Muslim veil as politics: political autonomy, women and Syariah Islam in Aceh

This article examines the interlinking of political autonomy, Syariah law and women in contemporary Aceh. Looking at Aceh’s historical precedents, current sociocultural and political developments cannot be seen as manifestations of Islamic revival. It would be misleading to look at the implementation of Syariah Islam in general and the enforcement of veiling in particular as signs of the radicalization of Islam. Islam in Aceh has always had political meanings. It shapes an identity characterized by a long collective history of rebellion against foreign oppression and repression. The revival however is seen in notions of gender dominance and order, which have profound consequences for women’s lives. Using articles from 2005 to 2006 in Serambi, a locally published newspaper in Aceh, an assessment is made of how Syariah Islam has affected women’s lives.

The Minority-Majority Conundrum in Northern Ireland: An Orange Order Perspective

Researchers have argued that, depending on the framing of the Northern Ireland conflict, each group could either be a minority or a majority relative to the other. This complicates macrosocial explanations of the conflict which make specific predictions on the basis of minority or majority positions. The present paper argues that this conundrum may have arisen from the inherent variability in microidentity processes that do not fit easily with macroexplanations. In this paper the rhetoric of relative group position is analysed in political speeches delivered by leading members of an influential Protestant institution in Northern Ireland. It is apparent that minority and majority claims are not fixed but are flexibly used to achieve local rhetorical goals. Furthermore, the speeches differ before and after the Good Friday Agreement, with a reactionary "hegemonic" Unionist position giving way to a "majority-rights power sharing" argument and a "pseudo-minority" status giving way to a "disempowered minority" argument. These results suggest a view of the Northern Ireland conflict as a struggle for "symbolic power," i.e., the ability to flexibly define the intergroup situation to the ingroup's advantage.     

Reflexive Communities: The Non-Western Church as Healing Community

Many non-Western Christian communities have experienced terrible human rights violations at the hands of fellow citizens, civil authorities, or rebel groups, Christian or otherwise. This article presents a brief and practical model of healing that attempts to remain consistent with the general characteristics of non-Western social realities. It suggests that rather than relying on the paucity of professional therapies offered in those contexts, non-Western churches themselves can become harbingers of healing for the traumatized community. By blending social theory with biblical narratives, this article proffers an example of how healing can take place within sociocentric communities.     

THE RIGHTS OF MUSLIM WOMEN: A Comment on Irene Oh's The Rights of God

This review of Irene Oh's The Rights of God focuses on women's rights in Islamic theory and practice. Oh suggests that religious establishments, and the texts they disseminate, often press believers to recognize and reject social problems, such as racial and gender discrimination. Islamic scholars and texts have played a more ambiguous role in efforts to recognize women's rights within Muslim states. Modernist intellectuals have used Islamic texts to support the advancement of women's rights, but members of the more conservative religious establishment have typically curbed or rejected these efforts. Muslim women themselves have established various responses to the question of Islam's compatibility with women's rights. While some embrace the value and compatibility of both, others reject the propriety of either Western conceptions of rights, or the Islamic tradition, as harmful for women. Muslim reformers and feminists have much to learn from comparative studies with other faith communities that have undergone similar struggles and transformations.     

从伦理辩护到国家权力、个人权利界限的划定——公共卫生领域特殊伦理冲突的和解之道

在流行病防控等公共卫生工作中,为了维护公共健康不得不侵犯传染病患者的个人权利,这是公共卫生领域不同于临床医学的特殊伦理冲突。虽然有学者分别依据“效果论”、“差异原则”和“公共善优先”为公共健康的优先性进行了辩护,但都不能与医学伦理学的个体论视角相融洽。实际上,固守单一的理论视角是伦理冲突和解的最大障碍,只有改变单一视角,才能开启理论的兼容性。伦理辩护必须转化为实践智慧,即必须在公共卫生实践中实现国家权力与个人权利的有序协调,使国家权力和个人权利坚守各自的界限。     

伦理委员会持续审查制度建设探讨

持续审查作为伦理审查的重要环节, 是保护受试者的重要机制。但在我国的伦理审查实践中, 持续审查却一直没有得到应有的重视和规范。究其原因, 不仅是因为相关法律法规的缺失, 还因为在执行层面也缺少相对明确和具体的制度和标准操作规程。在借鉴美国持续审查制度建设相关经验的基础上, 结合北京大学生物医学伦理委员会制度建设实践, 对持续审查的范围、频率、形式、内容和标准等问题展开论述和探讨。     

国民公正观的结构

对429名被调查者的研究发现,最为公众赞同的公正观依次为:(1)公正体现在法律面前人人平等;(2)公正体现为人们在求学、就业、投资、参政等方面的机会平等;(3)公正体现在程序公平合理。因素分析表明,国民的公正观是多元的,可分为6个维度,分别为权利、衡平、救济、报应、平等、平均。聚类分析的结果表明,公正内隐观的6个维度最终可聚为\"均等\"和\"对等\"2类。     

American Political Culture in Comparative Perspective

In order to formulate a comparative model of political cultures, a theory that integrates psychological, sociological and economic variables is developed. Within societies dominant political cultural themes stress particular patterns of right and obligation. These patterns simultaneously undergird social solidarity and justify an unequal distribution of rewards. Differences among political cultures exist vertically on an historical dimension of increasing moral comprehensiveness and horizontally on a dimension of moral content. Internal tensions deriving from technological development and from social discourse about the moral adequacy of norms stimulate change. A case study of American political culture, with its contrasting emphases on egalitarianism and individualism, assesses the theoretical claims.     

基因权的证成和体系

基因科技对人的主体性造成冲击,需要通过立法对于人的基因利益予以保障。基因具有人格性,同时也负载着经济利益。现有的权利体系无法全面涵盖基因上的利益关系,基因权成为一项新型权利。基因权的证成建立在基因具有道德意义的基础上,又因为其关涉人的物种尊严、人格尊严和身体尊严,并具有巨大的经济利益,而使得基因权表现为立体化多面向的权利束。基因权利体系包括基因隐私权、基因平等权、基因知情权和基因利益分享权。在我国现行权利框架下,适宜以单行法的方式完善基因权利制度。