Islamic Traditionalism in a Globalizing World: Sunni Muslim identity in Kerala, South India

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-42
Author(s):  
M. S. VISAKH ◽  
R. SANTHOSH ◽  
C. K. MOHAMMED ROSHAN
Keyword(s):  
Identity Formation ◽  
South India ◽  
Economic Change ◽  
Muslim Identity ◽  
New Class ◽  
Nation States ◽  
Globalizing World ◽  
Cultural Forces ◽  
Instrumental Role

Abstract In our ethnography among traditionalist Sunni Muslims of Kerala, South India, we observe the emergence of new intellectual critiques of Islamic reformism and a revival of ‘traditional’ Islamic articulations. A new class of traditionalist Sunni ulama, claiming to be ‘turbaned professionals’, plays an instrumental role in providing epistemic sanctioning to ‘traditional’ Islamic piety while simultaneously grounding it within the discourses and processes of neoliberal developmentalism. Such assertions of traditionalist Sunni Muslim identity challenge the conventional understanding of Islamic reformism as a hallmark of the progressive understanding of faith and traditionalism as its ‘anti-modern’ other. The article argues that this discursive shift of Sunni Islamic traditionalism in Kerala since the 1980s from defensive to more assertive forms has to be located in the context of wider socio-economic change within the community facilitated by structural as well as cultural forces of globalization. We point out that this process traverses the local, national, and global scales of identification, and results in intense negotiations between local identifications and ‘true Islamicate global imaginations’. These negotiations bring in new discourses around the question of ‘authentic’ Islamic practices and sensibilities among the traditionalist Sunni Muslims, forcing us to locate the question of their identity formation beyond the boundaries of communities and the nation states that ensconce them.

Morphogenesis

2017 ◽  
pp. 1-34
Keyword(s):  
General Theory ◽  
Growth And Development ◽  
Economic Change ◽  
Final Analysis ◽  
Political Organization ◽  
The Political ◽  
Morphological Complexity ◽  
Continuous Evolution ◽  
Nation States

This chapter analyzes evolution to the end of furnishing a general theory of economic change. The analysis is applicable to both organisms and organizations. The general theory presented here is based on four analytical constructs: symmetry, scale, complexity, and collapse. Complexity is modeled as a force, similar to gravitation. Evolution is understood as a condition exhibiting an increase in morphological complexity. In the final analysis, economic change is linked to the structure of the political state. Pathologies of economic change, including morphostasis (in other words reaching a stage where growth and development are anemic due to the system's form and structure becoming static), necessitate a rethinking of political organization. Polycentricity and the principle of subsidiarity, with a praxis inspired by sovereign cities, are imperative for the continuous evolution of societies, and hence economies. In this future, nation-states become subsidiary. Sovereign cities replace nation-states on the ‘international' stage.

scholarly journals Fashion and Faith: Islamic Dress and Identity in The Netherlands

Religions ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bat Sheva Hass ◽  
Hayden Lutek
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Social Action ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Muslim Women ◽  
Muslim Identity ◽  
Dutch Identity ◽  
Dress And Identity ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Islamic Dress

This paper focuses on the relationship between clothing and identity—specifically, on Islamic dress as shaping the identity of Dutch Muslim women. How do these Dutch Muslim women shape their identity in a way that it is both Dutch and Muslim? Do they mix Dutch parameters in their Muslim identity, while at the same time intersplicing Islamic principles in their Dutch sense of self? This study is based on two ethnographies conducted in the city of Amsterdam, the first occurring from September to October 2009, and the second took place in August 2018, which combines insights taken from in-depth interviews with Dutch Muslim women and observations in gatherings from Quranic and Religious studies, social gatherings and one-time events, as well as observations in stores for Islamic fashion and museums in Amsterdam. This study takes as its theme clothing and identity, and how Islamic clothing can be mobilized by Dutch Muslim women in service of identity formation. The study takes place in a context, the Netherlands, where Islam is largely considered by the populous as a religion that is oppressive and discriminatory to women. This paper argues that in the context of being Dutch and Muslim, through choice of clothing, these women express their agency: their ability to choose and act in social action, thus pushing the limits of archetypal Dutch identity while simultaneously stretching the meaning of Islam to craft their own identity, one that is influenced by themes of immigration, belongingness, ethnicity, religious knowledge and gender.

scholarly journals Being a ‘White Muslima’ in the Netherlands Ethnicity, Friendships and Relationships—The Dutch Conversion Narrative

Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 345
Author(s):  
Bat Sheva Hass
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Muslim Women ◽  
Dutch Society ◽  
Muslim Identity ◽  
Conversion Narrative ◽  
Conversion Narratives ◽  
Conversion Experience ◽  
Muslim Communities

This article, which is part of a larger ongoing project, examines relationships, friendships and levels of belonging in Dutch society, as well as in the Dutch Muslim community in narratives of women converted to Islam. The ethnicity of these women is always visible as ‘native Dutch’ and shapes their conversion narratives. This ethnography raises a number of questions that form the basis for the analysis presented here: How do Dutch Muslim women shape their identity in a way that is both Dutch and Muslim? Do they incorporate Dutch parameters into their Muslim identity, while at the same time weaving Islamic principles into their Dutch sense of self? The findings show how the conversion narrative can be mobilized by Dutch Muslim women to serve identity formation, levels of belonging and personal (religious) choice in the Netherlands, where Islam is largely considered by the non-Muslim population to be a religion that is oppressive and discriminatory towards women and is associated with foreignness and being the Other. It is argued that, in the context of being Dutch and Muslim, these women express their freedom of choice, which is manifested through friendships, relationships and marriages (Islamic vs. civil), while their ethnicity and conversion experience is a visible component in their identity. In so doing, these women push the limits of the archetypal Dutch identity and are able to criticize Dutch society while simultaneously stretching the meaning of Islam and being critical of Dutch Muslim communities to craft their own hybrid identity.

Social Policy, Cultural Integration and Faith: A Muslim Reflection

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 625-635 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dilwar Hussain
Keyword(s):  
Identity Formation ◽  
Identity Politics ◽  
British Society ◽  
Cultural Integration ◽  
Muslim Identity ◽  
Big Society ◽  
Economic Reality ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Muslim Communities ◽  
The Uk

This article is a reflection on some of the discussions around faith and public life, within the context of Muslim communities and their interaction with public policy. It looks at the gap between popular debates on Muslims and the actual lived socio-economic reality of most people of Muslim background, and then goes on to look at aspects of identity formation and Muslim identity politics in the UK. It also considers the idea of integration and looks briefly at emerging Islamic discourses that are grappling with some of the challenges presented by modern British society. Finally, the article explores the role of faith in the public sphere and if it can help to build social capital and play a role in ideas such as the Big Society. The article concludes by emphasising the need to move beyond identity politics and communitarianism and asks where the real divides in society are – between religious and ideological groups or within them?

Imperial Collapse or Revolution?

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 231-258
Author(s):  
Mónica Ricketts ◽  
Eduardo Posada-Carbó ◽  
Clément Thibaud ◽  
Brian Hamnett
Keyword(s):  
Internal Conflict ◽  
American Continent ◽  
Nation States ◽  
Constructive Criticism ◽  
Cultural Forces ◽  
American Nation

A book forum featuring The End of Iberian Rule on the American Continent, 1770–1830 by Brian R. Hamnett. His 2017 volume argues that the origins of Ibero-American Independence must be found in the interplay between the Spanish and Lusitanian monarchies and the American empires ruled by them. It was internal conflict within these empires that led to independence, not revolution, separatist sentiment, or the emergence of American nation-states. Monica Ricketts, Eduardo Posada-Carbó, Clément Thibaud strongly commend the work while offering constructive criticism and analysis. Reviewers raise questions about socio-cultural forces and changes, the role of politics, the exclusion of an Atlantic perspective, and the lack of attention to revolutionary thought and nationalism. The book is celebrated for its breadth, its historiographical contribution, and the strength of its argument for the continuities from the Iberian monarchies and empires to the nation states that grew out of them. Hamnett responds to the reviewers.

Navigating a Globalizing World

2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 203-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanna Schissler
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Information Technologies ◽  
Reference Frames ◽  
History Textbooks ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
Nation States ◽  
Globalizing World ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Local Levels

History textbooks are sources of collective memory and can thus be read as "autobiographies" of nation-states. History textbooks used to be anchored in national traditions, ultimately legitimizing the rationale of nation-states. In questioning the sole validity of national history, social movements since the 1960s and the process of globalization became the seedbeds for the deconstruction of master narratives. Because of their instrumental character as teaching tools, textbooks in general allow researchers to decipher the normative structures of societies. The information revolution since the 1970s has dethroned textbooks as the sole means of instruction in classrooms, and led to the development of different approaches for the analysis of textbooks. Today's globalizing world demands new reference frames for teaching and learning. In the second part of this article, eight clusters that are pertinent for orientation in the perplexing realities of the present are drafted: challenges resulting from the revolution in information technologies; the changing world of work; contradictory tendencies in globalizing processes; the impact of a new turbo-capitalism with its de-legitimizing impact on political systems; unequal developments leading to an ever increasing inequality on a global as well as on local levels; the increase of worldwide migration and its impact on classrooms; contested memories in societies that reposition themselves in a world that has grown together and re-fragmented at new seams; and finally, the crisis in orientation and values and the personal costs resulting from the perplexities and insecurities of the world.

Economic Change and Agrarian Organization in ‘Dry’ South India 1890–1940: A Reinterpretation

1983 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce Robert
Keyword(s):  
Market Economy ◽  
Land Tenure ◽  
Rural Economy ◽  
South India ◽  
Economic Change ◽  
Rural Politics ◽  
Common Theme ◽  
Late Nineteenth ◽  
Agrarian Structure

Recent historiography of India has focused much needed attention on rural economy and society. The literature has dealt with a number of issues, such as merchants, credit, impact of communications, land-tenure (revenue), rural politics, rich peasants and general essays on the ‘agrarian structure’ of various regions of the sub-continent. In many of the studies a common theme emerges. It is suggested that with the establishment of an integrated market economy in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries rural wealth and power tended to concentrate in the hands of relatively few rich peasants or a rural elite. In the case of south India, the contention of increased rural stratification on these lines is most convincingly put forth by David Washbrook and Christopher Baker in a series of articles and books. The present analysis will concentrate on Washbrooks' writings in reference to the agrarian structure of the ‘dry’ districts. His works provide the most comprehensive and coherent statement of the ‘rural magnate’ interpretation of agrarian organization.

Can One Person Belong to Two Faiths? The Experience of Three Catholic Monks

2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-123
Author(s):  
Enrico Beltramini
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Religious Identity ◽  
South India ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Catholic Priests ◽  
Religious Traditions ◽  
Roman Catholic Priests ◽  
To Receive

In the last decade, the question of multireligious identity has begun to receive academic attention. In particular, scholars are beginning to explore examples of people who have experienced two religious traditions equally seriously – that is, the experience of ‘double religious belonging’. This paper reframes, in the light of the notion of double belonging, the lives and experiences of three Roman Catholic priests and monks who moved from Europe to India in the twentieth century and are regarded as ‘founders’ of the Saccidananda Ashram in South India, while providing insights on how we understand double religious identity and the process of religious identity formation.

scholarly journals Rohingya: The History of a Muslim Identity in Myanmar

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacques Leider
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Military Operations ◽  
Political Struggle ◽  
Muslim Identity ◽  
Shared Identity ◽  
High Commissioner ◽  
Ethnoreligious Identity

The name Rohingya denotes an ethnoreligious identity of Muslims in North Rakhine State, Myanmar (formerly Burma). The term became part of public discourse in the late 1950s and spread widely following reports on human rights violations against Muslims in North Rakhine State during the 1990s, and again after 2012. Claims for regional Muslim autonomy emerged during World War II and led to the rise of a Rohingya ethnonationalist movement that drew on the local Muslim imaginaire, as well as regional history and archaeology. To explore the historical roots of distinctive identity claims and highlight Buddhist-Muslim tensions, one must reach back to the role of Muslims in the precolonial Buddhist kingdom of Arakan and their demographic growth during the colonial period. Civic exclusion and state harassment under Burma’s authoritarian regimes (1962–2011) put a premature end to political hopes of ethnic recognition, and yet hastened a process of shared identity formation, both in the country and among the diaspora. Since the 1970s, refugees and migrants turned to Bangladesh, the Middle East, and Southeast Asian countries, forming a transnational body of Rohingya communities that reinvented their lives in various political and cultural contexts. A succession of Rohingya nationalist organizations—some of whom were armed—had negligible impact but kept the political struggle alive along the border with Bangladesh. Although Rohingya nationalists failed to gain recognition among ethnic and religious groups in Burma, they have attracted increasing international acknowledgment. For postdictatorial Myanmar (after 2011), the unresolved Rohingya issue became a huge international liability in 2017, when hundreds of thousands fled to Bangladesh following military operations widely interpreted as ethnic cleansing. In December 2017, the United Nations’ high commissioner for human rights acknowledged that elements of genocide may be occurring.

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