Kinship, Expectations, and God

Hawwa ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 293-314
Author(s):  
Keren Abbou Hershkovits
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Religious Conversion ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Present Contribution ◽  
Conversion Narratives ◽  
Early Islam ◽  
Personal Status ◽  
The Face ◽  
Kinship Ties ◽  
Shed Light

Abstract The conquest of the Middle East by Muslims ultimately resulted in the Islamization of the region. The long process by which this took place awaits clarification. Conversion narratives, permitting us a glimpse into relations between Muslims, non-Muslims, and converts, might serve to elucidate this process. This study examines how different families responded to religious conversion within their ranks. It will show that in early Islam, individuals moved between different spheres, all the while negotiating their roles and commitments. Rather than considering the act of conversion itself, this study engages with the range of responses generated by conversion that were recorded by medieval historians, biographers, and ḥadīth collectors. The present contribution seeks to demonstrate, through anecdotes of conversion, the ways in which kinship ties functioned in the face of shifts in personal status. I also hope to show that boundaries between religious communities (to the extent that they indeed existed) were much more porous, or perceived as such, than has been previously thought. The anecdotes concern the early days of Islam among pagans and shed light on communities’ reception or rejection of Muḥammad’s call.

Televangelizing Muslims

2021 ◽  
pp. 191-218
Author(s):  
Jordan Denari Duffner
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Religious Affiliation ◽  
Arabic Language ◽  
First Century ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
The Political ◽  
Religious Identification ◽  
Christian Zionism ◽  
Shed Light

In the first two decades of the twenty-first century, Arabic-language Christian television channels have proliferated rapidly, broadcasting their message across the airwaves of the Middle East. One such channel is al-Hayat, which attempts to evangelize Muslim viewers and educate Christians through numerous programs about Islam. Interviews conducted with Jordanian Christians and Muslims indicate that al-Hayat has played a significant role in elevating distrust and suspicion between the two religious communities in Amman, which previously enjoyed more positive and friendly relationships, as well as contributing to a heightened sense of religious affiliation as a part of Jordanians’ personal and communal identities. Al-Hayat is not alone in this; other Christian channels, as well as Muslim ones, have also played a part in heightening security concerns and religious identification. Al-Hayat and some of its counterparts also maintain connections with what is often termed the “Islamophobia industry,” as well as American Christian Zionism—factors that shed light on the channels’ influence and often ambiguous intent. On television sets across the Arab world, Al-Hayat reproduces Western Islamophobic discourse and—whether intentionally or not—serves to enact part of the political mission and eschatological vision for the Middle East espoused by some Christian Zionists.

Language, Politics and Society in the Middle East

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abeer AlNajjar
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Linguistic Landscape ◽  
Language Politics ◽  
Road Signs ◽  
Grassroots Initiatives ◽  
Language And Politics ◽  
Development Of Language ◽  
Core Questions ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Shed Light

This book aims to shed light on core questions relating to language and society, language and conflict, and language and politics, in relation to a changing Middle East. While the book focuses on Arabic, it goes way beyond a purely linguistic analysis by bringing to the fore a set of pressing questions about the relationship between Arabic and society. For example, it touches on the development of language policy via an examination of administrative mandates (top-down) in contrast to grassroots initiatives (bottom-up); the deeper layers of the linguistic landscape that highlight the connection between politics, conflict, identity, road signs and street names; Arabic studies and Arabic identity and the myriad ways countries deal simultaneously with globalisation while also seeking to strengthen local and national identity, and more.

Expansion of borders in the Kurdistan region and local and regional positions

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (11) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Harith Qahtan Abdullah ◽  
Abbas Fadel Atwan
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Kurdistan Region ◽  
War On Terrorism ◽  
National State ◽  
The Face ◽  
In The Beginning

The borders of Kurdistan represent an important point in Kurdish thought. They represent the hope of establishing their national state. The circumstances of the war on terrorism in Iraq and Syria have led to the emergence of what is known as a "propaganda" and the formation of a global front in its struggle. And with the signs of the collapse of the Syrian state and the weakness of the Iraqi state in the face of the "dashing" in the beginning. These circumstances led to the emergence of the role of the Kurdistan region in the confrontation "ISIS" and maintain the administrative border in the three provinces of Kurdistan in addition to the province of Kirkuk. That the circumstances of the war on terrorism created new international conditions on the Middle East arena, which will generate many problems between the Kurdistan region and the central government of Baghdad, as well as other problems between the region, Syria, Turkey and Iran. The war on terrorism has made countries free to fight the opposition groups under the name Terrorism by their classification. The Turkish side is fighting the PKK within the borders of the Kurdistan region, and this war can develop in a post-"warlike" phase. The war in Syria is also contradictory to vision and not resolved to a specific side and Iran's position on developments is encouraging.

Alberto Blest Gana: Four Chronicles and a Novel

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-135
Author(s):  
Laura Janina Hosiasson
Keyword(s):  
Utopian Fiction ◽  
Alberto Blest Gana ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Shed Light

Abstract Four chronicles written by Alberto Blest Gana between April and May 1862 in the newspaper La voz de Chile, months before the publication of his novel Mariluán, shed light on the close relationship between his production as chronicler and writer. Among the various faits divers discussed in the columns, the issue of a Mapuche delegation’s arrival in Santiago to hold a parlamento with the government about border disputes arises. The oscillating attitude of the chronicler in the face of otherness and his prejudiced comments, which are at the same time full of doubts and perplexities, serve as an incentive for his composing a utopian fiction. This article aims to examine the connections in the relationship between Blest Gana chronicler and novelist to expand the reading possibilities of Mariluán.

scholarly journals Religious Engagement and the Migration Issue: Towards Reconciling Political and Moral Duty

Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 236
Author(s):  
Joanna Kulska
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Decision ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Nation States ◽  
Religious Engagement ◽  
The Face ◽  
Religious Actors

The increasingly acknowledged post-secular perspective has resulted in the emergence of some new approaches theorizing this phenomenon. One such approach has been the concept of religious engagement, which calls for the redefinition of the perception of religious non-state actors towards including them as important partners in the process of identifying and realizing political goals. According to this view, due to the multidimensional role played by religious communities and non-state religious actors, they need to be recognized as pivotal in creating a new form of knowledge generated through encounter and dialogue of the political decision-makers with these subjects. Among numerous others, the challenge of migration calls for enhanced debate referring to both political and ethical issues. When such a perspective is applied, the question is raised of the duties and limits of nation-states using more or less harsh political measures towards refugees and migrants based on the concept of security, but also short-term political goals. In the face of a state’s lack of will or capacity to deal with the problem of migration, the question of religion serving not only as the service-provider but also as the “trend-setter” with regard to fundamental ethical questions needs to be considered.

scholarly journals Looking Beyond a Nuclear-Armed Iran: The Major Implications of Nuclear Iran for the Middle East

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. p50
Author(s):  
Sayed Reza Hussaini
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Nuclear Weapons ◽  
The United States ◽  
The West ◽  
Regional Powers ◽  
Cascade Effect ◽  
The Face ◽  
Enriched Uranium ◽  
Socioeconomic Consequences

Iran has pursued nuclear weapons for over four decades. The basic reasons for this quest have remained unchanged in the face of the most crippling sanctions. Almost three and a half years after Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran Nuclear Pact (JCPOA), Tehran officially announced that it has enriched uranium up to 60%, very close to the 90% suitable for nuclear weapons. Iran is highly likely to be the world’s next nuclear state. A nuclear-armed Iran will be emboldened to accelerate its aggressive activities in the region and act against its neighbors with little fear of retribution. Moreover, Iran’s network of proxies would adopt a more confrontational approach towards Israel. Besides, Iran’s politics of threat can have serious socioeconomic consequences for Israel.Iran’s possession of nuclear weapons could arguably set off a cascade effect, encouraging other major regional powers to move in the same direction. The West, particularly the United States, would seek to offset this risk by providing a “defenceumbrella”. HhhhjkhggHowever, some might be reluctant to be openly protected by the United Statesor would find the umbrella questionable and choose nuclear option for both security concerns and prestige.

scholarly journals FX Intervention to Stabilize or Manipulate the Exchange Rate? Inference from Profitability

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (90) ◽  
Author(s):  
Damiano Sandri
Keyword(s):  
Exchange Rate ◽  
Central Bank ◽  
Medium Term ◽  
The Face ◽  
Exchange Rate Misalignment ◽  
The Exchange Rate ◽  
Fundamental Values ◽  
Shed Light

We analyze the profitability of FX swaps used by the central bank of Brazil to shed light on the rationale for FX intervention. We find that swaps are profitable in expectation, suggesting that FX intervention is used to stabilize the exchange rate in the face of temporary excessive movements rather than to manipulate it away from fundamental values. In line with this interpretation, we find that the scale of FX intervention responds to the degree of exchange rate misalignment relative to UIP conditions. We also document that intervention is more aggressive when there is less uncertainty about the medium-term level of the exchange rate and when the exchange rate is overvalued rather than undervalued.

scholarly journals Ruin philosophy, poetic discourse and the collapse of meta-narratives in Aleksandr Kushner's poetry of the 1970s

Nordlit ◽  
2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Schönle
Keyword(s):  
The Self ◽  
Close Reading ◽  
Poetic Discourse ◽  
Philosophical Background ◽  
The Face ◽  
Creative Forces ◽  
Bear Witness ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
The Way

This article offers an analysis of the trope of ruin in the poetry of Aleksandr Kushner (born 1936), in particular through a close reading of two of his poems: “In a slippery graveyard, alone” and “Ruins”. The analysis of these poems is preceded by an overview of ruin philosophy from Burke and Diderot to Simmel and Benjamin, with particular emphasis on the way the trope of ruin contemplation stages a confrontation between the self and what transcends it (death, history, nature, etc.). This philosophical background serves as a heuristic tool to shed light on the poetry of Kushner. Through the trope of ruin, Kushner explores the legitimacy of poetic speech after the collapse of all meta-narratives. Kushner has no truck with Diderot's solipsism, nor with Hegel's bold narrative of progress, nor with Simmel's peaceful reconciliation with the creative forces of nature. Nor, really, does he intend to bear witness to history, the way Benjamin does in the faint anticipation of some miracle. Instead, Kushner posits the endurance of a community united not around a grand project, but around the idea of carrying on in the face of everything, muddling through despite the lack of hopes for a transformational future and making the most of fleeting moments of positivity that emerge out of the fundamental serendipity of history.

scholarly journals ‘Blood’ Kinship and Kinship in Christ’s Blood: Nomadic Evangelism in the Nenets Tundra

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 151-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatiana Vagramenko
Keyword(s):  
Religious Conversion ◽  
Traditional Practices ◽  
Cultural Logic ◽  
Kinship Networks ◽  
Kinship System ◽  
Economic Exchanges ◽  
Born Again ◽  
Kinship Ties ◽  
Polar Ural

Abstract The article addresses a conflicting encounter of two ideologies of kinship, ‘natural’ and ‘religious’, among the newly established Evangelical communities of Nenets in the Polar Ural and Yamal tundra. An ideology of Christian kinship, as an outcome of ‘spiritual re-birth’, was introduced through Nenets religious conversion. The article argues that although the born-again experience often turned against ancestral traditions and Nenets traditional kinship ties, the Nenets kinship system became a platform upon which the conversion mechanism was furthered and determined in the Nenets tundra. The article examines missionary initiatives and Nenets religiosity as kin-based activities, the outcome of which was twofold. On one side, it was the realignment of Nenets traditional kinship networks. On other side, it was the indigenisation of the Christian concept of kinship according to native internal cultural logic. Evangelical communities in the tundra were plunged into the traditional practices of Nenets kinship networks, economic exchanges, and marriage alliances. Through negotiation of traditional Nenets kinship and Christian kinship, converted Nenets developed new imaginaries, new forms of exchanges, and even new forms of mobility.

Christian Agency and Lutheran Personal Status Laws in Palestine

Exchange ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 278-296
Author(s):  
Tala Raheb
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Islamic Law ◽  
Christian Identity ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
Personal Status ◽  
Religious Oppression

Abstract In describing Christianity in the Middle East, scholars often highlight religious oppression, especially in relation to the larger Islamic context. Such contentious descriptions often cast Christians in the role of dhimmis, who are tolerated but not regarded as equal members of Muslim societies. Only in recent years some scholars have begun to modify their depictions of Christians and Christian-Muslim relations in the Middle East. While Christians in the Middle East have experienced and in certain regions continue to experience persecution, solely portraying them as victims does not do justice to the reality on the ground. By means of a case study on Palestine, I argue that an examination of the interaction between sharia (Islamic law) and Christian personal status laws sheds a different light on Christian identity and Christian-Muslim relations in the Middle East, and demonstrates the agency of Palestinian Christian communities in this respect.

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