scholarly journals Deen (Faith) and Donya (the Secular): Al-Ghazālī’s the “Alchemy of Happiness”

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-39
Author(s):  
Ali Mirsepassi ◽  
Tadd Graham Fernée
Keyword(s):  
Religious Identity ◽  
Political Legitimacy ◽  
Mirror Image ◽  
Political Survival ◽  
Social Significance ◽  
Islamic Tradition ◽  
12Th Century ◽  
Rational Thought ◽  
Universal Truth ◽  
Popular Images

The 11th -12th century Abbasid philosopher al-Ghazālī is the center of controversy today in Western societies seeking to understand Islamic radicalism. The article initially examines the al-Ghazālī debate, split between popular images of al-Ghazālī as a fanatical enemy of rational thought, and scholarly depictions of a forerunner of postmodernism. After analyzing a principle example of the latter tendency, centered on the Persian term dihlīz, the article undertakes a sociological investigation of al-Ghazālī’s Alchemy of Happiness within the historic context of the Abbasid crisis of political legitimacy. The troubled historic vista of Abbasid politics, the unique role of al-Ghazālī as representative of ideological power, and the crucial influence of the intercontinental Sufi revolution, are discussed. The analysis focuses on al-Ghazālī’s central concepts of deen (faith) and donya (the secular), that he employed to stabilize and guarantee the continued political success of the multi-civilizational Abbasid state. Spurning the dogma of unified identity, al-Ghazālī recognized the civilizational pluralism underpinning Abbasid political survival. Reconciling multiplicity and unity, al-Ghazālī labored to integrate Islamic and non-Islamic intellectual traditions. Three elements are investigated: (1) Investing epistemology with social significance, al-Ghazālī opposed orthodox conformism; (2) Denouncing ignorance, the passions, and intellectual confusion, al-Ghazālī promoted the dialogic principle – not dogma - as the unique public guarantee of the universal truth; (3) This universal truth had an exclusively secular, not religious, dimension, based on the deen/donya distinction, separating universal secular truth from religious identity. An intellectual exploration of the secular dilemma, of corresponding imaginative magnitude, hardly existed in Western societies at the time. This casts doubt on the current academic enthusiasm for representing traditional Islam in the mirror image of French post-structuralism, and the false depiction of al-Ghazālī as the dogmatic enemy of reason. It opens an entire terrain of possible research that is barely tapped, which contradicts the confused dogmas of Islamic radicalism. A secular conceptual dualism pervaded the Islamic tradition, indeed pre-dating European secularism.

scholarly journals Andronikos I Komnenos: A Greek Tragedy

2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harry J. MAGOULIAS
Keyword(s):  
Greek Tragedy ◽  
Mirror Image ◽  
Byzantine Empire ◽  
Font Size ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Life And Death ◽  
Greek Culture ◽  
Classical Drama ◽  
12Th Century ◽  
The Aesthetic

<span style="line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; color: black; font-size: 12pt">The Annals of Niketas Choniates depict Emperor Andronikos I Komnenos (1183-1185) in certain aspects of his lifestyle as a mirror image of his first cousin, Emperor Manuel I Komnenos (1143-1180). The life and death of Andronikos I Komnenos provide us with a window into the aesthetic, moral, intellectual, religious, economic and emotional world of Byzantine society in the 12th century. It was thanks to the Byzantine empire that the ancient texts were preserved and transmitted. Ancient Greek culture and reason, in particular, continued to inform Christian values while, at the same time, both could be in radical conflict. The tragic reign of Andronikos as presented by Niketas Choniates conforms to Aristotle's principles of classical drama, but there is a fundamental disagreement between the author of the Poetics and the historian as to what constitutes tragedy, which underlines this conflict.</span>

scholarly journals ISLAMIC TRADITION OF BOSNIAKS AS AN EXAMPLE OF INTERRELIGIOUS TOLERANCE AND COEXISTENCE

2019 ◽  
pp. 187-204
Author(s):  
Safvet Halilović
Keyword(s):  
Religious Identity ◽  
Religious Tradition ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
Main Stream ◽  
Peaceful Coexistence ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Law Schools ◽  
Islamic Tradition ◽  
High Degree

Ever since the advent of Islam in these areas Bosniak Muslims have been members of the main stream of Islam (ar. Ehlu-s-sunne ve-l-jama, bos. Ehli-sunna) and when it comes to religious partial fiikh (ritual) matters they have followed one of the oldest mezhep (law schools) that originated in Islam, the hanefi mezhep. Thus, for almost six centuries, Bosniaks, as indigenous European Muslims, have had their own religious tradition, which, despite going through different, often very difficult stages (wars, exile, occupation, dictatorial regimes, isolation from the Muslim world, etc.), has managed to maintain a high degree of originality and foundation in the primary sources of Islam, the Qur'an, and the Sunnah (practice) of the Prophet Muhammad, a.s. The Islamic tradition of Bosniaks is, in fact, considerable experience accumulating over a long period of time which helps the Muslims of this region to survive and preserve their religious identity despite the harsh environment and all kinds of hardship they have been exposed to. Bosniaks, as indigenous European Muslims, have one advantage over other Muslim nations: they do not view modern civilization from the side, or from afar, but live in its very center and feel fully its impulses and its nature. This means that they feel its strengths and weaknesses, but also their needs better than others. At the same time, they inherit Islam, preserve and nurture it as a treasure and study it with love and loyalty in their hearts. They have never departed from its mainstream practice, turned it into a sect, or ideologized it. Also, they have withstood the challenge of extremism, radicalization and intolerance of the other and the different. On the contrary, other religions and worldviews have always been respected within their religious tradition. This was especially demonstrated towards the followers of Christianity, both Roman Catholic and Orthodox, with whom they have always cherished good neighborly relations and treated their religion, holidays and customs with utmost respect. Bosniaks have also had a good relationship with Jewish community members. It is well known that during the Spanish Reconquista when together with Muslims Jews were expelled from their centuries-old hearths in the Iberian Peninsula, a considerable number of them found refuge and protection in the areas where Bosniaks lived. The tolerance of Bosniaks towards others and different ones was especially demonstrated during the aggression in Bosnia and Herzegovina, when genocide was committed against Bosniaks and when over nine hundred mosques, a several hundred mactabs and other sacral objects were destroyed and devastated; even in such cruel conditions Bosniaks did not resort to retribution and did not demolish and desecrate others' places of worship and sanctities, which provides solid evidence of their high tolerance, respect for other religions and their readiness for peaceful coexistence. Bearing the aforementioned in mind, it is evident that the Islamic tradition of Bosniaks not only has its legitimacy, but is also a kind of Muslim response to the contemporary challenges; the Muslim response from the "epicenter" of modern civilization; a credible answer, needed both in the East and in the West, by Muslims and non-Muslims. This paper discusses the Islamic tradition of Bosniaks as an example of tolerance, dialogue and peaceful coexistence among members of different religions and worldviews.

scholarly journals Celebration of Nowruz in Bukhara and Samarkand in Ritual Practice and Social Discourses (the Second Half of the 19th to Early 20th Centuries)

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 122-129
Author(s):  
A. M. Malikov
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Political Legitimacy ◽  
Russian History ◽  
Ritual Practice ◽  
Islamic Tradition ◽  
Social Discourses ◽  
The Russian Empire ◽  
The One ◽  
Critical Discourses ◽  
Vast Territory

Celebration of Nowruz across a vast territory from the Ottoman Empire to Xinjiang had both common features and differences. This study focuses on distinctions between the festive traditions of two major cities of the Zerafshan Valley (Bukhara and Samarkand) in the late 1800s and early 1900s, when, after Russia’s annexation of the region, the Nowruz ritual practices were transformed and subjected to critical discourses among theologians and enlighteners. On the basis of unpublished archival sources, memoirs, and studies of Imperial Russian history, I analyze two types of Nowruz: official and folk. In the Emirate of Bukhara, a broad official celebration of Nowruz was started by Emir Muzaffar, who sought to strengthen the image of the Manghit dynasty during the crisis of political legitimacy. This gave rise to disputes among Islamic intellectuals about the need for a large-scale and prolonged celebration of Nowruz, which they felt went beyond the borders of Islamic tradition. In Samarkand, closer contacts between the settled Tajiks and Uzbeks, on the one hand, and the semi-nomadic Turkic-speaking population, on the other, enhanced the synthesis of agricultural and pastoral elements in the ritual practice of Nowruz. The festival was legitimized by prayers at mosques, and visits to the mazars of Muslim saints and to sacred streams. In Samarkand, following its annexation by the Russian Empire, there was no official celebration of Nowruz, and the scale of popular celebration decreased.

Introduction

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eileen Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
National Identity ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Religious Identity ◽  
Political Legitimacy ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Early Twentieth Century ◽  
Imperial Expansion ◽  
Italian Unification

Italian imperialism in the early twentieth century left behind a legacy that is seldom far below the surface in postcolonial Libya. The ability to trace a lineage of resistance conferred political legitimacy in the formation of a national identity. In Italy today the legacies of imperial expansion are less accessible but no less important. The decision to occupy Libya occurred at a pivotal moment in the development of Italian national identity in the decades after Italian unification. Debates over an Italian approach to expansion in Muslim North Africa served as an opportunity to define the nature of religious identity in the nation as Italy attempted to join the ranks of the European imperial powers.

Reading The Time of Trimming under the Desk of Religious Zionism: Haim Beʾer and National-Religious Identity

Zutot ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-17
Author(s):  
Yael Shenker
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Religious Identity ◽  
Mirror Image ◽  
Religious Discourse ◽  
Religious Community ◽  
National Identities ◽  
The Other ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The One ◽  
The Relationship

This article addresses Israeli novelist Haim Beʾer’s relation to national-religious identity and the rifts and the pain it causes him, as can be discerned from his fiction and journalism, and certainly from interviews with him. His relation to national-religious identity also reflects a sort of mirror image, at times inverted, of the relationship between religious and national identities. Beʾer’s movement between religious community and nation criticizes on the one hand prevalent conceptions of secularization and national identity in Zionist discourse, and, on the other hand, conceptions of redemption in religious discourse.

scholarly journals THE ISLAMIC TRADITION OF BAKUMPAI DAYAK PEOPLE

Al-Albab ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nasrullah Nasrullah
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Group ◽  
Religious Identity ◽  
Religious Diversity ◽  
Islamic Tradition

This paper presents the dilemma of an ethnic group which is influenced by the views from the outside as well as the inside with regard to the dominance of religious identity. Specifically, this paper discusses the existence of Bakumpai and the Bakumpai people as part of the Dayak tribes and their Islamic practice. This article is expected to provide understanding of religious diversity in an ethnic group particularly the Dayak and how it influences the Dayak culture. Keywords: Bakumpai, Dayak, Islamic Tradition

scholarly journals Обрядовые уклонения и дурные привычки латинских еретиков в византийско- славянской полемической литературе Средневековья

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 125-139
Author(s):  
Ангел Николов ◽  
Камен Станев
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Religious Identity ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
17Th Century ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
12Th Century ◽  
Religious Dialogue ◽  
Key Features ◽  
The Middle Ages

The paper discusses the differences between Eastern and Western Christians during the Middle Ages through the prism of the lists of ritual deviations and bad habits of the ‘Latin heretics’, which were circulated in Byzantium in the second half of the 12th century (following the Great Schism of 1054). The translations and revisions of these lists remained popular among the Orthodox Christians in the Balkans and Eastern Europe up until the end of the 17th century. Special attention has been given to the reception among the Slavs of two Byzantine accusations levelled on the westerners – (1) that their priests shave; (2) that they eat various ‘unclean’ animals and creatures. The examples of the peculiar mundanity of the religious dialogue and polemics analysed in the paper suggest that this was a trend resulting from the ambition of the Orthodox societies in the Balkans and Eastern Europe to strengthen through various means their ethnic and religious identity in the context of the fierce political and confessional confrontation with the Catholic world of Western Europe. Also highlighted is the need for the research of medieval polemical texts to embrace the archaeological, ethnological and folkloristic evidence, which would allow us to clarify the sources and trends in the development and transformation of the key features of the identity of Slavic Orthodox societies during the Middle Ages and Modernity.

Epilogue

2020 ◽  
pp. 187-204
Author(s):  
Bronwen Neil
Keyword(s):  
Evangelical Christianity ◽  
Social Significance ◽  
Rabbinic Judaism ◽  
Contemporary World ◽  
Political Conflicts ◽  
Islamic Tradition ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
Early Islam ◽  
Contemporary Christian ◽  
Religious Cultures

The epilogue draws out the common threads in all three traditions—Byzantine Christianity, rabbinic Judaism, and early Islam—and shows how they survive in the contemporary world. In political conflicts, dreams are still sometimes used as justifications for military action, especially by jihadists and others keen to incite inter-religious conflict. Online evidence shows that dream discourses are still being interpreted and appropriated by some contemporary Christian and Islamic believers as tools of providence and divine revelation. Unlike the post-Freudian understanding of dreams as reflections of individual psychic processes of the unconscious, dreams had both individual and social significance in the Byzantine tradition, and in the Islamic tradition up to the current day. Immense semiotic power was thus given to a medium that was able to be misrepresented and manipulated at will. This has always been the problem with dreams and is probably the main reason why they are discounted in most post-Enlightenment societies, but not by all. The chapter asks whether such dreams are important to certain fundamentalist religious cultures because they give equal opportunities to men and women to mediate divine judgement and participate vicariously in violence. It closes with an assessment of current trends in Islam and evangelical Christianity.

scholarly journals Legitimacy and Authority in Medieval Islamic Historiography

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Burhan bin Che Daud
Keyword(s):  
Political Legitimacy ◽  
Spiritual Leadership ◽  
Islamic Tradition ◽  
Common Term ◽  
Islamic Historiography ◽  
Legitimate State

Usurpation is a common term used by Western historians to describe the illegitimate change of political supremacy inthe context of medieval Muslim states. The taking over of any state without authority is considered an illegal occupationof a legitimate state and its leader is considered illegitimate or usurper. This paper attempts to shed some lights on thenotion of political legitimacy and authority in Islamic tradition and its application in the context of medieval Syria,particularly during the Zengid dynasty. This period experienced the coming of the second crusade to the East with therevitalization of the spirit of jihad was on its way among the Syrian Muslims. This paper argues that the Zengid dynastywas trying to uphold the institution of the caliphate through recognizing the spiritual leadership of the ‘Abbasid caliphof Baghdad as well as acquiring political legitimacy to administer their subject on behalf of the caliph and the Seljuqsultan. Through adherence to the Sunni tradition of political legitimacy, Zengi (d. 541/1146) and Nur al-Din (d.569/1174) succeeded in promoting Sunnism by means of Muslim unity and jihad enterprise. As a result, after theannexation of Egypt from the Fatimid caliphate in 565/1171, Muslims in Syria and Egypt were unified under the bannerof Sunnism with Nur al-Din as their new legitimate ruler

Father and son like eagle and eaglet – concepts of animal species and human families in Byzantine court oration (11th/12th c.)

2019 ◽  
Vol 112 (3) ◽  
pp. 959-990
Author(s):  
Tristan Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
Animal Species ◽  
Detailed Examination ◽  
The Self ◽  
Suitable Model ◽  
12Th Century ◽  
Court Poetry ◽  
Popular Images ◽  
Physical Features ◽  
The Military ◽  
Father And Son

Abstract The idea that physical features and character traits are inherited from ancestors is central to the self-identification and representation of pre-modern elites. For the 12th-century Byzantine aristocracy, the idea of family and ancestry was of major importance. Members of the military elite frequently had themselves depicted as the latest scions of a lineage of brave warriors. The ruling Komnenoi and Angeloi tried to establish dynastic claims to the throne by presenting their families as being more fit to rule than any other. To support these claims, panegyrists turned to nature in search of legitimizing comparanda. The idea that animal species reproduce unchanged and pass on their specific traits from one generation to the next, provided a suitable model. Comparisons of emperors or aristocrats and their sons with lion and lion cub or eagle and eaglet were popular images in court poetry. Through a detailed examination of this imagery, the paper exemplifies how writers and orators made use of theories from ancient/medieval natural science and created legitimizing models for socio-political needs.

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