scholarly journals “Post-Gezi Islamic Theology: Intersectional Islamic Feminism in Turkey”

2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-171
Author(s):  
Philip Dorroll
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Islamic Feminism ◽  
Shared Experience ◽  
Religious Minorities ◽  
Islamic Theology ◽  
The Past ◽  
Turkish Politics ◽  
History Of ◽  
Theological Thought ◽  
Intellectual Legacy

AbstractThe legacy of the 2013 Gezi Park protests has been controversial and its impact on Turkish politics difficult to assess. At the same time, there has been little reflection on contemporary Islamic feminist thinking in English sources. This essay argues that one important political and intellectual legacy of the Gezi movement has been the development of certain intersectional discourses in Islamic feminism in Turkey, whereby the shared experience of marginalization felt by pious Muslims, women, ethnic and religious minorities, and the LGBTIQ community has begun to broaden and complicate the scope of Islamic feminist discussions of liberation and social justice. By delineating and linking some important connecting threads of Islamic feminist theological thought in Turkey of the past 30 years, this essay will attempt to summarize key developments in the history of Islamic feminism in contemporary Turkey, demonstrating how they have led to new strands of intersectional feminist thinking in the post-Gezi era of Turkish politics.

Proving God's Existence? A Reassessment of al-Rāzī’s Arguments for the Existence of the Creator

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 31-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah C. Erlwein
Keyword(s):  
Islamic Theology ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
The Past ◽  
Theological Thought ◽  
Thematic Context

Arguments for God's existence, it has often been argued in the secondary academic literature, form an essential part of classical Islamic theology (ʿilm al-kalām) and philosophy (falsafa). In the past decades, numerous scholars have dealt with what could be termed the Islamic discourse on arguments for God's existence, and have commonly analysed these arguments making recourse to Immanuel Kant's (1724–1804) categorisation of such arguments as cosmological, teleological, or ontological. The great Ashʿarī theologian Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (d. 606/1210) is, unsurprisingly, seen as no exception to this: he, too, has been regarded as a participant in the aforementioned discourse, and in several of his major kalām works he introduces four methods to ‘prove the existence of the creator’. In this article, I will, however, argue that al-Rāzī had no concern for proving God's existence; the arguments in his kalām works, which, in the secondary academic literature, have been described as seeking to prove that God exists, it shall be suggested, serve a different purpose. This shall become clear when al-Rāzī’s commentary on the Qur'an, al-Tafsīr al-kabīr, is taken into account. Previous studies of al-Rāzī’s (alleged) arguments for God's existence have only focused on his kalām works proper, however, in the Tafsīr al-Rāzī not only presents the very same four kalām methods to ‘prove the existence of the creator’ and stresses that they originate in Qur'anic forms of argumentation, but he also places them in a thematic context which, in his theological works, is oftentimes lacking. This article therefore clarifies the objective underlying al-Rāzī’s arguments for the existence of the creator and explains their significance in his broader theological thought.

scholarly journals Affirmative Action for Minorities in India: Constraints and Possibilities

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 246
Author(s):  
Mohd. Sanjeer Alam
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Affirmative Action ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Religious Minorities ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of

India is one of the most socially fragmented and unequal societies of the world. At the same time, it has the distinction of having the longest history of most elaborative affirmative action programmes for alleviating socially structured inequalities. While the affirmative action programmes have wider coverage in terms of social groups, there is continuing demand by new social groups for getting acknowledged as ‘disadvantaged’ and inclusion in the system of affirmative action. While group based ‘reservation’ as the most vital instrument of social justice has long been under fire and grappling with several challenges, the social justice regime is faced with the charge that it has largely excluded nation’s religious minorities. Of course, religion based affirmative action is faced with many constraints; nevertheless there are possibilities for it. This article discusses the constraints and possibilities of affirmative action for disadvantaged religious minorities, Muslims in particular.  

Understanding Empathy

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Changming Duan ◽  
Kristen Sager
Keyword(s):  
Biological Sciences ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Positive Psychology ◽  
Past Century ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
Societal Health

Empathy, one of the most studied and most multidisciplinary theoretical constructs, has garnered the attention of scholars from psychology as well as the social and biological sciences. The scholarship of empathy has developed significantly in the past century, with the most notable knowledge emerging in the areas of the neuroscience of empathy and the interplay between race/culture and empathy in recent decades. The positive psychology of empathy also continues to occupy researchers, as the links between empathy and individual and societal health abound. Future empathy research by socially and scholastically responsible scientists must overcome a long history of Euro-ethnocentric biases and integrate social justice into the understanding of this important construct. The scholarship and application of empathy will continue to be an important source of positivity for humans and for society as a whole.

Introduction

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabine Schmidtke
Keyword(s):  
Social History ◽  
Islamic Theology ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Theological Thought ◽  
Theological Thinking ◽  
Made In

This book explores the history of Islamic theology, with particular emphasis on the doctrinal thought of all the various intellectual strands of Islam that were concerned with theological issues—including groups such as the Ismāʿīlīs and philosophers. It also discusses the inter-communal exchanges between Muslim, Christian, and Jewish thinkers over the course of the centuries to show how the theological thought of Jews and Christians intertwined with that of Muslims, and how Muslim theological thinking was influenced by Christian methodologies of speculative reasoning and doctrinal concepts. The rest of the book considers the impact of political and social history on Islamic theology. This introduction provides an overview of the foundations of Islamic theology and the advances that have been made in the scholarly study of Islamic theology.

Hidden challenges: Sex offenders legislated into homelessness

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 348-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jill S Levenson
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Policy Reform ◽  
Grand Challenge ◽  
Criminal Offenders ◽  
The Past ◽  
Empirically Supported ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Sexual Perpetration ◽  
History Of

Summary Zoning laws that prevent sex offenders from living within close proximity to schools and other places where children congregate have proliferated over the past 10 years. In many communities, few dwellings are compliant with these laws, causing sex offenders to become homeless. First, a brief history of residence restriction laws will be provided and then the research around their impact and effectiveness will be summarized, followed by empirically supported recommendations for reform. Findings Legislating individuals into homelessness is not sound social policy, nor is it humane. These laws do not conform to what is known about patterns of sexual perpetration and victimization, and thus do little to prevent recidivistic sexual violence. In fact, these policies may undermine the very factors shown by research to be associated with positive reentry and reduced recidivism. Applications The grand challenge of social justice requires social workers to advocate on behalf of those who are marginalized in our communities including criminal offenders. Research-based policy reform can result in improved public safety outcomes and social justice in our communities.

scholarly journals Tanzīh and Tashbīh in Classical Islamic Theological Thought

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mustafa Shah
Keyword(s):  
Religious Movements ◽  
Divine Attributes ◽  
Islamic Theology ◽  
Islamic Reform ◽  
Literary Sources ◽  
Dominant Feature ◽  
Islamic Thought ◽  
History Of ◽  
Historical Trajectory ◽  
Theological Thought

Debates and arguments surrounding the questions of tanzīh (transcendence) and tashbīh (anthropomorphism) were a dominant feature of the discourses of early and classical theological thought. Within these discourses, the former term, tanzīh, was intricately entwined with the conception of God’s absolute transcendence and pre-eminence; while, the term tashbīh retained a rather pejorative connotation as it was associated with the conceptualization and description of God and his divine attributes using human characteristics and qualities as analogues; indeed, the verb from which the verbal noun tashbīh is derived signifies the act of likening or equating. Theological movements and schools of thought were defined by their respective standpoints on the notions of tanzīh and tashbīh, although scholars who were accused of adopting anthropomorphic positions repudiated such allegations, claiming that they were essentially advocating tanzīh. While the Qurʾan includes imposing statements which describe God as being “without peer or equal” (Q. 42:11; and Q. 112:4), and refer to him as “omniscient, omnipotent and sublime” (Q. 2:255; Q. 6:101–6; Q. 42:19), it also makes ample use of metaphors, forms of comparison, and imagery to exemplify and describe the personal and close nature of his relationship with mankind. The Qurʾan even describes God as being “closer to man than his jugular vein” (Q. 50:16) in ways which underscore his divine immanence. The conceptual significance of such Qurʾanic dicta was soon pored over within rational theological discourses in which arguments about transcendence and anthropomorphism loomed large. The associated terminology which features in the discussions includes taʿṭīl (negation), which was a label used to deride those who “stripped or divested God of his attributes”; tajsīm, which in contrast was a term used to besmirch those who associated God with physical presence and form; also connected to this was the term ḥashwiyya which has negative connotations in the history of classical Islamic thought as it was used to impute and vilify those religious movements who were accused of anthropomorphism. Separately, taʾwīl, whose original meaning denotes interpretation or explanation, was used in a theological context to indicate the “obviation” of the literal meanings of language when conceptualizing God and his attributes. Within the tradition, there were also scholars who refrained from proffering opinions on the meaning of such sensitive Qurʾanic passages and dicta discussing the divine attributes, and they adopted a strategy referred to as tafwīḍ or “delegation.” Mapping the precise historical trajectory of the gestation of these concepts together with their sundry terminology and the reasons why they became such contentious topics in Islamic theology remains a tentative exercise: the earliest theological sources tend to be fragmentary, while later literary sources are separated in time from the periods to which they refer; and in such sources adversaries sometimes misrepresent the perspectives of opponents. Still, the significance of the discussions on tanzīh and tashbīh ensured that they remained at the forefront of developing classical theological discourses, even resurfacing in the context of debates about Islamic reform and modernity. Significantly, safeguarding a conception of God whose transcendence is unique lay at the heart of Islamic philosophical discussions.

scholarly journals The Omani Experience of Multi-religious Coexistence and Dialogue: A Historical Approach to the Omani Principles and its Luminous Examples

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-78
Author(s):  
Al Muatasim Maawali
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Strong Correlation ◽  
Muslim World ◽  
Interfaith Dialogue ◽  
Mutual Respect ◽  
Religious Minorities ◽  
Historical Approach ◽  
History Of ◽  
Religious Coexistence ◽  
Natural Result

In a world that is increasingly hostile towards religious minorities, this paper tries to set a modern-day, successful example of multi-religious coexistence and interfaith dialogue. The paper examines historical examples derived from Omani history and explores Omani characteristics by surveying Western reports written by missionaries, visitors, and travellers of different religions in Oman. This is meant to demonstrate the hypothesis that the multi-religious coexistence and interfaith dialogue enjoyed today by the nearly fourmillion Omani population is a natural result of a long history of commitment to ‘Omani values’ and principles, practised by Oman’s Ibāḍī population with their fellow nonMuslims. The paper concludes that there is a strong correlation between the ‘Omani values’ recorded by the Western writers and the ongoing deeply rooted Omani experience of peaceful religious coexistence and interfaith dialogue. These ‘Omani values’ include the principles of tolerance, social justice, mutual respect, friendliness, hospitality, and simplicity. Finally, owing to the increasingly rising tensions between adherents of different religions, the paper recommends that such successful Omani experiences should be exported to other countries in the Muslim world and elsewhere. 

On The Possibility of an Autonomous History of Modern Southeast Asia

1961 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R. W. Small
Keyword(s):  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Contemporary History ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Of

It is generally accepted that history is an element of culture and the historian a member of society, thus, in Croce's aphorism, that the only true history is contemporary history. It follows from this that when there occur great changes in the contemporary scene, there must also be great changes in historiography, that the vision not merely of the present but also of the past must change.

Stellar Evolution

1962 ◽  
Vol 11 (02) ◽  
pp. 137-143
Author(s):  
M. Schwarzschild
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Stellar Evolution ◽  
Space Craft ◽  
New Techniques ◽  
Substantial Body ◽  
Individual Stars ◽  
The Past ◽  
Evolution Of Galaxies ◽  
History Of ◽  
Fast Flow

It is perhaps one of the most important characteristics of the past decade in astronomy that the evolution of some major classes of astronomical objects has become accessible to detailed research. The theory of the evolution of individual stars has developed into a substantial body of quantitative investigations. The evolution of galaxies, particularly of our own, has clearly become a subject for serious research. Even the history of the solar system, this close-by intriguing puzzle, may soon make the transition from being a subject of speculation to being a subject of detailed study in view of the fast flow of new data obtained with new techniques, including space-craft.

A 200-Year History of the Study of Childhood Language Disorders of Unknown Origin: Changes in Terminology

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurence B. Leonard
Keyword(s):  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Language Disorder ◽  
Language Disorders ◽  
Unknown Origin ◽  
Developmental Language Disorder ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Many

Purpose The current “specific language impairment” and “developmental language disorder” discussion might lead to important changes in how we refer to children with language disorders of unknown origin. The field has seen other changes in terminology. This article reviews many of these changes. Method A literature review of previous clinical labels was conducted, and possible reasons for the changes in labels were identified. Results References to children with significant yet unexplained deficits in language ability have been part of the scientific literature since, at least, the early 1800s. Terms have changed from those with a neurological emphasis to those that do not imply a cause for the language disorder. Diagnostic criteria have become more explicit but have become, at certain points, too narrow to represent the wider range of children with language disorders of unknown origin. Conclusions The field was not well served by the many changes in terminology that have transpired in the past. A new label at this point must be accompanied by strong efforts to recruit its adoption by clinical speech-language pathologists and the general public.

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