Archive for 2020

Political Quietism in Islam

In recent years, Islam – whether via the derivatives of ‘Political Islam’ or ‘Islamism’ – has come to be seen as an ‘activist’ force in social and political spheres worldwide. What such representations have neglected is the strong countervailing tradition of political quietism.

Beyond sectarianism: Intermarriage and social difference in Lebanon | International Journal of Middle East Studies | Cambridge Core

Based on interviews with Lebanese in over 150 mixed-religion marriages and their extended family members, I argue that sect may conceal or stand in for other forms of difference, including ideas about status and hierarchy related to class and regional origin in Lebanon.

Profile in Persecution: Fadhel Abbas Sahwan – Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain

Fadhel Abbas Sahwan was a football player on the first team of the Galali Bahraini Club. Following high school, he worked as a driver at the National Motor Company. On 5 March 2017 he was violently arrested at his grandmother’s house in Sanabis. He was tortured and subjected to an …

For ADHRB Weekly Newsletter #344, click here.

189 | janvier-mars 2020 Religions en Iran

La religion officielle et l’idéologie politique prônées par la République islamique d’Iran depuis la révolution de 1979 ont produit un large répertoire d’idées et de pratiques religieuses. Cependant, au-delà de l’uniformité apparente des représentations qui en sont données se dessine une pluralité de faits religieux.

1. Interview on Pandemics in Islamic thought

Justin Stearns, Associate Professor, Arab Crossroads Studies, NYU Abu Dhabi

https://soundcloud.com/radio-786-100-4fm/covid-19-pandemic-a-test-from-god-radio-786

2. Call for Contributions: “Marginal Commentaries”

In December 2019, the Bibliotheca Arabica Project organised a workshop on “Marginal Commentaries in Arabic Manuscripts” at the Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Leipzig.

We are now calling for contributions to the edited volume on “Marginal Commentaries and Glosses in Arabic Manuscripts”. The volume will be published in the Bibliotheca Arabica series with Brill Publishers (series editor: Prof. Dr. Verena Klemm). The editors of the volume are Stefanie Brinkmann and Boris Liebrenz.

For further details, please go to
https://www.saw-leipzig.de/de/projekte/bibliotheca-arabica/news/volume-marginal-commentaries-in-arabic-manuscripts

3. MEM dissertation prize

Middle East Medievalists (MEM) is pleased to announce its biennial prize for the best dissertation on the medieval Middle East (roughly 500-1500 CE). In an effort to recognize excellent doctoral research in the field, MEM will award the second biennial prize at the annual meeting of the Middle East Studies Association in Washington, DC in October 2020. Dissertations filed and defended between 1 July 2018 and 31 May 2020 will be eligible for this year’s prize.

Applicants must be current members in good standing of Middle East Medievalists to be considered. To join MEM or renew your membership please go to: https://www.middleeastmedievalists.com/membership-application/.

Deadline for electronic submissions is 1 June 2020.

If you have any questions about submission, please contact:

Adam Talib [adamtalib@gmail.com]

4. Software Developer for Arabic Literature Project, University of Muenster

Requirements: Completed university studies in computer science or related fields or a comparable qualification acquired in practice; very good knowledge of German OR English; willingness to acquire a minimal knowledge of the Arabic language; etc.

Deadline for applications: 25 May 2020. Information: https://www.uni-muenster.de/imperia/md/content/ arabistikislam/stellenausschreibungen/softwareentwickler_ausschreibung_wwu_09.04.20.pdf. English text at the end.

5. Eight 24-month Fellowships of the “Academy in Exile” in the “Critical Thinking Program“ at Freie Universität Berlin

Eligible are scholars worldwide (PhD in humanities, social sciences, or law) who are threatened because of their academic work or engagement with human rights, democracy, and intellectual freedom. AiE fellowships provide opportunities for pursuing research and multidisciplinary collaborations in Germany. Evaluation criteria include academic merit, risk assessment, and suitability for AiE programs.

Application deadline: 15 May 2020.

Information: https://www.academy-in-exile.eu/2020/04/07/call-for-applications-eight-aie-fellowships-at-the-free-university-in-berlin/

6. Articles on “Islamic Ethics of Pandemics and Covid-19” for Special Issue of “Journal of Islamic Ethics (JIE)” (Brill)

The articles will be dedicated to the moral questions triggered by the novel coronavirus pandemic and how they can be addressed within the broad context of ethics of pandemics throughout history. The chapters will address Islamic Ethics as an interdisciplinary field where a wide range of scholarly disciplines will be engaged, including Islamic theology, philosophy, jurisprudence (fiqh & uṣūl), Sufism, adab.

Deadline for papers: 31 July 2020.

Information: https://www.editorialmanager.com/JIE/default.aspx; Contact : jie@brill.com

The Shīʿīs in Palestine

Preface List of Figures and Tables Note on Translations, Dates, and Transliteration Introduction  Medieval and Modern Palestine 1 From Immigration to the Golden Age  1 The First Shīʿīs in Palestine  2 Palestine under Shīʿī Rule  3 Giving Palestine a Shīʿī Identity: Tombs of the ahl al-bayt  4 Ibn al-ʿArabī and the Shīʿīs of Tiberias

BIRD Director Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei wins Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Award

17 April 2020 – Yesterday, BIRD Director of Advocacy Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei was awarded an Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Award for his tireless campaigning for human rights in Bahrain. The prestigious award comprises a year-long fellowship with Index to help winners “maximise their impact, broaden their support and ensure they continue to excel…

For BIRD Weekly 267, click here.

1.The Summer Institute for Languages of the Muslim World (SILMW) is an annual intensive language program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. We invite students to join the 9% of Americans who choose the unique and meaningful experience of learning a Less Commonly Taught Language (LCTL).  We believe that learning these languages will allow students to gain new global perspectives and set them apart as highly qualified individuals for international work and engagement.  Many of these languages can assist students in securing international positions in governmental, development, and academic sectors.

This summer SILMW will take place from June 15 to August 8, 2020, and we will be offering Arabic, Persian, Swahili, Turkish, and Wolof.  The program is 8 weeks and is divided into two, 4-week semesters. The institute will be offered in an online format, consisting of activities such as language practice, conversation tables, movie nights, and more!

When you complete the program, not only will you be able to hold a conversation in a new language and have earned up to 10 credits, you will have had fun!

For more information, visit our website at https://linguistics.illinois.edu/languages/summer-institute-languages-muslim-world.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at silmw@illinois.edu.  We hope to see you this summer!

Staff for Less Commonly Taught Languages Program

Department of Linguistics
University of Illinois Urbana Champaign
silmw@illinois.edu

2. Expressing Islam in a New Creative Space Online
6 May 2020, AKU-ISMC

The final lecture in the series “Recognising Islam in Europe and North America” that presents exciting research on Muslim contexts in Europe and North America. The series focuses on issues relating to Muslim agency, creativity and strivings. What engages people and drives them to find new directions? The series challenges conventional narratives about Islam in Europe and North America by providing stimulating, new perspectives based on recent and ongoing research.

Time and Venue
Wednesday 6 May 2020, 18.00-19.30
Online

Booking
This event is free but booking is essential:
To attend online, please click here

3. Columbia’s summer Persian language courses will also now be moving online.

See: https://summer.sps.columbia.edu/courses/summer-courses/middle-eastern-south-asian-and-african-studies

4. Online course on Mawlana Rumi

A new educational platform is now live, and ready to receive you and your students: Illuminated Courses.
https://www.illuminatedcourses.com

The first course is recorded, online, and open for registration: “The Heart of Rumi’s Poetry”

https://www.illuminatedcourses.com/theheartofrumispoetry

This is a chance to see Rumi in his full context, as a Persian-speaking Muslim sage drawing richly from the Qur’an and the being of the Prophet, and the teachings of the centuries of Muslim poets and sages who came before him.   If you have always wanted to see an aesthetically rich model of Islamic spirituality centered around Rumi’s teachings and poetry, this is for you!

The “Heart of Rumi’s Poetry” course contains all the material you and your students will need:   Twelve lessons, providing seven hours of video-based instructions for you and them to watch at your own pace.   The focus is on Rumi’s Masnavi.

The lectures are pre-recorded and loaded online, so one could start the class at any point, and would have three months to go through the lectures.    We are hoping to add three live classes in beginning and end of May and June to help answer questions, etc.

5. Hunter College will be offering Arabic 101 and 102, and Modern Palestinian Culture online this summer. Students do not have to be in New York to take these courses.

Please forward this e-mail your colleagues and students, and if there are any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me, or have your students contact me at aelinson@hunter.cuny.edu

Classes will be taught remotely.

Students who are not CUNY students will apply to Hunter College as non-degree students. Applications are being processed within 24-48 hours. Information on that can be found here: http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/admissions/admissions-information/non-degree

Tuition and fees information can be found here: http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/onestop/finances/bursar/tuition-and-fees-information

Khomeini and Muḥammad al-Shīrāzī: Revisiting the Origins of the “Guardianship of the Jurisconsult” (wilāyat al-faqīh)

Abstract This article revisits the origins of Khomeini’s concept of the guardianship of the jurisconsult ( wilāyat al-faqīh ) and argues that his own formulation of this concept needs to be embedded in debates around the clerical mandate in the state among clerical activists in Iraq he encountered during his exile.

Journal of the Contemporary Study of Islam

Guest Editor: Cameron Zargar, University of Exeter The Journal of the Contemporary Study of Islam invites articles for a special issue related to the theme of ” Marja’iyya and Society.” We encourage submissions that engage with how the marāji”s fatwas help shape and are shaped by Twelver Shī’ī communities.