prescriptive literatures were being translated (with its correlate, backwardness) had a particu- Remaking Women: L.A. — Some people have argued that it is and whose definitions of the modern deeply larly active life because it was paired with that Feminism and Modernity impossible to define modernity. Instead, we affected the Middle Easterners’ images of them- between the West and the non-West. in the Middle East, should track the diverse ways the insistent selves and their society. It is difficult for anyone thinking about ‘the recently published by claims to being modern are made. One thing we What I think we have done that is most origi- woman question’ today, as at the turn of the Princeton University Press, need to do to study ‘the woman question’ in the nal is to have critically analysed the ways that century, to escape the language of accusations with respect to this body Middle East is to explore how notions of moder- these forms of modernization – the induction of and counteraccusations about cultural authen- of literature? nity have been produced and reproduced women into new domestic roles as ‘ministers of ticity. Are attempts to transform the condition of through being opposed to the non-modern in the interior’, the professionalization of house- women indigenous or foreign? We try in this L.A. — There is no doubt that books like Deniz various dichotomies. Even more important, wifery, the making scientific of child rearing, the book to more calmly interrogate the genealogy Kandiyoti’s edited collection, Women, Islam and however, is to ask how modernity, as a condi- drafting into the nationalist project of producing of feminism in the Middle East, working against the State, that insisted that women in the Middle tion, might not be what it purports, or tells itself good sons, the organization into nuclear house- reified notions of separate cultures. To label East must be studied not in terms of an undiffer- – in the language of enlightenment and pro- holds governed by ideals of bourgeois marriage, indigenous the feminism of women who had entiated ‘Islam’ or Islamic culture but rather gress – it is. and even the involvement in new educational strong ties to Europeans, not only in the lan- through the differing political projects of nation- This kind of critical rethinking of modernity institutions – may have initiated new coercive guages in which they wrote, but their formative states, with their distinct histories, relationships helps us reassess the projects of modernizing norms and subjected women to new forms of influences, their interlocutors, and their liberal to colonialism and the West, class politics, ideo- Middle Eastern women that have characterized control and discipline, many self-imposed, even ideas, risks passing over too quickly the conjunc- logical uses of an Islamic idiom, and struggles this century. How best to become modern and as they undermined other forms of patriarchy. tures between the projects of Europeans and over the role of Islamic law in state legal appara- what role should be given to Islam and how Middle Easterners and the actual role of Euro- tuses, paved the way for Remaking Women. much of the West to emulate were certainly con- A.P. — Given these new modes of subjection – pean discourses in Middle Eastern ones, often But this ground-breaking work, published in tentious issues. But that something new was to to the nation-state, to the nuclear family, to the mediated, as I said earlier, through the projects 1991, was only a beginning. Some of what happen was not doubted. The rhetoric of conjugal couple – secured through everyday of modernity. Kandiyoti’s volume could not do was accom- reformers and literate women themselves was disciplinary regimes which train the body as But to ignore the differences in local femi- plished by several books published in the past full of references to ‘the new’ – with calls for well as the mind, you are suspicious, then, of the nisms and projects to reform women is just as few years that paid special attention to the cru- ‘women’s awakening’ and ‘the new woman’ emancipatory claims of the projects of moderni- misleading. For example, being framed within cial moment of the late nineteenth and early reverberating through the magazines, books ty. Do you see a danger, however, that this criti- an Islamic discourse and argued with some of its twentieth centuries when the terms of the and speeches of the era. We wanted to explore cal reassessment of modernity and its emanci- tools (of reference to the Qur'an, etc.) subtly debates about ‘women’s emancipation’ were set how in various parts of the Middle East these patory claims, might veer dangerously close to a transformed translated discourses, such as those and when, it might be said, ‘the history of the projects were conceived and promoted, in all yearning for a romanticized traditional past? on motherhood and housewifery. Translations present’ regarding feminism and its possibilities their complexity, contradictions, and unintend- always involved rewritings of the original Euro- in the Middle East was made. These books made ed consequences, but with a critical eye for the L.A. — You are right to point out the dangers. pean texts or framing by commentaries that extensive use of the writings of Middle Eastern ways in which they might not only be liberatory. The tricky task in all this is how to be sceptical of drew from the texts different meanings. Western women themselves to analyse the period in modernity’s progressive claims of emancipation cultural forms and ideas were appropriated question. The rediscovery of women’s writings A.P. — You seem to be asserting that there was and critical of its social and cultural operations selectively, often piecemeal. In the Egyptian and the analysis of the active women’s press, something distinct to modernity, that some- and yet appreciate the forms of energy, possibil- case, Omnia Shakry shows that European mod- especially in turn-of-the-century Egypt, but also thing(s) did change in quite fundamental ways. ity, even power that aspects of it might have ern notions of child rearing were aligned with in Iran and Ottoman Turkey, has enabled schol- In which sites, or which aspects of women’s lives enabled, especially for women. How can one Islamic notions of bodily discipline. Even ‘Islam’ ars to shift their attention from the prominent would you situate these transformations? question modernity without implying that one has no doubt been transformed by being made male reformers to the many women who were longs nostalgically for some pre-modern forma- the object of derision by missionaries, the sign of active participants in the shaping of the new dis- L.A. — The calls for remaking women at the tion? Feminist scholars feel this dilemma acutely barbarism by the Europeans, and, in response, courses on women. turn of the century and into the first half of the because they cannot ignore the fact that gen- both the banner of authenticity for those oppos- The work of these earlier scholars crystallized twentieth century included advocacy of both dered power has taken and can take many ing domination and the framework in which for me, and for the contributors to Remaking women’s greater participation in the public forms. debates about society and women have come to Women, a number of questions that needed to world – through education, unveiling, and polit- We try in Remaking Women to assess the take place. be pursued. First and foremost were questions ical participation – and women’s enormous impact for women of the kinds of modernizing One of the most productive lines of thought about the politics of modernity. In particular, we responsibility for the domestic sphere. National- projects and discourses that marked the nine- made possible by Edward Said’s Orientalism, asked ourselves, how might new ideas and prac- ism and visions of national development were teenth and twentieth centuries in the Middle which re-framed world history as a global phe- tices considered ‘modern’ and progressive, central to both arguments. While some scholars East, being aware of the ways these projects, as nomenon, was that the division between East implanted in Europe’s colonies or simply taken have dismissed the cult of domesticity promot- Afsaneh Najmabadi puts it, might have been and West had to be understood not as a natural up by emerging local elite, have ushered in not ed by writers in women’s journals as conserva- simultaneously regulatory and emancipatory. geographic or cultural fact but a product of the only forms of emancipation but new forms of tive and as a deplorable extension of women’s For example, the ‘discourse of domesticity’ in historical encounter of imperialism. Following social control? Second were questions about the traditional roles, we suggest that it depended on Iran seems to have provided the very grounds this lead, we argue that condemning ‘feminism’ politics of East/West relations. How are we to a radical re-figuring of gender roles. In other from which the male domain of modern educa- as an inauthentic Western import is just as inac- think about those discourses that borrowed words, to be a wife and mother as these mod- tion could be opened up, and with it women’s curate as celebrating it as a local or indigenous from Europe, were supported by Europeans, or ernizers conceived of it was to be a very different movement into public life and national recogni- project. The first position assumes such a thing were shaped in response to colonial definitions kind of subject than the wife and mother of tion. Later, women could use notions of serving as cultural purity; the second underestimates of the ‘backwardness’ of the East? Third were before. It was not insignificant that the ‘new’ the State to claim higher education and profes- the formative power of colonialism in the devel- questions about class that enter into both of wife and mother was now to be in charge of the sions. In Egypt, as Marilyn Booth points out, the opment of the Middle East. ♦ these, such as who became involved in debates scientific management of the orderly household prescriptive biographies of famous women that about ‘the woman question’ and what relation- of the modern nation, as well as the rearing and appeared in the Arab press in the first decades of ship did their involvement have to consolidating training of the children who now were seen as this century seem to have been both constrictive class projects and identities? Pursuing these the future citizens of the modern nation. and expansive for women’s lives. In sharpening questions has led us to what I believe are some This new vision of wifehood and motherhood the distinction between the public and private This is an adapted version from an interview very new interpretations of ‘feminist’ projects in underwrote developments in the education of realms, writers of the era could now problema- published in the Turkish journal, Cogito 1 6 , the Middle East. women and intersected with nationalist aspira- tize women’s absence from the public (and thus F a l l1 9 9 8 . I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9 Research 29

Research approaches quately done without due consideration for the WALTER ARMBRUST effects of media that do not easily fit the ‘glob- alization’ mantra. An emphasis on globalization built through Mass Culture the effects of new media is deceptive because new media never eliminate old media. What Mass Culture and Modernism in Egypt began as my dis- actually happens in every case is that new sertation research. My plan was to write about concepts media augment the old. The internet, the of the person in Egypt, and one of my sources was to be newest of the new media, is a metaphor for the media, though this was not necessarily to be the prima- in Egypt way all media work in that it links texts often in ry focus of the research. At the outset, my plans were non-linear relationships. Songs on cassette, quite flexible. I was interested in the relation of local films, celebrities, poetry, magazine imagery, identity to practices associated with both foreign and books, and television are intertextual by nature. ‘classical’ Islamic ideals. Communication itself is intertextual. To put it simply, the ability to link diverse texts in individ- My potential sources were eclectic. For ualized networks happens apart from the inter- example, I had hoped to incorporate a histori- net. cal perspective through looking at late The intertextuality of media – old as well as Ottoman-period Turkish-language manu- new – was an essential part of Mass Culture and scripts. In particular, I wanted to search for Modernism. Often the ‘content’ of media is texts that made use of terms of appellation inseparable from its deployment in the social comparable to (or contrasting with) contem- networks of everyday life. For example, Muham- porary terms like ibn al-balad – literally ‘son of mad Abd al-Wahhab, the great singer and com- the country’, though the exact referent can poser who died while I was doing my fieldwork, change according to context, evoking various was a historical figure, but also a contemporary shades of locality in one situation, class distinc- social reference point in 1991 for young people tions in another, and national identity in still who felt compelled to justify their own tastes in others. Sawsan el-Messiri, the anthropologist music through him. I found that Ahmad who originally analysed the term in the con- Adawiyya, a singer of the younger generation, text of modern Egyptian identity, suggested and for many a controversial figure of dubious that the term was not frozen, and had taken on taste, was linked in conversation to Abd al-Wah- a range of contemporary meanings in relative- hab, a popular figure of an earlier era who, by ly recent historical memory. I had hoped to the time of his death, was an icon of highbrow elaborate on her observation. sensibilities. The two were not necessarily As often happens, once the research began, I linked as similar figures – depending on one’s changed my focus. Mediated culture is an attitude toward Adawiyya, the association inescapable part of contemporary Egypt, and might well be one of contrast rather than of sim- yet writing on it was, and remains, astonishing- ilarity. But there was no question that Adawiyya An icon of his ly thin. The idea of trying to augment anthro- made more sense in a network of intertextual g e n e r a t i o n . pological research through archival sources references – to Abd al-Wahhab and to many A na d v e r t i s e m e n t began to seem absurd in the face of the mas- others from many different historical periods – for Muhammad sive quantities of mediated material that were than he would have as a phenomenon relevant Abd al-Wahhab’s all around me. These materials were, of course, only to class and generational segments in film Yaum Saci d meaningful in various ways to my steadily 1 9 9 1 . (Happy Day, 1940). expanding circle of informants and friends. But The rise of Adawiyya certainly is tied to the Abd al-Wahhab they were also characterized by historical transnational processes that occupy the atten- b r i l l i a n t l y depth, albeit not as great a depth as I had once tion of American social science. He is a per- e x p l o i t e d hoped to explore through archival documents. former emblematic of the age of portable music t h er e l a t i v e l y In the end, my ethnographic material ranged – of a decentralized system of production in centralized media from 1930s popular magazines and cinema to which cheap and easily pirated cassette record- of his day to build college students of the 1990s. ings prevent the sort of market domination that a dominant By default, the only modern medium that has Abd al-Wahhab built through the gramophone, position in really mattered in the study of Middle Eastern cinema, and national radio broadcasts. And Egyptian musical societies has been print. Not print as a medium Adawiyya is also representative of a crisis of c u l t u r e . of mass communication, but print simply as the confidence in the institutional success of mod- vehicle for ideas that could be translated fairly ernist and nationalist projects – a crisis of confi- unproblematically. Given the narrow range of tional status of Middle East-oriented scholar- sarily leading to a more comprehensive consid- dence that has contributed to the rise of the Western academic interest in the Middle East ship. There are many reasons for this, and cer- eration of the sorts of media I wrote about in Islamist movement. This too is consonant with (and to a great extent in all non-Western cul- tainly there are exceptions to the obsessive Mass Culture and Modernism. This is because the the globalist rhetoric of the moment. But it is tures), it has proven exceedingly difficult to American preoccupation with characterizing impetus for the study of media in the Arab also true that much of what makes Adawiyya think of Egypt as a modern society closely tied the Middle East as a place sharply divided world stems from a growing concern for the meaningful in contemporary Egypt takes place to the experience of mediated communication. between pre-modern and ‘westernized’ ele- transnational effects of ‘new media’ – the inter- well below the radar of the English-oriented The media in question are certainly not only, or ments – in other words as a place with no real net, fax, and satellite television. Interest in such transnational ‘new media’ that will very likely necessarily even primarily, those that utilize modernity of its own. In short, at precisely the phenomena is perfectly understandable up to a attract a growing share of scholarly attention in print. Nonetheless the study of media in Egypt time when intellectual critiques of Middle East- point. Computers and digital technology are coming years. and the Arabic-speaking world has remained ern Studies and Orientalism might have led to changing the world; Egypt and the Arabic- The crisis of confidence in modernist and shackled by an academic division of labour that more effective and less rigidly channelled stud- speaking world are undeniably caught up in nationalist discourses of the older generations creates an implicit cultural divide. This is a vari- ies of the region, the American political and cul- these changes. However, I believe that to focus that Mass Culture and Modernism c h a r a c t e r i z e s ant of the sort of high/low cultural divides that tural establishment invested heavily in promot- on new media without relating them to the as having occurred since the 1970s is not a have developed in the United States and ing an image of the Middle East as a threatening effects and constructed meanings of older negation of modernity itself. My basic assump- Europe. In Middle East Studies, research and cultural opposite, particularly with the demise media is short-sighted, and leads to a deceptive tion in researching and writing the book was publishing agendas define low culture as pre- of the Soviet Union. I would argue that most emphasis on globalization, and the hope (or, for that modernity must be thought of as a plural modern or ‘folkloric’, and high culture as liter- new PhD’s of the past two decades have been some, the spectre) of a world without borders. process rather than as something that radiated ate and book-bound. The metagenres of Egypt- out of sync with the campaign of disinformation Globalization rhetoric is not innocent of poli- from Europe. Despite the egregious underem- ian popular culture and broad media discours- promoted by the American media and govern- tics. It tends to obscure relations of power phasis by Western scholars on Egyptian mass- es on modernity employ a language of dichoto- ment. Hence there has been a steadily decreas- between a metropolitan centre (Europe, the mediated culture, throughout the twentieth my – folk culture/high culture, traditional/mod- ing market for Middle East specialization within United States, parts of Asia), and a formerly col- century it has been a key factor in creating ern, religious/secular, etc. But in the mass- American academia. The mainstream of new onized periphery. Flows of culture, people, and modernity in Egypt. I am confident that this mediated popular culture of Egypt and many Middle Eastern scholarship was reduced to a capital are in fact still structured in favour of the omission will be corrected – that studies of other colonial and postcolonial societies, the trickle. Consequently the capacity to explore metropolis, despite popular and academic mass culture and modernity in Egypt and the purpose of such discourses has not been to such topics as the role of mass media in con- assertions to the contrary. ‘The global con- Arabic-speaking world will flourish in the near reinforce cultural dichotomies. Rather it is to structing modern culture is far less than it would structs the local’ has become a mantra of Amer- future. ♦ transcend them, or at least to create a hybrid have been if the demand for Middle Eastern ican academia, but ‘the global’ almost always form of modernity, conceptually linked to the specialization had been even a tenth as great as privileges the activities of an Europhone elite. local past, but fully conversant with imported the demand for specialization in Latin America, The ‘new media’ most amenable to globaliza- technique. Asia, and Africa. Political and economic interests tion rhetoric – the internet and satellite televi- Such binarisms have, of course, been fiercely in those areas have led to vastly greater institu- sion – were largely still on the horizon in Egypt criticized in American academia during the past tional investment in the United States. when I did the fieldwork upon which Mass Cul- Walter Armbrust is Visiting Assistant Professor, two decades. The effect of such critiques has Research agendas, if not the institutional ture and Modernism is based. They have since Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Georgetown been to slowly recast research agendas, but also prestige of Middle East specialists, are changing. become far more prominent. But I do not University, USA. to facilitate an overall decrease in the institu- However, new research agendas are not neces- believe the analysis of new media can be ade- E-mail: [email protected] 3 0 Research I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9

Research approaches SHEILA CARAPICO Researching Civic

According to classical Western social theory, the institu- tions, networks, and projects of civil society operate in a pluralistic, continuously contested public civic realm. Distinct from either the government’s coercive bureau- A c t i v i s m cratic functions or profit-seeking private businesses, often conceptualized as a buffer between states and households, civil society represents a third, non-gov- ernmental, non-profit, voluntary sector of modern soci- ety. Viewed differently, the civic realm is a zone where in the Arab World culture interacts with politics and economics. Recent research shows that rates of civic activism – of joining, numbers of Arab NGOs, formal organizations expressed in Arabic, with ample references to against allegations by the press prosecutor’s communicating, demonstrating, donating, organizing, that register with the government as non-prof- local, Yemeni, or Islamic tradition. Yet what an office is a drama acted out in the press, the and participating in events and projects that affect com- it fund-raising bodies. Nowhere in the Arab array of ‘traditions’ to choose from – a trea- courts, in journalists’ and attorneys’ syndi- munity services, public opinion, and national politics – world (if anywhere), however, has the expan- sure-chest of symbols, customs, and sayings cates, and in human rights organizations. vary across countries and across time. The question is sion of civic space been a V-shaped opening, for special occasions. Whereas in an era of One case study of tribesmen building roads whether cultural ‘traditions’ explain why the civic smooth and regular. With the waxing and wan- road-building, ranchers adapted tribal auto- or activists defying censorship is interesting; in sphere is more vibrant in some places and periods than ing of economic fortunes and with greater or taxation mechanisms to hire bulldozers, in the aggregate, such acts can transform materi- o t h e r s . lesser government success in co-opting other times tribes resort to roadblocks to hold al and political conditions. Thirdly, then, the autonomous initiatives, exigencies and outlets the antagonistic state at bay. ‘Declarations of study of political culture requires comparative It is important to distinguish a moral econo- change. My research on twentieth-century public opinion’ issued by conferences and use of ethnography, close reading of first-hand my or ‘primordial civic realm’ from modern Yemen documents three quite distinct periods available on newsstands mix republican, tribal, accounts by anthropologists, development civil society. Historically, Middle Eastern com- of civic animation. In the modern enclave of sharia, Greek, socialist, historical, and interna- consultants, human rights monitors, and other munities provided themselves with collective late-colonial Aden, class-based labour syndi- tionalist phrases and concepts in a real, literal outside ‘participant observers’ as well as water supplies, dispute management, school- cates and merchant’s associations filled expan- contest of public discourses. In lieu of old ‘native’ reports. Mapped geographically and ing, way-stations, market-places, sanitation, sive public spaces both physically and forms of social capital formation, charitable arranged chronologically, case studies help policing and other municipal or community metaphorically – the streets, salons, schools, donations are solicited in the name of a ‘new show how and why rates of activism vary from services through mechanisms including waqf, publications, legal loopholes, and access to tradition’, the formalized jamaciyya khayriyya, one place or season to the next. zakat, sadaqah, tacawun, guild, tribal or ad hoc Yemeni and British public opinion. A second or welfare society, as distinctly modern as com- Research in Arabic for publication in Euro- initiatives. Although states forever strove to efflorescence of civic activity, the Yemeni self- mercial Islamic banks. pean languages is partly a translation exercise. centralize legal practice, religious tithes, and help (tacawun) movement, peaked in the Looking at civil society as a series of projects Decisions about what to transliterate or abbre- private bequests, individual and collective pro- 1970s when recycled migrants’ remittances or initiatives rather than a collection of ‘civil viate are crucial: should one render jamaci y y a jects reflecting a mix of Muslim piety, political financed country roads, primary schools, societies’ has methodological implications. khayriyya as such, or as a welfare society, or as competition, and economic rationality were a mechanized water retrieval, and the first elec- First, studying civic activism is at least partly an an NGO? Nowadays there is often the further centripetal force. In the case of Yemen, philan- trical generators in many cities, towns, and vil- archaeological venture of digging around choice of accepting a given English version of thropic and community mechanisms for fund- lages. Activism in the ’90s has been character- architectural sites and unearthing documents. an Arabic name and correcting its spelling or ing and maintaining collective goods, ground- ized, on the one hand, by unprecedentted Who built the mosques, schools, public spaces, wording. In addition to the important question ed in a pre-capitalist social formation, gave overt partisanship, formal political organizing, clinics, and clubs? How are they used? Main- of what to call things, however, is a further towns and regions relative autonomy from publishing, and holding of public events; and, tained? What is the documentation, and how issue of the unit of analysis. It is one thing to imams and sultans. Religious endowments on the other, by significant growth of the char- or where is it published or preserved? What, in research non-governmental organizations and (waqf) supported independent seminaries itable voluntary sector whose projects include other words, is the output of civic activism, quite another to document clusters of activity where scholars and judges were at least some- emergency relief, welfare programmes, health what material traces are left? within spheres such as education, social wel- times free to contradict ‘official’ versions of clinics, informal and parochial education. The Secondly, we can read texts and public dis- fare, legal practice, or publishing that may be sharia by, for instance, writing rationales for sudden, rapid expansion of political space plays. In contemporary Yemen the plethora of nationalized, secularized, privatized, or rein- spending zakat (religious tithes) on local pro- after unification and its constriction after 1994, newspapers, tabloids, and pamphlets reflect a vented depending on national politics and jects (tribal, artisan, and Jewish communities together with deepening economic crisis wide range of opinion and constant competi- economic circumstances. Current conditions in also marshalled a meagre surplus for essential prompted particular responses from various tion between the government, political par- Arab countries are hardly conducive to wide- services). It is also important not to romanti- segments of urban and rural society. Different ties, and others for the hearts and minds of an spread formal political participation, but we cize what was a zone for contestation of the movements have been reactionary or progres- ever-growing reading public. One can fill may nonetheless discover ways in which civil allocation of very scarce resources. sive, resisting or inviting commercial markets weekly calendars with seminars, conferences, society constitutes a buffer against authoritari- Times change, and with them the parame- and/or central political authority. Civic and meetings, or attending court trials and anism and deprivation. ♦ ters for civic projects. Almost everywhere in activism tends, then, to be episodic, oppor- town council sessions – all scripted scenes the Middle East, governments have captured tunistic, and contingent, as people act on con- open to observation, participation, and con- endowments, zakat, and education, offering in crete local circumstances. tention. Publications and events document return public-sector sanitation and infrastruc- If culture is a constant, it cannot explain such dominant and dissident discourses, positions, Dr Sheila Carapico, Department of Political Science, ture. Currently there is a veritable explosion in wide discrepancies. Of course activism is and projects. Legal defence of newspapers University of Richmond, USA.

The Prince Claus Fund, in addition to the awards, rary art. Piyadasa's art, such as the collage-like Rakshan Bani-Etemad offers funding, produces publications, stimulates 'Malaysian Series', which he has been working on Rakshan Bani-Etemad (1954, Tehran, Iran) was The 1998 world-wide cultural debate, and supports activities since 1980, and his art criticism are his answer to one of the first women to make films after the Iran- and initiatives which emphasize innovation and neo-nationalistic, Islamic, and globalization cur- ian Revolution of 1979. She is now the foremost experimentation. rents in Malaysia, which have threatened to margin- female director in her country, enjoying both P r i n c e The Principal 1998 Prince Claus Award was alize minority groups and alternatives. national and international renown. Bani-Etemad awarded to the Art of African Fashion represented extends the boundaries of officially permitted by three leading figures in that field: Alphadi Nazek Saba Yareb imagination. Her work appeals to women in her C l a u s (Niger); Oumou Sy (Senegal), and Tetteh Adzedu Nazed Saba Yareb (1928, Jerusalem, now based own country and beyond, subtly researching and (Ghana). Thirteen other Prince Claus Awards were in Beirut, Lebanon) is an academic, literary critic, presenting womanhood and moving people's presented to individuals from the world over. essayist, novelist and human rights activist. She is hearts and minds. While never alienating the main- A w a r d s Three of these merit special mention here: concerned in human relations, seeking to stimulate stream audience, her films have a distinctly female a better understanding of other people and other perspective, a strong sympathy for the feminist The Netherlands' Prince Claus Fund for Redza Piyadesa societies. Her literary and academic work reflect cause and a preoccupation with female sensibility Culture and Development granted its Redza Piyadasa (1939, Kuantan, Malaysia) devotes this concern. Culture and art are essential in the and the role of women in love and society. But Prince Claus Awards to 16 artists and himself both to the practice and to the theory of art. rebuilding of a country emerging from a terrible Bani-Etemad does not want to be called a feminist, inellectuals who have demonstrated During the sixties and seventies he filled a serious civil war (1975 - 1992). It is in this light that one since she fears being confined by ideology. She is exceptional creativity, courage, and vacuum, at a time when there was scarcely any should see Nazek Saba Yareb's commitment to the first an artis, and she needs the freedom to explore commitment in their work in the do- debate on the subject of art history or art criticism Baalbeck Festival in Lebanon, which reopened in and explain positions that may not be placed high mains of culture and development. The in his country. Partly due to his persistent efforts, 1997. She works wholeheartedly and with unflag- on the feminist agenda. The result is a true change 1998 winners have proven the capacity the situation is now quite different. In his many ging energy in order to help her country regain its of attitude through art. ♦ to bring about fortuitous change in publications, both in English and in Malay, in his place on the international cultural map. The their surrounding environments and countless articles in the Malay press and also in his themes in her works include: women's issues, mar- thus deserve the recognition and work as an artist, he examines the contexts of art riage, religious fanatacism, minority identities. For further information on the 1998 laureates, encouragement given by the awards, and their significance for the construction of artistic Through communication between people and cul- p l e a s e consult Prince Claus Awards, p u b l i s h e d which are a means to make the other- traditions and artistic values. His interest is centred tures, Yareb has stretched out her arms and creat- b yt h e Prince Clause Fund, The Hague, 1998. wise little-known efforts of these indi- on modern Asian art, which he places in relation to ed new perspectives for Lebanese culture, a new URL: www.princeclausfund.nl viduals recognised world-wide. traditional Asian art forms and Western contempo- vision for the future of its people. E-mail: [email protected] I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9 Research 31

Research approaches RICHARD C. MARTIN Getting Beyond

Since the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, many of us in Islamic Studies have found ourselves being asked repeatedly by reporters, students, and even university colleagues to explain and interpret Islamic fundamen- F u n d a m e n t a l i s m talism. Certain assumptions often surface in public dis- cussions of Islam. For example, many reporters (and many of my students and colleagues) believe that Islam is an intrinsically violent religion. Another assumption I often encounter is the view that orthodox Muslims in Islamic Studies (Sunni and Shici) are medieval, irrational, anti-modern, and dangerously anti-Western intellectually. tals).3 These two texts, cAbd al-Jabbar’s original Islamists. Interestingly, these two conflicting the Old and New Testaments – the texts of treatise and Harun Nasution’s modernist com- trends were never mutually exclusive: some their own faith tradition. The reaction within mentary form the two textual and historical foci Hanbalites were accused (accurately, in some Christianity to critical biblical scholarship is of this study.’ cases) of rationalism, and some Muctazilites well known and still at play. The same century A premise of this study is that during the past relied heavily on scriptural arguments. Nonethe- saw the beginnings of sustained Western century very few books have been written about less, we argue that Islamic orthodoxy (Sunni and research by some of the same Protestant schol- Islam by scholars trained in history of religions or Shici) was always fluid and pluralistic. Muctazil- ars on the ‘Sacred Books of the East’, including comparative studies of religions. Most studies of ism and Hanbalism each enjoyed moments of the Islamic textual tradition. Orientalism and Islamic fundamentalism written by scholars in being at the centre of orthodox thinking in vari- R e l i g i o n s w i s s e n s c h a f t have dealt with other the US, for example, have been written by Orien- ous times and places, but for the most part they people’s texts, thus crossing certain bound- talists, political scientists, public policy special- formed on the margins and each tried to influ- aries that had been unmarked earlier in post- ists in government, or journalists. We wanted to ence the orthodox centre. Since the Middle Enlightenment modern scholarship. During write about the importance of Islamic religious Ages, Muctazilism has been more successful in the second half of the twentieth century in par- thought today for each of these groups, but our Shici Islam, Hanbalism and certainly Ashcarism in ticular, those boundaries have become more primary target was scholars and students of reli- Sunni Islam. clearly marked. That is the problem with which gion. It is important to note that in North Ameri- Defenders of Reason also claims that the strug- Defenders of Reason in Islam ends. It is the prob- ca there are some 900 departments of religion in gles going on within Islamic societies today have lem raised by a recent controversial article, private colleges and public universities, and that to be seen as theological disputes that matter ‘What is the Koran?’, in the popular American the study of Islam is still woefully underrepre- deeply; they can not simply be reduced to social, magazine Atlantic Monthly.5 It is a problem that sented in these departments. A large number of political, or economic causes, even though a par- defenders of reason and of other warrants in departments still do not offer courses on Islam; ticular political breakdown (fitna), for example, religious studies – Muslim, Christian, Buddhist at best they may cross-list a course in anthropol- may provide a context in which theological and non-religious – shall have to negotiate at ogy or political science or history by a Middle arguments are reformulated and vivified. A the boundaries of scholarly and religious East specialist in another discipline to teach quote from Christian theologian Alister E. domains in the public marketplace. ♦ about the Islamic religion. McGrath, citing German sociologist of religion In the Introduction, we try to locate the history Niklas Luhmann, summarizes the book’s con- of Islamic theology in relation to the political cept of the social origins of theology: ‘[D]octrine It is this modern public perception of Islam dimensions of Islamic and religious studies in arises in response to religious identity, which that induced Mark R. Woodward and myself to the past century. A section entitled ‘From the may be occasioned socially (through encounters write, with Dwi. S. Atmaja, Defenders of Reason Project of Orientalism to the Fundamentalism with other religious systems) and temporally in Islam: Muctazilism from Medieval School to Project’ argues that the Western textual study of (through increasing chronological distance from Modern Symbol (Oxford: Oneworld, 1997) xv + Islamic theological texts, and particularly the its historical origins and sources of revelation)… 251 pages including a glossary, bibliography rediscovery of a number of Muctazili texts in this Doctrine is thus linked with the affirmation of and index. The following three paragraphs, century in Yemen and elsewhere, has influenced the need for certain identity-giving parameters adapted from the Introduction, entitled ‘A Tale the direction of both of the modern study of for the community, providing theological justifi- of Two Texts’, explain our project. Islamic thought and Islamic thought itself. cation for its continued existence.’ 4 Theology, or ‘In the late 1970s, the Indonesian Modernist Defenders of Reason in Islam challenges the main cilm al-kalam, then, is a function of what ethnol- theologian Harun Nasution published a pam- theses of the Fundamentalism Project at the Uni- ogist Fredrik Barth calls ‘boundary formation’ phlet in defense of a Medieval Muslim “rational- versity of Chicago headed by Martin E. Marty and and ‘boundary maintenance’. It is the language ist” theological school known as the Muct a z i l a .1 R. Scott Appleby and the book by Bruce B. by which members of a group reach an agree- This was somewhat unusual. Although Muc- Lawrence on the cultural sources of fundamen- ment and thus a self-identity (madhhab), which tazili theology is discussed, sometimes posi- talism. Indeed, the title Defenders of Reason in is fortified by a corresponding notion of the tively, by modern Muslim scholars, very few Islam was inspired by Lawrence’s 1989 work, other – those who are outside the community. have identified themselves with Muctazilism to Defenders of God: The Fundamentalist Revolt The poetics and social uses of that language, the extent that Nasution had. 2 After the heyday Against the Modern Age (San Francisco: Harper theological discourse, as well as its social con- of the school in the ninth and tenth centuries, and Row). Marty, Appleby and Lawrence have texts, constitute data the scholar must take seri- Muctazili dominance in theological discourse argued that fundamentalism is primarily an ide- ously. (k a l a m) began to wane, giving way to more ological reaction to modernity, and particularly The first two parts of the book present transla- centrist and populist discourses, such as those to modernism. Defenders of Reason argues that tions, textual analyses, and historical expositions of the Ashcari and Maturidi theologians so-called fundamentalism in modern Islamic of the two texts, cAbd al Jabbar’s eleventh-cen- (m u t a k a l l i m u n), and the Hanbali, Hanafi, and thought is not merely a reaction to modernism; tury Kitab al-usul al-khamsa and Nasution’s S h a f ici jurist consults (f u q u h a).’ it is a contemporary species of the historically twentieth-century Kaum Muctazilah dan Pandan- ‘Theological rationalism did not altogether rooted traditionalist reaction to rationalist ten- gan Rasionalanya. A chapter in Part II, ‘The Per- disappear in Islamic thought, however. Shici dencies in Islamic thought that goes back at sistence of Traditionalism and Rationalism’, sum- theologians continued to dictate and comment least to the circle around Hasan al-Basri in the marizes the history of this theological tension on medieval Muctazili texts as part of their early eighth century. Hence, the book tells the from the waning Muctazili influence in the Seljuq madrasa curriculum… With the emergence of story of Muctazilism and both the political and Age (eleventh and twelfth centuries) through Richard C. Martin is Professor and Chair of Islamic modernist thinking in the latter part of theological reactions to it in Islamic history. the fourteenth-century revival of traditionalism t h e Department of Religion, Emory University, USA. the nineteenth century, however, Muct a z i l i The rest of the Introduction has the task of of Ibn Taymiyya, down to the modernism of E-mail: [email protected] rationalism began to enjoy a revival of interest explaining the concepts of ‘rationalism’, ‘tradi- Muhammad cAbduh and its influences in South- among Sunni Muslim intellectuals. During this tionalism’, and theology (cilm al-kalam) itself – all east Asia. In Part III, entitled ‘Muctazilism and N o t e s past century, the discovery of several Muct a z i l i of them multivalent terms – in scholarly dis- (Post)Modernity’, we look at traces of Muctazil- 1. Kaum Muctazilah dan Pandangan Rasionalnya manuscripts hibernating in Middle Eastern course. The strategy is not to be comprehensive ism in the work of contemporary thinkers whose ‘ T h eM uctazila and Rational Philosophy’. libraries has led to an increase of scholarly and detailed, but rather to be schematic in order writings are available to our readers in European 2. Regretfully, Nasution died in the early fall of 1998. interest in Muctazili texts by both Western and to bring contrasting trends into relief. Historians languages: Fazlur Rahman, Mohammed Arkoun, 3. I based the translation on the edition of the Arabic Muslim scholars…’ will easily be able to problematize the informa- Fatima Mernissi, and Hasan Hanafi. In the final text prepared by Daniel Gimaret, ‘The current study is structured by two short tion provided in defence of the main theses chapter, ‘The Implications of Modernity: Decon- ‘ L e s U s u la l-H a m s a du Qadi cAbd al-Jabbaret expositions of Muctazili doctrine, one dictated in when they look at particular thinkers and peri- structing the Argument’, the bracketed question L e u r sC o m m e n t a i r e s , ’ Arabic in Iran toward the end of the tenth centu- ods. Our purpose, however, was to find theolog- of the relation of modernity/modernism to fun- Annales Islamologiques 1 5( 1 9 7 9 ) . ry C.E., and the other written, as we have indicat- ical patterns over what historian Fernand damentalism closes the book. 4. Quoted in Defenders of Reason, 17, from Alister ed, by Harun Nasution in Bahasa Indonesia in the Braudel has termed la longue durée, the larger The final discussion within that chapter is on E . McGrath, The Genesis of Doctrine: A Study in late 1970s-. In addition to Nasution’s text, this scope of trends over time. The pattern that dom- ‘Other People’s Texts’. The post-Enlightenment t h e Foundations of Doctrinal Criticism ( O x f o r d : study also presents the original treatise at the inates this study is the long historical tension critical study of religious texts was rooted in Blackwell, 1990), 38. basis of the commentary, cAbd al-Jabbar’s Kitab between Muctazilites and Hanbalites/Ash carites, nineteenth-century textual and historical criti- 5. Toby Lester, ‘What is the Koran?’, al-usul al-khamsa (Book on the five fundamen- rationalists and traditionalists, modernists and cism, mainly by Protestant scholars examining A t l a n t i cM o n t h l y 283/1 (January 1999): 43-56. 3 2 Research Projects I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9

C i t i z e n s h i p SAMINA YASMEEN W o m e n

The debates surrounding the theory and practice of cit- izenship have gained increased prominence in the last decade. They have been partially prompted by an in- creasing awareness of the role played by the civil soci- as Citizens ety and its relationship to state apparatus. But the emergence of cross-border migration as a major feature of the post-Cold War era has also aided this phenome- non. in Australia

With a large number of individuals and identity? To what extent are their views influ- including women who have migrated from ever, also creates differences among these groups migrating across the globe due to a enced by their experiences in their home coun- Britain, feel more accepted and acknowledged women and their sense of identity. Some Mus- variety of political, economic and social rea- tries? What role does religion play in formula- than, for instance, women from Iran, Egypt and lim women, for instance, regularly attend lun- sons, issues have emerged surrounding the tion and articulation of identity? How signifi- even Italy. The level of belonging changes with cheon seminar sessions organized at neutral rights and responsibilities of citizens, natives cant is culture in determining women’s notion the duration of stay and is closely linked to the venues such as educational institutions or gov- and denizens. That analysts are grappling with of citizenship. The methodology used in the socio-economic background of the respon- ernment support centres. Others insist on the effects of these changes is apparent in the project also indicated the value of in-depth dents. Interestingly, however, Afghan women gathering only in places that are clearly ‘Islam- publication of a number of good books on citi- interviews in which women were encouraged who migrated since the Soviet invasion of ic’ and unquestionably serve halal meals. To zenship in the last ten years. Will Kymlicka, for to voice their opinions on numerous issues Afghanistan do not fit into this pattern. Aware put it differently, the data collected for Muslim instance, has delved into the question of multi- without the interference or presence of other of the impossibility of returning to their home women through the ‘Women and Citizenship’ cultural citizenship, whereas Thomas Janoski members of their family. The experience thus country, these women demonstrate a distinct project builds on the knowledge acquired has investigated the linkages between civil gained has formed the basis for a large-scale ability and willingness to operate in both the through the project on ‘Gender-Based Assess- society and citizenship.1 sociological survey to ascertain the views of market and public spheres and ensure that the ment of Settlement Needs of Muslims Living in The project on ‘Women and Citizenship’ at immigrant women on being Australian citi- state structures are aware of their specific Perth Metropolitan Area’. It suggests that while the University of Western Australia is attempt- zens. A questionnaire has been developed needs. They have achieved this in less than 20 Islam plays a unifying role for Muslims living in ing to contribute to this renewed investigation which consists in two parts. The quantitative years. In fact, these women also are different Western Australia, different interpretations of into the theory and practice of citizenship, part deals with the demographic profile of the from a large majority of other Muslim women Islamic teachings intermingled with cultural placing a special emphasis on women. The respondents and uses indices that facilitate who shy away from participating in the politi- differences can also contribute to divisions project, consisting in two distinct phases, has placing the information gathered within the cal and economic spheres. among Muslim women. These different inter- been funded through a Large grant from the larger Australian and Western Australian con- Equally interestingly, for some women the pretations can also form the matrix within Australian Research Council since 1995. Profes- text. The second part of the questionnaire is legal act of being conferred citizenship is not which Muslim women define their identity as sor Trish Crawford and Dr Philippa Maddern of essentially qualitative in nature. It is designed an essential prerequisite for feeling and being Australian citizens. ♦ the History Department, University of Western to elicit the views of the interviewees on what an Australian. For instance, some Malaysian Australia, directed the first phase, which lasted it means to be an Australian, and how they per- and Indonesian women have lived in Australia from 1995-97. It focused on the theoretical ceive themselves in relation to other Aus- as permanent residents and chosen not to issues of citizenship and its implications for tralians. The respondents are also asked to dis- forego their Malaysian and Indonesian citizen- women in Australia during the last century. cuss their conceptions of their rights and ship for economic and legal reasons. Neverthe- The second phase, currently being directed by duties as Australian citizens and the extent to less, their sense of belonging and willingness Dr Samina Yasmeen from the Department of which they are willing and able to act on the to be active members of civil society have not Political Science, University of Western Aus- basis of these conceptions. These data are been compromised. ‘We feel homesick for Aus- tralia, is concerned with assessing the views of being used to assess linkages between migra- tralia when we are away in our home country’ women from ethnically-diverse backgrounds tion, ethnicity, religion and citizenship among is a remark heard from these women. on being Australian citizens. Australian women. Culture appears to be the main area in which To this end, the methodology developed to With the exception of its native inhabitants, women tend to distinguish themselves from assess the settlement needs of Muslims in the the aborigines, Australians are essentially a other fellow Australians. While acknowledging Perth metropolitan area has become a valu- nation of migrants. While selecting a sample of that they are all Australians, most of the able tool for investigating attitudes towards immigrant women, therefore, the project on women, including immigrants from England, citizenship among women.2 Initiated in 1994, ‘Women and Citizenship’ has chosen to assess emphasize the differences between them- the project relied heavily on detailed qualita- the views of Anglo-Celtic women as well as selves and the ‘others’ in Australia. So domi- tive interviews that enabled the respondents those from other ethnic communities. The list nant is this emphasis on culture that some- to identify their most pressing settlement includes women from Afghanistan, China, times it even ignores religious differences. needs and elaborate the reasons behind their Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Malaysia, Women from Egypt and Iran, for instance, rely specific choices. It also encouraged Muslim Pakistan, Palestine, Poland, Singapore, South more on their cultural identity than their reli- women to discuss their own specific needs Africa, Taiwan, Thailand and the United King- gious identity to differentiate themselves from instead of articulating their views on the needs dom. The sample is not restricted to Muslim the rest of the Australians. Similarly, women of other Muslim women and men. The data women and includes representatives from all from India and Pakistan acknowledge the reli- thus collected indicated significant differences major religious groups such as Baha'is, Chris- gious and political differences between their in the manner in which Muslim men and tians, Hindus, Buddhists, and Sikhs. A number home countries, but often refer to the com- women understood and articulated their set- of research associates are employed to inter- mon cultural context in which they operate as tlement needs and elaborated on their rela- view representatives from these communities. citizens in Australia. For further information, please check our web-site. tionship to their adopted homeland, Australia. They are also entrusted with the task of inter- This is not to deny the role played by religion This can be found by looking up ‘projects’ at While Muslim men focused on education and preting the data by using a qualitative data in defining a respondent’s sense of identity. h t t p : / / w w w . a r t s . u w a . e d u . a u / employment as their most pressing needs, analysis programme, Nu-Dist. Rather, the interviews suggest that the their female counterparts treated their settle- The results of individual sub-projects will be women’s cultural identity incorporates their Dr Samina Yasmeen is Senior Lecturer in ment needs in an integrated and holistic man- published as an edited volume. The prelimi- religious identity and guides them in the International Relations, Department of Political ner. For them, access to female health profes- nary results, however, have already led to a extent to, and the manner in, which they move Science, University of Western Australia. sionals, availability of halal food, and safety number of interesting observations. To begin beyond the private sphere into market, public E-mail: [email protected] were as important as the educational needs of with, a large majority of women interviewed and state spheres. Nor is it to suggest that reli- their children. Significantly, unlike men, who have immigrated to Australia as part of a fami- gion is always subservient to cultural identity. N o t e s were concerned about preserving the Islamic ly unit. Irrespective of their socio-economic A number of Muslim women interviewed do 1 . Will Kymlicka (1995), Multicultural Citizenship. identity of Muslims living in Australia, women background, most of the women interviewed refer to themselves as, say, Pakistani, Afghan or Oxford: Clarendon Press; Thomas Janoski (1998), were more concerned about their day-to-day have not dealt with the question of citizenship Iranian. But for some other women, Islam Citizenship and Civil Society. Cambridge: living. This involved their concerns about the at a conceptual level. Hence, when asked to emerges as the main defining feature of their Cambridge University Press. Other examples of acceptability of Muslim women who wore define their identity with respect to ’a per- identity. Some of the Muslim women inter- good works on citizenship include J.M.Barbelet h i j a b, obviously subscribing to a different dress ceived Australian identity’, they refer to the viewed, for instance, belong to such nascent (1988), Citizenship: Rights, Struggle and Class code. Cumulatively, the data collected indicat- experience of living in a space as the evidence Muslim organizations as the Muslim Women’s I n e q u a l i t y. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota ed that Muslim men focused more on the eco- of their ‘Australian-ness’ rather than discussing Support Group and the Sisters-in-Islam group. Press; Bryan Turner (1993), Citizenship and Social nomic and political aspects of citizenship, the legal rights and duties conferred upon Their social interactions are restricted to these T h e o r y. Newbury Park, California: Sage; and whereas Muslim women attached equal them as Australian citizens. Beyond the exis- groups which also emerge as a main source of Stephen Castles and Mark J. Miller (1993), importance to the psychological aspect of tential aspect of their citizenship, however, dif- information on Islam for these women. Both T h eA g e of Migration. New York: Guilford Press. being an Australian citizen. ferences do exist in the manner in which these women and others who are not mem- 2 . Samina Yasmeen and Salma Al-Khudairi, Gender- These ideas raised a number of questions of women from different ethnic backgrounds bers of associations tend to explain their atti- Based Assessment of Settlement Needs of Muslims linkages between religion, ethnicity, gender define their identity. An assumed, but not tudes towards, and opinions on, social, eco- Living in Perth Metropolitan Area, Research Report and citizenship. Why do women migrate to lib- clearly articulated, hierarchy of citizens seems nomic and political issues in terms of Islamic submitted to the Department of Immigration, eral democracies? How do they define their to exist. Those from Anglo-Celtic background, teachings. Religious affiliation and ideas, how- Government of Australia, Canberra, 1998. I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9 Research Projects 33

Global Networks STEVEN VERTOVEC The British Economic

Transnational Communities is a £3.8 million, five-year research programme recently commissioned by the British Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Through a range of commissioned projects, conferences and Social Research and publications, it aims to increase social scientific understanding of the contemporary rise of various kinds of long-distance social networks affecting both local and large-scale economic patterns, international migration, political movements and cultural inter-pene- Council’s New Research t r a t i o n . There are many historical precedents and parallels to such networks. Yet today informa- tion technologies – especially involving tele- communications (telephone, faxes, e-mail and Programme on the Internet) – serve to connect such networks with increasing speed and efficiency. Transna- tionalism describes a condition in which, despite great distances and notwithstanding the presence of international borders (and all T r a n s n a t i o n a l the laws, regulations and national images they represent), many kinds of relationships have been intensified and now take in real time in a planet-spanning arena of activity. Many different kinds of transnational com- C o m m u n i t i e s munities are gaining in power and signifi- cance. The overseas Chinese, for example, are all forms of media publication including a The project will be based on ethnographic multi-ethnic composition including significant estimated to have a national Gross Domestic notable presence on the Internet managed and anthropological fieldwork running con- numbers of converts. Texts in a variety of Product larger than China’s. Several countries, from the US. Through fieldwork and a detailed currently in three locations. In parts of the media forms will also be gathered in the three such as Egypt, Pakistan, El Salvador and the analysis of texts, the project aims to develop northern Caucasus, the t a r i q a exists in a more locations together with a regular survey and Philippines, are hugely dependent on the an understanding of how, and with what or less traditional form, which is now relating recording of materials on the Internet. These remittances of their emigrants. Transnational degree of success a form of Muslim organiza- actively to the post-Soviet weakening of the will be analysed in terms of content, audience communities pool resources, distribute infor- tion, which is central to traditional Islam, is central state and general economic and politi- and the circumstances of their production and mation, mobilize politically, and exercise con- able to adjust to rapidly changing contempo- cal instability. In Lebanon, the t a r i q a h a s in relation to the fieldwork results. siderable cultural influence across borders. rary environments, to establish the signifi- grown significantly in the years following the The interdisciplinary nature of such study of Contemporary transnational communities are cance of modern electronic communications end of the civil war and, with fast-growing religious organization is likely to raise a num- at once the products of, and catalysts for, glob- relative to more traditional media, and to telecommunications links, could be seen as ber of theoretical issues to do with the interac- alization. They also represent challenges to update and refine our knowledge of how Sufi being in a state of transition. In Britain, the tion between ideas and organization and how many areas of foreign and domestic policy, forms of Islam function locally and transna- t a r i q a has a number of centres, some with a far a shared community can function with dif- such as security, investment and trade, asylum, t i o n a l l y . mainly ethnic minority following, others with a ferent discourses. The project will contribute immigration and multiculturalism. to a broadening of our understanding of con- Among the seventeen projects commis- A D V E R T I S E M E N T temporary transnational Islamic organizations sioned within the ESRC Transnational Commu- and thus assist policy makers, the media, and nities Programme, research concerns topics agencies working with Muslim communities in such as: the role of exiles in post-conflict reaching better informed policies and prac- reconstruction, the Russian diaspora and post- t i c e s . Soviet economic restructuring, Japanese and Other activities of the ESRC Transnational Korean corporations in Britain, immigrants and Communities Programme include: a weekly dual citizenship, the indigenous people’s seminar series; annual conferences; and work- movement, the place of broadcast media with- shops organized within Britain and abroad, in ethnic diasporas. One of the programme’s bringing together academics and non-academic flagship projects concerns global Islamic net- users. A Working Paper Series has been estab- works by way of Sufism. lished in both hardcopy and internet-download- Entitled ‘Ethnicity, politics and transnational able formats, and the programme is associated Islam: A study of an international Sufi order,’ with three academic book series. The Transna- the main aim of this project is to broaden our tional Communities Programme will also be sup- understanding of how Islam functions across porting a newsletter, an on-line world news boundaries of states, communities and ethnic digest and an internet-searchable bibliography. groups. The project leaders are: Prof. Jorgen S. Information on the projects and all other aspects Nielsen of the Centre for the Study of Islam and of the research programme can be found on the Christian-Muslim Relations, Selly Oak Colleges, ESRC Transnational Communities Programme Birmingham; Dr Galina Yemelianova of the website (http://www.transcomm.ox.ac.uk). ♦ Centre for Russian and East European Studies, University of Birmingham; and Dr Martin Stringer of the Department of Theology, Uni- versity of Birmingham. While contemporary research attention on Islam has concentrated on its political expres- sions, the Sufi tradition continues to be impor- tant for the majority of Muslims. Through a hierarchical chain of adherence to the spiritual leader, or s h a y k h, the Sufi orders (t a r i q a s) link local communities across many different regions. One of the more ubiquitous of such contemporary t a r i q a s is that led by Shaykh Nazim al-Qubrusi al-Haqqani. With roots in the Ottoman Empire and especially in the Cauca- sus, it now has centres in North America, Dr Steven Vertovec is Research Reader in Social Britain and most of Western Europe, the Mid- Anthropology at the University of Oxford, UK, dle East and South and Southeast Asia. The a n d Director of the ESRC Research Programme t a r i q a has had particular success in attracting o n Transnational Communities. converts from outside Islam and among young E-m a i l :s t e v e n . v e r t o v e c @ a n t h r o p o l o g y . o x f o r d . a c . u k educated professionals in the Muslim world. Communications play a significant role in For further information contact Anna Winton, maintaining the cohesion of this transnational T e l . : +44/0 1865-274711; fax +44/0 1865-274718; network and the t a r i q a makes extensive use of email: [email protected] 3 4 Research Projects I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9

European Science Foundation RANDI DEGUILHEM Seeking the

This past July, Istanbul’s Topkapi Palace welcomed the second plenary gathering of the international research programme, Individual and Society in the Mediterranean Muslim World (ISMM), a European Science Foundation I n d i v i d u a l (ESF) programme headquartered in Strasbourg. Initiated and chaired by Robert Ilbert, professor at the University of Provence and founder/director of the MMSH (Maison Méditerranéenne des Sciences de l’Homme) in Aix-en- Provence (France), ISMM represents a four-year (1996-99) in the Mediterranean research programme whose major objective is to study pre-defined aspects of the individual within the Mediter- ranean Muslim context. Muslim World

The overall intellectual framework for the Eugene Rogan, St. Antony’s College, Oxford University, Huri • publication hors séries; the first one of this nature Research on the European level regarding research was initially articulated largely Islamoglu-Inan, Ankara University, Martha Mundy, London appeared just in time for the July plenary: Individual and the individual’s place and role in society within around the ideas expressed by Norbert Elias, School of Economics and Baudouin Dupret, CNRS (Centre Society in the Mediterranean Muslim World: Issues and the Mediterranean Muslim world is vital to the among others, that the process of individua- National de la Recherche Scientifique) at CEDEJ (Centre de S o u r c e s, directed by Robert Ilbert, edited by Randi Deguil- understanding of this most highly complex tion allowing a person to differentiate him or Documentation et d’Etudes Juridiques) in Cairo; hem, Paul Roubaud Printers, Aix-en-Provence, 1998; the multi-religious, multi-ethnic and multi-lingual herself from others, presupposes a certain lib- Team 3: Power relationships, subthemes: individual identity second which is edited by Felice Dassetto, will appear in region. While studying a problematic very erty in ideological, religious, political and eco- and power relationships, the individual and power in the spring 1999 in the form of an issue of The Social Compass much in the forefront of current humanities nomic choice which only began to arise on a colonial experience, individual paths in Egyptian, Syrian and (academic journal published at the Catholic University in research in Europe, the focus of the ISMM pro- large scale in the post-Gutenberg and Enlight- North African societies; team led by Paul Dumont, Strasbourg Leuven) devoted to New Islamic Discourses in Europe; the gramme is quite innovative in that members of enment era. Yet, this liberty of choice, which University, seminars also organized by Mounira Chapoutot- third and fourth hors séries volumes are currently being the seven teams have been researching the purportedly made possible the prevalent Remadi and Mohamed-Hédi Chérif, Tunis University and edited by Stephen Guth, The Author’s Mission in the individual in the Mediterranean Muslim world appearance of unique individuals, was simulta- Michael Ursinus, University of Heidelberg; Mediterranean Muslim World, German Oriental Institute in – man, woman and child – through his or her neously tempered by unconscious and con- Team 4: Modes of production, subthemes: the individual and Beirut Press and by Robin Ostle and Remke Kruk, I n d i v i d u- ‘private life’ by delving into primary documen- scious communal, societal and political influ- his relation to finances in the Mediterranean Muslim world, ation in Literature and Art: Marginal Voices, Paul Roubaud tary sources. Even if the objective is to go ences exerted upon the individual. Taking this the individual’s place within the political economy and eco- Printers, Aix-en-Provence, with both books appearing at beyond this aspect, this approach highlights supposition as its theoretical point of depar- nomics, the individual’s relation with wealth and poverty; the end of 1999 or during 2000, additional volumes are the value and brings to the fore persons who ture, the programme founders and partici- team led by Zafer Toprak, Bosphorus University, Istanbul, being prepared by seminar leaders; are not necessarily studied under the classical pants theorized whether the process of indi- seminars also organized by Nelly Hanna, American University approaches normally used in research on viduation in the Mediterranean Muslim milieu in Cairo, Jean-Paul Pascual, CNRS, IREMAM (Institut de • creation of two new publication series consisting of 5-7 Islamic societies, namely, children, women and is comparable to that of the European experi- Recherches et d’Etudes sur le Monde Arabe et Musulman), books each; ISMM Editorial Board is headed by Leila Fawaz those living on the fringe of society. It is there- ence. Despite the oft-repeated concept in the Aix-en-Provence, and John Davies, All Souls College, Oxford and Manuela Marin, other members are Paul Dumont, fore possible in this way to undertake the West that the very essence of Islam personifies U n i v e r s i t y ; Ulrich Haarmann, Robert Ilbert and Remke Kruk, publica- research and writing of the history of these a unified community of humans intimately and Team 5: Images and representations, subthemes: individua- tion series editor is Randi Deguilhem: neglected spheres in the Southern Mediter- inextricably associated with one another in the tion in literature and art, the poet and the writer’s mission as 1 Maisonneuve et Larose, Paris (final contract is signed) ranean basin, that is, the history of the family pursuit of religiously oriented objectives, seen by himself, subversity of the individual in art; team led for French language or mixed French-English books; and socialization processes. Over and above research in this programme (and elsewhere) as by Robin Ostle, St. John ’s College, Oxford University and the first volume in the collection which concerns ‘Con- the individuals themselves, new light is shed based upon the abundant and highly diverse Remke Kruk, University of Leiden; temporary Islam in Europe’ is now being edited by on social and economic behaviour which may primary sources dating from the early cen- Team 6: Religious activity and experiences, subthemes: politi- Felice Dassetto; therefore be looked at in a new way. The turies of Islam to the present day, has shown cal action, language and religion in the Mediterranean Mus- 2 SUNY Press, New York (final negotiations are under- processes of enrichment of the individual, the that throughout its more than fourteen cen- lim basin, conversion to and from Islam; team led by Mer- way) for English language books; the first volume creation and formulation of property wealth turies of existence, the Islamic world has fos- cedes Garcia-Arenal, CSIC, Madrid, seminars also organized scheduled to appear: Historical Sources for the Arab and career profiles are currently the objects of tered a society of differentiated individuals by Knut Vikor, Bergen University and Jan Hjärpe, Lund Uni- W o m a n, has been edited by Manuela Marin and Randi study in the programme, even if not all who pursue their own personal itineraries as versity; Deguilhem; the second book on Individual Behaviour researchers agree on the use of macro and well as taking part in their immediate and larg- Team 7: Muslims in contemporary Western Europe, sub- and Economics in the Mediterranean Muslim World i s micro-research procedures. By investigating er environments. In order to uncover and themes: current Islamic discourses in Europe, conversion to currently being edited by Nelly Hanna. religious (Sufism and conversion), cultural and define the individual in the Mediterranean Islam in contemporary Europe, team led by Felice Dassetto, artistic experiences, researchers have gone Muslim context, not only mainstream mem- Catholic University of Leuven. Now into its fourth and final year, ISMM sem- beyond the habitual schemata in studying bers of society – men, women and children inars, workshops and symposia taking place Islamization processes. New questions have alike – but also marginals and nonconformists, As the Istanbul event marked a bit more than throughout 1999 in Vienna, Strasbourg, Hei- emerged from this approach such as, for exam- emphasis is particularly put upon micro-histor- the midway point through the programme, delberg, Oxford, London, Leiden, Madrid, Leu- ple, the question of creativity, which goes right ical and case study approaches. emphasis was especially put upon analysing ven, Sarajevo, Salamanca, Cairo, Tunis and Aix- to the heart of studying the conduct of each the progress made towards reaching the three en-Provence have the overall objective of con- i n d i v i d u a l . Nearly 100 papers were presented at the July major goals expressed at the outset: solidating results of research conducted in the plenary by participants coming from all over programme over the past three years. Apart Although ISMM’s scientific events are sched- Western Europe as well as Eastern Europe (in – Producing original analytical research within the European from concluding the study of each team’s sep- uled to formally conclude at the end of this particular, from Poland), Turkey, the Middle context on chosen aspects of the above seven topics with the arate topics, a final research objective in 1999 year, the intellectual life of the themes studied East and North Africa. Editorial Board and participation not only of established scholars but also of is to further identify and deepen the analysis of within the programme will certainly outlast Steering Committee meetings prefaced and recent doctorates so that the programme will contribute transversal themes which cross through the the four years allocated to it through the for- closed the Istanbul plenary. Similar to the pre- towards the training of the next generation; this is one of the work of the different groups. A special brain- mal and informal networks which have been vious plenary held in Grenada in May 1996, principal reasons for holding the great majority of our semi- storming session is being organized for the woven among the more than 150 participants which officially opened our programme’s nars, workshops and symposia in accordance with university end of 1999 for this specific purpose where of the programme, seniors and juniors alike. activities, the July 1998 Istanbul plenary pro- calendars and very often, within university premises programme participants will meet with invited Individual and Society in the Mediterranean vided the venue for an across-the-programme (between the university years 1996-1999, ISMM has hosted outside scholars to develop transversal Muslim World has taken its place in the acade- gathering for researchers who have been some 50 events within over 30 different university locales themes. One such theme which has particular- mic landscape. In years to come, researchers working, for the past three years, within the held in approximately 130 sessions with more than 550 pre- ly emerged from the teams’ research concerns associated with our programme will no doubt framework of the separate seven research s e n t a t i o n s ) ; the role of the individual Mediterranean Mus- be involved in projects undertaking compara- t e a m s : lim woman in the cultural, social, religious, tive analyses for the purpose of studying the – Encouraging the participation of specialists from the political and economic spheres from medieval specificity (if such be the case) of both the Team 1: Forms of belonging and modes of social integration, Mediterranean Muslim world not only as paper givers but Andalous to contemporary Europe as well as Islamic world and that of the Mediterranean. subthemes: sources of history for the Arab and Turkish also as event leaders such as the seminars organized and led modern Middle East and North Africa. This very Although research on the question has been woman, child-woman relations in Middle Eastern Muslim for the past three years in Cairo by Nelly Hanna, within the theme was the leitmotiv of the Istanbul ple- advanced via the ISMM programme, investiga- societies, intellectual and social education of the individual; framework of group four and in Tunis by Mounira Chapoutot- nary session where speakers, including two tion into the processes of individualization as team led by Klaus Kreiser, Bamberg University, seminars also Remadi and Mohamed-Hédi Cherif in group three; Turkish female professors from Bosphorus Uni- related to the Mediterranean Muslim world is organized by Manuela Marin, CSIC (Consejo Superior de versity, Yesim Arat and Binnaz Toprak, devel- by no means terminated. ♦ Investigaciones Cientificas), Madrid and Avner Giladi, Haifa – Preserving the results of the research and circulating it with- oped this issue in relation to contemporary U n i v e r s i t y ; in the larger scientific community by means of a three-tiered T u r k e y . Team 2: Norms, oppositions and marginality, subthemes: mar- publication programme: Dr Randi Deguilhem is a tenured researcher at the ginality and exclusion, the emergence of individual owner- • working papers which, with permission of the individual Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), ship, customary law and individual expression; team led by authors, are copied and circulated among team and other IREMAM/MMSH in Aix-en-Provence, France, and is Walter Dostal, Vienna University, seminars also organized by members of the programme; ESF ISMM Programme Scientific Coordinator. I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9 Research Projects 35

A A R TAZIM KASSAM

The American Academy of Religion is the world’s largest The Study of Islam learned society and professional association of scholars and teachers in the field of religion. Through academic conferences, publications and a variety of programme and membership services, the American Academy of Religion (AAR) fosters excellence in scholarship and American Academy teaching. It also aims to advance publication and schol- arly communication on religion; to welcome multiple perspectives on the study of religion; to support racial, ethnic and gender diversity within the Academy; and to seek ways to contribute to the public understanding of o f R e l i g i o n religion. The AAR’s annual meeting is held every year tion’s offerings rich and diverse from year to An additional aspect of the Study of Islam sec- ship before the annual meeting. As the pre- in late November and provides a lively and year. The themes of the sessions fall under the tion is its outreach to the broader membership miere international forum for the study of reli- enabling context for free inquiry, disciplined following categories: of the AAR by offering sessions concerning the gions, the AAR plays a key role in influencing the reflection and scholarly exchange on the 1 . The study of Islamic texts and scriptures; teaching of Islam in the undergraduate liberal way that scholars and teachers of religion in world’s religions. The Study of Islam section is 2 . The study of lived Islam in various regions arts curriculum. Many American university pro- North America and abroad construct their cur- one of fourteen programme units of the AAR and cultures; grammes in Religious Studies draw upon non- ricula and discipline. Within this context, the and was officially recognized in 1986. It is one 3 . Methodology and approaches to the study specialists to offer introductory courses on the Study of Islam section has a unique and impor- of the major sections of the AAR with a long- of Islam; Islamic world. The sessions on teaching Islam tant role to play in shaping the academic study standing and committed participation of more 4 . Issues such as gender, liberation theology, provide a forum for addressing important peda- of Islam. Considering its growing importance as than a hundred active members. One of the human rights; gogical issues. They also offer scholars an the world’s second largest faith and its social, most diverse groups in the AAR, the section’s 5 . Subfields of Islamic studies including Mysti- opportunity to deliberate on the broader con- economic and political relevance in contempo- presenters, panellists, and audience represent cism, Law, Theology, Philosophy, Shici s m . ceptual categories and frameworks used in the rary life, the Islamic world has not received the scholars at all stages of their academic careers. study of religions. The Study of Islam section is attention it deserves in higher education. Thus, The section also features regular attendance Our policy is to encourage methodological thus a critical resource within the AAR for other the Study of Islam section’s goals are: to anchor and participation of international scholars sophistication, ideological diversity and inter- scholars of religion who may not have Islamic the study of Islam centrally within the wider from countries including Egypt, Malaysia, disciplinary discussion in our programme. experts in their departments. academic study of religions; to provide a disci- Indonesia, South Africa, and China. Shared sessions with other programme units The Study of Islam section also has an e-mail plined forum for critical inquiry and high quali- of the academy have encompassed fields such list for its members called ‘Islam-AAR’. The list ty, original scholarship in Islamic Studies; and to The Study of Islam section serves as a forum as Islamic Ethics, Gender, Islamic and Judaic facilitates communication about scholarly top- encourage comparative and inter-disciplinary for current research on Islam. The annual Studies, and Islam and Academic Teaching, ics and disseminates information about grants, study of Islamic history and societies. ♦ meeting of the AAR sponsors at least five ses- and the Study of Religion. Given the impor- employment, workshops and AAR business. sions related to the study of Muslim faith and tance of scripture in Islam, the Study of Islam Recent topics of discussion on the list have Dr T. Kassam, Department of Islamic Studies practice as well as additional individual pre- section regularly sets aside one session for ranged from the best software for studying the a n d Religion, Colorado College, Colorado, USA. sentations on Islamic topics in other pro- Qur'anic Studies. The section encourages the Qur'an to the pros and cons of using novels in gramme units and sessions. The cultural and use of inter-disciplinary discourses that bridge undergraduate teaching. In addition to the e- • The Annual Meeting for 1999 is to be held in Boston, linguistic diversity, the regional and historical textual, philological, sociological and anthro- mail list, a special leaflet informing members of November 20-23, 1999. range, and the varieties of methodologies cur- pological approaches to the Qur'an as well as all papers and panels with content of special • For more information, please consult the following rently used in Islamic Studies make the sec- other Islamic texts. interest to Islamicists is mailed to the member- Internet address: http://www.aar-site.org/

A D V E R T I S E M E N T 3 6 Research Projects I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9

Institute for Advanced Study GEORGES KHALIL The Working Group

The Working Group Modernity and Islam is a Berlin- based interdisciplinary research network of scholars working at various universities and extra-university institutions on the questions of modernity and Islam. M o d e r n i t y The Working Group, hosted by the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin (Institute for Advanced Study, Berlin) is com- mitted to fostering a deeper understanding of Muslim cultures, their histories, and their social structures with the two-fold aim of revealing their complexities and of a n d I s l a m offering deeper insights into the phenomena of ‘moder- nity’ and ‘modernization’.

This should be of interest to scholars well The Berlin Seminar idea is to draw up a sort of interim status report, beyond the fields of Islamic Studies. The project The Berlin Seminar, a regular fortnightly so that the critical findings of the academy can Modernity and Islam was launched in 1995 with event following the rhythm of the academic be integrated into the further work of the the support of the Körber Foundation in Ham- year, forms the central pivot of the Working young scholars. The programme differs from burg. From 1996 on, the German Federal Min- Group Modernity and Islam. It fosters commu- the normal lecture-hall set-up, since the main istry of Education, Science, Research and Tech- nication amongst the various Berlin institu- contributors are the young researchers them- nology has funded the Working Group’s scien- tions, ensuring in particular that younger selves. Leading scholars attend the academy in tific programme, while the Land Berlin finances researchers are no longer arbitrarily, but rather an advisory capacity, adding their own its business office. systematically, informed of other activities in methodical questions. After the first pilot acad- The Working Group was initiated under the the field. The seminar creates an opportunity emy, directed by Rémy Leveau on ‘modernity impression that in Germany, and indeed in for younger scholars from Berlin to develop an and Islam’ at the French-German Centre Marc Europe as a whole, the level of scientific and appropriate style of research by presenting Bloch in Berlin, the second academy, directed intellectual interest in Islam neither reflects its their own work and familiarizing themselves by Peter Heine on ‘processes and counter- growing political importance nor its role as a with the work of colleagues from various disci- processes of modernization’ took place in 1997 reference for modern and post-modern criti- plinary and geographical backgrounds invited at the Humboldt University in Berlin. In 1998, cism. Whereas traditional Islamic Studies, as a within the Working Group’s postdoctoral fel- the academy was held at the German Orient- ‘small discipline’ – not in relation to the object lowship programme. The seminar thus serves Institute in Beirut under the direction of Angeli- of study but in comparison to the institutional as a bracket for all other activities in an inter- ka Neuwirth on ‘crisis and memory’. ‘Notions of size of the main academic disciplines – method- disciplinary research environment. Fellows of law and order in Muslim societies’ will be the ically started to embrace the social sciences, his- the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin are present theme of the 1999 academy. It will be directed tory, and economics, representatives of the lat- in a consultative capacity. Since 1996, the by Gudrun Krämer and be held in cooperation ter persist in delegating the study of Islam to Berlin Seminar was held on themes such as with the Moroccan Fondation du Roi Abdul- regional experts. The notions of civilizational or ‘processes of modernization’, ‘the transferabili- Aziz Al Saoud in Casablanca. cultural clashes, conflicts and exceptionalisms ty of concepts’, ‘modernity and the past’, ‘the aptly express Western neglect of the analysis of relation of modernists to popular Islam’ and Scholarly Partners non-European societies, in particular, the world ‘Islam in Europe’. The theme of the seminar in The Working Group Modernity and Islam of Islam. A survey of the social and cultural stud- the summer semester of 1999 will be ‘notions aims at conducting research on socio-scientific, ies on the Muslim world in the Federal Republic of law and order in Muslim societies’. historical and cultural developments in Islam of Germany, funded by the German Federal within a European and trans-mediterranean Ministry of Education (see ISIM-Newsletter No 1, F e l l o w s h i p s / P o s t d o c t o r a l dimension. In this respect, Berlin, with its p. 40), gave empirical evidence of the need for S t i p e n d s wealth of university and non-university institu- additional effort to overcome the ‘dual margin- Doctoral stipends are already provided by tions, provides considerable scholarly poten- alization’ of Islamic Studies. On the basis of the the various Berlin institutions. An international tial. Members of the Working Group are: survey, the Ministry asked the Working Group to programme for postdocs has been conceived formulate recommendations to adequately in order to anchor individual themes in a support and strengthen studies on the Muslim framework of more complex issues and to – Prof. Dr Ingeborg Baldauf, Mittelasienwissenschaft, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin; world in Germany. strengthen dialogue between the various dis- – Prof. Dr Friedemann Büttner, Arbeitsstelle Politik des Vorderen Orients, The Working Group Modernity and Islam does ciplinary and geographical areas of research. In Freie Universität Berlin; not wish to suggest a fundamental polarity addition to researchers of Islamic Studies, can- – Dr Gérard Darmon, Centre Marc Bloch, Berlin; between Muslim societies on the one hand and didates for the postdoc programme include – Prof. Dr Yehuda Elkana, Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin; the modern world on the other. Modernity here doctors of the social sciences, historians, law – Prof. Dr Ulrich Haarmann, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie also refers to an inherent crisis and thus reflects graduates, economists and urban planners. d e r Wissenschaften; Geisteswissenschaftliches Zentrum Moderner Orient Berlin; a genuine European preoccupation as well. The The latter should be formally qualified in the – Prof. Dr Peter Heine, Institut für Asien- und Afrikawissenschaften, group therefore tries to examine the assimila- subject of Islam, while those whose back- Humboldt Universität zu B e r l i n ; tion of modernity within Islam in conjunction ground is Islamic Studies should have scientific – Prof. Dr Gerhard Höpp, Geisteswissenschaftliches Zentrum Moderner Orient Berlin; with a range of varying experiences in other exposure to some other discipline. Without – Prof. Dr Gudrun Krämer, Institut für Islamwissenschaft, Freie Universität Berlin; parts of the world. The proposal is to articulate losing sight of broader issues not specifically – Prof. Dr Wolf Lepenies (chairman), Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin; common problems facing modern societies, connected to Islam, the scholarship holders are – Prof. Dr Angelika Neuwirth, Orient-Institut der Deutschen Morgenländischen conduct relevant fieldwork in Islamic regions given the opportunity to work for one year on Gesellschaft, Beirut; and refer the findings to the analysis of, for a research project related to the Islamic world. – Prof. Dr Udo Steinbach, Deutsches Orient Institut, Hamburg; instance, European societies. We hope this will In this way, regional findings can be chan- – Prof. Dr Fritz Steppat, Institut für Islamwissenschaft, Freie Universität Berlin; pave the way for useful interaction between nelled into the mainstream institutional disci- – Prof. Dr Dieter Weiss, Fachgebiet Volkswirschaft des Vorderen Orients, Islamic Studies and other disciplines. Consider- plines. Since 1997, ten postdoctoral researchers Freie Universität Berlin. able stress is laid on the principle of ‘research from Algeria, the Comoro Islands, Georgia, with’ as opposed to ‘research on’, the traditional Egypt, Iran, Turkey, the Western Sahara and asymmetrical European relationship to Islam Germany have been invited to work in Berlin on ♦ (‘Orientalism’) being replaced by one of gen- issues of modernity from architectural, cultural, uinely mutual collaboration with researchers historical or social-scientific perspectives. The from the Islamic world. fellowships for the academic year 1999/2000 have been announced under the theme Cooperative Framework ‘notions of law and order in Muslim societies’. The Working Group aims to create optimum working conditions for talented young schol- The Summer Academy ars engaged in innovative projects. In an envi- In order to guarantee the international and ronment conducive to interdisciplinary coop- interdisciplinary nature of the programme to Georges Khalil, M.A., works at the eration, less orthodox issues also feature high promote young scholars, an annual two-week Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin/Institute for Advanced on the agenda. The international character, summer academy has been organized since Study as the Coordinator of the Working Group firmly established through a growing network 1996. The venue is either one of the institutions Modernity and Islam. E-mail: [email protected] of foreign institutions, ensures the high quality involved in the Working Group Modernity and of the work. Collaboration within the Working Islam or a research institute of the Middle East / Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin Group has assumed various forms. Three ele- North Africa. The Academy focuses primarily on Coordinator: Georges Khalil ments constitute the basis of its scholarly pro- doctoral and postdoctoral researchers, offering Fax: +49 – 30 – 89 00 12 00 gramme. them a forum to present their research. The E-Mail: [email protected] I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9 Research Projects 37

C D E I S I RICHARD C. MARTIN Consortium for

The famous Hadith ‘seek knowledge, even in China’ expresses a passion that true scholars will always have, although the ways and means of seeking knowledge have changed greatly over the centuries. The hajj was Islamic Religious for centuries an important means for Muslims to learn about the world and Islam beyond the local m a d r a s a. Steamship, rail, and air travel made Western scholar- ship on Islam and Muslim scholarship in the West far more accessible than when this Hadith first began to cir- S t u d i e s culate. Computers and the Web have added a whole new dimension of accessibility. Among institutions, consortia of scholars and departments of Islamic Stud- ies, such as those associated with ISIM, are creating fields such as Islamic Studies across many universities in South-Eastern into single venues of study. Another example of inter- institutional cooperation in Islamic religious studies in the south-eastern United States is the Carolina Duke Emory Institute for the Study of Islam (CDEISI). United States

The idea for CDEISI arose out of a circum- religious studies. One of the founding scholars Islamic religious studies at the doctoral level excellent way for us to communicate our cur- stance of serendipity in the spring of 1996 in of Islamic religious studies in North America, has also been striking. Departments of Religion rent research and have critical responses Durham, North Carolina. Three chairs of Prof. Charles J. Adams, studied history of reli- at the top universities have relied heavily on among wider circles of colleagues in Islamic departments of religion, who also happened to gions with Joachim Wach at the University of departments of Middle Eastern Studies to Studies than exist at our own institutions, and be specialists in Islamic Studies – Bruce Chicago, then turned specifically to Islamic guide graduate students who wished to spe- on a regular basis. The next stage may be for Lawrence (Duke University), Carl Ernst (Univer- Studies. In 1967, he concluded ruefully: ‘As cialize in Islam. Emory to join Duke and UNC in producing tele- sity of North Carolina – UNC), and Richard Mar- time has gone by, it has proven increasingly Since the Departments of Religion at UNC, courses on Islam. Broadcast from studio-class- tin (Emory University) – along with Gordon difficult to see a direct and fructifying relation- Duke and Emory were among the few in North rooms at each of the universities, such courses Newby (Chair of Middle Eastern Studies at ship between the activities of Islamicists and America that had hired two or more specialists could offer students at several institutions lec- Emory), met at the home of Bruce Lawrence to those of historians of religions.’ 1 in Islam, the question the five of us asked our- tures by a cast of experts on many aspects of discuss ways to combine the resources of the By the 1980s the situation had begun to selves in 1996 was: Can we accomplish more Islamic civilization. three universities. Present at that first meeting c h a n g e ,2 but even at the end of this century together than separately? Can we combine the In the nearly three years since CDEISI was was also Vincent Cornell (Duke). specialists in Islamic religious studies are rela- resources in Islamic religious studies in our formed, colleagues at universities across the tively rare in the nearly one thousand depart- three universities in practical ways that would country and in Canada have expressed interest The Need for a Graduate ments of religious studies in North American greatly benefit our colleagues and attract the in CDEISI. At a conference last year at the Uni- C o n s o r t i u m colleges and universities. In order to offer stu- best students? Can we create a national, versity of Washington on teaching Islamic The need that brought together five histori- dents instruction about Islam, departments of indeed an international, centre to train histori- Studies in the undergraduate curriculum, par- ans of religion who specialize in comparative religion typically cross-list courses on the Mid- ans of religion in the comparative study of ticipants discussed the idea of forming several studies of Islam was the fact that few North dle East in departments of history, anthropolo- Islam? That afternoon was the nascence of regional consortia, such as the CDEISI in the American universities train scholars in Islamic gy, political science, inter alia. The absence of CDEISI. south-eastern United States, which might then link up with each other through an umbrella A D V E R T I S E M E N T CDEISI Programmes organization that could affiliate with a profes- The CDEISI consortium actually builds on sional society, like the American Academy of prior local cooperative arrangements among Religion or the Middle East Studies Associa- universities in the Research Triangle area of tion. That is a project for the beginning of next North Carolina, linking Duke, UNC, and North century. Such consortia must be conceived Carolina State University in Islamic and South and developed, however, at the local and Asian Studies. Administrative arrangements regional level. We hope colleagues in Islamic have now been made among CDEISI universi- Studies in many regions around the world will ties for graduate students in religion at Duke, have serendipitous moments, such as ours in Emory or UNC to study at one of the other North Carolina in May of 1996, when they dis- member institutions for one semester. This cover how much more they can do program- enables students to work with additional facul- matically if they can establish a structure and ty during their residencies or research phases the means to share human, material, and elec- of their doctoral studies. Their tuition and fel- tronic resources in Islamic Studies. lowship arrangements at their home institu- tions remain unchanged during that term. Please visit our new web site, which is still a Thus, for example, a UNC student may choose work in progress: http://www.unc.edu/depts/ to study Shici texts with Devin Stewart and/or cdeisi. Inquiries and insights may be sent by e- Islam and international human rights with mail to [email protected]. Relevant informa- Abdullahi an-Nacim for one semester at Emory; tion will be shared with the CDEISI executive an Emory graduate student can now spend a committee, which includes Bruce Lawrence semester in North Carolina and study Islam in and Carl Ernst. ♦ South Asia with Bruce Lawrence at Duke and Carl Ernst at UNC, or Maliki law with Vincent Cornell at Duke. A second feature of the consortium is the exchange of faculty for guest lectures and fac- ulty colloquia. On two or three occasions each semester (four to six times per year) each department of religion will host a faculty mem- ber from a member institution for a couple of Dr Richard C. Martin, Professor and Chair, days for the purpose of delivering a guest lec- Department of Religion, Emory University, Atlanta, ture in a graduate or undergraduate class as Georgia, USA. E-mail: [email protected] well as participate in a faculty colloquium on an issue in Islamic Studies and/or a recent N o t e s scholarly book. Usually a more informal gath- 1 . Charles J. Adams (1967), ‘The History of Religions ering in the evening includes graduate stu- and the Study of Islam,’ The History of Religions: dents and colleagues who do not specialize in Essays on the Problem of Understanding, Islamic religious studies. The exchanges give ed., Joseph M. Kitagawa, Chicago, graduate students brief access to faculty at the U n i v e r s i t yo f Chicago Press, p. 177. other universities and thus opportunities to 2 . See Richard C. Martin, ed. (1985), Approaches to decide on the possibility of spending a semes- Islam in Religious Studies (e.g., the Foreword by ter working with that professor and his or her Charles J. Adams and the Introduction by Martin), ISL Software Corporation, makers of the Alim, is based in Maryland, USA. colleagues. The faculty visits have become an Tucson, Ariz., University of Arizona Press. 3 8 Research Projects I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9

University of Amsterdam PETER VAN DER VEER Research Centre

It has become increasingly important to study the social force of both religion and nationalism in many contem- porary movements all over the world in an analytical framework cutting across conventional dichotomies. Religion and Until now, social theory as well as Western common sense have been often content to assume an ideological a priori distinction between the nationalist and the reli- gious imagination. S o c i e t y

N a t i o n and Religion theological and eccelesiastical strife, and expressed in the hyphenated term ‘nation- A Comparative Study of marked a turning-point in the development of state’, ‘community’ is often used to mean a form C o l o n i z e r s and Colonized organized Christianity. The mechanisms which of identity which is in direct contestation of the were developed to pacify tensions between reli- S t a t e . Notes: As the argument goes, nationalism belongs gious groups merit attention. For instance, both The discourse of ‘community’ versus ‘nation’ is 1. George Marsden, Fundamentalism and American to the realm of legitimate modern politics, and in the Netherlands and in Britain the formal re- also of great importance in the politics of ethnic- Culture. New York, (Oxford University Press), 1980. is assumed to be ‘secular’, since it is thought to establishment of a Roman Catholic hierarchy in ity which characterize the post-colonial nation- Martin Marty and Scott Appleby, develop in a process of secularization and mod- the 1850s called into question the traditional states of Europe. Immigrants have to organize as The Fundamentalism Project, five volumes. Chicago, ernization. Religion, in this view, assumes polit- identification of national identity with an un- communities to gain access to the resources of (Chicago University Press), 1992-1995. ical significance only in the ‘underdeveloped’ denominational Protestantism. In the second the State. There are a number of questions here, 2. Bruce Lawrence, Defenders of God: The parts of the world – much as it did in the past of half of the 19th century this religious national- centring on the issues of recognition and entitle- Fundamentalist Revolt Against the Modern Age, ‘the West’. When religion manifests itself politi- ism came under attack from different directions. ment, which are being addressed. For example, San Francisco, (Harper and Row), 1989. cally in the contemporary world, it is thus con- Right-wing Protestant movements rejected its what is the relation between the colonial politics 3. Peter van der Veer, Religious Nationalism; Hindus ceptualized as ‘fundamentalism’. This term, enlightened base. Catholics strove to prove of ‘community’ and the contemporary ‘minority’ and Muslims in India. Berkeley, (University of which derived from early twentieth-century their own adherence to the nation. More mod- politics? What is the relation between ‘ethnicity’ California Press), 1994. American evangelicalism, is now taken by both ern forms of political discourse endeavoured to and ‘religious identity’ in the imagination of 4. Ann Stoler, ‘Rethinking Colonial Categories: scholars and media as an analytical term to found the nation on race or history. immigrant communities? 9 The programme also European Communities and the Boundaries of describe collective political action by religious Revival movements of indigenous religion in examines the expectations of immigrants from Rule’, Comparative Studies in Society and History, m o v e m e n t s .1 It is almost always interpreted as India, Africa and Indonesia have arisen, at least ex-colonial societies about the place of religion vol. 31, 1: 134-161, 1989. a negative social force directed against science, partly, as a reaction to Christian missionary in the political systems of the ex-colonizing 5. Talal Asad, Genealogies of Religion, Baltimore, rationality and secularism; in short, modernity.2 activity. While much work has been done on receiving societies. (Johns Hopkins University Press), 1993; The dichotomy between religion and nation- their nineteenth-century history, too little is see also Peter van der Veer’s review of this book, alism is an ideological element in the Western known about the development of these move- 3) Missionization and Social History 20/3 (1995): 365-71. discourse of modernity.3 The research pro- ments in the twentieth century, and it is one of C o n v e r s i o n 6. See Ann Stoler, ‘Sexual Affronts and Racial gramme is therefore devised as a comparative the aims of the programme to write this history. In the historical and anthropological study of Frontiers: European Identities and the Cultural one. It examines religion and nationalism in The religious revival in India and Indonesia the missionary project, there has been an Politics of Exclusion in Colonial Southeast Asia’, three sets of societies: India and Great Britain; occurred in a period of great religious activity in almost exclusive interest in the effects of mis- Comparative Studies in Society and History, vol. 34 Ghana/Tanzania and Great Britain; and Indone- Britain and Holland. These socio-religious devel- sionization on the target peoples. It is, however, (3): 514-551. sia and Holland. It focuses on the modern peri- opments in both the colonized areas and in the important to look also at the other end of the 7. Mahadi, ‘Islam and Law in Indonesia’, in: Rita Smith od, between 1850 and the present, which is the metropoles have never been studied in a com- missionizing process. Kipp and Susan Rogers (eds) Indonesian Religion in period of both high colonialism and high parative framework. The effect of organizing for missionary Transition, Tucson (University of Arizona Press), nationalism as well as their aftermath. The pro- endeavours on the religious history of the West- 1987, 211-220; L. Vail (ed.), The Creation of Tribalism ject is based on the idea that a combination of 2) The Discourse of ern countries needs to be studied. In early mod- in Southern Africa, London/Berkeley: James metropolitan and colonial perspectives should ‘ C o m m u n i t y ’ and ‘Nation’ ern times, Protestant churches had always been Currey/University of California Press 1989. lead to very different kinds of conversations and The impact of the colonial state and its vari- closely tied to a particular political regime, with 8. Jürgen Habermas, ‘Öffentlichkeit’, Fischer Lexicon, insights than have previously been possible ous institutions on African, Indian and Indone- neither the opportunity nor the will to organize Staat und Politik, Frankfurt am Main, 1964, 220-226. among scholars who tend to work along the sian societies grew significantly in the second missions. The great Protestant missionary soci- Sandria B. Freitag (ed.), ‘Aspects of “the Public” in divide of colonizing and colonized nations.4 I t half of the nineteenth century, which saw a eties, founded at the end of the eighteenth cen- Colonial South Asia’, special number of South Asia, also suggests that comparative work on these massive state project enumerate, classify and tury, were not controlled or run by churches. XIX, 1, 1991. issues on both sides of the divide might show thereby control huge native populations of Indi- They were the first real mass-organizations and 9. G. Baumann, ‘Religious Communities and the that what seemed entirely separate is, in fact, ans and Indonesians by small groups of British played a crucial role in the transformation of the Nation-State’. Paper delivered at 3rd Conference, r e l a t e d .5 This project aims at revitalizing the dis- and Dutch officials. In this project, categories Protestant churches from the spiritual part of European Association of Social Anthropologists, cussion of the place of religion in modern soci- such as caste, religious community, gender and the social order to organizations within society. Oslo, July 1994, and G. Baumann, Contesting ety which theories of secularization have race were applied with a great deal of variation.6 Yet their effects have hardly been studied at all, Culture: Discourses of ‘Culture’ and ‘Community’ brought to a dead end. One crucial element of this project was the divi- and are ignored in modern studies of enlight- in Multi-Ethnic London, Cambridge 1996. sion of populations into religious communities. ened sociability.1 0 Their 19th-century history – 10. They are, for instance, consciously ignored in Ulrich The project examines the following sets of When the British sought to apply indigenous most of them ended up under ecclesiastical Im Hof, Das gesellige Jahrhundert. Gesellschaft und q u e s t i o n s : law in India, they made a clear-cut division control – can serve as an important indication of Gesellschaften im Zeitalter der Aufklärung, München between Hindu and ‘Muhammedan’ law. This the fundamental changes which took place in 1982; W.W. Mijnhardt, Tot Heil van ‘t Menschdom. 1) The ‘secular’ nature of British conceptual division was further institutional- the ways the churches conceived of themselves. Culturele genootschappen in Nederland, 1750-1815, society in comparison with ized in the census operations which established The sheer scale of the advertising undertaken Amsterdam 1988; the same goes for the impact t h e ‘religious’ nature of Indian, a Hindu ‘majority’ and a Muslim ‘minority’ which by the missionary societies to raise funds served of Catholic missions in the Netherlands, P. Pels, African and Indonesian became the basis of electoral representative to introduce new notions of religion and con- The Microphysics of Crisis. Contacts between s o c i e t i e s . politics. The ‘establishment’ of the ‘Hindu version in the West. Missionaries and Waluguru in Late Colonial Britain and the Netherlands are examples of majority’ as well as that of the ‘Muslim minority’ Tanganyika, Chur: Harwood Academic Publishers modern nation-states in Western Europe. The was largely the result of the manner of classifi- It is important to look at the ways in which (forthcoming), ch. 2. understanding of nationalism in the social sci- cation, not of pre-existing facts. In Indonesia the Christian concepts of religion and conversion 11. See Rita Smith Kipp, The Early Years of A Dutch ences depends largely on a conceptualization of Dutch created a distinction between Islamic have been adopted in Hindu, Muslim, and Colonial Mission: the Karo Field, Ann Arbor: historical developments in this area and should and a d a t law, and in Africa, the creation of ‘pagan’ understandings of ‘nation’, ‘religion’ (University of Michigan Press) 1990. therefore fit these two exemplary cases. ‘tribes’ (as both linguistic, political and religious and ‘conversion’. In India and Indonesia this 12. P. Pels, The Microphysics of Crisis. Contacts between It is a fundamental assumption of the dis- communities) made for similar divisions.7 T o should be studied in the context of the Islamic Missionaries and Waluguru in Late Colonial course of modernity that religion in modern some extent one may say that the project of the d acwa movements as well as in those of the Tanganyika, Chur: Harwood Academic Publishers societies loses its social creativity and is forced colonial state created these facts. Hindu nationalist shuddhi movements, in Africa, (forthcoming). to choose between either a sterile conservation The division of Hindu and Muslim communi- among new regional cults and independent 13. B. Meyer, Translating the Devil. An African of its pre-modern characteristics or a self-effac- ties in pre-colonial India is not a colonial inven- Christian churches. Like the European Christian Appropriation of Pietist Protestantism, Dissertation, ing assimilation to the secularized world. In fact, tion as such. What was a colonial novelty, how- missionary project, these Asian missions also University of Amsterdam, 1995. new and highly original religious organizations ever, was to count these communities and to have a strong transnationalist, globalizing com- 14. Thomas Csordas, ‘Oxymorons and Short-Circuits in proliferated in Britain and the Netherlands in have leaders represent them. This was funda- ponent. Special attention is to be given to the the Re-enchantment of the World. The Case of the the 19th century, resulting in unprecedented mental to the emergence of religious national- rise of so-called ‘fundamentalist’ movements Catholic Charismatic Renewal’, Etnofoor 8/1 (1995): levels of personal involvement of the laity. Ideo- ism. It is this colonial politics of ‘community’ and and their contribution to the globalization of 5-26; K. Poewe (ed.), Charismatic Christianity as logical pluralization, resulting in ecclesiastical ‘representation’ which have to be examined in r e l i g i o n .1 4 The impact of the mission is definitely a Global Culture. and theological strife, only served to reinforce relation to notions of ‘citizenship’, ‘democracy’ not confined to the ‘success’ or ‘failure’ of con- these mobilizations. and ‘the public sphere’ which are often said to version, but should be studied as an aspect of Prof. Dr Peter van der Veer is Professor of Both in the Netherlands and in Britain, the characterize politics in the modern West.8 W h i l e religious transformation in both the colonizing Comparative Religion, University of Amsterdam, second half of the 19th century was a period of nation and state seem to belong together, as and colonized areas. ♦ t h eN e t h e r l a n d s . I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9 Appointments 39

Leiden University MARCEL KURPERSHOEK Marcel Kurpershoek

On 18 September 1998, Dr Marcel Kurpershoek deliv- ered his inaugural speech as Professor of Arabic Litera- Chair of Arabic ture and Politics at the Department of Languages and Cultures of the Islamic Middle East at Leiden University. Its title was: ‘Wie luidt de doodsklok over de Arabieren?’: Literature and Arabisme, Islam, en de Wereldbank (‘Who Rings the Death Bell on the Arabs?’: Arabism, Islam and the World B a n k ) and is published (in Dutch) by Leiden University. P o l i t i c s The following is a passage from his speech:

‘Awad (Arab poet, literary critic, polemist at Leiden and indefatigable rebel) remained an inim- itable optimist until his death in 1990. But whoever is interested in the fate of liberal U n i v e r s i t y thinkers in the Arab world will sometimes get the same feeling as that which the Norwegian Arne expresses in his comments on the Lapps in W.F. Hermans’ novel Nooit Meer Slapen In the academic year of 1998/1999, Prof. (Never to Sleep Again): ‘I sometimes get the Kurpershoek lectures on freedom of speech in impression that the stubbornness people dis- the Arab world, together with Prof. Nasr Abu play in hanging on to their traditions is Zayd. This series of lectures runs parallel to a enough to give up any hope of people project of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: becoming happier by implementing rational ‘Freedom of Speech in the Middle East and steps.’ Arne’s solution is a simple one: ‘A Lapp North African Region’. ♦ only has to take off his attire and he will become a Norwegian like any other.’ ‘So why don’t they?’, Alfred asks. ‘Because they think they are different (…). A Lapp fears he will become a fake Norwegian at best (…).’ ‘But it is highly uncomfortable’, Alfred argues. But Arne knows: ‘Most people base their self Prof. Kurpershoek is the author of, amongst others, respect on one or another kind of lack of com- Oral Poetry and Narratives from Central Arabia, f o r t . ’ t h e third volume of which is forthcoming.

Book presentation J.G.J. TER HAAR Johan G.J.Ter Haar

On 15 May 1998, Dr J.G.J. Ter Haar (1941) delivered his inaugural speech as Professor of Persian Language and Chair of Persian Language Literature and the Cultural History of Iran. The speech was entitled: In De Stilte Van De Sharîca, Een debat over de islam in het moderne Iran (In the Silence of the Sharîca ; and Literature a debate on Islam in Modern Iran). The following is part of his conclusion. The entire speech has been published by the Research School CNWS, Leiden. and the Cultural

’Sorûsh and his fellows belong to that group of intellectuals which is called rowshanfekrân- History of Iran at e dînî in present day Persian. They are – literal- ly translated – the religious intellectuals, the religious intelligentsia, intellectuals who do L e i d e n U n i v e r s i t y not only designate a central role in their think- ing to their religious convictions, but who also give Islam a not unimportant social and politi- cal role, even though they vary amongst them- the debate on Islam. (…) This does not mean selves in their interpretation of this role. How- that the debate (…) is for debate’s sake only. ever, not all Iranian intellectuals belong to this This is so because in the debate there is a cen- category. There are also intellectuals in Iran tral question that is of great importance for the who as a matter of principle do not see any role development of Islam within, as well as out- for Islam in public life, who hold the opinion side, Iran. What that question entails has, in my that religion is at most something for the pri- opinion, never been put more poignantly than vate sphere and who advocate a completely in the title of the article by Sorûsh in K i y â n secularized society. But, different from the reli- (April/May 1998), ‘Serâthâ-ye Mostaqîm’, which gious intellectuals, who can disseminate their means ‘the proper ways’. Every Muslim who views in Kiyân and other magazines, they are sees this title will immediately think of the first not – or virtually not – capable of having their sura of the Quran, where this is also men- voices heard, at least, not in public. However tioned, in singular, in the prayer ‘lead us to the difficult it is to estimate the size and influence right path’. The question Sorûsh and his fel- of this movement, it would be a mistake to lows ask is whether there is only one right path think that secularism does not exist in Iran. Per- in Islam, or whether perhaps more ways lead to sonally, I am inclined to say that the views of Mekkah. ♦ the religious intellectuals in Iranian society are more widely accepted than those taking a Prof. Ter Haar is the author of, among others, purely secularist stance. Volgeling en erfgenaam van de profeet: de On the other hand (…) we should not over- denkwereld van shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi, 1564-1624 estimate the importance and the influence of (Leiden 1989) (Follower and Heir of the Prophet: the debate. Not only since the importance of t h e Thinking of shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi) and any intellectual debate should not be overesti- Volgelingen van de imam: een kennismaking met mated, but also because in Iran many other d es j icitische islam (Amsterdam) 1995 (Followers things are going on in many other fields than o f the Imam: an Introduction to Shicite Islam). 4 0 Publications I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9

Book presentation Turkish Religious Foundation Centre for Islamic Studies Turkish Religious

This new Turkish encyclopaedia of Islam is an ambitious and wide-ranging project that will rapidly become an indispensable reference work for the study of social, political and cultural aspects of the Muslim world. As F o u n d a t i o n stated in the preface to Volume 1, the work is a state- ment of pride and confidence in the Islamic religious and cultural heritage, at a time when the Muslim world is overcoming, with great determination, its long-held inferiority complex vis-à-vis the modern West. Accord- E n c y c l o p a e d i a ingly, the TDV Islam Ansiklopedisi was conceived and designed by – and is being overwhelmingly executed from within – a community of Muslim scholars, mainly Turkish. It is thus markedly different in scope and in tone from Leiden’s Encyclopaedia of Islam. This latter is o f I s l a m seen by the editors of the new encyclopaedia as primar- ily a project of European orientalists.

Systematic work on the TDV encyclopaedia Entries on persons include, as expected, The TDV Islam Ansiklopedisi is being pub- began in 1983, with publications averaging caliphs, sultans, shahs and vezirs, teachers, lished by Turkiye Diyanet Vakfi, which was almost two volumes annually since 1988. judges, seyhs and Sufis, mathematicians, legal established in 1975. Among the purposes of Approximately 40 volumes are envisaged in all. experts, artists and literary figures, statesmen this foundation are the following: promoting Indices of essential topics in fifteen (later to and politicians, from the seventh to the twenti- religious values, relieving the economic prob- become seventeen) different subject areas eth centuries, and from all over the Islamic lems of the destitute, and offering grants to (e.g. Arabic language and literature, history of world, though with an understandable prepon- students. ♦ religions, h a d i t h, Islamic arts, geography of derance of Ottomans and Turks in later periods. Muslim countries, Sufism, Turkish history and In addition to covering all Muslim countries, civilization, etc.) were compiled mainly by major cities, staging posts, watering holes, etc., trawling through relevant published works the geographical coverage also includes more and manuscripts, rather than by relying upon surprising entries on, for example, ‘Amerika existing encyclopaedic models. The result is a Biírlesik Devletleri’, ‘Almanya’, ‘Avrupa’, ‘Fil- unique combination of ‘gazetteer’, ‘who’s ipinler’. For each country/continent, coverage who’, a dictionary of terminology, and an is generally in three parts: physical and human ‘enquiry within and upon everything’. As such, geography, history, and Islam in that area. The it is certainly a guide to what almost every spe- entry ‘Avusturya’ also has a fourth section on • Ístanbul Türkíye Diyanet Vakfi. cialist in Turkish and Middle Eastern / Islamic Austrian scholars of Islam from the sixteenth Vols. 1-18 published Studies generally uses. century onwards. c. 550 pp. per volume.

Book presentation CORIEN W. HOEK Shifting Sands

The Sultanate of Oman is endowed with oil resources, as are its neighbouring Gulf coun- tries. Exploitation of the state-owned resources began at the end of the 1960s, and the oil rev- S o c i a l - e c o n o m i c enues were used by the government to initiate a countrywide process of development. S h i f t i n g S a n d s analyses this process for al-Sharqiyah, a region without oil resources of its own, which has as its main economic activities animal hus- development in bandry, agriculture, fishing and commerce. The study is based on extensive fieldwork conduct- ed between 1985 and 1990 and a number of visits thereafter. Regional development in a historical-geo- a l-Sharqiyah region, graphical perspective provides the setting of the book. The present situation is analysed through highlighting the roles of the three major devel- opment forces: the government, the private sec- tor and tribal organization. Furthermore, eco- O m a n nomic activities are investigated in terms of pre- sent performance and future prospects. The siders the rapidly improved living and working question at hand concerns the potential of an conditions and the flexibility of people to adapt activity to offer employment to the rapidly to changing opportunities, as assets in the growing population. For example, growth in development process. agriculture and herding is defined by the limited Macro policies affect the main topics in the water resources and arable land. At the same regional development process and the region’s time, sustained development of agriculture and situation sets conditions to national develop- herding are seen as prerequisites to continued ment. This linkage is explored in the concluding life in the desert and oases settlements. The fish- chapter of the book and tentative suggestions eries sector could potentially be a core business are given to attune the two strategic levels. in the region and a large part of this study is Cooperation at all levels amongst the three devoted to its modernization process. major forces (government, the private sector, The study discusses the significant phenome- and the tribal organization – or other compara- non of two opposite labour flows in the region. ble social organizations), is seen as vital to a suc- One is represented by an influx of people mainly cessful approach to development in al-Shar- from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, which con- qiyah region. ♦ Shifting Sands tributes to commercial expansion yet poses a Social-economic development threat to the employment of Omani people. The in al-Sharqiyah region, Oman other is a temporary outflow of locals employed Dr Corien W. Hoek is an economic anthropologist Nijmegen University Press, outside the region, which provides the main and works for the Centre of Islamic Culture in N i j m e g e n source of income to the region. The study con- Rotterdam, the Netherlands. 1998, xviii + 350 pp. ISBN 90-5710-049-5 I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9 Publications 41

Book presentation CHARLES KURZMAN Liberal Islam

Many Westerners, and many Muslims, consider ‘Liberal Islam’ to be a contradiction in terms. This is not the case. The term ‘liberal’ has negative connotations in much of the Islamic world, in part because of the hypocrisy of its Not a Contradiction introduction to the region by colonialists and imperial- ists who flouted the liberalism they touted. Yet the Islamic world is witnessing a thriving movement of Mus- lim thinkers who address ‘liberal’ concerns such as democracy, the separation of Church and State, the in Terms rights of women, the rights of minorities, freedom of thought, and the idea of human progress – hardly the he should afterward have said unto mankind: with each of the first two. This I call the ‘inter- s h a r ica’ trope – constitute an impossible only concerns that might be labeled ‘liberal’, but “Be slaves of me instead of God” (Sura 3, Verse preted s h a r ica’. According to this view, ‘Reli- ‘anomaly’ (p. 244). One wonders whether liber- bedrock themes in the liberal tradition. 79).’ Political systems that do allow individual gion is divine, but its interpretation is thor- alism based on Christian scripture would be freedom of thought, according to this trope, oughly human and this-worldly.’ I quote here considered similarly anomalous. Samuel Hunt- While liberal Islam shares parallel concerns are un-Islamic. from cAbdul-Karim Soroush (Iran, born 1945): ington’s The Clash of Civilizations makes no dis- with Western liberalism, it is no mere echo of ‘the text does not stand alone, it does not carry tinction between liberal and non-liberal Mus- the West. Both traditions may support freedom The ‘Silent S h a r ica’ its own meaning on its shoulders, it needs to lims – they are all in the ‘other’ camp. Similarly, of thought, for example, but they do so within A second trope of liberal Islam I call the be situated in a context, it is theory-laden, its a cartoon in the New Yorker magazine in early different discourses. As I have tried to demon- ‘silent s h a r ica’. In this trope, freedom, for exam- interpretation is in flux, and presuppositions 1998 showed a caricature of Iranian President strate in my recent anthology, Liberal Islam: A ple, is not r e q u i r e d by the s h a r ica, but it is are as actively at work here as elsewhere in the Muhammad Khatami saying, ‘We are interest- S o u r c e - B o o k (Oxford University Press, 1998), a l l o w e d by the s h a r ica. This trope argues that field of understanding. Religious texts are no ed in a cultural exchange. We will give you one the Islamic discourse has generated three the s h a r ica is silent on certain topics – not exception. Therefore their interpretation is of our writers, and you will give us Salman tropes, or meta-narratives, through which lib- because the divine revelation was incomplete subject to expansion and contraction accord- Rushdie’ – this despite Khatami’s support for eral concerns are expressed. or faulty, but because the revelation i n t e n t i o n- ing to the assumptions preceding them and/or rule of law in Iran and his opposition to the a l l y left certain issues for humans to choose. the questions inquiring them… We look at rev- groups seeking Rushdie’s execution. The ‘Liberal S h a r ica’ S acid Ramadan of Egypt, for example, has writ- elation in the mirror of interpretation, much as The ‘liberal s h a r ica’ trope argues that the rev- ten that ‘the s h a r ica of God, as embodied in a devout scientist looks at creation in the mir- Liberal Islam thus faces hostility on two elations of the Qur'an and the practices of the Qur'an and sunna, does not bind mankind in ror of nature … [so that] the way for religious fronts, both of which treat it as a contradiction Prophet Muhammad – the body of Islamic m uca m a l a t (worldly dealings) except by pro- democracy and the transcendental unity of in terms: Muslims who consider it not properly guidance and precedence handed down from viding a few broad principles of guidance and religions, which are predicated on religious Islamic and Westerners who consider it not 7th century Arabia – c o m m a n d us to follow lib- a limited number of injunctions. The s h a r ica pluralism, will have been paved.’ properly liberal. Liberal Islam is caught in the eral positions. For example, in the case of free- only rarely concerns itself with details. The crossfire, as the party of war on both sides joins dom of thought, some ‘liberal s h a r ica’ argu- confinement of the s h a r ica to broad principles Similarly, Hassan Hanafi (Egypt, born 1935) in tacit collusion against those seeking to build ments take verses from the Qur'an that urge and its silence in other spheres are due to has written: ‘There is no one interpretation of a bridges in between. the believers to think independently. cAli Shar- divine wisdom and mercy. The fact that the text, but there are many interpretations given Is this not the same dilemma in which the icati (Iran, 1933-77), for example, draws on the s h a r ica is silent on these points – and we the difference in understanding between dif- field of Islamic Studies finds itself? ♦ Qur'anic distinction between b a s h a r ( t h e should bear in mind that, as the Qur'an ferent interpreters. An interpretation of a text human animal) and i n s a n (the fully human remarks, “God is not forgetful” – means only is essentially pluralistic. The text is only a vehi- being): ‘Humankind is a chooser, that is, the that the application of the general injunctions cle for human interests and even passions. The only being who is not only capable of revolting of the s h a r ica to the multifarious details of conflict of interpretation is essentially a socio- against nature and the order which is ruling human life, and the confrontation of new political conflict, not a theoretical one. Theory over it, but can revolt against its own natural, problems according to the dictates of m a s l a h a indeed is only an epistemological cover-up. physical, and psychological needs. Humans (public good) have been left to the discretion Each interpretation expresses the socio-politi- can choose things which have neither been of the body of conscious Muslims.’ cal commitment of the interpreter.’ imposed on them by nature, nor is their body fit to choose them. This is the most sublime Within this general argument, definitions of Syed Vahiduddin (India, born 1909) said: ‘But aspect of humanity.’ Similarly, Abdelwahab El- the public good may vary. Nurcholish Madjid as the Qur'an’s vision of God cannot be con- Affendi (Sudan, born 1955) argues that all (Indonesia, born 1939) phrases the public fined exclusively to any one of its historical humans must be endowed with free will and good in terms of intellectual progress: ‘We expressions, religion itself cannot be a static the ‘freedom to sin’, or they will also lack ‘the must have a firm conviction that all ideas and construct made once and for all without freedom to be virtuous.’ forms of thought, however strange they may revealing fresh nuances in its historical devel- sound, should be accorded means of expres- opment. This static concept of religion Other ‘liberal s h a r ica’ defences of freedom of sion. It is by no means rare that such ideas and neglects the truth that at no point of history thought draw on the right to conduct i j t i h a d, thoughts, initially regarded as generally can all possibilities be exhausted, though a or Islamic interpretation. This was one of the wrong, are [later] found to be right. Further- given point in history might be pregnant with rallying cries of the modernist Islamic move- more, in the confrontation of ideas and implications for the future. History is a process ment of the 19th century, as exemplified by thoughts, even error can be of considerable of creative expression; not a perpetual repeti- Jamal al-Din al-Afghani (born in Iran, 1838-97): benefit, because it will induce truth to express tion, and hence it is presumptuous to limit ‘In their beliefs they [the members of each itself and grow as a strong force. Perhaps it was Islam to its classical expression.’ community] must shun submission to conjec- not entirely small talk when our Prophet said tures and not be content with mere imitation that differences of opinion among his u m m a Challenges of Liberal Islam of their ancestors. For if man believes in things [community] were a mercy [from God].’ Laith Liberal Islam is thriving, propelled by rising without proof or reason, makes a practice of Kubba (Iraq-England, born 1954) phrases the education in the Islamic world and the global following unproven opinions, and is satisfied public good in terms of economic progress: ‘As wave of democratization. Yet it has enemies. to imitate and follow his ancestors, his mind Muslims devise strategies for economic On one hand, Muslim opponents accuse it of inevitably desists from intellectual movement, growth in a competitive world and redefine being overly Westernized, of abandoning the and little by little stupidity and imbecility over- their priorities, their outlook will shift from the core values and traditions of Islam. Liberal come him – until his mind becomes complete- abstract concepts and values of Islam to the Islam, one Muslim scholar wrote me, is the ly idle and he becomes unable to perceive his realities of the Muslim world. They will contin- work of Muslims who ‘want to do nothing own good and evil; and adversity and misfor- ue to turn to Islam as a source of personal and more than fade into the Judaeo-Christian tune overtake him from all sides.’ Similarly, communal identity and moral guidance, but woodwork.’ Another Muslim scholar, Gai Yusuf al-Qaradawi (Egypt-Qatar, born 1926) they will also critically assess the legacy hand- Eaton, has referred to liberals as ‘Uncle Toms’ urges those who wish to impose strict interpre- ed down by previous generations who may (a derisive term used by African-Americans to tations of Islamic law to recognize that those have narrowed Islam in ways that had less to describe a black person who is grotesquely ‘who hold different views or approaches are do with the essence of the faith than with his- servile to whites). The force of these critiques also capable of i j t i h a d like themselves.’ torical accidents and parochial circumstances.’ echoes debates of the early 20th century, In both of these examples, the s h a r ica a l l o w s when a traditionalist Muslim scholar called Indeed, Ghulam Ahmad Parwez (India-Pak- Muslims freedom of thought in order to attain modernist Islamic thinkers ‘stupid’ and ‘manip- istan, born 1903) has argued that the Qur'an’s these public goods. ulated by Satan’. © Charles Kurzman, 1999 protection of individual freedom is so strong that it overrides all forms of authority: ‘No per- The ‘Interpreted S h a r ica’ On the other hand, many Westerners consid- Dr Charles Kurzman is Assistant Professor of son has the right to compel any other person The first trope of liberal Islam holds that the er liberal Islam to be overly Islamic. Leonard Sociology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, to obey his orders: ‘It is not [possible] for any s h a r ica r e q u i r e s liberty, and the second trope Binder’s Islamic Liberalism argues that liberal USA. He is author of Liberal Islam: A Sourcebook. human being unto whom God has given the holds that the s h a r ica a l l o w s liberty. But there is positions grounded on ‘explicit Islamic legisla- (See page 43). Scripture and wisdom and prophethood that a third liberal Islamic trope that takes issue tion of divine origin’ – what I call the ‘liberal E-mail: [email protected] 4 2 Publications I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9

Book presentation JAN JUST WITKAM The following volumes of Manuscripta Indonesica ( I S S N 0 9 2 9 - 6 4 8 4 ) M a n u s c r i p t a have been published:

Since 1993, six volumes have appeared in the series Volume 1: Hikayat Isma Yatim by Ismail Manuscripta Indonesica, now a joint publishing project and Hikayat Sultan Mogul mengajarkan between INIS (Indonesian-Netherlands Cooperation in anaknya : a facsimile edition of Islamic Studies, Leiden University) and the Legatum I n d o n e s i c a manuscript Cod. Or. 1693 in the Library of Warnerianum in Leiden University Library. More are in Leiden University / with an introduction the making. Each volume contains (at least) an actual by Roger Tol & Jan Just Witkam. size black-and-white reproduction of an Indonesian L e i d e n : Indonesian Linguistics manuscript, with an introduction containing a physical Development Project (ILDEP) in description of the original manuscript and placing it in Basic Tools c o-operation with Legatum its cultural or ritual context. The contents of the volume Warnerianum in the Library of Leiden sometimes go beyond these basic descriptions by adding a transliteration, translation or an electronic University, 1993. XVI, 144 p., facs; v e r s i o n . of Research 35 cm. ISBN 90-73006-02-3 Volume 2: Mukhtasar Tawarikh al-Wusta : Not all volumes present an Islamic text. How- a short chronicle of the Riau region : ever, all volumes have a direct or indirect rele- a facsimile edition of manuscript Cod. vance to Indonesian culture, thus in most cases O r . 1999 in the Library of Leiden University to Islam. To date, five of the six originals repro- / with an introduction by Roger Tol & duced originate from the Oriental collections Jan Just Witkam. Leiden: Indonesian of the Leiden University Library, the sixth Linguistics Development Project (ILDEP) being held in a private collection. There are in co-operation with Legatum plans to expand through cooperation with Warnerianum in the Library of Leiden other institutions. This is not due to difficulty in University, 1993. XIII, 26 p., 36 cm. choice or reproduction of manuscripts; they I S B N9 0 - 7 3 0 0 6 - 0 3 - 1 are available in overwhelming numbers, both in Leiden and in other public collections. Sim- Volume 3: Serat lokapala kawi : ply reproducing them as they are would be a a n eighteenth-century manuscript of merely technical operation. Compiling the t h e old Javanese Arjunawijaya by Mpu introduction to each volume, however, takes time, effort and expertise. Such a detailed Tantular : a facsimile edition of introduction gives added value, considered by manuscript Cod. Or. 2048 in the Library the editors to be of primary importance, to o f Leiden University / with an each volume. introduction by Bernard Arps & Willem Since the beginning of the 19th century, an van der Molen. Leiden: impressive number of manuscripts from I n d o n e s i a n Linguistics Development Southeast Asia have come to the Netherlands, Project (ILDEP) in co-operation with as opposed to the 17th and 18th centuries Legatum Warnerianum in the Library of when few made their way to Europe. British Leiden University, 1994. XLVI, 90 p . , collections were the first (end of the 18th cen- facs., 35 cm. ISBN 90-73006-04-X tury) to add Southeast Asian materials to their holdings on an organized scale. The collection Volume 4: Gita Yuddha Mengwi or Kidung of Oriental manuscripts at the Leiden Universi- Ndèrèt : a facsimile edition of manuscript ty Library comprises one of the largest reposi- Cod. Or. 23.059 in the Library of Leiden tories of Southeast Asian manuscript materials U n i v e r s i t y / with an introduction by in the world. This collection is enlarged on a H.I.R. Hinzler. Leiden: Indonesian regular basis, made possible by governmental Linguistics Development Project (ILDEP) and private funding. Gifts or bequests consti- tute, and have constituted, a considerable in co-operation with Legatum amount of the manuscripts acquired. Those In Manuscripta Indonesica, the focus is on the not to do any ‘textual editing’ whatsoever. The Warnerianum in The Library of Leiden manuscripts commissioned by scholars in the manuscript. Publishing the manuscript in fac- original manuscript is held in high esteem and it University, 1994. 32 p., facs., 50 x 20 cm. field form an important part of the latter cate- simile should cause as little alteration as possible is therefore reproduced without any editorial ISBN 90-73006-05-8 gories. In colonial times, manuscripts were with regards to form, size, and overall outward modification, thus maintaining all its characteris- sometimes acquired as war booty or by confis- appearance. Some concessions are inevitable, tics of form, spelling and other peculiarities. ♦ Volume 5: Mystical illustrations from the cation. Leiden University Library and the however. The use of contemporary paper would teachings of Syaikh Ahmad Al-Qusyasyi : library of the Bataviaasch Genootschap, now be impossible, and lontar (palmleaf), dluang (tree Manuscripta Indonesica is edited by a facsimile edition on paper and CD-ROM the Perpustakaan Nasional (National Library) in bark paper) or other traditional materials even W i m Stokhof, Roger Tol and Jan Just Witkam. of a manuscript from Aceh (Cod. Or. 2222) Jakarta, have equally profited from these cir- more so. Ideas to manufacture facsimiles of The volumes appear at irregular intervals. in the Library of Leiden University / cumstances. About two thirds of the approxi- Batak texts on bamboo or tree bark have at some Orders can be sent to Legatum Warnerianum, w i t h introductions by Aad Janson, mately 25,000 Oriental manuscripts in the Lei- stage been entertained by the editors of the Leiden University Library, P.O. Box 9501, Roger Tol & Jan Just Witkam. Leiden: den collection are of Southeast Asian origin. series, only to be quickly discarded as either N L-2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands Indonesian-Netherlands Cooperation The majority of these originate from the impractical or too costly to implement. Due to ( e-m a i l :w i t k a m @ r u l u b . l e i d e n u n i v . n l ) . i n Islamic Studies (INIS) in co-operation Indonesian archipelago and Malaysia, most of financial considerations it is even out of the with Legatum Warnerianum in the them having been produced in the 19th or question to reproduce the original colours in Library of Leiden University, 1995. 20th century. One may fairly say that all cul- print, the print-run of the series totalling only a Dr Jan Just Witkam is Interpres Legati Warneriani, XXXIV, 30 p., facs., 27 x 17 cm. tures and languages from the areas that have few hundred copies. Furthermore, it is not laxity and Curator of Oriental Collections, possessed a written tradition are represented but rather fundamental theoretical considera- L e i d e nU n i v e r s i t y Library, the Netherlands. ISBN 90-73006-07-4. There is a web in the collection. tions, which have brought the editors to decide E-m a i l :w i t k a m @ r u l u b . l e i d e n u n i v . n l presentation of this volume: h t t p : / / w w w . l e i d e n u n i v . n l / p u n / u b h t m / u b o r . o r 2 v i e r . h t m l .

Volume 6: Nabi Aparas. The shaving of the Prophet Muhammad’s hair : a facsimile edition of a Javanese manuscript from Lombok, MS M.53 in t h e private collection of Dick van der Meij / with an introduction, transliteration and translation by Dick van der Meij. Leiden: Indonesian-Netherlands Cooperation in Islamic Studies (INIS) i n co-operation with Legatum Warnerianum in the Library of Leiden University, 1996. 80 p., facs., 16 x 16 cm. ISBN 90-73006-08-2. I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9 Conference Reports 43

UC Berkeley LAURENCE MICHALAK & R E N A T E H O L U B Report on

In October 1998, The Middle East and West Europe Cen- ters of the University of California at Berkeley jointly sponsored a two-day symposium, ‘Islam and the Chang- ing Identity of Europe: Culture, Politics and Citizenship a S y m p o s i u m in an Era of Globalization’. The programme focused on the deep ideational changes which have been taking place in Europe due to the Muslim populations which have sprung up in the United Kingdom, France, Ger- many and elsewhere. The symposium explored political ‘Islam and and cultural aspects of the emerging identities of these relatively new citizens – how they view themselves and how they are viewed by non-Muslim Europeans, as well as how the relatively indigenous populations of Europe are being forced to rethink their own collective identi- the Changing ties, both as Europeans and as citizens of specific coun- tries.

In their symposium prospectus and introductory re- marks the organizers argued that these are no longer I d e n t i t y migration issues in the traditional sense, because most Muslims in Europe are no longer migrants. Muslim pop- ulations have been present in Europe for several gener- ations, although many Europeans have been slow to recognize that Islam is now a European religion. of Europe’

The conference featured Paul Lubeck (UC Santa Cruz) discussed the s i x scholars and a number economic and sociological issues facing o f discussants: Europe, particularly those issues pertaining to Islamic networks and the challenges they pre- Tariq Modood (University of Bristol, UK) point- sent to citizenship claims. Lubeck noted that ed out that minorities in the UK are protected as the contributions of future Muslim migrants to members of ethnic/racial groups rather than as Europe’s economy, and hence to its global Muslims. As in the US, there has been a shift in competitiveness, will not reside primarily in emphasis from the right to assimilate, to the menial labour. Rather, migration trends from right to maintain one’s ‘differences’ and to have Muslim majority countries contribute to the them positively valued. Modood contrasted the area of technological skills. UK, where a multicultural approach seems to be making headway, with France, which remains Several issues emerged from essentially assimilationist and anti-multicultural. the presentations and debates: Regarding the nation-state, some argued Michel Wieviorka (École des Hautes Études en that, with the rise of European institutions, the Sciences Sociales, Paris) addressed processes of nation-state is being replaced by wider politi- cultural transformation that occur as Muslim cal entities in terms of both sovereignty and youth in Europe inevitably alter the Islamic tra- identity. Others argued that such notions are ditions that shape their responses to non-Islam- premature, noting also the persistence of sub- ic environments, calling what results the ‘Islam national identities, both ethnic and regional. of the Youth’. He placed this in a larger context of French national destructuration and the A second issue is assessing the relative decline of republicanism and of mechanisms of power of assimilationism versus multicultural- national integration. ism in different national settings. Assimilation- ists argue that Muslims in Europe will and Krishan Kumar (formerly UK, now University of should gradually become more like other Euro- Virginia) spoke on ‘Europe, the Nation-State and peans. Multi-culturalists, on the other hand, the Question of Identity in an Era of Multicultur- argue both the inevitability and the desirabili- alism’, comparing different settings in Europe. ty of retaining non-European heritages and Kumar spoke about the dilemma of maintaining promoting cultural diversity. one’s cultural origin in the UK, and of a future of hyphenization, hybridity, syncretization and Finally, how powerful a force is Islam in creolization, but he also eloquently defended determining identity? Some suggest that other assimilation for those who choose that path. factors – such as ethnic, national, regional, trib- al, class or economic identities – can often be Bassam Tibi (University of Göttingen, Ger- stronger than religion. The identities of many) focused on themes of cultural and politi- Europe’s Muslim populations are not fixed but cal integration of Muslim groups. The notion of vary in both the short term and historically. ‘cultural co-existence’, based on principles of diversity and plurality, was central to his Several speakers cautioned against reifying address. Tibi suggested that a ‘Euro-Islam’, or and attributing causality to Islam, noting that European form of Islam, is emerging, but he there are important differences amongst Mus- cautioned against turning a blind eye to the lims in Europe – especially between Islamic more fundamentalist elements which also exist activists and secularists. While many Muslims within the spectrum of European Muslim opin- resist Euro-American post-industrial culture on ion. moral grounds, they often thrive in the infra- Dr Laurence Michalak is Vice Chair of the Center for structure of globalization, which is the product Middle Eastern Studies and Lecturer in International Hala Mustafa (Center for Political and Strategic of capitalism. In any case, there was general and Area Studies at the University of Studies, Al Ahram Foundation, Cairo) addressed agreement that both Muslims and non-Mus- California/Berkeley, USA. political concerns on a more global level, also lims in Europe are articulating new citizenships E-mail: [email protected] emphasizing co-existence. Mustafa called for the and new ethnicities through a continuing transformation of existing unequal power rela- d i a l e c t i c . Dr Renate Holub is Chair of the Italian Research and tions between Europe and the Islamic states in Study Group and Adjunct Associate Professor in the developing world, and noted that current Participants in the conference are revising International and Area Studies, also at the University processes of globalization would significantly their papers for a collective volume which is of California/Berkeley, USA. affect this imbalance. projected for publication in 1999. ♦ E-mail: [email protected] 4 4 Info Pages I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9

Cultural and Arts Programme BRITISH COUNCIL M u t u a l i t i e s :

From February to July 1999, Visiting arts, a joint ven- ture comprised of arts councils from around the UK, will focus on the cultural and arts activities of Muslim com- munities from all over the world, the UK included. Arts Britain and Islam events taking place in the UK originating from, or influ- enced by, Muslim cultures will be publicized in the form of a six-month Cultural and Arts Programme. The aim of the Programme is to build on existing initiatives and to encourage new ones, and also to increase awareness of Cultural and Arts the immensely rich and passionate artistic response to the world’s fastest growing religion. The Programme will coincide with The British Council’s international conference, ‘Mutualities: Britain and Islam’ (28-30 April 1 9 9 9 ) . P r o g r a m m e

To conclude the Programme, and as part of its ongoing con- tribution to this field, in July 1999, Visiting Arts will hold a sem- Calligraphy from the Muslim Giving Voice: A Divinity of Muslims in China inar on Promoting Muslim Arts in the UK. W o r l d (visual, international) t h e V o i c e (music, international) (lecture/exhibition, China) In August 1999, Visiting Arts will produce a resource publica- Venue: Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, Bradford. 1-10 April 1999 April – May 1999 tion for those involved in planning Islam-related arts events. January 1999 – December 2000 V e n u e : Centre for Performance Research (CPR), V e n u e : t b c The publication will include: a directory of relevant UK organi- Promoter: Nilesh Mistry, Cultural Diversity 8 Science Park, Aberystwyth, Wales. Promoter: Susie Wong, Chinese Cultural zations; reports on The British Council’s conferences and a full Outreach Officer, Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, Promoter: Claire Swatheridge, Administrator, Centre, 27 Old Gloucester Street, listing of the events included in the Mutualities: Britain and Lister Park, Bradford BD9 4NS Centre for Performance Research, 8 Science London WC1N 3XX Islam Cultural and Arts Programme, with colour photographs. Tel: +44 1274 493 313, Park, Aberystwyth SY23 3AH, Wales Tel/Fax: +44 171-633 9878. Fax: +44 1274 481 045. Tel: +44 1970 622 133 Fax: +44 1970 622 132 This programme, funded by Visiting Arts, The exhibition focuses on calligraphy E-mail: [email protected] will be the first of its kind in the UK to focus primarily from the Indo-Pakistan sub- URL: http://www.aber.ac.uk/~cprwww on the arts and culture of China’s Muslim continent, but includes items from Syria, populations. The programme will include Iran, Turkey and Egypt. To reflect A ten-day international festival of the voice two lectures: an overview of Muslims in t h e versatile nature of this art form, comprising workshops, informative and China, and the contribution of Muslim t h e collection covers a range of media, entertaining lecture-demonstrations, an culture in China; and an exhibition on the s u c h as textiles, gemstones, silver, bronze, opportunity for discussions and a wide subject of Chinese mosques. brass, wood and paper. Also on display are range of exciting and unusual performances contemporary calligraphic works by from around the world, such as Croatia, Tehmina Shah, Shirazeh Houshirary, Egypt, Sudan, Nigeria, South Africa, India Bakshi Javaid Salamat Qawwal: C o n f e r e n c e L a i l a Rahman and Shahzia Sikander. and Pakistan. To book, please contact Fiona Sounds of the Qawwal Smith at CPR. (music/dance, Pakistan) Painted Poetry: illustrations Linked to the festival will be the fifth July 1999 on Britain from the Khamseh of Nizami and Performance Studies Conference ‘99, ‘Here Venue: APNA Arts, Nottingham Community Haft Aurang of Jami ( e x h i b i t i o n , Be Dragons’, which will take place 9-12 April Arts Centre, 39 Gregory Boulevard, India and Iran) 1999. To book, please contact Ileike Roms N o t t i n g h a m . and Islam Venue: British Museum, London a t CPR. CPR would like to contact leading Promoter (UK): APNA Arts, Nottingham 15 February to 5 July 1999 female international vocalists who are Community Arts Centre, 39 Gregory The British Council in London is Promoter: Rachel Ward, Assistant Keeper, interested in participating in the festival. Boulevard, Nottingham NG7 6BE organizing a conference on the British Museum Tel: +44 171 323 8457. Tel: +44 115 942 2479 relationship between Britain and Islam. Fax: +44 115 942 2478. The aim of the congress is threefold: This exhibition will include illustrations Hossein Omoumi: Promoter (Pakistan): Uxi Mufti, Executive – to emphasize the interdependence o f the well-known Persian poetical The Voice of L o v e (music, Iran) Director, Lok Virsa, Garden Avenue, a n d mutual benefit of the relationship manuscripts: the K h a m s e h, or Five Tales, 5-6 April 1999 Shakarpurian, Islamabad, Pakistan through education and trade between o f Nizame and the Haft Aurang, or S e v e n Venue: Centre for Performance Research, Tel: 00 92 51 9203983 Britain and Islam T h r o n e s, of Jami. The paintings range in date 8 Science Park, Aberystwyth, Wales. Fax: 00 92 51 9202042 – to link the cultural pluralism of Britain from the fifteenth to the eighteenth Promoter: Claire Swatheridge, Administrator, E-mail: [email protected] with the cultural pluralism of the centuries and come from Timurid and Centre for Performance Research, 8 Science emerging global village Safavid Iran, and Sultanate and Mughal Park, Aberystwyth SY23 3AH, Wales Sounds of the Qawwal is a twelve-week – to strengthen partnerships that I n d i a . Tel: +44 1970 622 133 dance music workshop programme run by transcend the normal institutional Fax: +44 1970 622 132 APNA Arts for young people. The Bakshi c o n t r a i n t s . Mosaiques 99 ( f i l m / l i t e r a t u r e , Email: [email protected] URL: Javaid Salamat Qawwali music group from France/North Africa) h t t p : / / w w w . a b e r . a c . u k / ~ c p r w w w Pakistan will collaborate with an established Conference organizers include Dr Peter Venue: Institut Français, London musician from the UK, Aki Nawaz (Nation Clark OBE, Special Advisor, Middle East 17-22 March 1999. A two-day workshop led by the Iranian Records, Fundamental), fusing centuries-old and North Africa, British Council; Prof. Promoter: Jean Jacques Scaerou, Hossein Omoumi, followed by an evening qawwali tradition with contemporary Jorgen S Nielsen, Director of the Centre of S e c r e t a r y General, French Cultural performance. Omoumi will teach Iranian British-based youth culture dance music. the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Department, Embassy of France, music, based on Sufi poetry, introducing The collaborative work will be recorded and Relations; and Imam Dr Abduljalil Sajid JP, 2 3 Cromwell Road, London SW7 2EL parts of the Radif in the traditional style: released on CD. Director of the Brighton Islamic Mission. Tel: +44 171 838 2078, orally and by repetition. There will also be The conference will take place at the F a x : +44 171 838 2088 an evening performance for the public on The project also provides the opportunity Royal Commonwealth Society in London, E-mail: jeanjacques.scaerou@mail. April 6 in Aberystwyth. for live performances, lectures and talks on on 28-30 April 1999. a m b a f r a n c e . o r g . u k Sufi concepts and music. Sounds of the Qawwal is part of NCIusion, a Further information and application forms can be This is a programme of cultural and arts three year programme of high quality arts in obtained from: events to celebrate the Maghreb’s the city of Nottingham initiated by contribution to French culture today. Nottingham City Council and funded by the Peter Clark T h e programme will include fourteen films Arts Council. It uses arts as a vehicle to MENA, The British Council from Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia; two change and challenge attitudes, and 10, Spring Gardens, London SW1A 2BN, UK exhibitions: M a g h r e b and Portraits of Arabic provides a rich and varied climate for the Tel: +44.171.3894029 W o m e n; conferences with guests from the interchange of ideas and creativity. E-mail: [email protected] Maghreb; calligraphy; storytelling; musical Available to tour. ♦ accompaniment. The French Brasserie will o r : offer Tunisian specialities in a traditional Anne van de Graaf North African atmosphere. British Council The Netherlands Keizersgracht 269, 1016 ED AMSTERDAM Tel: 020-5506065 E-mail: [email protected] I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9 Info Pages 45 Art & Culture Agenda

THE NETHERLANDS Music G E R M A N Y L e c t u r e s / s o c i e t i e s Freer Gallery of Art The Arthur M. Sackler and Freer Exhibitions Stichting Kulsan Black International Cinema The British Council Galleries of Asian Art, WG-plein 126 B e r l i n , L o n d o n Smithsonian Institution, Municipal Museum The H a g u e 1054 SC Amsterdam in association with the Humboldt- W a s h i n g t o n DC 20560 Stadhouderslaan 41 tel/fax: 31 20 6182164 University and the Hochschule der Künste April 1999 2517 HV The Hague Seminar für Theaterwissen- • Mutualities: Britain and Islam. May 3, 1998 – Indefinitely tel: 31 70 3381111 20 – 30 March 1999 schaften/Kulturelle Kommunikation Conference to explore the mutualies. A • Arts of the Islamic World. Some 60 works • Turkish Sufi music and Spanish Sophien Str. 22a., Berlin programme of visiting arts featuring – Koran pages, metalwork, ceramics, C o n t i n u i n g f l a m e n c o tel.: 030 751 84 38/782 16 21 cultural arts and arts events related to glass, paintings, and calligraphy from • exhibition Islamic crafts. Renewed url: h t t p : / / m e m b e r s . a o l . c o m / b i c d a n c e Islam and Islamic countries runs from the 9th to 17th centuries are used to exhibition from its own collection, in 22 April – 2 May 1999 February – July 1999. explore Islamic artistic traditions. particular ceramics. Other objects • Istanbul Oriental Ensemble with Burhan 30. April – 8. May 1999 Themes include the forms and functions illustrating Islamic art. Ö ç a l • XIV. Black International Cinema S I N G A P O R E of the works of art, the role of Interdisciplinary, Intercultural calligraphy, the use of figurative Museum of Ethnology 20 – 30 October 1999 • Film-/Video-Festival Berlin, Germany Asian Civilisations Museum decoration, and the meaning of Willemskade 25, • Turkish popstar Sezen Aksu & the Dutch & U.S.A., focuses on the African 39 Armenian Street abstract designs. 3016 DM Rotterdam Willem Breuker Kollektief process of liberation; its search for its Singapore 179939 tel: 31 10 4112201 own identity; its path towards January 23, 1999 – August 8, 1999 fax: 31 10 4118331 R A S A political healing methods, and the From November 1997 • Masterworks of Indian Painting III. On Netwerk Non-Western music results gained by these approaches. • Calligraphy from the Tareq Rajab view is a changing selection of 16th- • Due to renovations, the museum will be Pauwstraat 13a It explores these themes through the Museum Kuwait. The Qur'an was central 19th-century Indian paintings from the closed until October 2000. It will reopen 3512 TG Utrecht media of to the development of the art of Mughal Dynasty (1526-1858) and the with a permanent exhibition of Islamic tel: 31 30 2319676 • film, video, music, lectures, seminars, beautiful writing. Explored in this Rajput courts, who controled northern art from its own collection. fax: 31 30 2315507 dance and theatre performances. exhibition are the various scripts that and western India between the e-mail: M a r i e k e v a n t e l l i n g e n @ r a s a . n l developed over the centuries and also 1 7 t h-19th centuries. Thermenmuseum Heerlen UNITED KINGDOM calligraphy as a decorative motif on Coriovallumstraat 9 14 May 1999-23 May 1999 various media like ceramics and Sackler Gallery 6411 CA Heerlen, • Rabita Andalousa (Arabo-andalusian British Museum m e t a l w o r k . tel: 31 45 5604581 music), various locations. For details Great Russell Street Through 4 April 1999 please contact Rasa, attn: Marieke van L o n d o n UNITED STATES • The Jesuits and the Grand Mogul: 3 October 1998 – January 2000 T e l l i n g e n tel: +44 171 6361555 Renaissance Art at the Imperial Court of • The Bathhouse. Bathing Cultures in East open: Monday 11-16:50; Tuesday, The Art Museum India (1580-1630). It looks at the and West. F R A N C E Friday, Saturday 10-16:50; Sunday Princeton University influence of Western style on Mughal 1 4 : 3 0 - 1 7 : 5 0 Princeton, New Jersey artists in the 16th century. Galerie Fi Beiti Institut du Monde Arabe 0 8 5 4 4 - 1 0 1 8 Prinsengracht 157-hs 1, Rue des Fosses St-Bernard, 22 October – 21 February 1999 tel: +1 609 258-3787/3788 K U W A I T 1015 DR Amsterdam 75236 Paris • Art and Artists: The Tunisian culture tel: 31 20 626 44 32 tel: 33 1 40 51 39 60/ 33 1 0 Autumn 1999 or Spring 2000 L e c t u r e s / S o c i e t i e s fax: 31 20 626 44 33 open: Daily 10am – 6pm, Saturday Egee Art Consultancy • Islamic Art e-mail: g a l e r i e @ f i b e i t i . d e m o n . n l until 8pm. Closed on Monday. 9 Chelsea Manor Studios Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah Flood Street County Museum of Art Ramadi Theatre 30 January – 6 March 1999 22 October 1998 – 30 April 1999 London SW3 5SR 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Midan Hawalli • Persheng Warzandegan. Paintings and • Liban, l’autre rive. Exhibition on tel: 44 171 351 6818 L o s Angeles, CA 90036 K u w a i t C e r a m i c s Lebanon, with 400 objects, icluding fax: 44 171 376 3510 tel: +1 323 857-6000. tel: 965 565 3006 pieces as the sarcophagus of King url: www.egeeart.com Witte de With, Center for Ahiram. During the exhibition, a ‘saison open: Monday – Saturday 2-6pm 25 February 1999 – 17 May 1999 October 1998 – May 1999 Contemporary Art Libanaise’ is organized featuring music, • Letters in Gold: Ottoman Calligraphy • A weekly series of public Witte de Withstraat 50, dance, theatre, film and lectures. C o n t i n u i n g from the Sakip Sabanci Collection, presentations on Islamic art and art 3012 BR Rotterdam • Contemporary and antique Middle I s t a n b u l . history by Kuwaiti and international tel: 31 10 4110144 Hassan Massoudy Atelier Eastern Art • Draws upon one of Turkey’s leading s p e a k e r s . fax: 31 10 4117924 18 Quai de la Marne private collections to display 70 e-mail: w d w @ w x s . n l 75019 Paris Sony Gallery exceptional examples of Ottoman-era open: Tuesday through Sunday, tel/fax: 33 1 42 03 15 51 25 Connaught Street Marble Arch calligraphy. The Agenda is produced by the Centre of 1 1 a m - 6 p m open: Every last Saturday of t h e London W2 Islamic Culture in Rotterdam, The month 2pm – 7pm. Other days by tel/fax: +44 171 262 9101 Netherlands. Please send all information 28 January – 21 March 1999 telephone appointment. url: w w w . s o n i g a l l e r y . c o m with regard to activities related to culture • From/To is an exhibit in which Palestine and art in the Islamic World to: is put on the map. The project includes January – June 1999 C o n t i n u i n g anthropology, cinema, geography, • Original Calligraphies, Lithographies • International contemporary art The Centre of Islamic Culture history, photography, etc. especially from the Indo-Pak P.O. Box 361 subcontinent and the Arab World 3000 AJ Rotterdam The N e t h e r l a n d s fax: 31 10 4118331

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Box 9515 Rue de Chevreuse 4, 5006 Paris, URL: h t t p : / / w w w - o i . u c h i c a g o . e d u D C 20036-2882, USA D e v e l o p m e n t 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands F r a n c e Tel.: +1 202 785 1141 P.O. Box 80140, 3508 TC Utrecht, Tel.: +31 71 527 2295 / Fax: … 2638 Tel.: +33 1 4410 8484 Newsletter Centre for the Study Fax: +1 202 331 8861 T h e N e t h e r l a n d s E-mail: k i t l v @ r u l l e t . l e i d e n u n i v . n l Fax: +33 1 4410 8450 of Islam and Muslim-Christian URL: h t t p : / / w w w . m i d e a s t i . o r g / m e i Tel.: +31 30 253 4815 URL: h t t p :/w w w . c e r i - s c i e n c e s p o . c o m R e l a t i o n s Fax: +31 30 253 7482 ESCAS Newsletter Centre for the Study of Islam and E-mail: c e r e s @ f s w . r u u . n l The European Society for Central Asian The Newsletter of the Islamic Christian-Muslim Relations S t u d i e s Legal Studies Program Selly Oak Colleges, CMENAS Newsletter Asst. Prof. Mag. Dr. Gabriele at Harvard Law School Birmingham B29 6LQ, UK Center for Middle Eastern and R a s u l y-P a l e c z e k , Pound Hall 501, Harvard Law School, Tel.: +44 121 472 4231 N o r t h African Studies Institute for Ethnology, Cultural and Cambridge, MA 02138, USA Fax: +44 121 472 8852 University of Michigan Social Anthropology, University of Tel.: +1 617 496 3941 E-mail: i s l a m @ s e l l y o a k . a c . u k 1080 South University, Suite 4640, Vienna, A-1010 Vienna, Universitätsstr. Fax: +1 617 496 2707 Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1106, USA 7/IV, Austria E-mail: i l s p @ l a w . h a r v a r d . e d u Tel.: +1 734 764 0350 Tel.: +43 1 4277 485 06, Fax: … 94 85 URL: h t t p : / / w w w . l a w . h a r v a r d . e d u / Fax: +1 734 764 8523 E-mail: g a b r i e l e . r a s u l y @ u n i v i e . a c . a t P r o g r a m s / I L S P I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9 Info Pages 47 Academic Meetings

AAS meeting in Boston Iran at the Threshold of the New International Congress of Mulla Second International Malaysian Beyond the Border: Panel on South Asian Muslims Millennium. The 17th Annual Sadra (Iran) Studies Conference a N e w Framework for Date: 11-3-99 to 14-3-99 CIRA Conference Date: 23-5-99 to 27-5-99 Date: 2-8-99 to 4-8-99 Understanding the Dynamism Venue: Massachusetts Institute of Date: 23-4-99 to 24-4-99 Congress Site: h t t p : / / w w w . i r a n p a c . n e t . i r / Venue: Institute of Postgraduate Studies o f Muslim Societies Technology, Boston Venue: Boston, Massachusetts, USA s a d r a / i n d e x . h t m and Research, University of Malaya, Date: 8-10-99 to 10-10-99 Omar Khalidi. Aga Khan Program Kamran Dadkhah M u l l a s a d r a @ w w w . d c i . c o . i r Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Venue: Kyoto International Conference f o r Islamic Architecture Department of Economics, Foo Ah Hiang Hall, Kyoto, Japan Massachusetts Institute of Northeastern University Sudan: Dilemmas and Prospects. Institute of Postgraduate Studies Islamic Area Studies Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Boston, MA 02115 USA Sudan Studies Association a n dR e s e a r c h 199 International Symposium Room 7-238, Cambridge, MA 02139- URL: h t t p : / / w w w . d a c . n e u . e d u / c i r a Annual Conference University of Malaya C o m m i t t e e 4307 USA Date: 4-6-99 to 6-6-99 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia The University of Tokyo, Bungakubu Tel: +1 617 258 5597 Social Justice, Social Welfare Venue: Medford, MA Tel: +60 603 7593606 Annexe, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Fax: +1 617 253 9331 and Praxis in Islamic Societies in Ann. M. Lesch Fax: +60 603 7567252 Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan o k h a l i d i ! @ m i t . e d u A f r i c a Villanova University, Political Science M a s s a 2 2 @ m a i l c i t y . c o m Tel: + 81 3 5684 3285 Date: 23-4-99 to 24-4-99 Department, 800 Lancaster Ave., H l f o o @ u m c s d . u m . e d u . m y Fax: + 81 3 5684 3285 The First Arab Gulf Conference Venue: Department of Asian and African Villanova PA 19085, USA URL: h t t p : / / i p s p . u m . e d u . m y i - i n r @ l . u - t o k y o . a c . j p On Folklore and Oral History Studies, University of Helsinki Fax: +1 610 519 7487 U R L : Date: 23-3-99 to 25-3-99 P.O. Box 59 (Unioninkatu 38 B) A l e s c h @ e m a i l . v i l l . e d u h t t p : / / m e m b e r s . x o o m . c o m / P S S M M A S International Interdisciplinary Venue: Al-Ain Intercontinental 00014 University of Helsinki S A Conference on Language, United Arab Emirates Tel: + 358 9 708 4770 The Druzes: 1000 Years of Thought and Reality: Science, Zayed Center for Heritage and History h o l g e r . w e i s s @ h e l s i n k i . f i History, Reform, and Tradition The 11th International Congress Religion and Philosophy Tel: 97150 6422492/9713 615166 Date: 4-6-99 to 5-6-99 of Turkish Art (ICTA-XI) Date: 1-8-2000 to 4-8-2000 Fax: 9712 657757 American Research Center in Venue: The Institute of Druze Studies Date: 30-8-99 to 4-9-99 Venue: Calcutta, India N a b o o d a h @ u a e u . a c . a e Egypt Annual Meeting ( I D S ) Venue: Chair of Islamic Languages and Contact: Dr Chandana Chakrabarti N a b o o d a h @ q m a r . u a e u . a c . a e Date: 23-4-99 to 25-4-99 P.O. Box 641025 Cultures, Utrecht University Elon College Campus Box 2336 Venue: Oriental Institute, University of Los Angeles, CA 90064, USA Drift 15, 3512 BR Utrecht Elon College, N.C. 27244, USA The Sixth Annual Central Chicago, USA Fax: +1 310 474 5900 The Netherlands C h a k r a b a @ n u m e n . e l o n . e d u Eurasian Studies Conference Tel: +1 212 529 6661 URL: h t t p : / / w w w . i d s p u b l i c a t i o n s . c o m I C T A - X I @ l e t . u u . n l h t t p : / / w w w . e l o n . e d u / c h a k r a b a a t Indiana University Fax: +1 212 529 6856 i d s @ i d s p u b l i c a t i o n s . c o m U R L : Deadline for proposals: 1 - 4 - 9 9 Date: 2 7 - 3 - 9 9 h t t p : / / w w w . a r c e . o r g h t t p : / / w w w . l e t . u u . n l / o o s t e r s / i c t a 0 . h t Venue: Indiana University A r c e . c e n t e r @ n y u . e d u Mutualities: Britain and Islam Goodbody Hall 157 Promoting Muslim arts in the UK The Qajar Epoch: Culture, Art & Indiana University Mutualities: Britain and Islam July 1999 Architecture in Qajar Persia MESA Annual Bloomington, IN 47405 Date: 28-4-99 to 30-4-99 Venue: ICA, London (tbc) Date: 2-9-99 to 4-9-99 Tel: +1 812 855 9510 Venue: Royal Commonwealth Society Promoter: Rachel Abedi, Visiting Arts, Venue: School of Oriental and African M e e t i n g s : Fax: +1 812 855 7500 18 Northumberland Avenue, London 1 1 Portland Place, London W1N 4EJ, Studies, London, UK a c e s @ i n d i a n a . e d u SW1, UK U K C/o PO Box 2256, London W1A 1YS Promoter: Dr Peter Clark OBE, Special Tel.: +44 171 389 3019 Fax: +44 171 431 7923 1 9 9 9 British Association of South Adviser, Middle East and North Africa Fax: +44 171 389 3016 i n f o @ i r a n h e r i t a g e . c o m Date: 19-11-99 to 22-11-99 Asian Studies (BASAS) Annual The British Council, 10 Spring Gardens i n d e p e n d e n c e @ e a s y n e t . c o . u k Venue: Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Conference 1999: Norm and London SW1A 2BN, UK International Association for the Washington DC, USA D i v e r g e n c e Tel.: +44 171-389 4029 Asean Inter-University Seminar History of Religions (IAHR) Date: 7-4-99 to 9-4-99 Fax: +44 171-389 4758 on Social Development XVIII Quinquennial Congress 2 0 0 0 Venue: University of Derby, UK URL: h t t p : / / w w w . b r i t c o u n . o r g / Southeast Asia into the 21st Century: Date: 5-8-2000 to 12-8-2000 Date: 16-11-2000 to 19-11-2000 Professor Jamal Malik, Department of v i s i t i n g a r t s / i s l a m / Critical Transitions, Continuity and Venue: International Convention Centre, Venue: Disney’s Coronado Springs Religious Studies C h a n g e Durban, South Africa Resort, Orlando, FL, USA University of Derby, Mickleover, Derby Uzbekistan in the 21st Century Date: 16-6-99 to 18-6-99 Prof. Pratap Kumar DE3 5GX,UK Date: 12-5-99 to 13-5-99 Venue: CS Thani Hotel, Pattani, Thailand Department of Science of Religion, J . M a l i k @ d e r b y . a c . u k Venue: Samarkand State Institute of Asian Seminar Secretariat University of Durban-Westville, Private Ahmed Andrews, Religious Resource Foreign Languages (SSIFL) Dept. of Sociology Bag X54001, Durban, 4000 South and Research Centre, University of Information: Dr Reuel Hanks National University of Singapore A f r i c a AAR/SBL Annual Derby, Mickleover, Derby DE3 5GX, UK Dept. of Geography, Oklahoma State 19 Kent Ridge Crescent kumar@pixie. udw.ac.za [email protected] University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA Singapore 119260 General Secretary of the IAHR, Prof. M e e t i n g s : h t t p : / / w w w . b r a d . a c . u k / a c a d / s e s / b a s a s Fax: +1 405 744 5620 Tel: +73 335093/331620/336096 Armin W. Geertz c 9 9 . h t m l R h a n k s @ o k w a y . o k s t a t e . e d u Department of the Study of Religion, Iran under Reza Pahlavi 1921- University of Aarhus, Main Building, 1 9 9 9 14th Annual Middle East History The Fourth Annual Midwest 1941. New Perspectives on State DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark Date: 20-11-99 to 23-11-99 and Theory Conference Conference on Asian History and and Society g e e r t z @ t e o l o g i . a a u . d k Boston, Massachusetts Date: 10-4-99 to 11-4-99 C u l t u r e Date: 2 5 - 6 - 9 9 URL: h t t p : / / w w w . u d w . a c . z a / i a h r / Venue: University of Chicago, Center for Date: 14-5-99 to 16-5-99 Venue: Brunei Gallery, SOAS 2 0 0 0 Middle Eastern Studies Venue: The Ohio State University, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square European Conference of Iranian Date: 18-11-2000 to 21-11-2000 Scott Lucas & Rochdi Younsi Columbus, Ohio London WC1H 0XG, UK S t u d i e s Nashville, Tennessee MEHTW Coordinators Matthew E. Keith or Erica Swarts Tel: +44 171 323 6164 Paris, Sept. 1999 Center for Middle Eastern Studies, The The Midwest Conference on Asian Fax: +44 171 323 6064 Monde Iranien University of Chicago History and Culture S C 4 5 @ s o a s . a c . u k CNRS – 27, rue Paul Bert 94, 204 IVRY- 5828 South University Avenue, 106 Dulles Hall sur-Seine, France Chicago, IL 60637, USA 230 West 17th Avenue Foreign Policies of Middle East Tel: +33 0 1 49 60 40 05 s c l u c a s @ m i d w a y . u c h i c a g o . e d u Columbus, Ohio 43210 USA S t u d i e s Fax: +33 0 1 45 21 94 19 Fax: +1 614 292 2282 Date: 12-7-99 to 15-7-99 i r a n @ d r l . c n r s . f r International Congress on k e i t h . 5 8 @ o s u . e d u Venue: St. Andrews, Scotland Learning and Education in the s w a r t s . 6 @ o s u . e d u Prof. Raymond Hinnebusch The thirteenth Turkish Congress Ottoman World URL: h t t p : / / w w w . h i s t o r y . o h i o - Dept. of International Relations of History Date: 12-4-99 to 15-4-99 s t a t e . e d u / p e o p l e / k e i t h . 5 8 / m c a h c University of St. Andrews Date: 4-10-99 to 8-10-99 Venue: Besiktas, Turkey St. Andrews, Fife, KY16 9AL, Scotland, Loction: Ancara (or Bursa), Turkey IRCICA, P.O. Box 24 The Resurgence of Islam in U K Prof. Dr. Yusuf Halacoglu 80692 Besiktas, Istanbul, Turkey Theory and Practice: The R h 1 0 @ s t - a n d r e w s . a c . u k President of Turkish Historical Society Fax: +90 212 258 4365 Prospect of Islam in the Third Turk Tarih Kurumu I R C I C A @ i h l a s . n e t . t r M i l l e n n i u m Middle East Encounters with Kizilay Sokak No.1 Date: 21-5-99 to 23-5-99 European Enlightenment 06100 Sihhiye-Ankara-Turkey Venue: Montreal, Canada Indonesian Date: 26-7-99 to 31-7-99 Tel: +90 312 310 23 68 Academic Society XXI Dublin, Republic of Ireland Fax: +90 312 310 16 98 y w a h y u @ p o - b o x . m c g i l l . c a , Shelly Ekhtiar. Dept. of English [email protected] for English SUNY Oswego, Oswego NY 13126 [email protected] for French e k h t i a r @ o s w e g o . e d u 4 8 I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9 C o n t e n t s

R E S E A R C H P U B L I C A T I O N S Peter Mandaville Chandra Muzaffar Digital Islam: Changing the Boundaries Power Struggle in Malaysia: the Anwar Crisis o f Religious Knowledge ? 1 3 Aysha Parla interviews The Encyclopaedia of Islam 1 L i l a A b u-L u g h o d of the Turkish Religious Foundation Jay Willoughby Feminism, Nationalism, Modernity 4 0 I S I M The Cham Muslims of Vietnam 2 8 1 4 Corien W. Hoek Walter Armbrust Shifting Sands. Social-economic Develop- Dick Douwes Theodore Gabriel Mass Culture in Egypt ment in the al-Sharqiyah Region, Oman E d i t o r i a l The Sufi Tariqas of the Lakshadweep Islands, 2 9 4 0 2 I n d i a Charles Kurzman 1 5 Sheila Carapico Liberal Islam: Not a Contradiction in Terms M i s c e l l a n e o u s Researching Civic Activism 4 1 2 Adeeb Khalid in the Arab World Jadidism in Central Asia: Islam and 3 0 Jan Just Witkam Professorial Fellowship Modernity in the Russian Empire Manuscripta Indonesia: 2 1 6 Richard C. Martin Basic Tools of Research Getting Beyond Fundamentalism in Islamic 4 2 Dick Douwes Ziba Mir-Hosseini S t u d i e s I S I M Opening Day The Making of Divorce Iranian Style 3 1 CONFERENCE REPORTS 3 1 7 RESEARCH PROJECTS Amina Alaoui Evert Schreur Laurence Michalak & Renate Holub 4 National Heritage: Cairo Style UC Berkeley Symposium 'Islam and the 1 8 Samina Yasmeen Changing Identity of Europe' ISIM Advanced Degree Programme Women as Citizens in Australia 4 3 4 Valerie J. Hoffman 3 2 Saints and Sheikhs in Modern Egypt INF O P AGES POLICY DEBATE 1 9 Steven Vertovec Transnational Communities Rahal Boubrik 3 3 Mutualities: Britain and Islam Nico Landman Traditional ‘Men of Religion’ and Cultural and Arts Programme Imams in the Netherlands: P o l i t i c a l Power in Mauritania Randi Deguilhem 4 4 H o m e-m a d e Better than Import ? 2 0 Seeking the Individual in the Mediterranean 5 Muslim World Art and Culture Agenda Katherine E. Hoffman 3 4 4 5 GENERAL ISSUES Singing the Distance: Gendered Experiences N e w s l e t t e r s of Migration in Anti-Atlas Community Song Tazim Kassam 4 6 2 1 The Study of Islam: American Academy of Abdou Filali-Ansary R e l i g i o n Academic Meetings The Debate on Secularism in Contemporary Abdulkader Tayob 3 5 4 7 Societies of Muslims Transitional Islamic Identities in Southern 6 A f r i c a Georges Khalil 2 2 The Working Group Modernity and Islam Olivier Roy 3 6 The Radicalization of Sunni Conservative Elizabeth Frierson F u n d a m e n t a l i s m The Debatability of Islam in Late-Ottoman Richard C. Martin 7 Serials and Censorship Consortium for Islamic Religious Studies 2 3 3 7 Joe Stork

Human Rights Watch and the Muslim World M i losˇ Mendel Peter van der Veer 8 Beginnings of Muslim Religious Community Research Centre Religion and Society in Former Czechoslovakia 3 8 REGIONAL ISSUES 2 4 A P P O I N T M E N T S Jocelyne Cesari The International Institute for t h e Study of Islam in the Modern Juan R.I. Cole Pluralism in the Context of Globalization: World (ISIM) promotes and The Genesis of the Baha'i Faith and European Muslim Youth Marcel Kurpershoek conducts interdisciplinary M i d d l e Eastern Modernity 2 5 Chair of Arabic Literature and Politics, 9 research on contemporary social Leiden University and intellectual trends and Monique Renaerts 3 9 movements in Muslim societies Katy Nebhan Elections in the Muslim Community and communities. It emerged from Australian Muslim Destinies o f B e l g i u m Johan G.J. Ter Haar the need to further research on 1 0 2 6 Chair of Persian Language and Literature developments of great intellectual, and the Cultural History of Iran, social, and political importance in Thomas M. Mckenna Halima Kassim L e i d e n U n i v e r s i t y t h e Muslim world. The ISIM’s research approaches are thus Armed Separatism and Muslim Autonomy Muslims and Missionaries of Trinidad 3 9 expressly interdisciplinary and i n the Southern Philippines 2 7 1 1 comparative, covering a large geographic range which includes North Africa and the Middle East, Margaret Kartomi Sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia, Seudati Inong: the Female Form of South and Southeast Asia, and M a r t i a l Art Genre in Aceh (Muslim communities in) the West. 1 2 Broad in its scope, the ISIM brings together all areas of expertise.