The Islamist version of utopia: The politics of redesigning space

This article examines utopian novels by two Islamist Turkish writers: Ali Nar’s The Space Farmers (Uzay Çiftçileri, 1988) and Ayşe Şasa’s The Novel of the Monkeys (Şebek Romanı, 2004), which were celebrated among Islamist circles upon their publication. In these two novels, the corruption and pollution of place/space is blamed upon the “Christian” Western civilization. They depict how the desired regime change will begin in Turkey and expand towards Europe and then to the rest of the world, through the portrayal of oppositional places as utopian/dystopian spaces. The article discusses the ways in which space/place is ideologically redesigned in the Islamist imagination as a political symbol and analyze how these popular Islamist writers present the world and the space for their utopian vision of Islamist supremacy.

The Beggar as a Political Symbol: An Interactionist Reading of the Endurance of Anti-Begging Laws in India

In 2018, the Delhi High Court held that certain provisions of the state’s anti-begging law were unconstitutional. Nevertheless, such laws continue to operate in at least 20 other Indian states and union territories even today. Begging as a social phenomenon remains an under-researched subject within the social sciences, especially in India where the rare mention that the subject finds often gets subsumed within larger debates on chronic poverty or organised crime. This article begins by tracing the history of regulations around begging, followed by a discussion on the persistence of both begging and anti-begging laws prevalent today. By examining the justification underlying the criminalisation of begging, it contends that such an approach fails to provide insight into the lived experiences of individuals engaged in this activity. It therefore proposes that the analyses of begging in the Indian context adopt symbolic interactionism that lends its rich theoretical framework to enable an interpretation of the act as one that of agency; a survival strategy among those living on the margins of the neoliberal urban experience. In doing so, it posits a view of the beggar as a powerful political symbol with the potential to subvert and interrogate the rules of the game in a globalised world.

Chin-Chun-Chan:Popular Sinophobia in Early Twentieth-Century Mexico City

This article looks at popular responses to the zarzuela Chin-Chun-Chan and the issues that surfaced around its timely subject in early twentieth-century Mexico City. The principal source is the Mexico City satiric penny press for workers, supplemented by somewhat less polemical broadsides, both sold on the streets of the capital. Aimed mostly at working-class Mexicans, these sources offer a glimpse at popular attitudes circulating in a public sphere otherwise dominated by the perspective of educated elites. The article has four sections. First, it briefly reviews social commentary on the democratization of musical theater. Second, it examines Chin-Chun-Chan as a political symbol that crystalized around working-class complaints about the Porfirian regime, especially its alleged disregard for Mexican workers and Mexican national identity. Third, it analyzes the ways in which the phrase “Chin-Chun-Chan” entered popular language as a racial signifier for a range of things, some of which bore little relation to its theatrical origins. Finally, it links popular Sinophobia in late Porfirian Mexico City to the virulent anti-Chinese campaigns in northern Mexico, which played a key role in defining national identity after the 1910 Revolution, and to the “hemispheric orientalism” that has characterized anti-Asian sentiments throughout the Americas.

Cavaliers, Roundheads, and Musical Identity Politics, 1640–49

As the English people strode closer to armed conflict in the 1630s and early 1640s, the political disagreements between Charles I and his Parliament acquired a religious dimension. Not all Royalists were Anglicans, and not all Parliamentarians were Puritans, but it is undeniable that each group developed a unique political identity that included manner of dress and religious belief. As these identities solidified, each group used both their own identity and the opposing group’s identity to their advantage to inspire new supporters to join, strengthen in-group support, and inspire hatred against the opposition. Chapter one tells the story of how sacred and secular music was pressed into service by both sides of the English Civil War to serve a variety of propaganda purposes. Sacred music became a convenient political symbol for the religious differences between Anglicans/Royalists and Parliamentarians/Puritans that was easy to understand and thereby accessible to the largest possible audience of potential supporters. Likewise, secular music helped to ensure that the English populace was immersed in the political struggle even in their moments of leisure, and thereby at once more likely to maintain their fervent devotion to their side and their fervent hatred of the enemy.

MUSLIM JAWA : MASJID, KERATON DAN PASAR

This article will look at how the perception of Javanese Muslims in Yogyakarta on Masjid, keraton, and market. This article employs a qualitative descriptive method with a sociological approach. Participatory observations, in-depth interviews, and literature studies were conducted at Malioboro. The result of the research shows that Javanese Muslims in Yogyakarta perceive the Muttaqin Mosque as a moral-spiritual symbol, the Keraton Yogyakarta as a cultural-political symbol and the Beringharjo market as a socio-economic symbol. In summary, Javanese Muslim perceptions above are constructed by five factors that: Alon-alon waton kelakon, nrimo ing pandum, sepi ing pamrih rame ing gawe banter tan mbancengi dhuwur tan ngungkuli, mangan ora mangan asal ngumpul and tuna satak, bathi sanak.Keywords: Javanese Muslim; Masjid; Keraton; MarketPenelitian ini akan melihat bagaimana persepsi Muslim Jawa di Yogyakarta tentang masjid, keraton dan pasar. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode deskriptif kualitatif dengan pendekatan sosiologis. Pengamatan partisipatif, wawancara mendalam dan studi literatur dilakukan di Malioboro. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa Muslim Jawa di Yogyakarta mempersepsikan Masjid Muttaqin sebagai simbol moral-spiritual, Keraton Yogyakarta sebagai simbol budaya-politik dan pasar Beringharjo sebagai simbol sosial-ekonomi. Kesimpulannya, persepsi Muslim Jawa di atas dikonstruksi oleh lima faktor yaitu alon-alon waton kelakon, nrimo ing pandum, sepi ing pamrih naik gawe banter tan mbancengi dhuwur tan ngungkuli, mangan ora mangan asal ngumpul dan tuna satak, bathi sanak Kata Kunci: Muslim Jawa; Masjid; Keraton; Pasar

Cultural Symbol dan Politik Identitas dalam Pembangunan Kota Sampit

This study aims to trace the cultural symbols and identity politics that occur in the city of Sampit. This is based on several important things that happened in Sampit. Sampit is a heterogeneous and multicultural city and at the same time there were riots between the Dayak and Madura tribes around 2000, which resulted in the emptying and rejection of Madurese residents. At least in the past two decades, Sampit has turned into a city that displays an identity as a Muslim city with the emergence of urban icons built by local elite leaders. It is interesting to track what exactly is behind the elite officials in the city of Sampit in building these identity symbols and how political symbol culture plays a role in the development of the city of Sampit. The analytical tool used in this study is functional sociology where the emphasis of this study is on actors who provide change in society. The results of this study indicate that several values obsess over Cultural Symbol actions in Sampit, including; First, religious values, one of which orientates the cultural symbol policy is that the Sampit community is moved to worship their Lord and minimize criminal acts that used to occur frequently, such as wild speeding, theft and obscene acts. Secondly, art values, symbols used such as the dome and calligraphy of Asmaul Husnaand calligraphy of Allah and Muhammad's writings are expressions of the architectural art values possessed by the Sampit regent which used to beautify the city of Sampit. Third, Political Interest, every policy carried out by an elite certainly cannot be separated from political interests, the Sampit regent is no exception, which in this case is to perpetuate his power, bearing in mind that the regent is in power for two periods untill 2020