QADAR/SINA´AT – „islamska umjetnost“ prvi dio

Namjera ove analize je započeti raspravu o nekim dijelovima povijesti onog što se deklarira ili titulira kao „islamska umjetnost“, u kritičnom okviru kako okcidentalno- vesterniziranih tako i nekih muslìmānskīh teorijskih pogleda. Analizom i postavljanjem granica u skladu s prevladavajućim autoritetima, pridonijet će se vitalnim modalitetima diskursâ qadar/ṣināʿata, koji su rezolutno ìslāmskī i u skladu s izvorištem (ar. al-mardžaʿili al-maṣdar). Posebno se želi skrenuti pažnja na zalaganje za različitost, upravo zbog okcidentalno-vesterniziranog akademskog nastojanja da se zanemari duh jedinstva i autorefleksivne islamske konstante karakterističnih diskursâ qadar/ṣināʿata uz nametanje umjetne dihotomije sakralnog i profanog, te paradigmatskih pogleda na vrednovanje kreativnog (estetiziranog) postignuća začetnika/dizajnera reprezentacije, odnosno homo islamicusa, kao apsolutnog zapadnjačkog vlasništva (western ownership). S druge strane, estetizirano djelanje homo islamicusa u okviru svjesne rekognitivne i kognitivne produktivno-refleksivne orijentacije ima vrlo konkretno povijesno postojanje. Ako za titulaciju „islamska umjetnost“ možemo upotrijebiti poznati Derridaov mot ili grif ‘il n’y a pas de hors-texte’ (“ništa ne postoji izvan teksta“), za estetizirano djelanje homo islamicusa ne možemo pitati postoji li ili ne postoji. Čini se da bi pravilno pitanje u vezi s modalitetima diskursâ qadar/ṣināʿata glasilo ‘qu'est-ce qu'il y a de hors-texte’? (“što se nalazi izvan teksta? “). Susrešćemo se i s neprimjerenim nazivljem, kao što je npr. upotreba pojma dekorativno kao ekvivalenta za ornamentalno ili arabeskno za estetizirani izraz beskonačnog uzorka, kao i podjelu na centralne i rubne umjetničke produkcije, odnosno središta eurocentrične kulturne moći i tzv. njenu periferiju. Skrenuta je pozornost na okcidentalno-vesternizirano pozicioniranje teorije umjetnosti na vrh evolucije i kreativne zrelosti, što u konačnici ima za cilj jedinstvenu hegemoniju „Novog svijeta“, odnosno podvrgavanje i „kultiviranje“ bilo kojeg neevropskog ili nevesterniziranog entiteta, a posebno kreativnog bivstvovanja unutar klasične tradicije ìslāmske kulture (ar. al-thaqāfah al-islāmiyyah) i ìslāmske civilizacije (ar. al-ḥaḍārah al-islāmiyyah ili al-tamaddun al- islāmiyy). Na koncu mora se primjetiti da okcidentalno-vesterniziran način akademskog razmišljanja u ovoj oblasti, te bilo kojih drugih teorija koje djeluju unutar granica indeksnog poretka i taksonomije, uključujući i koncept današnje globalizacije, također predstavljaju sistemske obrasce autoriteta, kontrole i vrednovanja, a time i isključenosti prema drugima. Međutim, takva forma nametanja linearnog ili cikličkog načina tumačenja, se ipak suočava sa vrlo stvarnim izazovima svojstvenim pisanju globalne „historije umjetnosti“ i potpunim odsustvom razumijevanja drugih i drugačijih formi kreativnog izražavanja.

The Importance of Interreligious Dialogues on Ethics and Law: A Global Percpective

The present article pleads for the revival of an interreligious dialogue on ethics and law as an instrument of peace and reconciliation. Whereas the first phase of IRD was marked by a considerable prominence of these topics, the have become of less importance in the second phase. This needs correction for two reasons. Theoretically the rationality of dogmatic or systematic insights (as found in all faith traditions) is largely exclusive, whereas the rationality of ethics, also religiously founded ethics, is basically inclusive. It is therefore open to dialogue. There exists considerable common ground on norms, rules and values between religious traditions, which are to serve humans, the society and the political community. This is of particular importance in today’s multi-religious societies as well as in a world more than ever interconnected by globalization. The article concludes with an analysis of the document on Human Fraternity of Pope Francis and Grand Imam Ahmad al-Tayyeb and its ethical approach to dialogue.

Infidel or Paganus? The Polysemy of kafara in the Quran

This article explores the meaning of the root k-f-r in the Quran, questioning the practice of translating the noun kāfir as “infidel.” It argues for a distinction between the idiomatic phrasal verb kafara bi-, which does mean to reject or disbelieve, and the simple intransitive verb kafara and its deverbal nouns, which are used in the Quran in a large number of different ways. This polysemy is explored through contextual readings of Quran passages. It is argued that the noun kāfir, unlike the verb kafara, is used only with regard to adherents of traditional polytheism and is not deployed in an unmodified way with regard to Jews and Christians. The possible influence on the Arabic kafara of Greek and Latin conceptions is also broached.

Reforma, a nikako revolucija

Djelo Budućnost islama, prema autoru, nastalo je iz pobude i pokušaja ponovne izgradnje odnosa Zapada s muslimanskim svijetom, posebno u svjetlu politike tadašnjeg američkog predsjednika Baracka Obame i njegove politike za „novim putem naprijed“ (str. 6) nakon njegovog „historijskog govora“ u Kairu - kako su to prenijeli zapadni mediji. Djelo je koncizno i unutar svoja četiri osnovna poglavlja nastoji odgovoriti na nekoliko ključnih pitanja: Kakva je budućnost islama - reformacijska ili revolucijska? Da li su islam i modernost kompatibilni? Koliko je rasprostranjen islamski fundamentalizam i da li je on prijetnja muslimanskim društvima i Zapadu?

Can We Become Walking Qurans?

As Muslims, we are taught that we are to follow the Prophet’s Sunnah, his precedent and praxis. The first steps we learn on how to do this is to pray as he did, give the zakāh as generously as he did, fast as he did, perform ḥajj and ʿumrah as he did; that is, by performing the rituals of the faith. Clearly, following the Prophetic Sunnah involves more than just the physical performance of our rituals. Achieving excellence in following the Prophetic Sunnah was something that the early Muslims sought to achieve. It is revealed in the ḥadīth of a tābiʿī (a person of the generation after the Prophet’s generation who was either too young when the Prophet died or born just after his death) who, wanting to know more about how the Prophet was like, went to his widow Aisha and asked her. Her response was that the Prophet was effectively a ‘Walking Quran.’

Bosniaks and Bosnia: A Study in the Philosophy of Politics (3)

The third, final part of this study, analyses the relationship between Bosniaks and Bosnia through the interaction of three chronologically problem-related processes: 1. The procedure defined as 'The Archeology of the Politics of Oblivion' reconstructs in all previous research completely neglected aspects of the genesis of historical and political factors of the project of denial of Bosniaks as a separate people / nation, erasing their historical name, language name and ethnic, spiritual, cultural and state identity; 2. The issue of the relationship between Bosniaks as a people / nation and Bosnia, as their home state, which they created and defended, from the general problem-theory perspective as well as from recent events and with the current situation being considered; 3. The thesis is argued that the preservation of the historical name „Bosniaks“, returned on September 28, 1993, is a permanent strategic imperative of all Bosniaks in the world and a conditio sine qua non of the survival of Bosnia as a state and as a concept.. The initiative to use the territorial determinants „Bosnians“ or „Bosnians and Herzegovinians“ instead of the historical name, which aims to definitively remove Bosniaks from the historical scene as a people / nation, is critically analysed. Since the survival of Bosniaks is a necessary condition for the survival and existence of Bosnia, the imperatives of the historical moment require the unconditional acceptance of the historical name „Bosniaks“, the renewal of the sense of common belonging and mutual connection of Bosniaks as a people / nation, strengthening the emotional connection with one's own national being and establishing the awareness of the moral obligation of every individual Bosniak towards his/her Bosniak people and their home state of Bosnia.

Muhammad Between East and West

Most observers of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s political situation have focused only on the problems that the Dayton Peace Accord created for the normal functioning of this Southeastern European state, but a workable solution is yet to be proposed. The Accord achieved peace by blocking any ability for effective governing and by diminishing the Bosnian state capacity through an excessive dispersion of power with an uncommon constitutional focus on internationalism, and an erroneous type of pluralism that undermines the normal functioning of a democracy. The solution for these problems is to be found by adjusting the procedural selection of the United Nations High Representative, who is the primary actor directly responsible for the implementation of the Accord, both in terms of the letter and intent of the document, and this paper explains how that change can be made and what problems it will resolve.

The Gift of Qurbani Meat: Ethnological Reflections

The article considers two customs traditionally followed by Muslims of Bosnia and Herzegovina during Eid Al-Aḍḥā (‘Festival of Sacrifice’ or Kurban Bayram). These are, first, giving a small amount of money, so-called bayramlık, to children as a reward or gift in return for handing out Qurbani meat to neighbors, and, second, giving the meat to non-Muslims. The topic will be explored in the light of Marcel Mauss’s seminal essay on the gift, since Qurbani appears as a gift that identifies, marks and renews the social bonds not only of close relatives, but also of friends and neighbors. In this context too, we will meet what Jacques Derrida calls the aporia of the gift. The slaughtering of Qurbani animal is a true gift, precisely because it is an impossible gift. It may be considered as a giftless giving: although the sacrifice is unthinkable without the slaughtered animal, it cannot be a gift to God. However, after the human act of sacrifice is performed, it is God Who makes the gift to men - because He commands that the victim’s meat must be shared. It is then to be understood not as a returned gift, but as an act of God’s hospitality, which gives to men the very possibility of gift giving. It is argued that the two Bosnian customs draw their ultimate meaning from the divine hospitality vividly experienced in the ritual of sacrifice.

Religion in a Secular Society: Impediment or Benefit?

The author investigates from the perspective of a Western European country, in his case Germany, if and how religion(s) can be appreciated in a secular society. With historic reviews he demonstrates that we should revise our accustomed perceptions; how (in the “West”) Islam is perceived, how religions are perceived from outside, but also how the religious sometimes misrepresent the non-religious. Instead, he advocates to adjust our categories of “us” and “the others”, and join forces with those who are committed to living together against those who campaign and agitate against it, notwithstanding who believes in what. His considerations are shaped by the situation in Germany, but they lead to conclusions of universal value.