Islamic Religious Authority in Cyberspace: A Qualitative Study of Muslim Religious Actors in Australia

The arrival of new technologies has always presented new challenges and opportunities to religious communities anchored in scriptural and oral traditions. In the modern period, the volume, speed and accessibility of digital technologies has significantly altered the way knowledge is communicated and consumed. This is particularly true for the way religious authority is constructed online. Using in-depth fieldwork interviews and survey findings of Australian Muslims, this article examines the way religious actors, including imams/sheikhs, educators and academics in the field of Islamic studies, perceive and use online platforms to convey their religious knowledge. The findings suggest Muslims value the benefits of accessing knowledge, communicating ideas and facilitating religious pluralism via digital platforms. By the same token, participants warned against the dangers of information anarchy, “Sheikh Google” and the limitations of “do it yourself Islam”. Importantly, the article shows imams, educators and Muslim scholars largely prioritise face-to-face learning as a more reliable and effective method of teaching and establishing rapport among Muslims compared to eclectic internet-based information dissemination. At the same time, religious actors are not averse to Muslims using digital platforms so long as they possess the skills to cross-examine online content and verify the credentials of religious actors. For more complex and circumstantial issues, participants encouraged Muslims to consult a local imam or trusted religious scholar from the community.

Narrative-Based Nature of Heritage: Between Myth and Discourses: Case of Šiluva Place-Making in Progress

The article focuses on the phenomenon of myth, which cannot be seen and may not even exist based on empirical evidence, although it can function as a long-lasting wave inceptor, as demonstrated in numerous cases in history. The singular presence of myth has no linear time, and the way to approach the concealed mythic meaning that is beyond tales, oral traditions or ritual practices is based on language and narrative. Narrative is how myth manifests itself in the temporal layers of discourse through collective decision-making processes within cultures and in places. The urban cultural heritage seems to be a promising source of understanding of what sort of narrative history has been telling. We emphasize that the closest possible approach to the permanence of myth lies in this subtle between-epoch or between-generational moment wherein the discourse alters. The hermeneutics of repetition within alteration processes is what could be called the narrative of cultural heritage in towns and cities. Development of the physical heritage properties has been touched by a variety of agents, and therefore it must have gathered a nearly unlimited amount of explicit and implicit knowledge. The research further demonstrates how the myth–narrative–discourse interaction affects our understanding of the authenticity of heritage objects, shifting towards a permanent pervading authenticity which could be intensive or extensive in the tangible realm. The case of Šiluva is discussed in order to explain how myth can be used practically in placemaking.

DOCUMENTARY RECONSTRUCTION OF THE GENEALOGY OF S. D. MAINAGASHEV (TO THE 135TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS BIRTH)

В статье рассматривается вопрос документальной реконструкции родословной хакасского этнографа Степана Дмитриевича Майнагашева (1886–1920). До сих пор в биографии хакасского учёного С. Д. Майнагашева оставались белые пятна, включая точно не установленную дату его рождения. Несмотря на наличие родословных преданий о происхождении Майнагашевых, отсутствовала научная верификация этой генеалогической информации на материале церковных метрических книг, именных списков и ревизских сказок (переписей населения). Объектом исследования является биологическая родословная С. Д. Майнагашева, а предметом — архивно-документальная реконструкция её патрилинейной части. Источниковую базу составили фонды таких архивов, как: Государственный архив Красноярского края, Национальный архив Республики Хакасия, архив города Минусинска. Впервые в научный оборот вводятся уникальные архивные документы по генеалогии Майнагашевых: по Аскизской Петропавловской церкви — метрическая запись о рождении/крещении С. Д. Майнагашева за 1886 г., метрическая запись о бракосочетании/венчании его родителей Д. А. Майнагашева и В. Н. Кызыласовой за 1877 г., метрическая запись о смерти/погребении деда этнографа А. П. Майнагашева за 1866 г., по Таштыпской Христорождественской церкви — метрическая запись о рождении/крещении отца Д. А. Майнагашева за 1851 г.; сведения из трёх последних ревизий Казановского рода Сагайской степной думы за 1832, 1850 и 1858 гг.; данные о фактах крещения представителей рода на 1854 г. В ходе генеалогических изысканий проведена экспертиза семейной родословной Майнагашевых, составленной в 1970–1980-х гг. топографом М. Г. Мойнагашевым на основе устных преданий и архивных источников. Критический анализ этой генеалогической схемы показывает, что её информационный потенциал нуждается в тщательной научной верификации с привлечением церковных метрических записей и актов гражданского состояния. Дальнейшее изучение генеалогии Майнагашевых будет посвящено анализу родословных легенд, а также генетико-генеалогическому тестированию современных мужских потомков. The article deals with the issue of documentary reconstruction of the Khakass ethnographer Stepan Dmitrievich Mainagashev’s (1886–1920) genealogy. Until now, there have been gaps in biography of the Khakass scientist S. D. Mainagashev, including an unspecified date of his birth. Despite the presence of genealogical legends about the origin of the Mainagashevs, there was no scientific verification of this genealogical information on the material of church metric books, lists of names and census lists (population censuses). The object of the study is S. D. Mainagashev’s biological genealogy, and the subject is the archival and documentary reconstruction of its patrilineal part. The source base consisted of the funds from such archives as: State Archive of the Krasnoyarsk Region, National Archive of the Republic of Khakassia, Minusinsk Archive. For the first time, unique archival documents on the genealogy of the Mainagashevs are introduced into scientific circulation: from the Askiz Peter and Paul Church — a metric record of the birth/baptism of S. D. Mainagashev in 1886, a metric record of the marriage/wedding of his parents D. A. Mainagashev and V. N. Kyzylasova in 1877, a metric record of the death/burial of the grandfather, ethnographer A. P. Mainagashev in 1866, from the Tashtyp Nativity Church — a metric record of the birth/baptism of D. A. Mainagashev’s father in 1851; data from the last three censuses of the Kazanov family of the Sagai Steppe Duma in 1832, 1850, and 1858; data on the baptism facts of representatives of the family as of 1854. Within the genealogical research, we carried out an examination of the Mainagashevs’ family genealogy, compiled in the 1970s and 1980s by the topographer M. G. Moinagashev on the basis of oral traditions and archival sources. The critical analysis of this genealogical scheme shows that its informational potential needs careful scientific verification with the involvement of church metric records and civil status acts. The further study of the Mainagashevs' genealogy will be devoted to the analysis of genealogical legends, as well as genetic and genealogical testing of modern male descendants.

The Interface Between the Written and the Oral in lfa Corpus

While the modernists in the field of African philosophy embrace writing as a precondition for philosophy and forcefully maintain the need to cast philoso­phy in the image of science, the traditionalists insist that African philosophy is essentially a philosophical reflection on African oral traditions, morals, and re­ligious practices. This essay argues that the intransigent relationship between the modernists and the traditionalists persists because the two dominant schools have failed to recognize the need to furnish a paradigm of interaction between their projects. From the standpoint of lfa, therefore, this paper rejects the written-oral dichotomy that is central to both the modernist and the tradi­tionalist orientations, occasioned by their parochial and provincial conceptions of philosophy respectively. The paper shows how lfa as a complete philosophy puts a premium on the need to bring individual views in oral and written cul­tures together to enhance a wider human vision in matters bordering on the intellectual configuration of our human society.

Communique Issued at the End of the First International Conference on Community, Trade and Religion in Coastal Yorubaland and Western Niger Delta, Held at Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo, from 6–8 December 2016

An international conference was held from December 6 to 8 2016 at Adeyemi College of Education Ondo, with the theme “Mobile Populations, Fluid Boundaries: Community, Trade and Religion in Coastal Yorubaland and the Western Niger Delta.” The conference was sponsored by the European Research Council (ERC), and jointly organized by the University of Birmingham, Osun State University, and Adeyemi College of Education. Over a period of three days, many papers were presented, covering various topics and issues on mythologies, oral traditions, religion, making sense of the Yoruba littoral, economy and intergroup relations in the Gulf of Guinea during the 18th and 19th centuries, trade on the north eastern bank of the Lagos lagoon, history, religion and community formation, moral traditions of the Yoruba and non-Yoruba speaking groups, and many more.

The Documentality of “SMONG” as Social Control for Disaster Risk Reduction in Simeulue Island

Aim – This study aims to analyze nandong smong as an oral tradition with the documentality approach by Frohmann. Design/Methodology/Approach – This study analyzes nandong smong using qualitative method, especially case study research. The data collected in this study used secondary data obtained from literature sources or journal documents and previous research related to nandong smong. In this research, data analysis document analysis. Finding – Nandong smong is one of the oral traditions that has become a disaster mitigation tool for the people of Simeulue. According to Frohmann's concept of documentality, Nandong Smong has four aspects of documentality, as follows functionality, historicity, social complexity, and autonomous agency. Nandong smong as an oral document still survives and has a role for the people of Simeulue to this day. As an oral document, nandong smong has a certain social function for the people of Simeulue which is different from other regions. Nandong smong has the power to affect the emotions of the Simeulue community so that it can become a disaster mitigation tool when a tsunami occurs. This was proven when there was a tsunami in 2004, Nandong Smong was able to save them from a tsunami

Excavations on the Coral Mosques of the Maldives

This report presents the results of an archaeological mission done in the Maldives archipelago located to the south-west of India, in the Indian Ocean. In November 2017, we carried out archaeological excavations and surveys as well as collected oral traditions on two sites, the Fandiyaaru Mosque and Koagannu Cemetery in Hulhumeeddhoo town on Addu Atoll and the Friday Mosque of Fenfushi on Alifu Dhaalu Atoll. Two outcomes were expected from our mission: first, to provide new scientific data on the coral mosques of the Maldives in order to improve the chances of success of nomination of the mosques on the World Heritage List of UNESCO; then to support the conservation project of the Maldivian government and international organisations such as UNESCO and the World Monuments Fund (WMF). One major question during our excavation was the continuity of the settlements from pre-Islamic cultures and influences from Buddhist architecture on local Islamic architecture.

Oceania, 800-1800CE

Over a span of 1000 years beginning around 800CE, the people of the Pacific Islands undertook a remarkable period of voyaging, political evolution, and cross-cultural interactions. Polynesian navigators encountered previously uninhabited lands, as well as already inhabited islands and the coast of the Americas. Island societies saw epic sagas of political competition and intrigue, documented through oral traditions and the monuments and artefacts recovered through archaeology. European entry into the region added a new episode of interaction with strange people from over the horizon. These histories provide an important cross-cultural perspective for the concept of 'the Middle Ages' from outside of the usual Old World focus.