C L O S E R

Martyrdom Operations As Meaningful Violence

Posted on June 29th, 2014 by martijn.
Categories: Activism, Headline, International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization, Research International, Society & Politics in the Middle East.

Guest Author: Pieter Nanninga

From Bali to Bagdad and from Nairobi to New York: jihadis have carried out hundreds of suicide attacks over the last one and a half decade. Young people from dozens of countries, including the Netherlands according to the AIVD, have sought martyrdom by blowing themselves up, killing thousands of people on their way.

The common perception is that it must psychopaths or chanceless dropouts who commit these acts. Sane persons would not do such a thing, so they must be mentally disturbed, brainwashed by manipulative organisations or tired of earthly life and attracted by the pleasures of Paradise. However, scholars have convincingly refuted these ideas over the last one and a half decade. Most suicide bombers are not psychopaths. They are not poor, uneducated or unemployed as compared to their surrounding societies, and their motivations cannot be compared to ordinary suicides. The label “suicide attacks” is highly misleading: the actions are not merely a spectacular way to escape life. Instead, jihadi supporters of the practice label them as “martyrdom operations” (amaliyyat istishhadiyya) – the insiders’ term I will use for the purpose of this article. But why, then, do these rather ordinary people commit these acts? What do martyrdom operations mean to them?

In this post, I will explore the meanings of martyrdom operations for the perpetrators themselves. I will focus on the martyrdom operations carried out by al-Qaeda, by which I mean the al-Qaeda of Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, often dubbed “al-Qaeda Central”. More precisely, I will focus on the meanings that are given to al-Qaeda’s attacks in the martyrdom videos of its media group al-Sahab (“The Clouds”). These videos, the first of which was released in 2001, have been among the most extensive and professional media releases of jihadis until today. They typically include a martyr’s farewell message, his biography, statements by al-Qaeda leaders, Qur’an recitations, anasheed and scenes in which voice-overs comment on the state of the umma and the importance of jihad and martyrdom. These elements are sophisticatedly edited together, resulting in lengthy, documentary-like productions about al-Qaeda’s martyrdom operations.

These sources shed light on the meanings of al-Qaeda’s violence for the perpetrators and their sympathisers. They show that martyrdom operations are not senseless acts of terror. Instead, I argue, they can be better understood as meaningful social practices, as actions that are meaningful and therefore reasonable for the actors involved. Let me be clear, I do not justify, let alone condone, these actions. Yet I believe that, in addition to studying the profiles of the perpetrators, insights into the meanings of martyrdom operations for the actors involved is crucial to understand the phenomenon.

The state of the umma

The picture that emerges from al-Sahab’s videos is that there is a global conflict going on between the worldwide community of Muslims (umma) and an alliance of enemies including “crusaders and Jews”, “apostate” regimes in the Muslim world and supposed heretics such as Shia Muslims. In the eyes of jihadis, these enemies have been able to gain the upper hand in the struggle because Muslims have neglected God’s commands. They have become too attached to their earthly lives to fulfil the duty of jihad and make sacrifices for their brothers and sisters. As a result, the umma has become weak. Islam is disgraced, Muslims are oppressed and humiliated and their lands are defiled by infidel forces.

Whereas most Muslims have turned their backs to their suffering brothers and sisters in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, Syria and elsewhere, jihadis see themselves as the ones standing up for the umma. They recurrently indicate in al-Sahab’s videos that, at one point in their lives, they became touched by the fate of their fellow believers and decided to take action. In contrast to others, they were prepared to abandon their luxurious lives, revive the obligation of jihad and devote themselves to the struggle for the sake of the umma. In their view, martyrdom is the ultimate expression of their struggles and sacrifices. As such, it provides the solution for today’s problems. Once, the umma embraces the message of jihad through martyrdom, victory will be achieved, they believe.

Introduction of al-Sahab’s film Jihad wa-istishhad (Jihad and martyrdom) from 2008 about Abu al-Hasan who carried out a martyrdom operation in Afghanistan.

Why is martyrdom considered so important in this respect? To answer this question, I will provide three clusters of meanings that are given to martyrdom operations in al-Sahab’s videos: raids in the way of God; honour and dignity; and sacrifice and purity.

Raids in the way of God

According to jihadis, the solution to today’s problems is returning to the “pure Islam” of the righteous predecessors (al-salaf al-salih): the first three generations of Muslims that should be followed as closely as possible in all spheres of life. Just as Muhammad and his companions had done when they left Mecca for Medina in 622, Muslims should not resign themselves to oppression, jihadis claim. They should migrate to places where they can prepare for battle, practice ribat (guarding the borders of the Muslim lands) and wage jihad after the example of the Prophet. Then, they too, will return victoriously in the end, just as Muhammad did by conquering Mecca some eight years after he had left.

Martyrdom operations are perceived along the same lines, as becomes apparent from al-Sahab’s releases. After the example of the salaf, martyrdom seekers do not “cling heavily to the earth” (Q. 9:38), but renounce earthly life while longing for the hereafter. They desire martyrdom just as Muhammad had done, as is described in a frequently quoted hadith in which he says that he wished to be martyred and then made alive again, so that he could be martyred once more. Hence, despite the controversial character of martyrdom operations in the Muslim world, the actions are perceived as a continuation of the practices of the Prophet. They are designated as “raids” (ghazawat, sg. ghazwa), just like the raids of the Muhammad and his companions, and can be understood as re-enactments of the battles of the salaf. When Muslims will awake from their slumber and follow the example of the Prophet like jihadis do, victory will be achieved, they believe. Jihad through martyrdom will bring about triumph, just as it has done in the first century after the hijra.

Honour and dignity

It is not just by appropriating and reinterpreting early-Islamic traditions that the meanings of martyrdom operations are shaped. Another theme central to the discourse of the martyrs and their supporters is honour and dignity. They are far from exceptional in this case. Research on violence has shown that feelings of humiliation and shame (i.e. the violation of honour) have often fuelled violence. These feelings can be caused by direct personal insult, but also by the (perceived) dishonouring of the group or community the individual identifies him- or herself with, such as the family or the religious community (i.e. “humiliation by proxy”). In these instances, violence can be experienced as redeeming the honour of the insulted individual or community.

As noted above, the protagonists of al-Sahab’s videos perceive the umma as weak and humiliated. They appear to be personally affected by the suffering of their brothers and sisters and indicate that they see themselves as the ones standing up for the umma. In his farewell message, one of the 9/11 bombers points at the suffering of the Palestinians and Iraqis, the “American rule in the Land of the Two Holy Places” (Saudi Arabia) and the atrocities committed against Muslims in Chechnya and Kashmir. He continues: “I take no pleasure in a life of humiliation, and my heart has demanded from me that I live honourably (‘aziza) in compliance with my Lord’s religion.” Therefore, he states, he left his family “to avenge my brothers blood” and “to die with honour.” Along these lines, martyrdom operations are regularly associated with terms such as ‘izza (“honour”, “power”) and karama (“dignity”, “honour”, “respect”). The attacks are seen as honourable as they express that jihadists do not acquiesce in the humiliating situation of the umma, but are willing to make sacrifices to revenge its disgrace. The martyrdom operations humiliate the enemy just as the enemy has humiliated the Muslim community, and therefore they redeem the honour of the umma. They “bring an end to the age of cowardice and weakness” and “restore the dignity of the umma”, the perpetrators believe.

Sacrifice and purity

A third cluster of terms frequently associated with martyrdom operations is sacrifice and purity. These terms too, are often connected to religiously motivated violence. As several scholars have noted, fundamentalist movements usually uphold strong boundaries between “good” and “evil”, between the own group and the “polluted” outside world. This typically implies the view that the purity of the own group should be safeguarded. The impure should be avoided and, once it has penetrated the group, removed. Such a desire for purification can result in violence to eradicate the source of pollution. More precisely, it often results in sacrificial violence. Ritualised bloodshed is experienced as removing pollution and cleansing the community from defilement, thus restoring the boundaries between “good” and “evil”.

These insights can also be applied to al-Qaeda’s martyrdom operations. The umma is perceived as defiled. The “crusader forces” roaming the Muslim world have desecrated the lands of Islam, which are in need of purification. The ritualised self-sacrifice of the bombers accomplishes this. According to early-Islamic traditions, those who are martyred in the way of God are inherently pure. Their blood symbolised this status, which is why the bodies of martyrs, in contrast to those of other deceased, should not be ritually cleansed. Along these lines, martyrdom seekers too, become emblems of purity through their actions, their supporters believe. Yet it is not just the men themselves who are considered pure from their moment of their death, they also purify their surroundings: the umma and the lands of Islam. For instance, about an attack in Saudi Arabia is said that the blood of the martyrs “purifies the Land of the Two Holy Sanctuaries from the defilement of the crusader and Zionist occupation.” Hence, the sacrificial blood of the martyrs cleanses the community and restores the umma’s purity by washing away the pollution caused by the “infidels” and “apostates”.

The meanings of martyrdom

The meanings given to martyrdom operations vary in each context. The videos of al-Sahab therefore not represent the meanings of martyrdom operations for jihadis. Yet the themes we have encountered in al-Sahab’s videos also frequently appear in other sources. Terms such as honour, dignity and sacrifice also often return in blogs, posts and videos in which fighters in Syria and Iraq celebrate the martyrdom of their comrades. The above discussed meanings given to martyrdom therefore also tell us something about other cases.

They learn us that, for the perpetrators, martyrdom operations are not in the first place a means towards victory on the battlefield. Rather, they are considered crucial as they embody victory in terms of honour, dignity and purity. In addition, they learn us that the message of jihad through martyrdom as expressed in al-Sahab’s videos can be attractive for young people who have become touched by the fate of their brothers and sisters. The message offers them a framework to make sense of the world around them and to cope with feelings of humiliation and shame. It provides them with a sense of agency, a way to assist their fellow believers and to contribute to the restoration the glory of the umma. And it offers them empowerment, a crucial role as the defenders of the umma who redeem its honour, restore its dignity and purify its lands in the footsteps of the Prophet.

Therefore, martyrdom operations should not be seen as “senseless violence” performed by dropouts who are brainwashed by a barbaric, medieval ideology. They can better be seen as meaningful social practices for the actors involved. Searching for martyrdom in Syria, Iraq and other arenas of jihad can be an attractive and thoroughly modern way for young people to give meaning to their lives and deaths.

Pieter Nanninga carried out his PhD research at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. Since 2011, he is attached to the Department of Middle Eastern Studies at the same university, where he will occupy a position as Assistant Professor from August 2014. He teaches on politics, culture and religion in de modern Middle East and conducts research on jihadism, violence and media. Pieter Nanninga defended his PhD: Jihadism and Suicide Attacks: al-Qaeda, al-Sahab and the Meanings of Martyrdom. This post is based upon his research.

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PhD candidate for the NWO funded research project ‘Forces that bind or divide?’

Posted on October 19th, 2013 by martijn.
Categories: Activism, anthropology, Headline, My Research, Research International.

PhD candidate for the NWO funded research project ‘Forces that bind or divide?’

Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences – Department of Sociology and Anthropology

The Department of Sociology and Anthropology is one of the departments in the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences (FMG). Research and education are carried out by special institutes. The College of Social Sciences (CSS) and the Graduate School for the Social Sciences (GSSS) are responsible for the undergraduate and graduate teaching programmes in the social sciences. Research takes place under the aegis of the Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR), a multidisciplinary research institute, the biggest one of its kind in the Netherlands and possibly in Europe. The broad scope and pluralism of our education and research programmes are inspired by and reflect a strong degree of internationalisation.

The Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research and the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Amsterdam are looking for a PhD candidate who will participate in the research project ‘Forces that bind or divide? Muslim interventions in the public realm 1989 – 2016’, directed by Annelies Moors.

Project description

Conflicts related to the public presence and representation of Islam have had an enormous impact on European societies over the past decades and have triggered debates about the binding or dividing function of religion in secular societies. Whereas most research considers Muslims as the object of integration policies, this proposal focuses on Muslims as active participants and investigates how their interventions produce ties that bind or divide both between Muslims and non-Muslims and amongst Muslims. Have such interventions contributed to development of a Muslim public sphere? To what extent and along which lines is this public sphere fractured? How does such a Muslim public intersect with other religious and non-religious publics? What transformations have taken place in the binding or dividing force of Islam in the Netherlands?

Although men have a far stronger presence in this field than women, the position of Muslim women is one of the main topics of debate. The PhD researcher will focus on the gendered ways of participation in the debates, the gendered construction of particular topics in the debates and in particular the theme of ‘Living Islam’ with its debates and contestations about marriages and dress. Fieldwork will be conducted mainly in the Netherlands but possibly also in Western Europe.

The PhD candidate will be based at the AISSR, which offers a stimulating intellectual environment across several social science disciplines. The PhD student will participate in courses and meet with supervisors and other faculty members to develop a detailed research proposal. The PhD student will contribute to the scholarly activities related to the project, conduct and report ethnographic field research and complete the PhD-thesis.

Tasks

• Conduct ethnographic field research;
• 10% teaching;
• collaborate with supervisors and peers on research and publications;
• write a PhD thesis and articles to be submitted to refereed journals;
• maintaining contact with societal partner organization (ImagineIC) and our societal network;
• participate in the AISSR PhD program;
• participate in conferences, workshops, seminars and other scholarly activities.

Requirements

Candidates will have the following credentials:

• a completed MA degree in socio-cultural anthropology or closely related discipline;
• knowledge of the theoretical debates in the fields of Islam in Europe, gender, (social) media and/or activism;
• knowledge of recent developments among Muslims in Europe; in particular the Netherlands;
• demonstrated ability to write academic texts;
• demonstrated ability to conduct ethnographic research;
• strong social skills and willingness and ability to work collegially with other members of the research team and participate actively in the activities;
• excellent written and spoken Dutch and English. Knowledge of other languages is an advantage.

Further information

For any additional information, contact senior researcher:

• Martijn de Koning

Appointment

The full-time appointment will be for a period of four years (12 months plus a further 36 months contingent on a satisfactory performance during the first
year), starting 1 January 2014.

The gross monthly salary will be €2,083 in the first year and €2,664 in the fourth year, in accordance with the Dutch salary scales for PhD candidates.
Secondary benefits at Dutch universities are attractive and include 8% holiday pay and an 8.3% end of year bonus.

Job application

Applications must include, in a single PDF file:

• a curriculum vitae;
• a motivation letter (maximum 400 words);
• a pre-liminary note on preferred research themes and sites (maximum 400 words);
• names and contact details of three references;
• as separate files: two writing samples (thesis and/or essay or and/or article) which provide evidence of writing, analytical and theoretical skills.

All correspondence will be in English. Applications must be sent as e-mail attachments to
application-soca-fmg@uva.nl before 15 November 2013. E-mail message subject lines and attachment names must consist of the text ‘Muslim Interventions PhD applicant’s-last-name’.

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PhD candidate for the NWO funded research project 'Forces that bind or divide?'

Posted on October 19th, 2013 by martijn.
Categories: Activism, anthropology, Headline, My Research, Research International.

PhD candidate for the NWO funded research project ‘Forces that bind or divide?’

Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences – Department of Sociology and Anthropology

The Department of Sociology and Anthropology is one of the departments in the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences (FMG). Research and education are carried out by special institutes. The College of Social Sciences (CSS) and the Graduate School for the Social Sciences (GSSS) are responsible for the undergraduate and graduate teaching programmes in the social sciences. Research takes place under the aegis of the Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR), a multidisciplinary research institute, the biggest one of its kind in the Netherlands and possibly in Europe. The broad scope and pluralism of our education and research programmes are inspired by and reflect a strong degree of internationalisation.

The Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research and the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Amsterdam are looking for a PhD candidate who will participate in the research project ‘Forces that bind or divide? Muslim interventions in the public realm 1989 – 2016’, directed by Annelies Moors.

Project description

Conflicts related to the public presence and representation of Islam have had an enormous impact on European societies over the past decades and have triggered debates about the binding or dividing function of religion in secular societies. Whereas most research considers Muslims as the object of integration policies, this proposal focuses on Muslims as active participants and investigates how their interventions produce ties that bind or divide both between Muslims and non-Muslims and amongst Muslims. Have such interventions contributed to development of a Muslim public sphere? To what extent and along which lines is this public sphere fractured? How does such a Muslim public intersect with other religious and non-religious publics? What transformations have taken place in the binding or dividing force of Islam in the Netherlands?

Although men have a far stronger presence in this field than women, the position of Muslim women is one of the main topics of debate. The PhD researcher will focus on the gendered ways of participation in the debates, the gendered construction of particular topics in the debates and in particular the theme of ‘Living Islam’ with its debates and contestations about marriages and dress. Fieldwork will be conducted mainly in the Netherlands but possibly also in Western Europe.

The PhD candidate will be based at the AISSR, which offers a stimulating intellectual environment across several social science disciplines. The PhD student will participate in courses and meet with supervisors and other faculty members to develop a detailed research proposal. The PhD student will contribute to the scholarly activities related to the project, conduct and report ethnographic field research and complete the PhD-thesis.

Tasks

• Conduct ethnographic field research;
• 10% teaching;
• collaborate with supervisors and peers on research and publications;
• write a PhD thesis and articles to be submitted to refereed journals;
• maintaining contact with societal partner organization (ImagineIC) and our societal network;
• participate in the AISSR PhD program;
• participate in conferences, workshops, seminars and other scholarly activities.

Requirements

Candidates will have the following credentials:

• a completed MA degree in socio-cultural anthropology or closely related discipline;
• knowledge of the theoretical debates in the fields of Islam in Europe, gender, (social) media and/or activism;
• knowledge of recent developments among Muslims in Europe; in particular the Netherlands;
• demonstrated ability to write academic texts;
• demonstrated ability to conduct ethnographic research;
• strong social skills and willingness and ability to work collegially with other members of the research team and participate actively in the activities;
• excellent written and spoken Dutch and English. Knowledge of other languages is an advantage.

Further information

For any additional information, contact senior researcher:

• Martijn de Koning

Appointment

The full-time appointment will be for a period of four years (12 months plus a further 36 months contingent on a satisfactory performance during the first
year), starting 1 January 2014.

The gross monthly salary will be €2,083 in the first year and €2,664 in the fourth year, in accordance with the Dutch salary scales for PhD candidates.
Secondary benefits at Dutch universities are attractive and include 8% holiday pay and an 8.3% end of year bonus.

Job application

Applications must include, in a single PDF file:

• a curriculum vitae;
• a motivation letter (maximum 400 words);
• a pre-liminary note on preferred research themes and sites (maximum 400 words);
• names and contact details of three references;
• as separate files: two writing samples (thesis and/or essay or and/or article) which provide evidence of writing, analytical and theoretical skills.

All correspondence will be in English. Applications must be sent as e-mail attachments to
application-soca-fmg@uva.nl before 15 November 2013. E-mail message subject lines and attachment names must consist of the text ‘Muslim Interventions PhD applicant’s-last-name’.

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Religion in the Netherlands – The Rough Data

Posted on January 29th, 2013 by martijn.
Categories: Religion Other, Research International.

Contrary to what some people seem to think, the Netherlands does not have a national census every so many years. We do however have a huge archive that incluces almost every possible statistic you can imagine. Both academic and semi-academic/semi-governmental institutions have since long conducted surveys among people in the Netherlands. One of the most important themes is religion.

R. Eising, G. Kraaykamp, P. Scheepers and P. Thijs, have now published a data guide: Religion in Dutch Society – Documentation of a national survey on religious and secular attitudes and behaviour in 2011-2012:

This Data Guide provides the documentation of the research design, the sampling method, and the variables of the national Dutch survey Religion in Dutch Society 2011-2012 as part of general research program on social and cultural developments in the Netherlands. This cross-sectional survey is a replication and extension of six previous surveys that can be used to ascertain and analyse social trends in Dutch society from 1979-2012.

In 1979 a nation-wide survey called Secularisation and depillarisation in the Netherlands (Secularisering en ontzuiling in Nederland (SON)) was conducted. The aim of this survey was to investigate the influence of church involvement and religious beliefs on nonreligious attitudes and behaviours in contemporary
Dutch society.

Its documentation Religion in Dutch Society by Felling etal. (1986) and the corresponding data (in SPSS format) were made available to other researchers and were stored at Data Archiving and Networked Services – DANS.
[…]
This additional data collection for 2011-2012 improves possibilities to test hypotheses on processes of secularization and individualization, spanning a period of 30 years.
[…]
Most of the research questions that are studied in contemporary sociology can be related to three general themes: social inequality, social cohesion, and modernization. SOCON has particularly focused on the last two themes. Social cohesion includes the degree to which the members of a society are connected. At the micro-level, this can be assessed by measuring how individuals are integrated in social networks. Integration can occur at different levels: the micro-level (within families), the meso-level (within voluntary organizations, schools, work places), and the macro-level (i.e., connections with society at large). Modernization refers to developments in attitudes, life styles and careers. Due to several structural developments, Dutch society has changed its norms, life styles and life careers.

By looking at differentiation in modernization, issues of social cohesion are linked to macro-level change. More in particular, we have focused on the process of secularization and its consequences, in terms of declines in social cohesion, for political and moral attitudes and behaviours.

pp. 9-11

Although Muslims are included in the survey there isn’t much specified data on Muslims but there is a data on Islamophobia and perceptions about Muslims / Islam; a little more then I have seen so far.

We should be happy with these researchers putting their data guide online without any paywall. It does not only provide us with longitudanal statistics on religion but it also gives us an idea of how this type of research is actually done in the Netherlands.

Print, download & share

See also the website of DANS

Note that the data are made available by DANS. Neither the original collectors nor DANS bear any responsibility for the analysis or interpretation by others.

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Symposium & Inaugural Lecture: Materiality, Mediation and the Study of Religion

Posted on October 4th, 2012 by martijn.
Categories: Activism, Religion Other, Research International.

Materiality, Mediation and the Study of Religion

On 19 October 2012 Prof. Birgit Meyer (professor of Religious Studies) will be giving her inaugural lecture on ‘Mediation and the Genesis of Presence. Towards a Material Approach of Religion.’ This will be the concluding contribution to a conference on ‘Materiality, Mediation, and the Study of Religion’, held on 18-19 October in Utrecht.

Department of Religious Studies and Theology, Faculty of Humanities, Utrecht University
Convener: Birgit Meyer
18 & 19 October 2012

Instead of having become obsolete through modernization and secularization, religion has continued unabated to transform into new varieties and this poses major theoretical challenges for its study. The central aim of this symposium is to contribute to developing new perspectives for the study of religion from the angle of materiality and mediation. Taking as a starting point that religion is a mundane as well as world-making social-cultural phenomenon, the main concern of the symposium is to explore how religion becomes concrete and palpable through people, their practices and use of things, and is part and parcel of politico-aesthetic power structures.

This symposium places center stage bodies, pictures, objects, and texts – all pivotal for processes of (religious) world-making. Being authorized as material media with a certain task and purpose, bodies, pictures, objects, and texts are located right at the heart of current inquiries into the interface of “materiality” and “mediation.” They are embedded in sets of practices and modes of sensation and experience. Bringing together scholars with different disciplinary backgrounds, this symposium is envisioned as a multidisciplinary platform for debating and rethinking the study of religion in our time.

Attendance to the symposium is free, but it is necessary to register because the number of seats is limited. Please send an e-mail to Jeannette Boere, Trans 14, 3512 JK Utrecht, tel. 030 – 253 2079) a.c.m.boere@uu.nl.

Program (subject to revision)

18 October 2012
Venue: Sweelinckzaal, Drift 21, Utrecht University

9.15-9.30: Welcome

BODIES
9.30-10.45
Mattijs van de Port Religion and the Body-That-Cannot-Be-Told

Anne-Marie Korte Dis/closed Bodies: Gender and Sexuality as Markers of Contemporary Religious Controversies

Discussant: Marleen de Witte

11.00-12.15
Christian Lange Singing, Touching and Eating the Qur??n: Bodily and Material Aspects of Scripture in Islamic traditions

Jojada Verrips Speaking and Singing, or how Orthodox Calvinists Tune Their Bodies

Discussant: Petra Gehring

12.15-13.45: Lunch

PICTURES
13.45-15.00
David Morgan, Religious Studies, Networking Vision: Ways of Seeing and the Study of Religious Visuality

Bob Becking Materializing the Divine in Ancient Israel

Discussant: Alexandra Grieser

15.15-16.30
Christiane Kruse How to Believe in Contemporary Art? The Question of Spirit in Works of Annish Kapoor and Olafur Eliasson

Ann-Sophie Lehman A Hair’s Breadth: Interstices between Medium, Body and Belief in Jan van Eyck’s Adam and Eve Panels of the Ghent Altarpiece

Discussant: Simon O’ Meara

OBJECTS I
16.45-18.00
Peter van der Veer What if Everything is Destroyed? Iconoclasm and Embodied Memory

Patricia Spyer Special Effects: Scale, Animacy, Presence

Discussant: Peter Pels

19 October 2012
Venue: Academiegebouw, Domplein, Utrecht University

OBJECTS II
9.30-10.45
Jo Spaans Beneath the Pulpit. Church Buildings and How They Shaped Protestant Religion from the Seventeenth Century to the Present

Matthew Engelke “Not Mine, not Mine”: On the Coffin Question in Humanist Funerals

Discussant: Joris van Eijnatten

TEXTS
11.00-12.15
Patrick Eisenlohr Materialities of Religious Discourse

Terje Stordalen Emancipating Bodies, Artefacts, and Figurations from the Textual Gaze

Discussant: Eric Ottenheijm

12.15-13.45 lunch

13.45-15.00
Pamela Klassen Cosmologies of Mediation: How Stories and their Tellings Make the World

Ann Rigney Materialising Memories? Objects, Narratives and the Disappeared

Discussant: Johan Goud

16.15-17.00 Inaugural lecture Birgit Meyer: Mediation and the Genesis of Presence. Towards a Material Approach of Religion

0 comments.

Symposium & Inaugural Lecture: Materiality, Mediation and the Study of Religion

Posted on October 4th, 2012 by martijn.
Categories: Activism, Religion Other, Research International.

Materiality, Mediation and the Study of Religion

On 19 October 2012 Prof. Birgit Meyer (professor of Religious Studies) will be giving her inaugural lecture on ‘Mediation and the Genesis of Presence. Towards a Material Approach of Religion.’ This will be the concluding contribution to a conference on ‘Materiality, Mediation, and the Study of Religion’, held on 18-19 October in Utrecht.

Department of Religious Studies and Theology, Faculty of Humanities, Utrecht University
Convener: Birgit Meyer
18 & 19 October 2012

Instead of having become obsolete through modernization and secularization, religion has continued unabated to transform into new varieties and this poses major theoretical challenges for its study. The central aim of this symposium is to contribute to developing new perspectives for the study of religion from the angle of materiality and mediation. Taking as a starting point that religion is a mundane as well as world-making social-cultural phenomenon, the main concern of the symposium is to explore how religion becomes concrete and palpable through people, their practices and use of things, and is part and parcel of politico-aesthetic power structures.

This symposium places center stage bodies, pictures, objects, and texts – all pivotal for processes of (religious) world-making. Being authorized as material media with a certain task and purpose, bodies, pictures, objects, and texts are located right at the heart of current inquiries into the interface of “materiality” and “mediation.” They are embedded in sets of practices and modes of sensation and experience. Bringing together scholars with different disciplinary backgrounds, this symposium is envisioned as a multidisciplinary platform for debating and rethinking the study of religion in our time.

Attendance to the symposium is free, but it is necessary to register because the number of seats is limited. Please send an e-mail to Jeannette Boere, Trans 14, 3512 JK Utrecht, tel. 030 – 253 2079) a.c.m.boere@uu.nl.

Program (subject to revision)

18 October 2012
Venue: Sweelinckzaal, Drift 21, Utrecht University

9.15-9.30: Welcome

BODIES
9.30-10.45
Mattijs van de Port Religion and the Body-That-Cannot-Be-Told

Anne-Marie Korte Dis/closed Bodies: Gender and Sexuality as Markers of Contemporary Religious Controversies

Discussant: Marleen de Witte

11.00-12.15
Christian Lange Singing, Touching and Eating the Qur??n: Bodily and Material Aspects of Scripture in Islamic traditions

Jojada Verrips Speaking and Singing, or how Orthodox Calvinists Tune Their Bodies

Discussant: Petra Gehring

12.15-13.45: Lunch

PICTURES
13.45-15.00
David Morgan, Religious Studies, Networking Vision: Ways of Seeing and the Study of Religious Visuality

Bob Becking Materializing the Divine in Ancient Israel

Discussant: Alexandra Grieser

15.15-16.30
Christiane Kruse How to Believe in Contemporary Art? The Question of Spirit in Works of Annish Kapoor and Olafur Eliasson

Ann-Sophie Lehman A Hair’s Breadth: Interstices between Medium, Body and Belief in Jan van Eyck’s Adam and Eve Panels of the Ghent Altarpiece

Discussant: Simon O’ Meara

OBJECTS I
16.45-18.00
Peter van der Veer What if Everything is Destroyed? Iconoclasm and Embodied Memory

Patricia Spyer Special Effects: Scale, Animacy, Presence

Discussant: Peter Pels

19 October 2012
Venue: Academiegebouw, Domplein, Utrecht University

OBJECTS II
9.30-10.45
Jo Spaans Beneath the Pulpit. Church Buildings and How They Shaped Protestant Religion from the Seventeenth Century to the Present

Matthew Engelke “Not Mine, not Mine”: On the Coffin Question in Humanist Funerals

Discussant: Joris van Eijnatten

TEXTS
11.00-12.15
Patrick Eisenlohr Materialities of Religious Discourse

Terje Stordalen Emancipating Bodies, Artefacts, and Figurations from the Textual Gaze

Discussant: Eric Ottenheijm

12.15-13.45 lunch

13.45-15.00
Pamela Klassen Cosmologies of Mediation: How Stories and their Tellings Make the World

Ann Rigney Materialising Memories? Objects, Narratives and the Disappeared

Discussant: Johan Goud

16.15-17.00 Inaugural lecture Birgit Meyer: Mediation and the Genesis of Presence. Towards a Material Approach of Religion

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Seminar: Aesthetics of religious leadership

Posted on September 6th, 2012 by martijn.
Categories: (Upcoming) Events, anthropology, ISIM/RU Research, My Research, Public Islam, Religion Other, Research International.

Aesthetics of religious leadership: a seminar

Religious leaders of different backgrounds across the world increasingly manifest themselves in the public sphere. Through public performances and modern social media they build communities, create audiences, and convey their messages. On Friday the 21st of September 2012 the anthropological department of the VU University in Amsterdam, in cooperation with the Radboud University of Nijmegen organizes a one-day symposium on the ‘aesthetics of religious leadership’. The aim of the meeting is to explore how recent international scholarly discussions on aesthetics, mediation, and the senses can contribute to our understanding of the role of sensory modes (image, sound and performance) and experiences in the development of new forms of religious persuasion, new modes of religious performance and shifting sources of authority.

Date: September 21st, 2012
Time: 9.00-17.00
Place: VU University Amsterdam
Metropolitan building
Buitenveldertselaan 3
1082 VA Amsterdam
Netherlands

Registration: Mw. Annet Bakker : j.m.e.Bakker@vu.nl
This event is free and open to the public but registration is required.

Convenors
Prof. Thijl Sunier (VU University Amsterdam)
Dr. Marleen de Witte (VU University Amsterdam)
Dr. Martijn de Koning (Radboud University Nijmegen)

Speakers:
Prof. Jeremy Stolow (Concordia University, Montreal)
Prof. Dorothea Schulz (University of Cologne)
Prof. Patrick Eisenlohr (University of Göttingen)
Prof. Hilary Kalmbach (University of Oxford)
Dr Jose van Santen (University of Leiden)
Dr. Ze de Abreu (University of Amsterdam)
Dr. Karin Willemse (University of Rotterdam)
Dr. Miranda Klaver (VU University Amsterdam)
Mehmet Sahin (VU University Amsterdam)
Ellen van de Bovenkamp (VU University Amsterdam)
Daan Beekers (VU University Amsterdam)

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Pew onderzoek: Eenheid en diversiteit onder moslims in de wereld

Posted on August 16th, 2012 by martijn.
Categories: Important Publications, Research International.

Er is een nieuw rapport uit van The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, een project dat valt onder PewResearch Center. Dit onderzoek The World Muslims – Unity and Diversity richt zich op diverse dimensies van religiositeit en identiteit van moslims: centrale geloofsvoorstellingen, verschillende interpretaties van en visies op orthodoxie, religieuze stromingen en het gewicht van de interne religieuze verschillen, verschillen in moskeebezoek tussen mannen en vrouwen, verschillen tussen generaties met betrekking tot religieuze betrokkenheid, en perspectieven op anderen. Het onderzoek is uitgevoerd in 39 landen en gebieden in het Midden-Oosten, Noord-Afrika, Zuidoost-Azië, Zuid-Azië, Centraal Azië, Sub-Sahara Afrika en Zuid-Oost Europa.

De onderzoekers laten zien dat het bij religiositeit niet alleen gaat om het geloof in één God en dat Mohammed zijn profeet is, maar dat ook andere geloofsvoorstellingen een belangrijke rol spelen zoals het geloof in engelen, de hemel, de hel and het lot (voorbeschikking); de zes zuilen van de islam (naast de bekendere vijf zuilen: geloofsbelijdenis, bidden, vasten, zakat en hajj). Daarover lijkt een grote mate van overeenstemming te bestaan, maar in de 39 onderzochte landen en gebieden blijkt dat moslims aanzienlijk verschillen in de mate van religieuze betrokkenheid, openheid voor meerdere interpretaties van hun geloof en de acceptatie van groeperingen en bewegingen. Het rapport bevat ook nog een appendix waarbij deze scores vergeleken kunnen worden met die van Amerikaanse moslims.

De vraag is overigens of die eensgezindheid als het gaat om de centrale geloofsvoorstellingen wel echt zo groot is. Wellicht onderschrijft men wel bijvoorbeeld het idee van 1 God en het bestaan van engelen, maar wat dat concreet betekent, welke eigenschappen God heeft enzovoorts is wel onderwerp van debat; althans onder islamitische schriftgeleerden. Verschillende opvattingen (zoals houding ten opzichte van andersgelovige moslims) hangen duidelijk af van de nationale en regionale context waarbij politieke en historisch gegroeide omstandigheden een belangrijke spelen. Een andere constante is ook dat vrouwen veel vaker dan mannen aangeven nooit de lokale moskee te bezoeken; tegelijkertijd zijn ook hier hele grote regionale verschillen (in sub-Sahara Afrika slechts 1 procentpunt verschil tussen mannen en vrouwen en in Pakistan 76 procentpunt). Hetzelfde kan gesteld worden voor de verschillen tussen generaties; vrijwel overal (met uitzondering van Rusland) zijn het de ouderen (ouder dan 35) die meer waarde hechten aan islam dan de jongeren waarbij vooral de verschillen in het Midden-Oosten groot zijn. In het algemeen blijken moslims in Centraal Azië en Zuid- en OostEuropa minder praktiserend te zijn dan in bijvoorbeeld het Midden-Oosten en Noord-Afrika. Het praktiseren (onder de noemer betrokkenheid) is gemeten door te kijken naar hoe vaak men bidt, de Quran leest of beluistert, vast, de hajj verricht en of men gelooft in één God en Mohammed als zijn profeet. Dat is niet onaardig en zeker beter dan de surveys die religiositeit onder moslims reduceren tot vasten en moskeebezoek.

Het is opmerkelijk dat West-Europa niet in het onderzoek is meegenomen. Men had ook in de West-Europese landen makkelijk aan 1000 respondenten kunnen komen net als men in de betrokken landen gedaan heeft. Weliswaar is de hedendaagse aanwezigheid van moslims in West-Europa van recentere datum dan die in zuidelijk en oost-Europa, maar dat maakt voor een onderzoek als dit niet veel uit. Het huidige onderzoek suggereert een sterke samenhang tussen de nationale context en de religieuze betrokkenheid en praktijk. Gezien de huidige islamofobische invloeden in media en beleid in het Westen is dit onderzoek ook interessant voor West-Europa. Overigens komen we nauwelijks iets te weten over de precieze aard van de samenhang tussen de nationale context en de religieuze praktijken en betrokkenheid, maar daar is wellicht ook ander type onderzoek voor nodig dan een survey. De nadruk op de nationale context betekent eveneens weinig aandacht voor transnationale verbanden en de samenhang daarvan met religieuze praktijk en betrokkenheid; toch ook wel gemis in deze tijd van globalisering. Ondanks deze kanttekeningen geeft dit onderzoek toch wel een aardig beeld van de diversiteit onder moslims en is daarmee ook een belangrijk argument tegen homogeniserende en reductionistische opvattingen over islam en moslims, die moslims vooral reduceren tot gevangenen van de Koran en een homogene moslimcultuur.

Lees het volledige onderzoek HIER.

Zie ook het recente onderzoek over deelname aan de vasten: HIER.

The World’s Muslims: Unity and Diversity
INFOGRAPHIC. Taken from the Pew site.

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PEW Report Highlights – Muslim Americans after 9/11

Posted on August 30th, 2011 by martijn.
Categories: Religious and Political Radicalization, Research International, Ritual and Religious Experience, State of Science.

Muslim Americans: No Signs of Growth in Alienation or Support for Extremism – Pew Research Center

As the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks approaches, a comprehensive public opinion survey finds no indication of increased alienation or anger among Muslim Americans in response to concerns about home-grown Islamic terrorists, controversies about the building of mosques, and other pressures that have been brought to bear on this high-profile minority group in recent years. Muslims in the United States continue to reject extremism by much larger margins than most other Muslim publics, and a higher percentage views U.S. efforts to combat terrorism as sincere than did so in 2007. At the same time, majorities of Muslim Americans express concerns about Islamic extremism here and abroad – worries that coexist with the view that life in post-9/11 America is more difficult for U.S Muslims.

Based on interviews with 1,033 Muslim Americans conducted this year (April 14-July 22) in English, Arabic, Farsi and Urdu, the wide-ranging report looks at Muslim Americans’ political and social attitudes; religious views and practices; experiences and difficulties faced after 9/11; views of Islamic extremism; views of US efforts at combating terrorism; and views of national conditions. In addition to updating trends from earlier Pew Research surveys, the report includes comparisons of Muslim Americans with the general public and with Muslims in other countries, as well as detailed demographic information.

Highlights

Read the full report
Infographic of report highlights
Map: Controversies over mosques and Islamic centers across the U.S.

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ISIM Review available online

Posted on November 3rd, 2008 by martijn.
Categories: [Online] Publications, Arts & culture, ISIM/RU Research, Multiculti Issues, My Research, Religious and Political Radicalization, Religious Movements, Research International, Ritual and Religious Experience, Young Muslims, Youth culture (as a practice).

ISIM Review 22, Autumn 2008 is out and available online. As usual very interesting articles which are relevant for  my research, to name but a few:

• Jews and Others in Iraq / Sami Zubaida
• The Sound of Islam: Southeast Asian Boy Bands / Bart Barendregt
• Good Girls and Rebels / Miriam Gazzah
• Universal Aspirations: The Muslim Brotherhood in Europe / Brigitte Marechal
• New Muslim Youth Associations in Spain / Virtudes Tellez Delgado
• Islamic Religious Practice in Outer Space / Nils Fischer
• Ambivalent Purity / Martijn de Koning
• Muslim Idenitities in the Banlieue / Melanie Adrian
• Imam Hussayn is Love: Individualization of Shia Practices in Britain / Dana Moss
• Engaging Europe’s Muslims / Maleiha Malik
• Migration Matters: The Longer View / David Waines
• Editors’ Picks
• Arts: Hasan and Husain Essop

And many more of course. You can read on ISIM website.

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Imam in Nederland – Welmoet Boender

Posted on November 14th, 2007 by .
Categories: Important Publications, Research International.

De vraag naar de rol die de imam speelt in moskeeën in de Nederlandse seculiere, niet-islamitische samenleving wordt al zo’n dertig jaar gesteld. De kernvragen in dit beschrijvend-exploratieve onderzoek zijn dan ook: Welke rol speelt de imam in de moskeegemeenschap volgens circulerende opvattingen uit het Nederlandse publieke debat over imams? Hoe zien imams en praktiserende gelovigen de rol van de imam in de moskeegemeenschap? Welke zijn de voornaamste overeenkomsten en verschillen in deze rolopvattingen?

De eerste vraag wordt onderzocht door het externe perspectief van het publieke debat over imams tussen 1993 en 2004 te beschrijven. Spraakmakende debatten rond publieke uitspraken zoals van imam El-Moumni en imam Haselhoef worden geanalyseerd

De tweede vraag wordt empirisch beschreven vanuit het interne perspectief van de imam en praktiserende gelovigen in twee moskeegemeenschappen en een islamitische studentenvereniging. Hoe is het om imam te zijn in Nederland? Wat zeggen zij in hun preken en lessen? In de studie zijn onder meer elf Turkse preken vertaald in de appendix opgenomen. Welke interactie en communicatie is er tussen hoogopgeleide jonge mannen en vrouwen die in Nederland zijn opgegroeid en de imam? Wanneer en met welke vragen gaan zij bij de imam te rade? Welk gezag kennen zij hem toe?

De studie geeft antwoord op vragen als: Wordt in het publieke debat zijn invloed uiteindelijk niet overschat? En: Blijft de rol van vrouwelijke religieuze leiders niet te veel buiten beeld door de focus op de imam in de lokale moskee? De indicatieve uitkomsten van de vergelijking tussen het externe en het interne perspectief worden gebruikt om het voortdurende ‘imam debat’ te verhelderen.

Uitgegeven bij Bert Bakker.

Interview NRC Handelsblad door Sheila Kamerman: De imam legt de ‘technische’ regels uit. (more…)

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Secularism Confronts Islam – Olivier Roy

Posted on August 15th, 2007 by .
Categories: Important Publications, Islam in the Netherlands, Murder on theo Van Gogh and related issues, Religious and Political Radicalization, Religious Movements, Research International, Young Muslims.

Roy’s new book: Secularism Confronts Islam

The denunciation of fundamentalism in France, embodied in the law against the veil and the deportation of imams, has shifted into a systematic attack on all Muslims and Islam. This hostility is rooted in the belief that Islam cannot be integrated into French—and, consequently, secular and liberal-society. However, as Olivier Roy makes clear in this book, Muslim intellectuals have made it possible for Muslims to live concretely in a secularized world while maintaining the identity of a “true believer.” They have formulated a language that recognizes two spaces: that of religion and that of secular society.

Western society is unable to recognize this process, Roy argues, because of a cultural bias that assumes religious practice is embedded within a specific, traditional culture that must be either erased entirely or forced to coexist in a neutral, multicultural space. Instead, Roy shows that new forms of religiosity, such as Islamic fundamentalism and Christian evangelicalism, have come to thrive in post-traditional, secular contexts precisely because they remain detached from any cultural background.

In recognizing this, Roy recasts the debate concerning Islam and democracy. Analyzing the French case in particular, in which the tension between Islam and the conception of Western secularism is exacerbated, Roy makes important distinctions between Arab and non-Arab Muslims, hegemony and tolerance, and the role of the umma and the sharia in Muslim religious life. He pits Muslim religious revivalism against similar movements in the West, such as evangelical Protestantism and Jehovah’s Witnesses, and refutes the myth of a single “Muslim community” by detailing different groups and their inability to overcome their differences.

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The day I met the ‘respondent’ Kafeel Ahmed « Islam, Muslims, and an Anthropologist

Posted on August 4th, 2007 by .
Categories: Blogosphere, International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization, Research International, Young Muslims.

Kafeel Ahmed, an Indian-born aerospace engineer, who the British authorities say drove a burning Jeep Cherokee into a terminal at Glasgow Airport in a botched terrorism attack died Thursday night in a hospital in Scotland, the police said.

The man, 28, sustained severe burns over 90 percent of his body and had remained in critical condition since the failed attack on June 30. The Jeep was loaded with gasoline and burst into flames as it hit the airline terminal.

On Dr. Marranci’s blog a very interesting, personal and sensitive entry about Kafeel Ahmed who was a ‘respondent’ of him in one of researches. A must read:

The day I met the ‘respondent’ Kafeel Ahmed « Islam, Muslims, and an Anthropologist

I still remember his jokes about me being Italian, and the references to the film ‘The Padrino’. Kafeel, the Kafeel who I knew from 2001 to 2003, when I left Belfast, was a very welcoming person, very reserved and shy. Yet when you came to know him better, you discovered his intellectual side, his strong belief in Islam as justice and God’s love. He was a very calm, quite ‘westernised’ Muslim, ever ready to laugh at jokes. Interested in sport, particularly cricket, we spent time speaking at my preferred coffee shop in Botanic Avenue about Muslim identity, the experience of living in Northern Ireland as a Muslim, the tension between India and Pakistan, and the Palestinian Intifada.

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The myth of Muslim support for terror | csmonitor.com

Posted on March 19th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism, Research International.

The myth of Muslim support for terror | csmonitor.com

The common enemy is violence and terrorism, not Muslims any more than Christians or Jews an op-ed by By Kenneth Ballen.

WASHINGTON – Those who think that Muslim countries and pro-terrorist attitudes go hand-in-hand might be shocked by new polling research: Americans are more approving of terrorist attacks against civilians than any major Muslim country except for Nigeria.

The survey, conducted in December 2006 by the University of Maryland’s prestigious Program on International Public Attitudes, shows that only 46 percent of Americans think that “bombing and other attacks intentionally aimed at civilians” are “never justified,” while 24 percent believe these attacks are “often or sometimes justified.”

Contrast those numbers with 2006 polling results from the world’s most-populous Muslim countries – Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nigeria. Terror Free Tomorrow, the organization I lead, found that 74 percent of respondents in Indonesia agreed that terrorist attacks are “never justified”; in Pakistan, that figure was 86 percent; in Bangladesh, 81 percent. (more…)

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The myth of Muslim support for terror | csmonitor.com

Posted on March 19th, 2007 by .
Categories: International Terrorism, Research International.

The myth of Muslim support for terror | csmonitor.com

The common enemy is violence and terrorism, not Muslims any more than Christians or Jews an op-ed by By Kenneth Ballen.

WASHINGTON – Those who think that Muslim countries and pro-terrorist attitudes go hand-in-hand might be shocked by new polling research: Americans are more approving of terrorist attacks against civilians than any major Muslim country except for Nigeria.

The survey, conducted in December 2006 by the University of Maryland’s prestigious Program on International Public Attitudes, shows that only 46 percent of Americans think that “bombing and other attacks intentionally aimed at civilians” are “never justified,” while 24 percent believe these attacks are “often or sometimes justified.”

Contrast those numbers with 2006 polling results from the world’s most-populous Muslim countries – Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nigeria. Terror Free Tomorrow, the organization I lead, found that 74 percent of respondents in Indonesia agreed that terrorist attacks are “never justified”; in Pakistan, that figure was 86 percent; in Bangladesh, 81 percent. (more…)

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With Us or Against Us: The Rhetoric of the War on Terror at Yahya Birt

Posted on February 9th, 2007 by .
Categories: Important Publications, Internal Debates, International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization, Research International, Young Muslims.

With Us or Against Us: The Rhetoric of the War on Terror at Yahya Birt
With Us or Against Us: The Rhetoric of the War on Terror

This essay offers an analysis of this rhetoric to see what it seeks to persuade Muslims to do, what its unspoken premises are and which categories it uses to mobilise Muslim sentiment. Five years on after 9/11 and with the descent of Iraq into bloody civil war, it is essential that Muslims develop a critical distance from this rhetoric, not only because it can be internalised and have negative consequences for Muslims and how they evaluate themselves and their faith, but also because the rhetoric does much to justify an aggressive militarism that feeds the very terrorism it purports to be ending.

In his essay Birt deconstructs the war on terror discourse in a very sophisticated way. He engages with several issues such as the dichotomy between the west and islam, the so called ‘Muslim anger’ caused by socio-economic disparities and the modern way of life, the weakness of many of the critiques towards the us vs. them advocates, the distinction between good Muslims and bad Muslims and the lack of imagination how to end the war on terror. Well this summary doesn’t really do justice to the essay, so read it yourself.

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Religion in second life

Posted on December 17th, 2006 by .
Categories: Blogosphere, Religion Other, Research International.

Second Life is one of a growing number of virtual worlds in which you can log on, create a personality, and engage in all kinds of activities from working at an office, to shopping, to having sex and so on. Contrary to many people I have not joined Second Life yet. It would be interesting for anthropoligists to join Second Life and do some virtual research there. Some major questions are for example: Do virtual worlds offer a space of liberation in which people can be ‘authentic,’ then they were before? Is is deep involvement with these virtual worlds an unhealthy addiction that ruins your offline social network? What are the similarities and differences between online and offline social networks? How do the structure and design of virtual worlds affect the societies and cultural mores that emerge in them? What role do identity politics play in the creation and building up of online societies and cultural communities? How is a (cultural) sense of the Self shaped online? How do you learn ‘to be or not to be’ in this virtual world?
One of the main themes that would interest me of course is the creation and expansion of religion and the identity politics of the people concerned. AnarchoAkbar has some very interesting entries on this one and I believe he is preparing a Ph.D research application in order to make Second Life a theme of his research.

In his snapshots he provides several examples of religion in Second life such as a mosque under construction, a Buddhist site (Buddhism seems to have a very prominent presence over there at SL), a synagogue and several churches (Christianity seems dominant). Although not strictly related to religion (mind that it is in many debates) is the question of Darfur and AnarchoAkbar shows that there is room for that too in SL.

Since I’m not at SL, for more questions I should probably refer you to Tom Bukowski (SL avatar):

In this virtual world, my avatar (Tom Bukowski) has an office, “Ethnographia,” which you can visit within Second Life (it is located in Dowden). As Tom Bukowski, I study cybersociality in Second Life using participant observation, interviews, focus groups, and the analysis of texts ranging from newsletters to blogs. A key element of my approach is thus to pair the study of virtual worlds with “traditional” ethnographic methods, paying attention to moments of breakdown when the social relations of the virtual world in question resist ethnographic interpretation as generally understood.

Have fun and interesting times over there!

3 comments.

Protected: NRC – Illusie van vrije wil ontstaat uit magie

Posted on July 4th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Research International.

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Islam Needs Radicals — In These Times

Posted on November 10th, 2005 by .
Categories: Internal Debates, Research International.

Islam Needs Radicals — In These Times

By Mark Levine

George W. Bush. Tony Blair. Silvio Berlusconi. Jacques Chirac. Along with most every Western leader, pundit and policymaker, they are frantically searching for the �moderate Muslims� who can save Islam from itself and improve relations with the West.

The problem is that there�s no such thing as a moderate Muslim, at least the way these decision makers define the term. Look at whom they call moderate: President Bush often cites Jordan�s King Abdullah and Morocco�s King Muhammad as the epitome of modern, moderate Muslim leaders. But a glance at the Amnesty International reports on their countries, or those of other so-called moderate regimes, reveals them to be anything but moderate in the way they treat their citizens. In fact, their level of repression and censorship for the most part is equal to or greater than at any time since 9/11.

Searching for �moderate Islam� is an equally problematic enterprise. President Bush famously argued that �Islam means peace� after 9/11 as a way of signaling support for it. But however nice a sentiment, Islam in fact doesn�t mean peace; it means submission to the will of God, which�as anyone familiar with the history of the last two millennia knows�has historically involved quite a lot of war. Similarly, moderate Islam�s boosters point to a hadith, or saying of the Prophet, that argues that the �greater jihad� of self-introspection and improvement is more fundamental for Muslims than the �lesser jihad� of war and violence. In contrast, most conservative Muslim scholars consider �greater jihad� a weak hadith�that is, not the prophet�s actual words. Its use by �moderates� to reform the shari�a�the Islamic code for living that some states institute as law sanctioning violence�has long generated conservative scorn.

In the last two decades, a �moderate� school of Islamist jurisprudence has in fact emerged (known as the wasatiya movement in Arabic). But its leaders have been variously co-opted or censored by their governments, or tend to be quite immoderate when it comes to Jews, homosexuality or full equality for women. The ones that are truly moderate strongly oppose U.S. foreign policy and much of our materialist, consumer culture. For doing so they are labeled �radicals� by their governments, and ours.

Clearly we need to re-imagine our labeling of Islam, because the leaders we consider moderate are�often rightly�considered by their citizens to be corrupt and repressive handmaidens of U.S. policies that themselves could rarely be defined as moderate. On the other hand, Muslims respect those we consider �radicals� for standing up to us, even if most don�t agree with how they�re doing it.

Yet the reality is that even the most radical of extremist groups such as al-Qaeda are not that radical. Instead, they bear striking resemblances to other utopian movements across history, from the Jacobins of post-Revolutionary France to fascists and Maoists of the last century. The tools they use to wage their war�from the Internet to the suicide vest�might be new, but their desire to violently purify their societies is all too familiar.

What would a truly radical Muslim look like? Perhaps like the young Shiite sheikh named Anwar al-Ethari whom I met in Baghdad. He is known as the �Elastic Sheikh� because of his religious and secular university degrees and willingness to use �whatever works, wherever it comes from� to help the residents of his Sadr City neighborhood solve the myriad problems they face. Sadly, I have not heard from him in months, and fear he is among the victims of the increasing violence against the city�s Shiite population.

Or he might look like a friend of mine from Casablanca named Reda Zine. One of the leaders of the Moroccan heavy metal scene, he�s also a soon-to-be Ph.D. in Islamic studies at the Sorbonne. But he and his musical comrades were labeled �satanists� by moderate Islamists and arrested by the moderate Moroccan government because they dared to write powerful�and really loud�songs challenging the country�s patriarchal politics and culture.

Or they might look like Nadia Yassine, the leader of Morocco�s biggest political force, the religiously-oriented Justice and Development movement. In our first meeting she explained that Islam was �hijacked by men� after the Prophet Muhammad�s death and has suffered for it ever since. The next time I saw her she suggested that Morocco might be better off as a republic than a monarchy, a view that landed her in jail, courtesy of the same moderate government that went after the metalheads.

It is she who first suggested to me that what Islam needs is more radicals, not moderates��but radicals in a good sense.� Sitting next to her and nodding in agreement was the Swiss Muslim philosopher Tariq Ramadan. One of the leading progressive voices in Europe, his visa to teach at Notre Dame University was revoked by the U.S. government on the utterly baseless charge of being �tied to terrorists.�

My radical friends and colleagues are routinely oppressed by their governments, attacked by conservatives, obstructed by the United States and ignored by the media and peace groups who should be highlighting their activities and struggles. This suggests they�re doing something right, and that we should be doing more to help them. Of course, that would be pretty radical; but how else to achieve the radical transformation that is necessary to bring peace and democracy to the Middle East, not to mention to America?
Mark LeVine is professor of modern Middle Eastern history, culture and Islamic studies, UC Irvine, and the author of Why They Don�t Hate Us: Lifting the Veil on the Axis of Evil (Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2005)

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Protected: Trouw, religie & filosofie – Cultuurverschil houdt Poolse moslims onderling gescheiden

Posted on May 17th, 2005 by martijn.
Categories: Research International.

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i d e a n t: Open Ijtihad

Posted on May 11th, 2005 by .
Categories: Internal Debates, Research International, Young Muslims.

i d e a n t: Open Ijtihad

[The following presentation was made at the Los Angeles Latino Muslim Association’s annual meeting, April 16 2005.]

Open Ijtihad:
Technology and New Opportunities for Community Building and Activism

ijtihackers

I want to cover four major themes in this presentation. First, I want to say a couple of words about ijtihad, or independent reasoning in Islam. Then, I want to use the concept of open source software to help illustrate the differences between a closed and an open religious system. Third, I want to suggest a methodology for those of us committed to practicing ijtihad in an open system. And finally, I want to suggest ways to use new information and communication technologies to aid in this process. As an example of such applications of technology, I will give a brief introduction to blogs, or web journals.

If we think back to the so-called ‘golden age’ of Islam, we would recognize many characteristics of the kind of ‘open’ system I have summarized here: research, independent reasoning, debate, the forming of networks across spaces and institutions, and even across different religious and cultural affinities. Innovation was encouraged then. Ijtihad was seen as a necessity. But with innovation and ijtihad came responsibility. Let’s embrace that responsibility again, and let’s do our part in ensuring that all of humanity works together towards a more peaceful, just and enlightened existence.

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Isim: Islam and Democracy – Perverse Charm of an Irrelevant Question

Posted on April 25th, 2005 by .
Categories: Important Publications, Misc. News, Research International.

Islam and Democracy: Perverse Charm of an Irrelevant Question is the title of the Inaugural lecture of Dr Asef Bayat as ISIM Chair at Leiden University

On the occasion of the inaugural lecture of Dr Asef Bayat a conference on Social Transformation in the Islamic Republic is organized, 27-28 April 2005, Leiden, The Netherlands.

Click here for an interview with Asef Bayat.

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Islam with Chinese characteristics begins to take hold – World – www.smh.com.au

Posted on February 26th, 2005 by .
Categories: Research International.

A very interesting article about Muslims in China: Islam with Chinese characteristics begins to take hold – World – www.smh.com.au

Their long immersion in China and isolation from Muslim-majority countries has lent their practice of Islam a distinctive flavour. Centuries back, it was influenced by Confucianism with its veneration for ancestors and secular virtue, and Confucian terms were used to explain Islamic concepts.

The last century and a half has seen the emergence of women-only mosques or “nusi” and female imams, unique in the Islamic world, where elsewhere women worship in the same mosque as the men, albeit in a separate curtained or partitioned space, and hear the same male preacher.

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Islam In The West: The Threat Of Internal Extremism

Posted on February 21st, 2005 by .
Categories: Internal Debates, Islam in the Netherlands, Murder on theo Van Gogh and related issues, Religious and Political Radicalization, Research International, Young Muslims.

alt.muslim – your muslim news community
Islam In The West: The Threat Of Internal Extremism
By Muqtedar Khan and John L. Esposito, February 17, 2005

The world has never been more interdependent, and the plight of Western Muslims is illustrative of how global integration is now a palpable reality. The murder of a Dutch film producer, Theo Van Gogh, allegedly by a disenchanted Dutch Muslim [Mohammed Bouyeri, 26], the denial of a visa to the US for a Swiss Muslim scholar, Tariq Ramadan, or the humiliating deportation of a British Muslim, Yusuf Islam, from the US immediately on arrival are all front page news all over the world. Not only do these episodes draw widespread attention from the media, they feed upon and fuel the new crisis in Western Civilization – “Islam in the West”.

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Olivier Roy – Radical Islam appeals to the rootless

Posted on February 10th, 2005 by .
Categories: Religious and Political Radicalization, Research International, Young Muslims.

Guest Columns – Get in the thick of it Village Soup
Oliver Roy for the Camden Conference: Radical Islam appeals to the rootless

It is often assumed that the spread of Islamic radicalism is a consequence of conflicts within the Middle East and their natural spillover effect on the global Muslim population, specifically on Muslims living in western societies. “Re-Islamisation,” the radicalisation of westernised Muslim populations, is seen as the reaction of Muslim societies to western political and cultural encroachments. But why, then, do so many young, “born again” second-generation Muslims in the western world embrace various brands of neo-fundamentalist or salafi Islam? Why are so many converts joining them? Curiously, why does the radical fringe of the west’s Muslim population opt for peripheral and exotic jihad – from Bosnia to Afghanistan, Kashmir and Chechnya – instead of heading to Iraq? Evidence suggests that few, if any, among the children of Europe’s Muslim immigrants return to wage jihad in the land of their ancestors – Algeria or Morocco, for example – while foreigners fighting alongside Iraqi Sunni insurgents tend to be Saudi, Syrian or Jordanian neighbours, not volunteers coming from the west.
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