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Arabska Jutri
DAVID B. OTTAWAY
Oktober 6, 1981, je bil v Egiptu mišljen kot dan praznovanja. Obeležili so obletnico največjega trenutka zmage Egipta v treh arabsko-izraelskih konfliktih, ko je podcenjena državna vojska v prvih dneh vdrla čez Sueški prekop 1973 Jomkipurska vojna in poslala izraelske čete v umik. Na hladnem, jutro brez oblačka, stadion v Kairu je bil nabito poln egipčanskih družin, ki so si prišle ogledat vojsko, kako postavlja svojo opremo. Na stojnici za pregled, Predsednik Anwar el-Sadat,vojni arhitekt, z zadovoljstvom gledal, kako pred njim paradirajo ljudje in stroji. Bil sem v bližini, novoprispeli tuji dopisnik.Nenadoma, eden od vojaških tovornjakov se je ustavil neposredno pred pregledovalno stojnico ravno v trenutku, ko je nad glavami v akrobatski izvedbi zarjovelo šest letal Mirage, slikanje neba z dolgimi sledmi rdeče barve, rumena, vijolična,in zeleni dim. Sadat je vstal, očitno se pripravlja na izmenjavo pozdravov s še enim kontingentom egiptovskih vojakov. Postal je odlična tarča za štiri islamistične atentatorje, ki so skočili s tovornjaka, vdrl na stopničke, in njegovo telo prerešetali s kroglami. Ko so morilci nadaljevali, kar se je zdelo večnost, škropili tribuno s svojim smrtonosnim ognjem, Za trenutek sem premišljeval, ali naj udarim ob tla in tvegam, da me panični gledalci poteptajo do smrti, ali pa ostanem na nogah in tvegam, da me bo zadela zalutala krogla.. Instinkt mi je govoril, naj ostanem na nogah, and my sense of journalistic duty impelled me to go find out whether Sadat was alive or dead.
| sep 26, 2010 | Komentarji 0
Feminizem MED laičnosti in islamizma: PRIMER Palestine
dr, Islah Jad
Zakonodajne volitve na Zahodnem bregu in v Gazi v 2006 na oblast pripeljal islamistično gibanje Hamas, ki je nato oblikovala večino palestinskega zakonodajnega sveta in tudi prvo večinsko vlado Hamasa. Rezultat teh volitev je bilo imenovanje prve ministrice Hamasa, ki je postala ministrica za ženske zadeve. Med marcem 2006 in junija 2007, to mesto sta prevzeli dve različni ministrici Hamasa, vendar sta oba težko vodila ministrstvo, saj večina njegovih zaposlenih ni bila članov Hamasa, ampak je pripadala drugim političnim strankam, večina pa je bila članov Fataha, prevladujoče gibanje, ki nadzoruje večino institucij palestinske oblasti. Napeto obdobje boja med ženskami Hamasa na ministrstvu za ženske zadeve in članicami Fataha se je končalo po Hamasovem prevzemu oblasti na območju Gaze in posledičnem padcu njegove vlade na Zahodnem bregu – boj ki je včasih dobilo silovit preobrat. Eden od razlogov, ki so ga kasneje navedli za razlago tega boja, je bila razlika med sekularnim feminističnim diskurzom in islamističnim diskurzom o ženskih vprašanjih.. V palestinskem kontekstu je to nesoglasje postalo nevarno, saj je bilo uporabljeno za opravičevanje nadaljevanja krvavega političnega boja., odstranitev Hamasovih žensk z njihovih položajev ali delovnih mest, ter politične in geografske ločnice, ki so takrat prevladovale tako na Zahodnem bregu kot na okupiranem območju Gaze.
Ta boj odpira številna pomembna vprašanja: bi morali kaznovati islamistično gibanje, ki je prišlo na oblast, ali bi morali razmisliti o razlogih, ki so pripeljali do Fatehovega neuspeha na političnem prizorišču? Ali lahko feminizem ponudi celovit okvir za ženske?, ne glede na njihovo socialno in ideološko pripadnost? Ali lahko diskurz skupne skupne osnove za ženske pomaga pri uresničevanju in dogovoru o skupnih ciljih?? Je paternalizem prisoten samo v islamistični ideologiji, in ne v nacionalizmu in domoljubju? Kaj mislimo s feminizmom? Ali obstaja samo en feminizem, ali več feminizmov? Kaj mislimo z islamom – ali je to gibanje, znano pod tem imenom, ali religija, filozofija, ali pravni sistem? Tem težavam moramo iti do dna in jih natančno preučiti, in o njih se moramo dogovoriti, da se lahko kasneje odločimo, kot feministke, če naj bo naša kritika paternalizma usmerjena proti veri (vera), ki bi morala biti omejena na srce vernika in ne bi smela prevzeti nadzora nad svetom na splošno, ali sodna praksa, ki se nanaša na različne verske šole, ki pojasnjujejo pravni sistem, ki ga vsebujejo Koran in izreki preroka – suna.
| sep 19, 2010 | Komentarji 0
Islamski ŽENSKI aktivizma v okupirani Palestini
Intervju Khaled Amayreh
Intervju z Sameera Al-Halayka
Sameera Al-Halayka je izvoljena članica palestinskega zakonodajnega sveta. Bila je
rojen v vasi Shoyoukh blizu Hebrona v 1964. Ima diplomo iz šeriata (Islamska
Pravna praksa) z univerze Hebron. Delala je kot novinarka iz 1996 do 2006 kdaj
vstopila je v palestinski zakonodajni svet kot izvoljena članica v 2006 volitve.
Je poročena in ima sedem otrok.
Q: V nekaterih zahodnih državah obstaja splošen vtis, da so ženske deležne
slabšega ravnanja znotraj islamskih odporniških skupin, kot je Hamas. Je to res?
Kako v Hamasu ravnajo z aktivistkami?
Pravice in dolžnosti muslimank izhajajo predvsem iz islamskega šeriatskega prava.
To niso prostovoljna ali dobrodelna dejanja ali geste, ki jih prejmemo od Hamasa ali kogarkoli drugega
drugače. torej, kar zadeva politično udejstvovanje in aktivizem, imajo ženske na splošno
enake pravice in dolžnosti kot moški. Konec koncev, ženske ličijo vsaj 50 odstotkov
družbe. V določenem smislu, so celotna družba, ker rojevajo, in dvigniti,
nova generacija.
Zato, Lahko rečem, da je status žensk v Hamasu popolnoma v skladu z njo
status v samem islamu. To pomeni, da je polnopravni partner na vseh ravneh. Prav zares, bi bilo
nepravično in nepravično za islama (ali islamist, če vam je ljubše) ženska, da bo partnerica v trpljenju
medtem ko je ona izločena iz procesa odločanja. Zato je vloga ženske v
Hamas je bil vedno pionir.
Q: Ali menite, da je pojav ženskega političnega aktivizma znotraj Hamasa
naravni razvoj, ki je združljiv s klasičnimi islamskimi koncepti
glede položaja in vloge žensk, ali je le nujen odziv na
pritiski modernosti in zahteve političnega delovanja ter nadaljevanja
izraelska okupacija?
V islamski sodni praksi niti v Hamasovi listini ni besedila, ki bi ženskam preprečevalo
politično sodelovanje. Verjamem, da je ravno nasprotno — obstajajo številni koranski verzi
in izreki preroka Mohameda, ki pozivajo ženske, naj bodo aktivne v politiki in javnosti
vprašanja, ki zadevajo muslimane. Res pa je tudi, da za ženske, kot velja za moške, politični aktivizem
ni obvezno, temveč prostovoljno, in se v veliki meri odloča glede na sposobnosti vsake ženske,
kvalifikacije in individualne okoliščine. Nič manj, izkazovanje skrbi za javnost
zadeve je obvezno za vsakega muslimana in muslimanko. Prerok
je rekel Muhammed: "Tisti, ki ne kaže skrbi za zadeve muslimanov, ni musliman."
Še več, Palestinske islamistke morajo upoštevati vse objektivne dejavnike na terenu
pri odločanju, ali se vključiti v politiko ali vključiti v politični aktivizem.
| sep 19, 2010 | Komentarji 0
Iranski ženskah po islamski revoluciji
Ansiia Khaz Allii
Več kot trideset let je minilo, odkar zmagi islamske revolucije v Iranu, vendar ostajajo a številna vprašanja in dvoumnosti o tem, kako Islamska republika in njeni zakoni obravnavajo sodobnih problemov in trenutnih okoliščin, zlasti v zvezi z ženskami in pravic žensk. Ta krajši prispevek bo osvetlil ta vprašanja in preučil trenutni položaj žensk na različnih področjih, to primerjamo s stanjem pred islamsko revolucijo. Uporabljeni so bili zanesljivi in preverjeni podatki wherever possible. The introduction summarises a number of theoretical and legal studies which provide the basis for the subsequent more practical analysis and are the sources from where the data has been obtained.
The first section considers attitudes of the leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran towards women and women’s rights, and then takes a comprehensive look at the laws promulgated since the Islamic Revolution concerning women and their position in society. The second section considers women’s cultural and educational developments since the Revolution and compares these to the pre-revolutionary situation. The third section looks at women’s political, social and economic participation and considers both quantative and qualitative aspects of their employment. Četrti del nato obravnava vprašanja družine, the odnos med žensko in družino, in vlogo družine pri omejevanju ali povečanju pravic žensk v Islamska republika Iran.
| sep 19, 2010 | Komentarji 0
Totalitarizem Džihadski islamizma in njegov izziv za Evropo in islamom
Basso tibi
Pri branju večino besedil, ki sestavljajo veliko literature, ki je bila s samooklicane poznavalci objavljen na politični islam, je enostaven za miss, da je nastalo novo gibanje. Nadalje, ta literatura ne razloži na zadovoljiv način dejstva, da ideologija, ki jo poganja, temelji na določeni interpretaciji islama, in da gre torej za politizirano versko vero,
not a secular one. The only book in which political Islam is addressed as a form of totalitarianism is the one by Paul Berman, Terror and Liberalism (2003). The author is, vendar, not an expert, cannot read Islamic sources, and therefore relies on the selective use of one or two secondary sources, thus failing to grasp the phenomenon.
One of the reasons for such shortcomings is the fact that most of those who seek to inform us about the ‘jihadist threat’ – and Berman is typical of this scholarship – not only lack the language skills to read the sources produced by the ideologues of political Islam, but also lack knowledge about the cultural dimension of the movement. This new totalitarian movement is in many ways a novelty
v zgodovini politike, saj ima svoje korenine v dveh vzporednih in sorodnih pojavih: prvi, kulturalizacija politike, ki vodi v konceptualizacijo politike kot kulturnega sistema (pogled, ki ga je uvedel Clifford Geertz); in drugič vrnitev svetega, ali "ponovno začaranje" sveta, kot odziv na njeno intenzivno sekularizacijo, ki je posledica globalizacije.
Analiza političnih ideologij, ki temeljijo na religijah, in to lahko kot posledica tega postane privlačno kot politična religija, vključuje družboslovno razumevanje vloge religije v svetovni politiki, zlasti po tem, ko se je bipolarni sistem hladne vojne umaknil večpolarnemu svetu. V projektu, ki se izvaja na Inštitutu Hannah Arendt za uporabo totalitarizma pri preučevanju političnih religij, Predlagal sem razlikovanje med sekularnimi ideologijami, ki delujejo kot nadomestek za religijo, in verske ideologije, ki temeljijo na pristni verski veri, kar je v verskem fundamentalizmu (glej opombo
24). Še en projekt o "politični veri", izvedel na Univerzi v Baslu, je pojasnil, da novi pristopi k politiki postanejo potrebni, ko se verska vera odene v politično obleko. Sklicevanje na verodostojne vire političnega islama, ta članek nakazuje, da je treba veliko različnih organizacij, ki jih navdihuje islamistična ideologija, konceptualizirati kot politične religije in kot politična gibanja. Edinstvena kakovost laži političnega islama je dejstvo, da temelji na transnacionalni veri (glej opombo 26).
| sep 15, 2010 | Komentarji 0
Islam, Politični islam in America
Arabska Insight
Ali je »bratstvo« z Ameriko možno?
khalil al-anani
"Ni nobene možnosti komuniciranja z vsemi zunaj ZDA. administracije, dokler ZDA ohranjajo svoj dolgoletni pogled na islam kot resnično nevarnost, pogled, ki Združene države postavlja v isti čoln kot cionistični sovražnik. Nimamo nobenih vnaprejšnjih predstav o ameriških ljudeh ali ZDA. družbe ter njenih civilnih organizacij in možganskih trustov. Nimamo težav pri komuniciranju z ameriškim ljudstvom, vendar ni vloženih ustreznih naporov, da bi nas zbližali,” je dejal dr. Issam al-Iryan, vodja političnega oddelka Muslimanske bratovščine v telefonskem intervjuju.
Al-Iryanove besede povzemajo poglede Muslimanske bratovščine na Američane in ZDA. vlada. Drugi člani Muslimanske bratovščine bi se strinjali, tako kot pokojni Hassan al-Banna, ki je skupino ustanovil v 1928. Al- Banna je na Zahod gledal predvsem kot na simbol moralnega propada. Drugi salafisti – islamska miselna šola, ki se opira na prednike kot vzorne modele – so zavzeli enako stališče do ZDA, vendar nimajo ideološke prožnosti, ki jo zagovarja Muslimanska bratovščina. Medtem ko Muslimanska bratovščina verjame v vključitev Američanov v civilni dialog, druge skrajne skupine ne vidijo smisla v dialogu in trdijo, da je sila edini način za obravnavo Združenih držav.
| sep 15, 2010 | Komentarji 0
Liberalna demokracija in politični islam: Iskanje Common Ground.
Mostapha Benhenda
Ta dokument skuša vzpostaviti dialog med demokratično in islamsko politično teorijo.1 Medsebojno delovanje med njima je zmedeno.: na primer, da bi pojasnili razmerje med demokracijo in njihovim pojmovanjem idealne islamske politične
režim, pakistanski učenjak Abu 'Ala Maududi je skoval neologizem "teodemokracija", medtem ko je francoski učenjak Louis Massignon predlagal oksimoron "sekularna teokracija". Ti izrazi kažejo, da so nekateri vidiki demokracije ocenjeni pozitivno, drugi pa negativno. na primer:, Muslimanski učenjaki in aktivisti pogosto podpirajo načelo odgovornosti vladarjev, kar je odločilna značilnost demokracije. Nasprotno, pogosto zavračajo načelo ločevanja med vero in državo, ki se pogosto šteje za del demokracije (vsaj, demokracije, kot jo poznajo danes ZDA). Glede na to mešano oceno demokratičnih načel, zdi se zanimivo določiti koncept demokracije, ki je podlaga za islamske politične modele. Z drugimi besedami, poskusiti bi morali ugotoviti, kaj je demokratično v "teodemokraciji". V ta namen, med impresivno raznolikostjo in pluralnostjo islamskih tradicij normativne politične misli, v bistvu se osredotočamo na širok tok misli, ki sega nazaj do Abu Ala Maududija in egiptovskega intelektualca Sayyeda Qutba.8 Ta poseben miselni trend je zanimiv, ker je v muslimanskem svetu, leži v osnovi nekaterih najzahtevnejših nasprotij širjenju vrednot, ki izvirajo iz Zahoda. Temelji na verskih vrednotah, ta trend je razvil politični model, ki je alternativa liberalni demokraciji. Na splošno, koncept demokracije, vključen v ta islamski politični model, je proceduralni. Z nekaj razlikami, ta koncept se zgleduje po demokratičnih teorijah, ki jih zagovarjajo nekateri konstitucionalisti in politologi.10 Je tanka in minimalistična, do določene točke. na primer:, ne opira se na noben pojem ljudske suverenosti in ne zahteva nobene ločitve med vero in politiko. Prvi cilj tega prispevka je izdelati to minimalistično zasnovo. Podrobno ga ponovimo, da bi to zasnovo ločili od njene morale (liberalni) temelje, ki so sporne s posebnega islamskega stališča, obravnavanega tukaj. Prav zares, demokratični proces običajno izhaja iz načela osebne avtonomije, česar te islamske teorije ne potrjujejo.11 Tukaj, pokažemo, da takšno načelo ni potrebno za opravičevanje demokratičnega procesa.
| sep 09, 2010 | Komentarji 0
Načelo gibanja v strukturi islama
dr. Muhammad Iqbal
Kot kulturnega gibanja Islam zavrača stari statični pogled na vesolje, in doseže dinamično pogled. Kot čustveno sistema poenotenja priznava vrednost posameznika, kot je na primer, in zavrača bloodrelationship kot osnova človekove enotnosti. Krvno sorodstvo je ukoreninjenost. Iskanje čisto psihološke podlage človeške enotnosti postane možno le z zaznavo, da je vse človeško življenje po svojem izvoru duhovno.1 Takšna zaznava ustvarja sveže zvestobe brez kakršnih koli ceremonialov, ki bi jih ohranjali pri življenju., in omogoča človeku, da se osvobodi zemlje. Krščanstvo, ki se je prvotno pojavilo kot meniški red, je Konstantin preizkusil kot sistem združevanja.2 Njegov neuspeh kot takšen sistem je gnal cesarja Julijana3, da se je vrnil k starim rimskim bogovom, na katere je poskušal postaviti filozofske razlage.. Sodobni civilizacijski zgodovinar je tako orisal stanje civiliziranega sveta v času, ko je islam nastopil na odru zgodovine.: Takrat se je zdelo, da je velika civilizacija, ki je gradila štiri tisoč let, tik pred razpadom., in da se bo človeštvo verjetno vrnilo v tisto stanje barbarstva, kjer je vsako pleme in sekta proti drugemu, in zakon in red sta bila neznana . . . The
stare plemenske sankcije so izgubile svojo moč. Zato stare imperialne metode ne bi več delovale. Nove sankcije, ki jih je uvedel
Krščanstvo je delalo delitev in uničenje namesto enotnosti in reda. To je bil čas, poln tragedij. Civilizacija, kot velikansko drevo, katerega listje je prekrilo svet in katerega veje so rodile zlate sadove umetnosti, znanosti in literature, stal opotekajoč, njegovo deblo ni več živo od tekočega soka vdanosti in spoštovanja, vendar je zgnil do srži, razklana od vojnih viharjev, in jih držijo skupaj samo vrvi starodavnih običajev in zakonov, ki lahko vsak trenutek zaskoči. Ali je bilo mogoče vnesti kakšno čustveno kulturo, ponovno zbrati človeštvo v enotnost in rešiti civilizacijo? Ta kultura mora biti nekaj novega tipa, kajti stare sankcije in obredi so bili mrtvi, in zgraditi druge iste vrste bi bilo delo
stoletja.« Pisatelj nam nato pove, da je svet potreboval novo kulturo, ki bi prevzela mesto kulture prestola., in sistemi združevanja, ki so temeljili na krvnem sorodstvu.
Čudovito je, dodaja, da bi morala taka kultura iz Arabije priti ravno v času, ko je bila najbolj potrebna. Tukaj je, vendar, nič neverjetnega v tem pojavu. Svet-življenje intuitivno vidi svoje potrebe, in v kritičnih trenutkih določi svojo smer. To je kaj, v jeziku vere, imenujemo preroško razodetje. Povsem naravno je, da je islam zablestel v zavesti preprostega ljudstva, ki se ga nobena starodavna kultura ni dotaknila., in zaseda geografski položaj, kjer se tri celine srečajo. Nova kultura najde temelj svetovne enotnosti v načelu Tauhâd.«5 Islam, kot politiko, je le praktično sredstvo, da to načelo postane živi dejavnik v intelektualnem in čustvenem življenju človeštva. Zahteva zvestobo Bogu, ne na prestole. In ker je Bog končna duhovna osnova vsega življenja, zvestoba Bogu dejansko pomeni človekovo zvestobo svoji idealni naravi. Najvišja duhovna osnova vsega življenja, kot ga pojmuje islam, je večna in se razodeva v raznolikosti in spreminjanju. Družba, ki temelji na takšnem pojmovanju Realnosti, se mora uskladiti, v svojem življenju, kategorije stalnosti in spreminjanja. Imeti mora večna načela za urejanje svojega skupnega življenja, kajti večno nam daje oporo v svetu nenehnih sprememb.
| sep 08, 2010 | Komentarji 0
Islamska reformacije
Adnan Khan
Italijanski premier, Silvio Berlusconi se je po dogodkih v 9/11:
»...zavedati se moramo superiornosti naše civilizacije, sistem, ki ima zagotovljeno
dobro počutje, spoštovanje človekovih pravic in – v nasprotju z islamskimi državami – spoštovanje
za verske in politične pravice, sistem, ki ima svoje vrednote razumevanje različnosti
in strpnost ... Zahod bo osvojil ljudi, kot bi premagala komunizem, tudi če je
pomeni spopad z drugo civilizacijo, tisti islamski, obtičal, kjer je bil
1,400 pred leti ...« 1
In v a 2007 poroča inštitut RAND:
»Boj, ki poteka v večjem delu muslimanskega sveta, je v bistvu vojna
ideje. Njegov izid bo določil prihodnjo usmeritev muslimanskega sveta.«
Gradnja zmernih muslimanskih mrež, Inštitut RAND
Koncept "islah" (reforma) je pojem neznan muslimanom. Nikoli ni obstajal vseskozi
zgodovino islamske civilizacije; nikoli se ni razpravljalo ali celo upoštevalo. Bežen pogled na klasiko
Islamska literatura nam kaže, da ko so klasični učenjaki postavili temelje usul, in kodificirano
njihove islamske odločitve (fiqh) gledali so le na razumevanje islamskih pravil, da bi
jih uporabite. A similar situation occurred when the rules were laid down for the hadith, tafseer and the
Arabic language. Scholars, thinkers and intellectuals throughout Islamic history spent much time
understanding Allah’s revelation – the Qur’an and applying the ayaat upon the realities and coined
principals and disciplines in order to facilitate understanding. Hence the Qur’an remained the basis of
study and all the disciplines that evolved were always based upon the Qur’an. Those who became
smitten by Greek philosophy such as the Muslim philosophers and some from amongst the Mut’azilah
were considered to have left the fold of Islam as the Qur’an ceased to be their basis of study. Thus for
vsak musliman, ki poskuša izpeljati pravila ali razumeti, kakšno stališče je treba zavzeti do določenega
vprašanje Kur'ana je osnova te študije.
Prvi poskus reforme islama se je zgodil na prelomu 19. stoletja. Na prelomu
stoletju je bil Ummah v dolgotrajnem obdobju zatona, kjer se je globalno razmerje moči premaknilo
iz kalifata v Britanijo. Vse večje težave so zajele Khilafet, medtem ko je bila Zahodna Evropa notri
sredi industrijske revolucije. Ummet je izgubil svoje prvotno razumevanje islama, in
v poskusu, da bi obrnil upad, ki je zajel Uthmanijeve (Otomani) nekaj muslimanov je bilo poslanih v
West, in posledično postali navdušeni nad tem, kar so videli. Rifa'a Rafi' al-Tahtawi iz Egipta (1801-1873),
ob vrnitvi iz Pariza, napisal biografsko knjigo z naslovom Takhlis al-ibriz ila talkhis Bariz (The
Pridobivanje zlata, ali Pregled Pariza, 1834), hvalijo njihovo čistočo, ljubezen do dela, in zgoraj
vso družbeno moralo. Izjavil je, da moramo posnemati to, kar se počne v Parizu, zavzemanje za spremembe v
islamske družbe od liberalizacije žensk do sistemov vladanja. Ta misel, in drugim všeč,
je zaznamovala začetek trenda ponovnega odkrivanja islama.
| sep 07, 2010 | Komentarji 0
ROOTS OF MISCONCEPTION
IBRAHIM KALIN
In the aftermath of September 11, the long and checkered relationship between Islam and the West entered a new phase. The attacks were interpreted as the fulfillment of a prophecy that had been in the consciousness of the West for a long time, i.e., the coming of Islam as a menacing power with a clear intent to destroy Western civilization. Representations of Islam as a violent, militant, and oppressive religious ideology extended from television programs and state offices to schools and the internet. It was even suggested that Makka, the holiest city of Islam, be “nuked” to give a lasting lesson to all Muslims. Although one can look at the widespread sense of anger, hostility, and revenge as a normal human reaction to the abominable loss of innocent lives, the demonization of Muslims is the result of deeper philosophical and historical issues.
In many subtle ways, the long history of Islam and the West, from the theological polemics of Baghdad in the eighth and ninth centuries to the experience of convivencia in Andalusia in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, informs the current perceptions and qualms of each civilization vis-à-vis the other. This paper will examine some of the salient features of this history and argue that the monolithic representations of Islam, created and sustained by a highly complex set of image-producers, think-tanks, academics, lobbyists, policy makers, and media, dominating the present Western conscience, have their roots in the West’s long history with the Islamic world. It will also be argued that the deep-rooted misgivings about Islam and Muslims have led and continue to lead to fundamentally flawed and erroneous policy decisions that have a direct impact on the current relations of Islam and the West. The almost unequivocal identification of Islam with terrorism and extremism in the minds of many Americans after September 11 is an outcome generated by both historical misperceptions, which will be analyzed in some detail below, and the political agenda of certain interest groups that see confrontation as the only way to deal with the Islamic world. It is hoped that the following analysis will provide a historical context in which we can make sense of these tendencies and their repercussions for both worlds.
| sep 07, 2010 | Komentarji 0
Islam na Zahodu
Jocelyne Cesari
The immigration of Muslims to Europe, North America, and Australia and the complex socioreligious dynamics that have subsequently developed have made Islam in the West a compelling new ªeld of research. The Salman Rushdie affair, hijab controversies, the attacks on the World Trade Center, and the furor over the Danish cartoons are all examples of international crises that have brought to light the connections between Muslims in the West and the global Muslim world. These new situations entail theoretical and methodological challenges for the study of contemporary Islam, and it has become crucial that we avoid essentializing either Islam or Muslims and resist the rhetorical structures of discourses that are preoccupied with security and terrorism.
In this article, I argue that Islam as a religious tradition is a terra incognita. A preliminary reason for this situation is that there is no consensus on religion as an object of research. Religion, as an academic discipline, has become torn between historical, sociological, and hermeneutical methodologies. With Islam, the situation is even more intricate. In the West, the study of Islam began as a branch of Orientalist studies and therefore followed a separate and distinctive path from the study of religions. Even though the critique of Orientalism has been central to the emergence of the study of Islam in the ªeld of social sciences, tensions remain strong between Islamicists and both anthropologists and sociologists. The topic of Islam and Muslims in the West is embedded in this struggle. One implication of this methodological tension is that students of Islam who began their academic career studying Islam in France, Germany, or America ªnd it challenging to establish credibility as scholars of Islam, particularly in the North American academic
context.
| sep 07, 2010 | Komentarji 0
Zaposlitev, kolonializem, apartheid?
The Human Sciences Research Council
The Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa commissioned this study to test the hypothesis posed by Professor John Dugard in the report he presented to the UN Human Rights Council in January 2007, in his capacity as UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel (namreč, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in
Gaza, hereafter OPT). Professor Dugard posed the question: Israel is clearly in military occupation of the OPT. Ob istem času, elements of the occupation constitute forms of colonialism and of apartheid, which are contrary to international law. What are the legal consequences of a regime of prolonged occupation with features of colonialism and apartheid for the occupied people, the Occupying Power and third States?
In order to consider these consequences, this study set out to examine legally the premises of Professor Dugard’s question: is Israel the occupant of the OPT, in, if so, do elements of its occupation of these territories amount to colonialism or apartheid? South Africa has an obvious interest in these questions given its bitter history of apartheid, which entailed the denial of selfdetermination
to its majority population and, during its occupation of Namibia, the extension of apartheid to that territory which South Africa effectively sought to colonise. These unlawful practices must not be replicated elsewhere: other peoples must not suffer in the way the populations of South Africa and Namibia have suffered.
To explore these issues, an international team of scholars was assembled. The aim of this project was to scrutinise the situation from the nonpartisan perspective of international law, rather than engage in political discourse and rhetoric. This study is the outcome of a fifteen-month collaborative process of intensive research, consultation, writing and review. It concludes and, it is to be hoped, persuasively argues and clearly demonstrates that Israel, since 1967, has been the belligerent Occupying Power in the OPT, and that its occupation of these territories has become a colonial enterprise which implements a system of apartheid. Belligerent occupation in itself is not an unlawful situation: it is accepted as a possible consequence of armed conflict. Ob istem času, under the law of armed conflict (also known as international humanitarian law), occupation is intended to be only a temporary state of affairs. International law prohibits the unilateral annexation or permanent acquisition of territory as a result of the threat or use of force: should this occur, no State may recognise or support the resulting unlawful situation. In contrast to occupation, both colonialism and apartheid are always unlawful and indeed are considered to be particularly serious breaches of international law because they are fundamentally contrary to core values of the international legal order. Colonialism violates the principle of self-determination,
which the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has affirmed as ‘one of the essential principles of contemporary international law’. All States have a duty to respect and promote self-determination. Apartheid is an aggravated case of racial discrimination, which is constituted according to the International Convention for the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid (1973,
hereafter ‘Apartheid Convention’) by ‘inhuman acts committed for the purpose of establishing and maintaining domination by one racial group of persons over any other racial group of persons and systematically oppressing them’. The practice of apartheid, moreover, is an international crime.
Professor Dugard in his report to the UN Human Rights Council in 2007 suggested that an advisory opinion on the legal consequences of Israel’s conduct should be sought from the ICJ. This advisory opinion would undoubtedly complement the opinion that the ICJ delivered in 2004 on the Legal consequences of the construction of a wall in the occupied Palestinian territories (hereafter ‘the Wall advisory opinion’). This course of legal action does not exhaust the options open to the international community, nor indeed the duties of third States and international organisations when they are appraised that another State is engaged in the practices of colonialism or apartheid.
| sep 07, 2010 | Komentarji 0
ISLAM, DEMOCRACY & THE USA:
Cordoba Foundation
Abdullah Faliq
Intro ,
In spite of it being both a perennial and a complex debate, Arches Quarterly reexamines from theological and practical grounds, the important debate about the relationship and compatibility between Islam and Democracy, as echoed in Barack Obama’s agenda of hope and change. Whilst many celebrate Obama’s ascendancy to the Oval Office as a national catharsis for the US, others remain less optimistic of a shift in ideology and approach in the international arena. While much of the tension and distrust between the Muslim world and the USA can be attributed to the approach of promoting democracy, typically favoring dictatorships and puppet regimes that pay lip-service to democratic values and human rights, the aftershock of 9/11 has truly cemented the misgivings further through America’s position on political Islam. It has created a wall of negativity as found by worldpublicopinion.org, according to which 67% of Egyptians believe that globally America is playing a “mainly negative” role.
America’s response has thus been apt. By electing Obama, many around the world are pinning their hopes for developing a less belligerent, but fairer foreign policy towards the Muslim world. Th e test for Obama, as we discuss, is how America and her allies promote democracy. Will it be facilitating or imposing?
Še več, can it importantly be an honest broker in prolonged zones of confl icts? Enlisting the expertise and insight of prolifi
c scholars, academics, seasoned journalists and politicians, Arches Quarterly brings to light the relationship between Islam and Democracy and the role of America – as well as the changes brought about by Obama, in seeking the common ground. Anas Altikriti, the CEO of Th e Cordoba Foundation provides the opening gambit to this discussion, where he refl ects on the hopes and challenges that rests on Obama’s path. Following Altikriti, the former advisor to President Nixon, Dr Robert Crane off ers a thorough analysis of the Islamic principle of the right to freedom. Anwar Ibrahim, former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, enriches the discussion with the practical realities of implementing democracy in Muslim dominant societies, namreč, in Indonesia and Malaysia.
We also have Dr Shireen Hunter, of Georgetown University, ZDA, who explores Muslim countries lagging in democratisation and modernisation. Th is is complemented by terrorism writer, Dr Nafeez Ahmed’s explanation of the crisis of post-modernity and the
demise of democracy. Dr Daud Abdullah (Director of Middle East Media Monitor), Alan Hart (former ITN and BBC Panorama correspondent; author of Zionism: Th e Real Enemy of the Jews) and Asem Sondos (Editor of Egypt’s Sawt Al Omma weekly) concentrate on Obama and his role vis-à-vis democracy-promotion in the Muslim world, as well as US relations with Israel and the Muslim Brotherhood.
Minister of Foreign Aff airs, Maldives, Ahmed Shaheed speculates on the future of Islam and Democracy; Cllr. Gerry Maclochlainn
– a Sinn Féin member who endured four years in prison for Irish Republican activities and a campaigner for the Guildford 4 and Birmingham 6, refl ects on his recent trip to Gaza where he witnessed the impact of the brutality and injustice meted out against Palestinians; Dr Marie Breen-Smyth, Director of the Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Contemporary Political Violence discusses the challenges of critically researching political terror; Dr Khalid al-Mubarak, writer and playwright, discusses prospects of peace in Darfur; and fi nally journalist and human rights activist Ashur Shamis looks critically at the democratisation and politicisation of Muslims today.
We hope all this makes for a comprehensive reading and a source for refl ection on issues that aff ect us all in a new dawn of hope.
Thank you
| sep 07, 2010 | Komentarji 0
US Hamas policy blocks Middle East peace
Henry Siegman
Failed bilateral talks over these past 16 years have shown that a Middle East peace accord can never be reached by the parties themselves. Israeli governments believe they can defy international condemnation of their illegal colonial project in the West Bank because they can count on the US to oppose international sanctions. Bilateral talks that are not framed by US-formulated parameters (based on Security Council resolutions, the Oslo accords, the Arab Peace Initiative, the “road map” and other previous Israeli-Palestinian agreements) cannot succeed. Israel’s government believes that the US Congress will not permit an American president to issue such parameters and demand their acceptance. What hope there is for the bilateral talks that resume in Washington DC on September 2 depends entirely on President Obama proving that belief to be wrong, and on whether the “bridging proposals” he has promised, should the talks reach an impasse, are a euphemism for the submission of American parameters. Such a US initiative must offer Israel iron-clad assurances for its security within its pre-1967 borders, but at the same time must make it clear these assurances are not available if Israel insists on denying Palestinians a viable and sovereign state in the West Bank and Gaza. This paper focuses on the other major obstacle to a permanent status agreement: the absence of an effective Palestinian interlocutor. Addressing Hamas’ legitimate grievances – and as noted in a recent CENTCOM report, Hamas has legitimate grievances – could lead to its return to a Palestinian coalition government that would provide Israel with a credible peace partner. If that outreach fails because of Hamas’ rejectionism, the organization’s ability to prevent a reasonable accord negotiated by other Palestinian political parties will have been significantly impeded. If the Obama administration will not lead an international initiative to define the parameters of an Israeli-Palestinian agreement and actively promote Palestinian political reconciliation, Europe must do so, and hope America will follow. Na žalost, there is no silver bullet that can guarantee the goal of “two states living side by side in peace and security.”
But President Obama’s present course absolutely precludes it.
| sep 07, 2010 | Komentarji 0
Islamism revisited
MAHA AZZAM
There is a political and security crisis surrounding what is referred to as Islamism, a crisis whose antecedents long precede 9/11. Over the past 25 leta, there have been different emphases on how to explain and combat Islamism. Analysts and policymakers
in the 1980s and 1990s spoke of the root causes of Islamic militancy as being economic malaise and marginalization. More recently there has been a focus on political reform as a means of undermining the appeal of radicalism. Increasingly today, the ideological and religious aspects of Islamism need to be addressed because they have become features of a wider political and security debate. Whether in connection with Al-Qaeda terrorism, political reform in the Muslim world, the nuclear issue in Iran or areas of crisis such as Palestine or Lebanon, it has become commonplace to fi nd that ideology and religion are used by opposing parties as sources of legitimization, inspiration and enmity.
The situation is further complicated today by the growing antagonism towards and fear of Islam in the West because of terrorist attacks which in turn impinge on attitudes towards immigration, religion and culture. The boundaries of the umma or community of the faithful have stretched beyond Muslim states to European cities. The umma potentially exists wherever there are Muslim communities. The shared sense of belonging to a common faith increases in an environment where the sense of integration into the surrounding community is unclear and where discrimination may be apparent. The greater the rejection of the values of society,
whether in the West or even in a Muslim state, the greater the consolidation of the moral force of Islam as a cultural identity and value-system.
Following the bombings in London on 7 julij 2005 it became more apparent that some young people were asserting religious commitment as a way of expressing ethnicity. The links between Muslims across the globe and their perception that Muslims are vulnerable have led many in very diff erent parts of the world to merge their own local predicaments into the wider Muslim one, having identifi ed culturally, either primarily or partially, with a broadly defi ned Islam.
| sep 06, 2010 | Komentarji 0
ISLAM AND THE RULE OF LAW
Birgit Krawietz
Helmut Reifeld
In our modern Western society, state-organised legal sys-tems normally draw a distinctive line that separates religion and the law. Conversely, there are a number of Islamic re-gional societies where religion and the laws are as closely interlinked and intertwined today as they were before the onset of the modern age. Ob istem času, the proportion in which religious law (shariah in Arabic) and public law (qanun) are blended varies from one country to the next. What is more, the status of Islam and consequently that of Islamic law differs as well. According to information provided by the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), there are currently 57 Islamic states worldwide, defined as countries in which Islam is the religion of (1) the state, (2) the majority of the population, or (3) a large minority. All this affects the development and the form of Islamic law.
| sep 06, 2010 | Komentarji 0
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