Religion, Religiosity and the Place of Islam in Political Life: Insights from the Arab Barometer Surveys

2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Tessler

AbstractThis paper explores the nature and determinants of attitudes toward the political role of Islam held by ordinary citizens in the Arab world. Based on results from nationally representative surveys carried out in seven Arab states during 2006-2007, it engages the pervasive debate about Islam and democracy—showing that the significant divide is not between those who favor democracy and those who favor Islam, but between those who favor secular democracy and those who favor a political system that is both democratic and Islamic in some meaningful way. Furthermore, this analysis finds that the civic values and predispositions of individuals who favor a political role for Islam are overwhelmingly similar to those of individuals who favor a separation of religion and politics. The paper also finds little consistency in the factors that incline individuals towards support for political Islam in the different countries surveyed. Most importantly, this analysis concludes that there is little or no incompatibility between Islam and democracy in the public mind and that a proper understanding of the reasons and ways that Muslim Arab publics think about governance and the political role of Islam is possible only if attention is paid to the particular political and societal contexts within which attitudes are formed.

Author(s):  
Guillaume Heuguet

This exploratory text starts from a doctoral-unemployed experience and was triggered by the discussions within a collective of doctoral students on this particularly ambiguous status since it is situated between student, unemployed, worker, self-entrepreneur, citizen-subject of social rights or user-commuter in offices and forms. These discussions motivated the reading and commentary of a heterogeneous set of texts on unemployment, precariousness and the functioning of the institutions of the social state. This article thus focuses on the relationship between knowledge and unemployment, as embodied in the public space, in the relationship with Pôle Emploi, and in the academic literature. It articulates a threefold problematic : what is known and said publicly about unemployment? What can we learn from the very experience of the relationship with an institution like Pôle Emploi? How can these observations contribute to an understanding of social science inquiry and the political role of knowledge fromm precariousness?


Author(s):  
Peter Urbanitsch

Constitution and Administration. The Territorial Prince and Estates, Politicians and Officials. This chapter focuses on the bipolar political life in Lower Austria in the course of the long 19th century. Beginning with the constitutional realities before the revolution of 1848, it examines the constitutional developments after 1848 and 1861, and also offers a brief description of the various administrative organizational structures and their efforts and achievements. Prior to 1848, the aulic offices sought to minimize the political role of the estates and thus the participation of sections of the populace. Yet according to the constitutional settlement of 1861, some elements of the population hitherto not involved in politics were given the opportunity for self-determined activities. The “autonomous” administration of the land became a substantial part of public administration, being quite successful in supplying all kinds of services. Owing to a blurred assignment of remits between the “autonomous” administration of the land and that run by the central state government, this “dual-track” public administration diminished the effectiveness of its activities and became a nuisance for the public at large


Author(s):  
V.V. Pushkareva

The article analyzes the new role of the Alliance 90/The Greens in the political life of Germany. The Greens have come a long way: from the leftist radical movement of protest and opposition to the parliamentary party. The author describes the reasons of the Greens’ popularity in the modern period, notes the success of the party both within the country and at the European level. According to the public opinion poll conducted in the autumn of 2019, the ratings of the ruling CDU/CSU and the Greens became equal. It should be stated that the Greens have lost their radical position and off-system orientation but they continue to demonstrate a predisposition to the opposition of the liberal-democratic nature, which implies a willingness to fight for the reform of the existing social system. In this regard, the Greens are close to modern Social Democrats, but the degree of their social criticism is certainly higher, which makes them a potential partner of the left party. From the leftist off-systemic standing to the systemic leftism: that is the result of the political evolution of the Greens. It is in favor of this conclusion that the party's current position in the political life of Germany testifies. But the problem is whether the party will be able to adapt to new conditions and maintain the credibility with the voters until 2021, the next federal election in the Bundestag?


Author(s):  
Alfred Stepan

This chapter investigates whether there should be more or less secularism in Indonesia and particularly, since religions can be neither wholly privatised nor allowed to dominate political life, what are the best ways of accommodating it in a democratic society, in line with this volume’s overall focus. Indeed, it should be pointed out that Indonesia lived under a military dictatorship from 1965 till 1998 so the question needs to be addressed first by asking if Indonesia is a democracy now; and if it is, what types of accommodations about religion Indonesians have made and why. I come at these questions as a specialist in subjects such as authoritarian regimes, military governments, the breakdown of democracies, failed and successful democratic transitions, and recently the role of religion and politics. My writing is normally comparative, and has often been based on field research in Brazil, Chile, Spain, India, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Senegal and Indonesia.


Author(s):  
E. V. DUNAEVA

The article is devoted to the role of Shiite clergy in the Islamic revolution and in the political life of Islamic Republic of Iran. The author attempts to analize the possibilities of the Islamic regime’s survival in the context of modernizing society. IRI is a special model of the state system that embodies the idea of the Islamic rule of Imam Khomeini. Its political, socioeconomic, legal spheres are based on Islamic principles. The clergy managed to establish almost absolute control over secular institutions. At the same time, the Iranian regime can not be regarded as the only theocratic. It combines Islamic ideas with republican principles and admits democracy as a form of political participation. Iran’s political system combines elements of the modern Islamic theocracy with republican principles. Over nearly 40-years of its existence (since 1979), the political system underwent certain transformations which were caused by the economic and sociocultural development of the society and external factors. The liberalization of the economic sphere and the development of political parties put on the agenda political changes. Liberal-minded clergy relying on the ideas of religious modernism support the strengthening of democratic elements within the Islamic Republic. Some of them are ready to abandon the principle of “velayat-e faqih” or to reduce the authority of the leader in political sphere. They initiated reforms in political and public sphere.However, the clergy standing on the positions of fundamentalism, is not ready to reduce the Islamic component. They condemn the modernization trends intensified in Iranian society in recent years and are trying to bring the country back to the first post-revolutionary decade. However, the society is not ready to share such approaches. During the recent election campaigns Iranians have supported the liberal forces. The events of early 2018 demonstrated the protest potential of the society.This shows the desire of the citizens for further democratization of the political system and secularization of the public life. Although, there are calls for overthrowing the dictatorship of the clergy among the opposition groups in the West and inside the country. Hopes for the democratisation of the regime have not been lost. If external factors do not have a destructive effect, then the implementation of the Iranian model of modernization can become a reality.


2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 309
Author(s):  
Zaprulkhan Zaprulkhan

<p><strong>Abstract:</strong><strong><em> </em></strong><em>As if it never finished to talk about the role of women in the public sphere. This is because the role of women in the public sphere, particularly in their political role is considered to be less significant. Up to the third millennium, some scholars and intellectuals still had a negative view about the role of positive contribution of women in the political arena. They interpreted the Qor’an and the hadith (traditions of the Prophet, sayings of the Prophet)</em> <em>textually with which prohibited women involve in politics. Through constructive critics and holistic reconstruction, this study tried to explore the political role of women in the public sphere based on ‘notion’ of Musdah Mulia. According to Musdah, the important things that should be done was not only the reconstruction of the interpretation of the fundamental doctrines of Islam (Qur'an and Hadith), but also practical implementation in the fields of education, culture, and public policies. All reconstructions of woman</em> <em>role in political leadership should be carried out simultaneously in order to produce concrete changes. This is because there were a number of internal factors that had caused women not be able to play their role significantly in the political sphere that consisted of figure of women themselves who were unconfident and passive to the given opportunities they had. They also got lack of support; they were chained in stereotypes as guardians of household, and still confined by misogynistic tradition, as well as caused by the biased interpretation of religious doctrines related to the patriarchal values and gender domain.</em> <em></em></p><p dir="RTL"><strong>الملخص</strong> :كاد لا ينتهي الحديث عن دور المرأة في وسط المجتمع . وذلك لأن دورها فيه – وخاصة في المجال السياسي – قليل. وإلى هذا الحين لا يزال بعض العلماء والمثقفين نظروا إلى دور المرأة الإيجابي في وسط المجتمع نظرة سلبية.  فسّر هؤلاء الآيات القرآنية والأحاديث النبوية الناهية المرأة عن الاشتراك في المجال السياسي تفسيرا حرفيا. حاولت هذه الدراسة – بمدخل نقدي بنّاء شامل – دراسة الدور السياسي للمرأة وسط المجتمع فكرة موسدة موليا. ترى موسدة أن العمل الواجب قيامه به هو، ليس فقط إعادة طريقة تفسير القرآن والحديث بل كذلك إيجاد الحركات في مجال التربية، والثقافة، والقرارات الإجتماعية. وجميع إعادة بناء لدور المرأة لابد أن تقام جماعية لتحقيق التغيّر الواقعيّ. وهذا لأن هناك عوامل داخلية للمرأة تمنع المرأة للتدخّل في المجال السياسي، وهي عدم ثقتها بنفسها وعدم انتهازها للفرصة الموجودة. وكذلك التأييد لها قليل، محبوسة في ضوء المقولة " إنها ربّة البيت"،</p><p><strong>Abstrak: </strong><em>Membincang peran perempuan di wilayah publik, seakan tidak pernah selesai. Hal ini karena peran perempuan di wilayah publik ini, khususnya peran politik diyakini masih kurang signifikan. </em><em>Hingga memasuki milenium ketiga, masih terdapat sebagian ulama dan cendekiawan yang memandang negatif peran dan kontribusi positif kaum perempuan di ranah politik. Mereka melakukan interpretasi secara tekstual terhadap al-Quran dan hadis yang melarang kaum perempuan terlibat dalam politik. Melalui kritik konstruktif dan rekonstruksi holistik, kajian ini mencoba untuk mengeksplorasi peran politik kaum perempuan di ruang publik gagasan Musdah Mulia. Bagi Musdah, hal yang perlu dilakukan adalah tidak saja rekonstruksi interpretasi terhadap doktrin-doktrin fundamental Islam (al-Quran dan hadis), tapi juga gerakan praktis dalam bidang pendidikan, kebudayaan, dan kebijakan publik. Semua rekonstruksi terhadap peran kepemimpinan politik perempuan tersebut mesti dilakukan secara bersamaan agar menghasilkan perubahan secara konkret. Hal ini karena terdapat sejumlah faktor internal yang menyebabkan perempuan tidak bisa berperan secara signifikan dalam ranah politik yang mencakup pada sosok perempuan sendiri yang kurang percaya diri dan pasif terhadap peluang yang ada. Mereka juga kurang mendapat dukungan, terbelenggu stereotip sebagai penjaga ranah domestik, masih terkungkung tradisi misoginis, serta penafsiran agama yang bias nilai-nilai patriarki dan bias gender. </em></p><p><strong>Keywords: </strong>perempuan, publik, steorotip, patriarkhi, tafsir agama.</p>


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