Toward a Semiotics of Middle Eastern Cultures

1980 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 319-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger Joseph

There exists a growing body of literature which either explicitly or implicitly utilizes semiotic theory to discuss various sign systems in the Middle East. I believe that by exploring these works and linking them to similar studies, we can acquire a fresh perspective on the symbolic life of the people of the Middle East. I do not argue that semiotics can or should replace other paradigmatic approaches to out analysis of culture, but rather that semiotics can serve as a complementary method for interpreting sign systems.

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alf H. Walle ◽  
Nader Asgary

The Middle East needs a thoughtful discussion regarding tourism and how to involve local communities and ethnic enclaves within this industry with an eye towards economic development, ecological preservation, and cultural empowerment. The proposed project will help the people of the Middle East to choose and implement appropriate tourism strategies that are sustainable and equitable. The focus is upon active engagement of local peoples to control their destinies in ways that simultaneously mesh with and reinforce national strategies in an equitable manner. Doing so will advance bottom-up development and is an excellent method of defusing potentially adversarial relationships while encouraging cooperation.


Koneksi ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Nada Salsabila ◽  
Diah Ayu Candraningrum

This research examines the representation of Middle Eastern culture local wisdom contained in the film "Aladdin 2019" produced by Walt Disney Pictures. This study aims to examine the cultural symbols of the Middle East. The research method used in this study is a qualitative method with Charles Sanders Peirce's semiotic analysis which divides the sign into three elements namely sign, object and interpretant. Semiotics is the science that discusses or examines the meaning of a sign. The results showed that Middle Eastern cultural symbols in the film "Aladdin 2019" were displayed through 10 scenes selected in the film. Cultural symbols of the Middle East are shown through the habits of the people kissing the right and left cheeks every time they meet relatives, riding camels to travel, livelihoods of people who trade, princess clothes Jasmine and Sultan, building architecture made of bricks and domes as decoration and art that displays traditional Middle Eastern musical instrument namely Gambus. Some interesting facts in the film one of which is the making of the city "Agrabah" as a shooting setting which is a fictitious city in England and property made of authentic jewelry.  Penelitian ini mengkaji mengenai representasi kearifan lokal budaya Timur Tengah yang terdapat dalam Film “Aladdin 2019” Produksi Walt Disney Pictures. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji simbol-simbol budaya Timur Tengah. Metode penelitian yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah metode kualitatif dengan analisis semiotika Charles Sanders Peirce yang membagi tanda menjadi tiga elemen yaitu tanda, objek dan interpretan. Semiotika adalah ilmu yang membahas atau mengkaji mengenai pemaknaan dari sebuah tanda. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa simbol-simbol budaya Timur Tengah dalam Film “Aladdin 2019” ditampilkan melalui 10 scene yang dipilih dalam film tersebut. Simbol-simbol Budaya Timur Tengah ditunjukkan melalui kebiasaan masyarakat cium pipi kanan dan kiri setiap bertemu kerabat, menunggangi unta untuk bepergian, mata pencaharian masyarakat yang berdagang, pakaian putri Jasmine dan Sultan, arsitektur bangunan berasal dari batu bata dan kubah sebagai hiasan serta kesenian yang menampilkan alat musik tradisional Timur Tengah yaitu Gambus. Beberapa fakta menarik dalam film tersebut salah satunya adalah pembuatan kota “Agrabah” sebagai latar syuting yang merupakan kota fiktif di Inggris dan properti yang terbuat dari perhiasan asli.


1966 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 375-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Şerif Mardin

Turkey is not in the usual sense a developing country. It is a state, the fabric of which has endured for a number of centuries. Consequently, its political culture embodies elements which go far back into history. It has both an ethos and eidos of service to the state and a bureaucratic apparatus which for centuries has been entrusted with the application of the values embodied in its political culture. The structure of the state has been somewhat looser in Iran, but there too, the situation is appreciably different from what it is in the Arab states or Pakistan where the structure of the state is recent, its mark on the ethos of the people slight and its political traditions embryonic. In the case of Turkey and to a less extent in Iran, some of the crucial problems of developing nations – problems which are acute in many Arab states – such as those of building up an identity as a nation, overcoming particularistic allegiances, launching oneself into the take-off stages of industrialization are well on the way to solution. We are faced then, under the rubric of ‘Middle East’ with a number of countries which are at different stages on the scale of modernization. By itself, this would suffice to make the subsuming of all Middle Eastern countries under a single heading extremely unwise.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 265
Author(s):  
Yaseen T. Aysar ◽  
Perry A. Lucy

Discourse of the powerful is normally characterised as hegemonic since it lacks, whether consciously or unconsciously, familiarity of historical events and intrinsic knowledge of culture. President Trump’s disregard for or over-simplification of the complexities of Middle Eastern cultures in particular, their history, politics, and political geography, his belligerent and rapacious entrepreneurial rhetoric, his authoritarian stance on many global issues combined with the superficial allure of his ‘common man’ persona, and his hegemonising of many of the world’s nations make him the antithesis of the conventional politician. The process of technologization of Donald Trump’s discourse that has been influencing the discursive practices surrounding Middle East politics and American foreign policy has given rise to a type of discourse that is unprecedented in modern time American presidencies, a discourse rooted in threat, disregard, and humiliation. Trump’s disrespect to heads of states entails disrespect of their people, history, and culture, and this is prevalent in almost all his speeches. This paper focuses primarily on Trump’s rhetorical styles in his 28th September 2018 address to the UN, the May 14th 2018 address on the U.S. Embassy move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and finally the April 13th 2018 address on the Syrian airstrikes.


2005 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 136-139
Author(s):  
Muhamad Ali

Southeast Asian Islam is receiving an increased amount of attention amongboth scholars and students. The direction has been toward understandingMuslim diversity and change, despite the still-existing perceptions among the public of a monolithic and static Islam. Fundamentalism still gains moreattention, partly due to its current influence and confusion. In this book,Giora Eliraz comparatively examines how the Middle Eastern Islamic modernistmovements influenced Islamic movements in the Malay-Indonesianworld throughout the twentieth century and contributed to the rise of contemporaryIslamic radicalism in Indonesia.Eliraz studies the transmission of modernist and/or radical ideas fromthe Middle East to Indonesia, the multiple organizations and strategieswithin Islamic movements, as well as the impacts of local and national valueson the distinct faces of Indonesian Islam. Despite the current emergenceof Islamic radicalism, the majority of the people continue to reject politicizedIslam. According to the author, the tradition of intellectual and organizationalpluralism has become the predominant characteristic ofIndonesian Islam.The book is divided into three chapters. Chapter 1 examines how thereformist ideas of Muhammad Abduh (1849-1905), his colleague Jamaluddinal-Afghani (1839-97), and Muhammad Rashid Rida (1865-1935) were transmittedto Southeast Asia (including Indonesia and the Malay Peninsula)through publications and networks, and how they were interpreted andapplied within the new environment. Thus, Islamic reformist ideas, particularlyfrom Egypt, influenced the rise of as well as the conflicts between themodernists, represented by the Muhammadiyah (established in 1912), andthe traditionalists, represented by the Nahdatul Ulama (NU, established in1926). In these two movements, Middle Eastern reformism underwent aprocess of localization that involved local preachers, activists, and scholars ...


2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. i-ix
Author(s):  
Zakyi Ibrahim

With the uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa come scores ofintellectual initiatives and academic investigations geared toward understandingthe forces and motives propelling these unprecedented developments.Conferences are being convened and special issues ofjournals are being dedicated to addressing some aspects of the currentphenomena ‒ not to talk of droves of “experts” (academic tourists?)pouring into the Muslim world for research. In short, the so-called“Arab Spring” ‒ also known by the people from the region as revolution(thawra), uprising (intifāÌa), renaissance (nahÌa) and awakening(ṣaḥwa)1 ‒ has been an intellectual treasure trove for academics in the areasof Middle Eastern Studies, Islamic Studies, and Comparative Politics.But are the attempts to explain these phenomena enough to guide the presentand future Muslim generations to proper trajectories toward sociopoliticaland intellectual success? This editorial is intended to argue that, despitethe potential positive outcomes from recent initiatives, now is the opportunetime for Muslims to seize in order to design future trajectories for their upcominggenerations. The sociopolitical imperatives (civility, freedom, empowerment,pluralism, and happiness, to name a few), to which they aspireto respond, must be guided by, or anchored in, grand intellectual endeavors ...


1970 ◽  
pp. 36-47
Author(s):  
Fadwa Al-Labadi

The concept of citizenship was introduced to the Arab and Islamic region duringthe colonial period. The law of citizenship, like all other laws and regulations inthe Middle East, was influenced by the colonial legacy that impacted the tribal and paternalistic systems in all aspects of life. In addition to the colonial legacy, most constitutions in the Middle East draw on the Islamic shari’a (law) as a major source of legislation, which in turn enhances the paternalistic system in the social sector in all its dimensions, as manifested in many individual laws and the legislative processes with respect to family status issues. Family is considered the nucleus of society in most Middle Eastern countries, and this is specifically reflected in the personal status codes. In the name of this legal principle, women’s submission is being entrenched, along with censorship over her body, control of her reproductive role, sexual life, and fertility.


Metahumaniora ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 40
Author(s):  
Panji Maulani

ABSTRAKProses penelitian ini dilakukan dengan melakukan penelitian lapangan danpenelitian kepustakaan. Analisis mendalam terkait akulturasi budaya pada arsitektur MasjidAgung Jawa Tengah didapat melalui penggunaan metode deskriptif-analitik dengan langkahlangkahobservatif. Langkah-langkah tersebut disesuaikan dengan sumber terkait, sehinggadata pada objek penelitian dapat dideskripsikan serta dianalisis dengan pendekatan budayadan arsitektur. Penelitian ini menjadi penting untuk dilakukan karena Masjid Agung JawaTengah memiliki ornamen eksterior yang sangat khas, berbeda dengan ornamen masjidraya-masjid raya lain di Indonesia, yang umumnya memiliki ornamen eksterior yang hanyaberakulturasi dengan budaya Timur Tengah. Pada Masjid Agung Jawa Tengah kita dapatmerasakan suasana seperti di masjid Nabawi dan suasana Colloseum di zaman Romawi.Terdapat 6 buah payung hidrolik seperti di masjid Nabawi dan gerbang Al-Qanathir yangmenyerupai Colloseum pada pelataran masjid akibat pembangunan Masjid Agung JawaTengah menggunakan paduan tiga unsur budaya: Jawa, Timur Tengah, dan Romawi.Kata kunci: akulturasi, ornamen, masjid agung, Jawa TengahABTRACTThe research process was conducted by field research and library research. Depthanalysis related to acculturation on the architecture of the Central Java Great Mosque obtainedusing descriptive-analytic method with observational measures. The steps are adapted to thecorresponding source, so that data on the research object can be described and analyzed withcultural and architectural approach. This research becomes important thing to do because ofthe Great Mosque of Central Java has a very distinctive exterior ornament, in contrast to theother great mosques in Indonesia, whose the exterior ornament is generally only acculturatedwith Middle Eastern culture. In Central Java Great Mosque we can feel the atmosphere likeat the Nabawi Mosque and the atmosphere of the Colosseum in Roman times. There are sixpieces of hydraulic umbrella like in Nabawi Mosque and Al-Qanathir gate that resembles theColosseum in the courtyard of the mosque as the result of the construction of the Central JavaGreat Mosque using a combination of three elements of culture: Java, Middle East, and Roman.Keywords: acculturation, ornament, grand mosque, Central Java


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-96
Author(s):  
Sayyora Saidova ◽  

In the Middle East, the processes for leadership among religious and democratic progress in North Africa require that the state pursue secular policy on a scientific and dialectical basis. Because religious beliefs have become so ingrained in secular life that it is difficult to separate them. Because in the traditions and customs of the people, in various ceremonies, there is a secular as well as a religious aspect. Even the former Soviet Constitution, based on atheism, could not separate them. Religious faith has lived in the human heart despite external prohibitions. National independence has given freedom to religious belief, which is now breathing freely in the barrel. The religious policy of our state strengthens and expands this process and guarantees it constitutionally.


2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 388-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdulla Shehab ◽  
Khalid F. AlHabib ◽  
Akshaya S. Bhagavathula ◽  
Ahmad Hersi ◽  
Hussam Alfaleh ◽  
...  

Background: Most of the available literature on ST-Elevated myocardial infarction (STEMI) in women was conducted in the developed world and data from Middle-East countries was limited. Aims: To examine the clinical presentation, patient management, quality of care, risk factors and inhospital outcomes of women with acute STEMI compared with men using data from a large STEMI registry from the Middle East. Methods: Data were derived from the third Gulf Registry of Acute Coronary Events (Gulf RACE-3Ps), a prospective, multinational study of adults with acute STEMI from 36 hospitals in 6 Middle-Eastern countries. The study included 2928 patients; 296 women (10.1%) and 2632 men (89.9%). Clinical presentations, management and in-hospital outcomes were compared between the 2 groups. Results: Women were 10 years older and more likely to have diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia compared with men who were more likely to be smokers (all p<0.001). Women had longer median symptom-onset to emergency department (ED) arrival times (230 vs. 170 min, p<0.001) and ED to diagnostic ECG (8 vs. 6 min., p<0.001). When primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) was performed, women had longer door-to-balloon time (DBT) (86 vs. 73 min., p=0.009). When thrombolytic therapy was not administered, women were less likely to receive PPCI (69.7 vs. 76.7%, p=0.036). The mean duration of hospital stay was longer in women (6.03 ± 22.51 vs. 3.41 ± 19.45 days, p=0.032) and the crude in-hospital mortality rate was higher in women (10.4 vs. 5.2%, p<0.001). However, after adjustments, multivariate analysis revealed a statistically non-significant trend of higher inhospital mortality among women than men (6.4 vs. 4.6%), (p=0.145). Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that women in our region have almost double the mortality from STEMI compared with men. Although this can partially be explained by older age and higher risk profiles in women, however, correction of identified gaps in quality of care should be attempted to reduce the high morbidity and mortality of STEMI in our women.


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