The Connection between “Religious Intolerance” and “Holy Ignorance”; Discussion on Religious Freedom Based on the Qurʾan and Hadith

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-45
Author(s):  
Ali Hasannia
Keyword(s):  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
The Other ◽  
The West ◽  
Religious Intolerance ◽  
Four Corners ◽  
The World ◽  
Religious Sects ◽  
Social Orders ◽  
Descriptive Method

Abstract Nowadays in four corners of the world, there are groups rising and violating human dignities and social orders by the name of religion. The existence of such belief is due to misconceptions about religion, especially when speaking of Islam versus the West. In the other, “tolerance” occurs in a society wherein different social groups and parties live together with different beliefs and customs. Nevertheless, different ideas regarding the sound meaning of the term tolerance, which basically in Islam comes from the Qurʾan and Hadith literature, led to contradict practices by different religious sects. The present paper, based on the analytical descriptive method and through Qurʾanic notions, traditional and Islamic teachings and thinkers’ views, aims to discuss the extent and limits of tolerance in Islam, particularly concerning freedom, and how misconceptions about it brings about the disaster phenomenon of “holy ignorance”. It will show the meaningful connection between intolerance, holy ignorance, radicalism, lack of sound understanding about religion, and lack of religious freedom.

Religious Freedom in Islam

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Philpott
Keyword(s):  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Muslim World ◽  
Human Right ◽  
The West ◽  
Empirical Examination ◽  
Public Controversy ◽  
Arab Uprisings ◽  
Islamic Tradition ◽  
The World ◽  
Muslim Majority

Is Islam hospitable to religious freedom? The question is at the heart of a public controversy over Islam that has raged in the West over the past decade-and-a-half. Religious freedom is important because it promotes democracy and peace and reduces ills like civil war, terrorism, and violence. Religious freedom also is simply a matter of justice—not an exclusively Western principle but rather a universal human right rooted in human nature. The heart of the book confronts the question of Islam and religious freedom through an empirical examination of Muslim-majority countries. From a satellite view, looking at these countries in the aggregate, the book finds that the Muslim world is far less free than the rest of the world. Zooming in more closely on Muslim-majority countries, though, the picture looks more diverse. Some one-fourth of Muslim-majority countries are in fact religiously free. Among the unfree, 40% are repressive because they are governed by a hostile secularism imported from the West, and the other 60% are Islamist. The emergent picture is both honest and hopeful. Amplifying hope are two chapters that identify “seeds of freedom” in the Islamic tradition and that present the Catholic Church’s long road to religious freedom as a promising model for Islam. Another chapter looks at the Arab Uprisings of 2011, arguing that religious freedom explains much about both their broad failure and their isolated success. The book closes with lessons for expanding religious freedom in the Muslim world and the world at large.

Peasant Resistance in Ethiopia: the Case of Weyane

1984 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gebru Tareke
Keyword(s):  
Social Action ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
The Other ◽  
The West ◽  
Political Autonomy ◽  
Social Basis ◽  
The Social ◽  
Pastoral Communities ◽  
The Government ◽  
Peasant Resistance

Weyane was a spontaneous, localized peasant uprising with limited objectives. It occurred in 1943 because several disaffected social groups in the eastern part of Tigrai believed that they could defeat or at least extract substantial concessions from a weak transitional government. The multiplicity of objectives roughly correspond to the divergent interests of the participants: the sectarian nobility wanted a greater share in the regional reallocation of power, the semi-pastoral communities of the lowlands were interested in pre-empting feudal incorporation, and the highland cultivators wanted to terminate the excessive demands of officialdom and militia. The convergence of these forces made Weyane possible; the disorganization of the ruling strata and the subsequent defection of a segment of the territorial nobility enormously enhanced the peasants' capacity for collective action. But this very heterogeneity comprised the peasants' objectives. The revolt lacked a coherent set of goals, nor did it have a specific program for social action. The rebels attacked neither the legitimacy of the monarchy nor the ideological basis of the Ethiopian aristocracy. In the end, Weyane buttressed the feudal order, and was probably instrumental in strengthening Ethiopia's neo-colonial link with the West. In the aftermath of rebellion, the Tigrai nobility did get its rights and prerogatives recognized, to the same extent that the nobility in the other northern provinces did. The government undercut the nobility's political autonomy, but paid the price of reinforcing their social position. On the other hand, in reaction to Weyane, the state destroyed the social basis of clan authority and autonomy, and reduced the Raya and Azebo to landless peasants. Weyane marked the end of conflict between centrifugal and centralizing forces, but did not eliminate the social roots of popular protest.

Melanesian Ethnography and the Comparative Project of Anthropology: Reflection on Strathern’s Analogical Approach

2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 39-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Hirsch
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Technologies ◽  
The Other ◽  
Technological Innovations ◽  
The West ◽  
Social Forms ◽  
The World ◽  
The Gift ◽  
Analogical Approach

Melanesian ethnography has been a substantial and enduring presence in Strathern’s comparative project of anthropology. The cornerstone of this project was The Gender of the Gift, where a model was established for demonstrating the analogies between Melanesian societies based on a system of common differences. The comparisons created in this work were centred on a real and radical divide between Melanesia and the West. Strathern’s subsequent comparative work has examined the debates surrounding new social and technological forms in the West (e.g. new genetic and reproductive technologies) through drawing analogies with Melanesian social forms; she has simultaneously highlighted the limits of these comparisons. Her intention in this comparative project has been to expand the range of concepts and language used to understand western social and technological innovations that potentially affect the world at large, so that debate is not simply circumscribed by western preoccupations and concerns. As mediated through the analysis of Strathern and the other Melanesian anthropologists she draws on, the voices and interests of non-westerners can potentially inform and even reform the grounds of such deliberations.

Nathan Söderblom and the Study of Religion

1969 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 259-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric J. Sharpe
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Religion ◽  
The Other ◽  
Recent History ◽  
Biblical Criticism ◽  
The West ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject

To the student of the recent history of theological ideas in the West, it sometimes seems as though, of all the ‘new’ subjects that have been intro duced into theological discussion during the last hundred or so years, only two have proved to be of permanent significance. One is, of course, biblical criticism, and the other, the subject which in my University is still called ‘comparative religion’—the (as far as possible) dispassionate study of the religions of the world as phenomena in their own right.

scholarly journals Marginalized centre: Wana people and the geography of power

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 114
Author(s):  
Giorgio Scalici
Keyword(s):  
Social Power ◽  
The Other ◽  
Power Relationships ◽  
World Religions ◽  
The West ◽  
Spiritual World ◽  
The World ◽  
The Government ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Relationship Of

The Wana of Morowali (Indonesia) are nowadays a small endangered community marginalized by the Indonesian government, world religions and the other communities in the area but, according to their own mythology, they are not the periphery of the world, but the real centre of it. Their cosmogonic myth tells how the Wana land (Tana Taa) was the first land placed on the primordial waters and it was full of mythical power, a power that, when the land was spread around the world to create the continents, abandoned the Wana to donate wealth and power to the edge of the world: the West. This myth has a pivotal role in the Wana worldview, their categorization of the world and the power relationships in it. The Wana reverse the traditional relationship between centre and periphery, placing themselves in a powerless centre (the village or the Tana Taa) that gave all its power to a periphery (the jungle or the West) that must be explored to obtain power and knowledge. This relationship not only expresses a clear agency in shaping the relationship of power with forces way stronger than the Wana (Government and world religions) but also creates internal hierarchies based on the access to this knowledge; granted to men and partially precluded to women due to the cultural characterizations of these genders. Indeed, the majority of shamans, called tau walia (human-spirit), are men, and they are the only one that can travel between the human and the spiritual world, obtaining a spiritual and social power. In this article, we will see how Wana categorise the world and use religion, rituality and gender to express their agency to cope with the marginalization by the government, the world religions and the other community in the area.

scholarly journals Some Remarks on the Islamic and the Secular Paradigms of Knowledge

1995 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 539-544
Author(s):  
Taha J. Al Alwani
Keyword(s):  
Driving Force ◽  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Similar Degree ◽  
The West ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
The World ◽  
The Universe ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Way

By the time secularist thought had succeeded, at an intellectuallevel, in challenging the authority of the Church, its roots had alreadytaken firm hold in western soil. Later, when western political and economicsystems began to prevail throughout the world, it was only naturalthat secularism, as the driving force behind these systems, shouldgain ascendency worldwide. In time, and with varying degrees of success,the paradigm of positivism gradually displaced traditional andreligious modes of thinking, with the result that generations of thirdworld thinkers grew up convinced that the only way to “progress” andreform their societies was the way of the secular West. Moreover, sincethe experience of the West was that it began to progress politically,economically, and intellectually only after the influence of the Churchhad been marginalized, people in the colonies believed that they wouldhave to marginalize the influence of their particular religions in orderto achieve a similar degree of progress. Under the terms of the newparadigm, turning to religion for solutions to contemporary issues is anabsurdity, for religion is viewed as something from humanity’s formativeyears, from a “dark” age of superstition and myth whose time hasnow passed. As such, religion has no relevance to the present, and allattempts to revive it are doomed to failure and are a waste of time.Many have supposed that it is possible to accept the westernmodel of a secular paradigm while maintaining religious practices andbeliefs. They reason that such an acceptance has no negative impactupon their daily lives so long as it does not destroy their places ofworship or curtail their right to religious freedom. Thus, there remainshardly a contemporary community that has not fallen under the swayof this paradigm. Moreover, it is this paradigm that has had the greatestinfluence on the way different peoples perceive life, the universe,and the role of humanity as well as providing them with an alternativeset of beliefs (if needed) and suggesting answers to the ultimate questions ...

scholarly journals The Painter and the Princess: Constructing Feminism/Decentring Orientalism between Copenhagen, Istanbul, Cairo and Tunis

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-71
Author(s):  
Ragnhild Johnsrud Zorgati
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Gender Roles ◽  
The Other ◽  
Late Nineteenth Century ◽  
The West ◽  
Literature And Politics ◽  
Political Debates ◽  
The World ◽  
International Importance ◽  
Late Nineteenth

This article explores the encounters between a Polish-Danish painter and an Egyptian princess in the second part of the nineteenth century, at the junction of Orientalism, modernism and Islamic reformism. The painter Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann is known for her Orientalist paintings and autobiographical writings, while Princess Nazli Fadhel was a hostess of influential intellectual salons in Cairo and Tunis and, as such, a contributor to the world of art, literature and politics. Jerichau-Baumann and Nazli Fadhel were both creative and controversial personalities engaged in the cultural and political debates of their time. They were outspoken and well-travelled, which challenged conventional gender roles. Based on Scandinavian, English, French and Arabic sources concerning Jerichau-Baumann and Nazli Fadhel's lives, this article argues that the activities of these two women are testament to the increasing international importance of feminist discourses in the late nineteenth century. Their encounter is emblematic of the rapidly expanding connections across cultural, linguistic, and religious boundaries that characterized the nineteenth-century world. It thus questions the binary constructions – the idea of the West/Europe and the Other – underlying the paradigm of Orientalism.

scholarly journals Az információtechnológia civilizációs pályája: mérés és osztályozás

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 78
Author(s):  
Ian Morris,
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Social Development ◽  
Social Organization ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The West ◽  
Energy Capture ◽  
Ability To Act ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World

Ian Morris a társadalmi fejlődés (social development) fogalmával az emberi közösségek képességét fejezi ki „dolgok elintézésére” a világban. Az így értelmezett társadalmi fejlettség mérhető és összehasonlító állapotokat jelent, térben és időben. Morris 4 tényező (az energiafelhasználás, a társadalmi szerveződés, az információtechnológia és a hadviselő kapacitás) kvantifikálásával megszerkesztett indexét kifejtő könyvéből az információtechnológiára vonatkozó, a többihez hasonlóan a Kelet és a Nyugat összehasonlítására épülő fejezetet fordítottuk le. Úttörő okfejtései és becslései remek kiindulópontok, hogy újraértékeljük és alaposan végiggondoljuk az információtechnológia helyét és „küldetését” a beavatkozásképesség, a cselekvési hatékonyság szempontjából. A tanulmányt Z. Karvalics László bevezetésével közöljük. --- The civilization path of information technology: measurement and classification Ian Morris defines social development as “social groups’ abilities to master their physical and intellectual environments and get things done in the world”. From this approach, “social development is - in principle - something we can measure and compare through time and space”. The Social Development Index of Morris is based on the quantifiable attributes of four pillars: energy capture, social organization, information technology, war-making capacity, comparing the numbers of the West and the East. We have translated and published the information technology chapter of his book with Laszlo Z. Karvalics’ introduction to support the re-evaluation of the role and mission of information technology throughout the ages from a special point of view: to facilitate the ability to act effectively.

scholarly journals ANALISIS PERLINDUNGAN TERHADAP TOLERANSI KEBEBASAN BERAGAMA DI INDONESIA DALAM PERSPEKTIF HAK ASASI MANUSIA

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-34
Author(s):  
Nathanael Bagas Setyawan ◽  
Ridwan Arifin
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
The Public ◽  
Religious Intolerance ◽  
Religious Conflicts ◽  
The World ◽  
Crucial Problem ◽  
Religious Problems

Activities to religion are generally carried out by all religious communities in the world without limiting an activity in the process, because it can disrupt the worship process. But in its implementation, especially in Indonesia, the public is less aware of the importance of tolerating religious freedom in order to prevent religious conflicts in the concept of Human Rights. Historically, religious problems are a social problem because they involve the lives of people who cannot be separated from the study of social sciences. Therefore, the religious sciences are essentially parts of Sociology, Psychology and Anthropology. Whereas the issue of religious intolerance in Indonesia is a crucial problem, because these problems can divide the Indonesian people, even though religious problems are a problem that does not need to be exaggerated because in essence every religion teaches good things so that the issue of religious freedom of others is in vain. So from that a country needs to have a law to regulate the existing government system, one of which is to regulate religion in Indonesia. Religion in Indonesia itself has been regulated in chapter XI of Religion in Article 29 paragraph (2) where the State guarantees the independence of each resident to embrace their respective religion and to worship according to that belief. Not only about religious freedom, the context of violations concerning religion in Indonesia has also been regulated in law, but the public still underestimates the law because they themselves are also taboo on the laws that apply in Indonesia. Problems concerning religious intolerance can be prevented through counseling on vulnerable areas that will cause religious commotion, so that the pillars of nationality contained in the Pancasila can still survive and run as they should. This study analyzes the Protection of Religious Freedom in Indonesia in the perspective of Human Rights in Indonesia.  Keywords : Agama, intoleransi, konflik, kebebasan, perlindungan hukum.

Bridging or Widening the Gap? Narrative Discourses of the West and Westerners in Jordan’s My American Neighbor Television Program

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 431-445
Author(s):  
Sumaya Kubeisy ◽  
Bradley C. Freeman
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Narrative Analysis ◽  
The Other ◽  
Media Representation ◽  
Television Show ◽  
The West ◽  
Thematic Content Analysis ◽  
Film And Television ◽  
The World ◽  
The Media

Media researchers have often examined how film and television can have an impact on audiences. Media have various effects on audience members. When it comes to representing ‘the other’, the media often rely on stereotypes. Research has shown that ethnic Arabs are under-represented in US film and television, and their depictions are distorted with stereotypical portrayals. The current study joins the discussion on ‘media representation’ (in this case, informed by the construct of Occidentalism) by conducting a qualitative, thematic, content analysis (informed by narrative analysis, both socio-linguistic and socio-cultural) of the Jordanian television show My American Neighbor. Stereotypes can be both positive and negative, and they are often used by media storytellers regardless of their background or location in the World.

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