尼泊尔穆斯林的现状与困境

尼泊尔是一个独立的君主立宪制国家,位于印度与中国西藏之间。以雄伟的喜马拉雅山脉和南部狭长的特莱平原而著称。尼泊尔国土呈长方形,大致为西北——东南走向,东西宽约885千米,南北宽约193千米,国土总面积147,188平方千米。尼泊尔分为5个发展区,14个专区,75个县。     

港、澳、台穆斯林的爱国情怀与国际交往

一、港、澳、台穆斯林概况(一)香港穆斯林概况香港的穆斯林,主要包括外籍穆斯林和华人穆斯林两大群体。外籍穆斯林大多来自南亚和东南亚国家,其中印、巴穆斯林占多数;而华人穆斯林在早期多来自于广东、云南等东南、西南地区,后期逐渐又有来自内陆各地的穆斯林到港定居。据有关史料记载,最早来港的穆斯林并非华人,而是被英国殖民者奴役的印度穆斯林。     

当前欧洲穆斯林兄弟会发展形势

自穆斯林兄弟会(穆兄会)进入欧洲以来,一直存在争议。欧洲与穆兄会有历史渊源及血缘联系的伊斯兰教组织,多以慈善、教育、文化机构或学生、妇女联合会的形式出现,为避免受中东国家穆兄会负面舆论冲击,大多否认与穆兄会存在联系。基于历史上的亲缘性,这些组织很难在公众舆论中彻底与穆兄会切割。欧洲穆兄会的发展历史及现状,是研究当前欧洲伊斯兰教的重要视角,可为深入研究欧洲伊斯兰教热点和穆斯林融入提供一定思路。     

中国穆斯林朝觐活动研究述评

正7世纪上半叶,伊斯兰教兴起于阿拉伯半岛,632年,穆罕默德率领穆斯林从麦地那进入麦加履行了伊斯兰教史上第一次具有重要历史意义的正朝②(Hajj),朝觐从此成为穆斯林的宗教定制和世界最为盛大的年度性宗教仪式。朝觐作为伊斯兰教一项制度性安排(Institutional Arrangement)、是伊斯兰教五大支柱性宗教功课之一。与其他四项宗教功课不同的是,朝觐功课的履行不仅仅属于私人的事情,而且属于家庭、家族、寺坊、社区,甚至社会关注的事件,具有很强的社会性特质。朝觐亦是年度性最大的宗教仪式和世界最有影响的跨国宗教活动,     

Caste attitudes of college students in India

Data from college students in North and South India tend to support our earlier findings of a positive relationship between the educational level and the degree of liberalism (Anant, 1972). With few exceptions a higher percentage of students than respondents from the general population gave liberal responses to most of the items in our questionnaire. A higher percentage of North and South Indian students gave liberal responses to items dealing with general attitudes toward caste-system and toward interaction with Harijans (former ‘untouchables’), but the differences were reversed in the responses to items dealing with special privileges for the depressed castes.     

Muslim evolution and conversions in Karikal,South India

In South Asia, conversions to Islam seem to have been effected through persuasion or pressure or due to the social discontent of some low caste Hindus. Some modern scholars lay more stress on the factor of force than on that of persuasion to explain conversions, while some others subscribe to the role played by the Sufis and the missionaries. In the present study, the veracity of these claims with regard to the Muslims of Karikal is explored. It is shown that conversions actually depend upon many local factors such as famine, epidemics, natural calamities and migrations, apart from force or the role of Sufis. It is also stressed that only area-restricted studies can bring to light the real circumstances of conversion in every region of South Asia.     

Embracing Footy: The Sporting Dimensions of Australian Muslim Identity in Greater Western Sydney

Australia's most popular spectator sport is Aussie Rules football, administered by the Australian Football League (AFL). The 2012 debut of a professional Aussie Rules team for a growing and culturally diverse part of Sydney represents the culmination of efforts by the AFL to make inroads into the rugby-league-obsessed, poor and predominantly refugee and migrant neighbourhoods on the “wrong” side of the tracks in Australia's largest city. In the months before the siren sounded on the Greater Western Sydney Giants' first game, the researcher produced a long-form radio documentary for a religious affairs programme broadcast on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It discussed how a religiously diverse part of Australia juggles its negative reputation with a growing, strategically important population, which the sport of Aussie Rules is trying to reach out to, but whose identity is wrapped up in the “rival” football code of rugby league. The documentary's findings are that affiliation with a sport or team is fluid and thought of as a component of Australian Muslim identity; that it reflects attempts by existing power structures to connect with the shifting demographics of the region that is the focus of the documentary; and that it reflects failure or success on-field.     

English,Christian or Muslim Law: Deconstructing Some Myths

Archbishop Rowan Williams's 2008 lecture, “Civil and Religious Law in England: A Religious Perspective,” has become an historic reference point for discussions about relationships between Islam, religious law and English law. One of the Archbishop's heart-felt pleas was for “deconstruction” of myths about both Islam and the Enlightenment. Continued stereotypes perpetuated by the “Trojan Horse” debate over Birmingham schools and the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo event suggest the plea went unheard. This article aims to address factors that prevent objective assessment of the relationship between English law, religious laws, Islam and other faiths. It is hoped that this will help the deconstruction of myths by examining what the law says, the claims religious communities make and whether further change is needed. The relationship of religious laws, norms and courts to secular legal systems is a pertinent topic for Christian–Muslim dialogue to which it is hoped that this article might contribute. Amongst issues considered are the scope for more formal recognition or monitoring of religious laws that have an impact on the lives of some UK citizens, and arguments for recognition on the basis that a democracy should reflect all parties to its citizenship and protection of the most vulnerable. As calls for further recognition of religious laws arise, the deconstruction of myths can only smooth the way for their objective assessment.     

A Comparative Study of Mystical Experience Among Christian,Muslim, and Hindu Students in Tamil Nadu,India

Hood developed a Mysticism Scale based on the theoretical work of Stace. The scale was tested by Hood and others in a comparative perspective. Using an abridged version of Hood's Mysticism Scale, we join the debate with a study of a much larger number of Christian, Muslim, and Hindu respondents (1,920 college students) living in Tamil Nadu, India. Our empirical analysis yields a moderately reliable model of mystical experience that permits comparison between the three religious traditions. We argue for the usefulness of a comparative model of vertical mysticism that combines with the complementary common characteristics of noetic quality and ineffability. Vertical mysticism has a revelatory, ineffable character and is comparable in the experience of adherents of the Christian, Islamic, and Hindu traditions.