Reevaluating Sectarianism in Light of Sufi Islam

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-40
Author(s):  
Elisheva Machlis

This study will evaluate the relationship between Sufism, ethnicity and sectarianism, through the prism of the Naqshbandiyya and Qadiriyya orders in Syria and Iraq, during the last two decades. It will demonstrate that the complex interaction between religion and politics in Iraq and Syria resulted in dynamic and even contradictory positions within these two orders in regards to questions of sectarianism and ethnicity. With the growing struggle over religious identities in the region, this research highlights the role of informal Sufi leaders in blending political participation with a mystical inclination, within a dynamic relationship with the state. This nominal Sufi inclination provided an opening for combining Islamic mysticism with other, and at times, opposing affiliations, ranging from nationalism to Jihad. As a result, some Sufi supporters showed sympathy towards Shi‘is while others tended towards a Salafi Jihadist orientation, with its exclusionist worldview. These non-affiliated Sufi voices play an important role in promoting new and diverse blends between mysticism, orthodoxy, activism and sectarianism. As a result, the historical role of Sufism as a cross-sectarian agent is maintained only in particular conditions, within a balance between the doctrines of a particular order, relations with the holders of power and ethnic membership.

Author(s):  
Jeff Haynes

This chapter explores the relationship between religion and politics. It first defines the concept of religion before discussing its contemporary political and social salience in many developing countries. It then considers how religion interacts with politics and with the state in the developing world, as well as how religion is involved in democratization in the developing world by focusing on the Arab Spring and its aftermath. It also examines the differing impacts of the so-called Islamic State and Pope Francis on the relationship between religion and politics in the developing world. The chapter concludes with an analysis of the role of religion in international politics after 9/11.


The United Nations Secretary-General and the United Nations Security Council spend significant amounts of time on their relationship with each other. They rely on each other for such important activities as peacekeeping, international mediation, and the formulation and application of normative standards in defense of international peace and security—in other words, the executive aspects of the UN’s work. The edited book The UN Secretary-General and the Security Council: A Dynamic Relationship aims to fill an important lacuna in the scholarship on the UN system. Although there exists an impressive body of literature on the development and significance of the Secretariat and the Security Council as separate organs, an important gap remains in our understanding of the interactions between them. Bringing together some of the most prominent authorities on the subject, this volume is the first book-length treatment of this topic. It studies the UN from an innovative angle, creating new insights on the (autonomous) policy-making of international organizations and adding to our understanding of the dynamics of intra-organizational relationships. Within the book, the contributors examine how each Secretary-General interacted with the Security Council, touching upon such issues as the role of personality, the formal and informal infrastructure of the relationship, the selection and appointment processes, as well as the Secretary-General’s threefold role as a crisis manager, administrative manager, and manager of ideas.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5056
Author(s):  
Barbara Pick ◽  
Delphine Marie-Vivien

This paper explores the issues of representativeness and participation in the collective processes involved in the elaboration of the geographical indications (GI) specifications and the governance of the GI initiatives. The objective is to understand the relationship among collective dynamics, representativeness of relevant stakeholders, and the legal frameworks for the protection of GIs. Using a qualitative methodology based on an analysis of six case studies in France and Vietnam, we show the role of the law in shaping the different ways of understanding and implementing the concept of representativeness in the French producer-led and the Vietnamese state-driven approaches to GI protection. In France, the GI specifications result from negotiations among all legitimate stakeholders, which may prove long, complex, and lead to standards that can continue to be challenged after the GI registration. We also argue that the rules for the representation of all GI users in the decision-making processes do not necessarily lead to fairness. In Vietnam, local stakeholders usually have a consultative role under the authority of the State, resulting in their little understanding and low use of the GI. Their empowerment is further hindered by the involvement of state authorities in the management of the producers’ associations. We conclude by discussing in-between solutions to promote the producers’ representation and participation.


1999 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 384-395
Author(s):  
R. W. Ambler

In February 1889 Edward King, Bishop of Lincoln, appeared before the court of the Archbishop of Canterbury charged with illegal practices in worship. The immediate occasion for these proceedings was the manner in which he celebrated Holy Communion at the Lincoln parish church of St Peter at Gowts on Sunday 4 December 1887. He was cited on six specific charges: the use of lighted candles on the altar; mixing water with the communion wine; adopting an eastward-facing position with his back to the congregation during the consecration; permitting the Agnus Dei to be sung after the consecration; making the sign of the cross at the absolution and benediction, and taking part in ablution by pouring water and wine into the chalice and paten after communion. Two Sundays later King had repeated some of these acts during a service at Lincoln Cathedral. As well as its intrinsic importance in defining the legality of the acts with which he was charged, the Bishop’s trial raised issues of considerable importance relating to the nature and exercise of authority within the Church of England and its relationship with the state. The acts for which King was tried had a further significance since the ways in which these and other innovations in worship were perceived, as well as the spirit in which they were ventured, also reflected the fundamental shifts which were taking place in the role of the Church of England at parish level in the second half of the nineteenth century. Their study in a local context such as Lincolnshire, part of King’s diocese, provides the opportunity to examine the relationship between changes in worship and developments in parish life in the period.


Author(s):  
Uldis Zupa ◽  

The implementation of the comprehensive national defense system in Latvia marks a new turning point in the relationship between the state and society – instead of being consumers of the security and defense provided by the state, every inhabitant of Latvia must become an active contributor to the natio-nal defense system. Thus, the society’s willingness to defend the state becomes an essential element in the successful implementation of the comprehensive state defense system. This article analyzes the different views of Latvian and Russian-speaking population on issues that affect the willingness to defend the state, as well as evaluates the role of intercultural communication for informing public and increasing the involvement in the comprehensive national defense system.


Author(s):  
Richard Whiting

In assessing the relationship between trade unions and British politics, this chapter has two focuses. First, it examines the role of trade unions as significant intermediate associations within the political system. They have been significant as the means for the development of citizenship and involvement in society, as well as a restraint upon the power of the state. Their power has also raised questions about the relationship between the role of associations and the freedom of the individual. Second, the chapter considers critical moments when the trade unions challenged the authority of governments, especially in the periods 1918–26 and 1979–85. Both of these lines of inquiry underline the importance of conservatism in the achievement of stability in modern Britain.


ZARCH ◽  
2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor Ténez Ybern

Si asumimos que el paisaje es el resultado perceptible de la relación dinámica entre un determinado grupo humano y su medio; esa definición que se cuenta entre las de más consenso entre aquellos que dicen hacer paisajes, suscita de inmediato ciertas preguntas: ¿Cuál es el papel de aquel que pretende crear paisajes, si el paisaje es un proceso que se da por si solo? ¿Hasta qué punto incide cambiar el aspecto de un lugar en esa relación entre la gente y su entorno cotidiano?El texto pretende explorar las consecuencias de esas paradójicas preguntas, a partir de una primera hipótesis: la del carácter intrínsecamente político del proyecto del paisaje. De esta hipótesis parte la intención de mostrar la evolución de la reflexión sobre ese papel político del hacer paisajes, en el que el hacedor de paisajes que está siempre situado entre los equilibrios de poder que se establecen entre las instituciones y la gente. A partir de aquí, se analizan algunos momentos clave de la historia de ese paisaje político, donde el “hacedor de paisajes” intenta encontrar su lugar.En el horizonte del texto, aparecen también imágenes de la historia reciente de mi ciudad, a modo de ilustración de lo dicho. If we accept that landscape is the perceptible result of the dynamic relationship process between a specific human group and an environment, this definition, which enjoys the most acceptance among those people who ‘make landscape’, immediately raises certain questions: What is the role of the person who aims to create landscapes, if landscape is a process that takes place on its own? To what point does this affect the relationship between people and their daily setting?This article initially aims to explore the consequences of that paradox through a first hypothesis: the intrinsically political nature of the landscape project. This hypothesis springs from the intention of describing the evolution of the reflection on this political role of making landscape, in which ‘landscape makers’ constantly find themselves affected by the balance of power established between institutions and people. Subsequently, analysis will be conducted on a series of key periods in the history of the political landscape in which landscape makers endeavour to find their place.Pictures of the recent history of my city appear interspersed within the text, in order to illustrate what has been described.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 747-762
Author(s):  
Abdusamat Akhatovich Khaydarov

Significant geopolitical changes taking place in the modern world in recent decades urge us to take a fresh look at the role of Islam and the clergy in the political processes of a number of countries of the Muslim world. This perspective is especially relevant vis--vis Afghanistan where a fierce war is being waged under the slogans of Islam for more than four decades. The purpose of this research is an in-depth study of the relationship between the state and the Muslim clergy, Islamic institutions in the development of political processes in Afghanistan since the mid-70s of the last century. The article reflects shaping of the Islamic opposition and its efforts to stand up to innovations and reforms during attempts of the Soviet stile modernization in 1978-1992, and then the efforts to democratize Afghan society, undertaken in Afghanistan since the end of 2001 with the assistance of the international community. The work is based on the study of factual historical material, a chronicle of the events of the last decade and personal observations of the author during his work in Afghanistan during the mentioned period. Analytical materials published on the pages of English and Russian mass media were used. The methodological basis of this study is the comparative historical method; the article is based on the principles of historicism, reliability and scientific objectivity. The author concludes that the conflict is based on mistakes and underestimation by the state the role and influence of the Muslim clergy and Islamic institutions of the country. It has been noted that the recently reached US - Taliban agreements, as well as the assistance of such influential players as Russia, sparkle hope for the launch of a direct inter-Afghan negotiation process, which most likely will not be as simple but thorny.


1978 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 855-858 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Reeves ◽  
Ed M. Edmonds ◽  
Dollie L. Transou

A 2 (trait anxiety) × 4 (color) factorial design was used to determine the effects of red, green, yellow, and blue on state anxiety as a function of high and low trait anxiety. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was used to assess both trait (A-Trait) and state (A-State) anxiety for the 10 students assigned to each of the eight treatment combinations. High A-Trait students were significantly more anxious while viewing blue, red, and green than were the low A-Trait students and blue produced significantly more state anxiety than did either yellow or green. These results are consistent with state-trait theory and indicate that the effects of color on state anxiety may be confounded with trait anxiety unless the levels of A-Trait are equivalent for each color condition. The role of cultural and individual differences in the relationship between color and emotion and implications for research are discussed.


Diogenes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolay Alexandrov ◽  
◽  
◽  

This article examines Herbert Spencer‘s organic-evolutionary sociological theory, built on the analogy of dependencies in the development of society and the development of biological organisms, which places special emphasis on the interpretation of the idea of progress. The article analyzes a number of basic points in Spencer‘s teaching, such as the relationship between social and industrial progress, the role of property and socio-economic wellbeing, the evolutionary forms of statehood, legislation and lawmaking, the interpretation of positive and negative freedom. Spencer‘s concept of social evolution is also considered here, according to which societies are not created, but develop and cannot be created artificially and intentionally, as they grow naturally like any natural system.


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