Implications of the Islamic revival for Christian‐Muslim dialogue in Asia

Abstract

After a review of the demographic balance between Christians and Muslims in Asia, this article looks at the different factors which influence the relations between them. A review of the growth of Christianity in Asia is then followed by an outline of the four phases of the spread of Islam and a survey of the causes of the contemporary Islamic revival in the region. Particular attention is devoted to the influence of Wahhabi ideas from what is now Saudi Arabia, the hopes engendered by the creation of Pakistan in 1947, the influence of the Palestinian struggle, the legacy of the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the consequences of the Gulf War of 1991, and the impact of al‐Qa'ida and the events of 11 September 2001. Recent tensions between Christians and Muslims in Indonesia and the Philippines are discussed, and the significance of the revivalist critique of modernity and the clash of values between anthropocentric liberalism and the theocentric system of revivalist Islam is assessed.     

The “Manifesto” of New-Confucianism and the revival of virtue ethics

In 1958, a group of New-Confucians issued “A Manifesto for a Re-Appraisal of Sinology and Reconstruction of Chinese Culture.” Equally in 1958, the British philosopher Elizabeth Anscombe published her classical paper “Modern Moral Philosophy.” These two papers have the same target — modern Western morality — and the solutions they proposed respectively. Yet Anscombe’s paper did not mention Confucianism, and the “Manifesto” ignored Aristotelian tradition of virtue. Furthermore, from 1960s to 1990s, the revival movement of Confucianism and the revival movement of Aristotelian ethics have not had much dialogue. This paper seeks to explain this phenomenon by comparing these two historically important documents. In particular it tries to understand why the “Manifesto” fails to see the similarities between Aristotle and Confucius. Translated by Lei Yongqiang and polished by Yu Jiyuan from Shandong Daxue Xuebao 山东大学学报 (Journal of Shandong University), 2007, (1): 1–9     

Finding Spirits in Spirituality: What are We Measuring in Spirituality and Health Research?

Journal of Religion and Health - What are we asking when we ask about spirituality? When research subjects check survey boxes for “religiosity” and “spirituality” measures...     

Islamic inheritance in Australia and family provision law: are Sharia wills valid?

This article explains the context of Islamic inheritance and the distinctive nature of what is called in a preliminary sense as ‘Muslim intergenerational property’. The article suggests that a wider view of inheritance should be taken on the basis that inheritance is an intergenerational process that, in the case of Muslims, incorporates religious notions. Secondly, the article describes family provision law and the particular nature of the English transplant of inheritance law into Australia. Thirdly, the article describes the nature of legal services provided to Islamic families and the drafting of Sharia wills. Fourthly, in the light of the law under the State and Federal family provision legislation, the article considers the validity of Islamic wills.     

Parenting and children's aggression: are there differences in the influence of the father and the mother?

Child rearing provides messages and rules that mediate the children's personality. These messages have a positive or negative influence on their behaviour. The objective of this empirical study was to analyse the relationship between physical and verbal aggression of sons and daughters and parenting style practiced by the father and the mother. The sample consisted of 2,788 students, aged 10 to 15 years, studying either the third cycle of Primary Education (44%) or the first cycle of Secondary Education (56%). Of them, 1,412 were boys (50.6%) and 1,375 were girls (49.3%). The results show that children's aggressiveness is more related to factors associated with the mother's parenting. In the case of daughters, the influence of parenting factors are caused by both parents (father and mother).     

Political implications of the Islamic notion of ‘supersession’ as reflected in Islamic jurisprudence

The paper undertakes to investigate the ways in which the dominant Muslim community regulated legal‐ethical relations with its non‐Muslim minorities. The ideological underpinnings of the Islamic legal tradition in the area of jihad provided legitimacy for the Muslim political domination of the lands and peoples beyond the original boundaries of Islam. The central argument of the paper is that Muslim jurists were involved in the routinization of the qur'anic message about ‘Islam being the only true religion with God’ (Q. 3:19) in the context of the social and political position of the community. The interaction between the idea of Islam being the universal faith for all humankind and the existing predominance of Muslim political power created the specific legal language that provided the justification to extend the notion of jihad beyond its strictly defensive meaning in the Qur'an to its being an offensive instrument for Muslim creation of a dominant political order.     

Prophetic models in Islamic and Christian spirituality in the thought of Ibn Arabī and Meister Eckhart

A comparative study of Moses, Jesus and Muhammad in Christianity and Islam reveals common background, basic similarities, and differences. Ibn Arabī (d. 1240) and Meister Eckhart (d. 1327) regard Moses and Jesus not only as prophetic models but also as mystical examples for the Mūsāwī type of saints and ‘Jesus‐like’ (‘īsāwī) saints in both traditions. However, the two experts understandably differ with regard to the divine nature of Jesus. Eckhart considers Christ as the image of God (imago Dei), ‘the Only‐Begotten Son of God’, while Ibn Arabī perceives Jesus as having both a human nature (nāsūt) and a divine nature (lāhūt). Eckhart sees Jesus as the best model, but Ibn Arabī sees the best model as Muhammad. Eckhart regards Jesus as the source of existence, whereas Ibn Arabī perceives Muhammad as the source of the chain of prophecy and sainthood, wihc derives from the Muhammadan reality (aqīqa Muammadiyya).     

Shi‘i Islamic cosmopolitanism and the transformation of religious authority in Senegal

Senegalese “conversion” to Shi‘i Islam resulted from cosmopolitan interactions with West Africa’s resident Lebanese population and Iranian revolutionary ideologies. Shi‘i advocates spread their religious convictions through teaching, conferences, holiday celebrations, and media publicity. Key to their success are libraries full of Arabic and French texts from Iran and Lebanon. Inherent in Islamic education is the authority bestowed on those who are knowledgeable, and with the spread of religious knowledge through books, media, and the Internet comes a broadening of the scope of religious authority and resulting conflict with or accommodation of old political communities. Senegalese converts to Shi‘i Islam use their literacy in Arabic and individually acquired libraries of Islamic legal books to bypass the authority of Sufi marabouts. Some keep their feet in both Sunni and Shi‘i worlds, and their ability to compare religious texts of both traditions wins them disciples. Shi‘i minorities claim autochthony and authenticity in Senegal through narrating revisionist historical accounts of the spread of (Shi‘i) Islam to Africa. Conferences commemorating the martyrdom of Imam Husayn during the Shi‘i mourning period in the month of Muharram target Sufi Muslims who also love the family of the Prophet. Shi‘i leaders skillfully detach this foreign religious ideology from Middle Eastern politics and make this branch of Islam relevant to Senegalese through establishing religious centers as NGOs, which work to bring health care and economic development to neighborhoods in the name of Shi‘i Islam.     

Nation building and the politics of Islamic internationalism in Guinea: toward an understanding of Muslims’ experience of globalization in Africa

This article discusses the historical role of Islam in the political evolution of Guinea in the broader context of Muslims’ experience of nation/state building and globalization in Africa. This role is examined on the premise that Islam is one of the major globalizing forces (more in the body of the paper on this idea of Islam as a globalizing force) responsible for the formation of what experts have conceptualized as Africa’s “triple heritage” or the juncture of African traditional values, Islamic influence, and the legacy of Western colonialism. The article examines Islam’s role in the creation of cultural identities, territorial polities, and complex regional and trans-continental networks of trade and scholarship in pre-colonial West Africa; the formation of fronts of resistance to European colonial conquest and occupation; and the mobilization of new nationalist forces which sparked the national liberation struggle of the 1940s and 1950s in the region. The discussion of key concepts such as nationalism, nation/state building, internationalism, and globalization exposes the limited applicability of existing theories to the African experience by highlighting the complexity of post-colonial cultural reconstruction and nation building on the continent. From this perspective, the article focuses upon the political and ideological contradictions having marked the relations of the regime of the Parti Démocratique de Guinée (PDG) under President Ahmed Sékou Touré and conservative Guinean Muslim circles in the early years of independence, due in part to Touré’s Marxist and socialist leanings of the time. Also comprehensively discussed is this regime’s subsequent ideological incorporation and diplomatic use of Islam in an effort to curb anti-PDG opposition at home and abroad and to free itself from isolation by the West. Hence, President Touré’s successful policy of “offensive diplomatique” geared primarily toward Arab and Muslim nations and organizations but also, though somewhat indirectly, toward Western powers, serves as an example of the dynamics of Islamic internationalism in Cold War global affairs. Past experiences of party-centered and state-controlled regimentation of religious organizations under Touré’s state-party regime is compared to the current trend of self-decentralization and self-internationalization of Islamic forces in light of the challenges of religious radicalism and post-Cold War politics in Africa.

A very obscure definition: Descartes’s account of love in the Passions of the Soul and its scholastic background

The definition of love given by Descartes in the Passions of the Soul (art. 79–84) has never stopped puzzling commentators. If the first Cartesian textbooks discreetly evoke or even fail to discuss Descartes’s account of love, Spinoza harshly criticizes it, pointing out that it is ‘on all hands admitted to be very obscure’. More recently several scholars have noticed the puzzling (or even paradoxical) character of the articles of the Passions of the Soul on love and hate. In this paper, I would like to propose a reassessment of the definition of love provided by the Passions of the Soul and the Letters to Elisabeth and Chanut. By tracing back Descartes’s scholastic sources (namely Aquinas’s treatises on the passions and charity in the Summa Theologiae), I will demonstrate how Descartes builds up his definition of love by displacing or subverting the meaning of several major elements of the thomistic vulgata on love. Hence, a significant part of the obscurity of the definition given by the Passions of the Soul possibly finds its ultimate rationale in this attempt to recover some traditional questions of the scholastic debate on love, while advancing new answers to them.     

“The Lesser of Two Evils”: Islamic Law and the Emergence of a Broad Agreement on Muslim Participation in Western Political Systems

Through an analysis that focuses on wasati and salafi fatwas, but searches also beyond them, this article demonstrates the emergence of a broad agreement (albeit not a consensus) in Islamic jurisprudence on the permissibility of political participation in the West. This broad agreement is based primarily on jurists’ evaluation, drawing on ‘fiqh al-muwazanat’ (the jurisprudence of balances) that, in some cases, participation brings more benefit (maslaha) than harm (mafsada). The article comparatively examines wasati and salafi approaches to politics and to Muslim minorities to explain why jurists who disagreed on other fundamental issues in the field of fiqh al-aqalliyyat al-Muslima (the religious law of Muslim minorities) reached similar (but not identical) conclusions on political participation. Based on this analysis, a revision of some prevailing categorizations of salafiyya is suggested. Deliberations by some salafis, jihadi-salafis and members of Hizb al-Tahrir who oppose political participation and their refutations of the justifications invoked by jurists who legitimized it are also examined.     

Nietzsche on morality as a “sign language of the affects”

Abstract

This article argues that Nietzsche’s meta-ethics is basically a form of sentimentalism (as opposed to cognitivism), but a form of sentimentalism that includes cognitive components in the sentiments that are involved. The article also ascribes to Nietzsche the more original position that the moral sentiments in question vary dramatically between historical periods, cultures, and even individuals, sometimes indeed to the point of becoming inverted between one case and another. Finally, the article also attributes to Nietzsche a hermeneutic insight into certain problems that this situation causes for the accurate interpretation of other people’s (moral) viewpoints. Along the way, the article in addition argues that Nietzsche’s positions on all these issues were molded not only by such well-known influences as Paul Rée and Hume, but also, and indeed more strongly, by Herder (and Hegel), and it develops some grounds for thinking that the positions in question are highly plausible ones.     

What kind of tensions are involved in the pedagogical use of religious narratives? Perspectives from Finnish Evangelic Lutheran and Islamic religious education

Abstract

In this article, we examine how narratives of religious traditions are used as resources in religious education (RE) and compare practices from Evangelic Lutheran religious education (LRE) and Islamic religious education (IRE) in Finnish public schools. The sacredness of narratives from holy books entails that there can be contestations over their pedagogical use, and teachers need to negotiate the possible tensions between the pedagogical aims of liberal RE and the integrity of the holy narratives. The research data consists of interviews with teachers of LRE (n = 4) and IRE (n = 5) as well as classroom observations. The results of qualitative content analysis show that teachers use narratives as pedagogical resources when teaching about and from religion. However, tensions occurred between the ideals of student-centred, experiential and creative learning, on one hand, and respecting the sacredness of the narratives, on the other. We also present teachers’ ways of negotiating the tensions as well as some differences between LRE and IRE in the pedagogical use of narratives.     

“Islam and Woman: Where Tradition Meets Modernity”: History and Interpretations of Islamic Women's Status

The status of Islamic women varies in different Muslim countries, which interpret Islamic religion and law differently, especially with regard to their attitudes toward women. Most of these Islamic countries have specific beliefs about women and have restrictions concerning them. Gender stereotypes of Islamic women have their origin in the evolution of the Muslim religion. This is similar to the early development of many other religions and how the gender stereotypes of women developed along with the development of these religions. This paper describes the meaning of being a Muslim and the doctrine of the Qur'an, which came from the revelations to Muhammad, Islam's founder and prophet about 610 C.E. During Muhammad's life, he was sympathetic toward women and was concerned about their equal treatment, including full religious responsibility. Although the restrictions were still there on women, their treatment was much more favorable than after Muhammad's death. Conditions for women under Muhammad's successors became worse. Attitudes and perceptions about women were even more negative. Women were isolated, secluded, forced to pray at home—not in the mosque, and exclusion was put into practice. Women were essentially removed from most sectors of society. Veiling of women included covering specific parts of their body to prevent enticing men. Women's status declined rapidly and any freedoms they had were essentially abolished. And as Islam spread across the centuries, these restrictions and practices were adopted, amended, or made more extreme by most if not all Muslim countries and have continued until the present time. The current status of women in Islamic countries is described along with the intensified discussions and debates concerning women, presently taking place. In some states, bills and laws were passed to improve conditions of women but some have already been revoked. In other countries, new restrictions have been proposed. Nevertheless, Islamic women and women's groups are continuing the struggle for their rights. This struggle, amidst the continuing turmoil in the Middle East and the increase in fundamentalist groups, has unfortunately made the final outcome for women yet to be decided.     

Theory of Mind and conduct problems in children: Deficits in reading the “emotions of the eyes”

A significant clinical feature of disorders of antisocial behaviour involves difficulties in social functioning. It has been suggested that deficits in “theory of mind” (ToM) reasoning—the ability to decode others’ emotions and thoughts—may underlie social difficulties in these populations. Success in demonstrating ToM impairment associated with antisocial behaviour and psychopathy in adults and children have been limited. In the current study, parent-reported conduct problems were concurrently measured with performance on an advanced test of ToM developed for children, the Child Eyes Test (Journal of Developmental and Learning Disorders, 5, 47–78). Preadolescent and young adolescent children (n=79) drawn from a community sample were required to identify emotions from photographic stimuli depicting the eye region of the face only. Findings suggested a generalised impairment in ToM in children with conduct problems, as indicated by a significant relationship between poor Eyes Test performance and conduct problems, even when IQ, sex and age were controlled for. The findings are discussed in the context of the amygdala theory of psychopathy, and the neural systems suggested to mediate performance on the Eyes Test.     

Formation of gender identity in the Islamic republic of Iran: does educational institution matter?

This article focuses on the process of gender identity construction through the educational system from a socio-cultural perspective. Socialisation operates as a strategy to protect social unity and group superiority. Although socialisation is an enduring process involving various institutions, childhood is a vital period of gender socialisation whereby schools and school textbooks play a substantial role as the first official sources of socialisation in children. Using content analysis method, this article focuses on Iran’s primary school textbooks. The results support the pattern of ‘gender bias’, rather than ‘gender fairness’. This is a more evident observation in the higher educational grades. The patterns highlighted here are evidently incompatible with socio-demographic progresses in women’s status over recent years, which call for revision in the school education resources in this context.     

“The ripples are big”: Storying the impact of doping in sport beyond the sanctioned athlete

ObjectiveThe purpose of this paper was to extend current doping research efforts by shifting the focus away from a doping-user perspective to examine the experiences of elite athletes that have been personally affected by other athletes' doping behaviours.DesignThis research works within the interpretive paradigm, adopting relativist ontology and transactional/subjectivist epistemology.MethodConversational interviews were conducted with ‘competitive’ (N = 2) and ‘retired’ (N = 2) elite Track and Field athletes from multiple countries. In order to communicate the findings in a way that captures the complexity of the issue, whilst also appealing to the athletes this issue affects, creative non-fiction stories were used to present the findings.ResultsTwo stories were created; one incorporating the ‘competitive’ athletes' experiences and one presenting the ‘retired’ athletes' accounts. The stories detail financial, emotional, and relational implications stemming from others' use of performance enhancing drugs. Critically, the impact is not ephemeral; the retired athletes detailed the long-term implications of their experiences. Meanwhile, the competitive athletes suggest that given the current state of sport, they regularly have to defend their status as ‘clean athletes’. Thus, the ripples of doping in sport appear to be far reaching and enduring.ConclusionsIncorporating a novel mode of knowledge production within the doping literature, the stories presented here demonstrate elite athletes' candid accounts of being impacted by others’ doping behaviours in sport. This study also emphasises the value of adopting novel and creative approaches to data collection and representation within the field of doping research.     

‘It's like there are two people in my head’: A phenomenological exploration of anorexia nervosa and its relationship to the self

This study explores the lived experience of anorexia nervosa from the perspective of those who use pro-recovery websites for eating disorders. Fourteen people participated in an online focus group or an e-interview. Data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Participants described their disorder as a functional tool for avoiding and coping with negative emotions, changing their identity and obtaining control. A central theme was the experience of an ‘anorexic voice’ with both demonic and friendly qualities. This voice felt like an external entity that criticised individuals and sometimes dominated their sense of self, particularly as anorexia nervosa got worse. Applying dialogical theory suggests a new model of anorexia nervosa, where the anorexic voice is a self-critical position, which disagrees with and attempts to dominate the more rational self. It is suggested that to move on from anorexia nervosa, the individual needs to address his/her anorexic voice and develop a new dominant position that accepts and values his/her sense of self.     

Working memory and error detection in texts: what are the roles of the central executive and the phonological loop?

Subjects performed a text error detection task, either alone or in conjunction with a secondary task aimed at specifically hindering the functioning of either the central executive in working memory or of the phonological loop. We focused on the decline in detection performance as a function of the type of error to be detected (typographical, orthographic, or semantic/syntactic) and the processing span required for detection (one word, several words within the same clause, or several clauses). The results showed that the central executive in working memory is involved in detecting semantic/syntactic errors and in detecting orthographic ones, but not in detecting typographical errors. Moreover, the degree of involvement increases with the processing span. The phonological loop is involved in detection whenever processing above the word level is required. As observed in many studies, these results suggest that the difficulty subjects have detecting semantic errors as compared to other types of errors is due to the heavier working memory load: maintenance of the phonological representation and greater involvement of the central executive. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.