The Moroccan mystic and theologian Ahmad Ibn Idris (1749-1837) was one of the
most dynamic personalities in the Islamic world of the nineteenth century.
Through his teachings and the activity of his students important Sufi orders
were founded which exerted wideranging social and political influence, orders
such as the Sanusiyya in Lybia and the Khatmiyya in the Sudan.
The present
work contains an Arabic edition and translation with commentary of two texts
which throw light on Ibn Idris' attitude towards the religious-dogmatic
questions of his day. The first text, Risalat al-Radd 'ala ahl al-ra'y,
provides information about Ibn ldris' relation to the Islamic schools of
law, in particular his position regarding the ijtihad-taqlid
debate.
The second is a vivid report of a debate that Ibn Idris
entered into with Wahhabi theologians in the Yemeni city of Sabya in 1832. The
introduction of the present book examines the tumultuous circumstances in which
the texts were composed and sketches the larger cultural and intellectual
context which shaped Ibn Idris'world of ideas. [From the publisher. Radtke, a
member of the Society, and O'Kane work in the Netherlands. Vikør and
O'Fahey are at the University of Bergen.]
Ingvar Svanberg (ed.), Contemporary Kazaks: Cultural and Social Perspectives . London: Curzon Press 1999. xi, 152 pp. ISBN 0-7007-1115-5. £ 40
This is the first volume of field work, based on western ethnological standards, about the Kazakhs of Kazakhstan since Alfred E. Hudson's work published in 1938. The various articles reflect the contemporary life of rural and urban Kazakhs. A common theme is the sociocultural aspects of how their way of life has changed since Independence.
The introductory essay by the editor, ethnologist Ingvar Svanberg, presents contemporary Kazakhstan and the Kazakh people. The Danish ethnologists Karen Odgaard and Jens Simonsen, who have conducted field work among academicians in Almaty, discuss how the intellectual elite comprehend Kazakh identity and history and how they cope with social reality. American anthropologist Cynthia Ann Werner, who spent thirteen months of field work in a rural region of Southern Kazakstan, writes on the role of feasts and gift exchange among contemporary rural Kazaks. The independence of Kazakstan prompted the reappearance of religious life and the attendant holidays. Of great political and symbolic importance is the celebration of Naurus; it is becoming increasingly significant in the evolution of a modern Kazakh identity. The contemporary Naurus celebration and its national importance in a multiethnic environment Is the topic, of Hilda N. Eitzen's contribution to this book, based on field work in various parts of the country. German ethnographer Peter Finke has done enduring field work among Kazaks in Western Mongolian an ethnic enclave that has preserved a more traditional life style than their peers in Kazakhstan.
David Westerlund and lngvar Svanberg (eds.): Islam outside the Arab World . London: Curzon Press 1999. xii, 476 pp, ill. ISBN 0-7007-1142-2 [pbk]. £ 50 / 16.99
Today about 85 per cent of the world population of Muslims live in areas outside the Arab world, and due to population growth, missionary endeavours and migration, the number of Muslims in these areas is rising rapidly.
This volume examines the spread and character of Islam in many non-Arab countries, focusing particularly on the contemporary situation. The book deals with the great variety and complexity that characterize Islam outside the Arab world, including Sufism which is the predominant form of Islam in most non-Arab Muslim countries, and the growing significance of Islamism which challenges secularism and Sufi forms of Islam.
After an extensive introduction giving a general background account of the origin, expansion and character of Islam, case studies discuss Islam and the role of Muslims around the world, providing a historical background to the growth of Islam, but concentrating primarily and comprehensively on the contemporary situation. The three main parts are on Africa (B. Helander, C. Steed, D. Westerlund, E.E. Rosander, A. Lodhi, A. Tayob); Asia / Oceania (S. Cornell, I. Svanberg, R. Micallef, Bo Utas, J. Ben-Adam, I. Ahmed, S. Cederroth, M. Humphrey, W. Shepard), and Europe / America (K. Magnusson, F. Kogelmann, N. Robinson, R. Geaves, M. Gardell, M. al-Aharai)
Jianping Wang, Glossary of Chinese Islamic Terms. London: Curzon Press (NIAS) 1999. 192 pp. ISBN 0-7007-0620-8. £ 40.
China - with about 20 million Muslims - is one of the world's more populous Islamic countries. Over half of China's Muslims are Hui, a people found throughout the country but mainly in western China (particularly Ningsia province). The Hui are descended from Islamic merchants, craftsman, scholars and soldiers who came to China from Persia and Central Asia between the 7th and 13th centuries. Over the centuries, the original Arabic-based Islam of the Hui has absorbed a proportion of Chinese words, often concepts borrowed from Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. Cataloguing the Islamic terms of Middle Eastern origin for the Hui especially (but also those of the other Muslim peoples of Xinjiang), this work is the most comprehensive to date, taking terms from a wide variety of local gazetteers and archives, newspapers, books and periodicals. It is also the first to fully match the Chinese term (stated in Chinese script and pinyin) to its Arabic or Persian counterpart (stated in Arabic script with Latin transcription). [From the publisher. Wang, a former student of Lund and Bergen, now in Peking, is a member of the Society.]
Bjørn Olav Utvik defended his thesis "Independence and Development in
the Name of God: The Economic Discourse of Egypt's Islamist Opposition 1984-90"
on 26 February.
From the summary, "The topic of the dissertation is the
positions held on matters of economic policy by the moderate mainstream within
Egyptian Islamism. A comprehensive material is presented, including books,
pamphlets, programmes, newspaper articles and parliamentary speeches by members
of the Muslim Brothers and their ally, the Labour Party during the period 1984
to 1990. The material is analysed with two purposes in mind: firstly a better
understanding of the place of the Islamists within the broader political
landscape of Egypt is sought, secondly the aim is to contribute to the general
understanding of Islamism; in particular its relation to nationalism, and to
modernity. It is argued that judging from their utterances on economic issues
the Egyptian Islamists can be seen to step into the void left by the demise of
radical nationalism, in the sense that like Nasser in his day they become the
standard bearers for popular aspirations for justice, development and
independence. In left-right terms they would qualify as a sort of social
democrats, but their reformism is linked to a moralising nationalism, where the
moral teachings of the Islamic faith is both identity marker and defensive
shield against the dominant West. Islamism is showed to be a thoroughly
pro-modern movement, and the Islam they seek to reinstate as the ultimate
ethical reference is a new interpretation of the Scriptures more fit to the
task of providing moral backbone to a rapidly changing society." The thesis is
published by Unipub / University of Oslo as 'Acta Humaniora' 69.
Utvik is
the current Chairman of the Nordic Society, as well as the current head of
Dept. of Oriental Studies in Oslo.
Among the themes discussed are: "Berber language", "The origin of the Berbers", "The influence of foreign languages on Berber", "Berber dialects ", "The History of the Berbers", "The Berbers and Christianity, Judaism and Islam", "Berber Literature; Oral and written traditions", "Berber Music traditions", "The current socio-economic conditions in Berber areas and Berber migrations including emigration ", "Modern Berber music, books, journals and newspapers", "The current "Berber policy" in Algeria and Morocco; Berber Renaissance", "The new structure of Berber cultural associations in North Africa, Europe and North America".
The Committee needs to receive all conference papers before the 15th of April. The conference language is English. Communications to Marianne.Laanatza@afro.uu.se
CEBHEM / Orientalisches Seminar, Tübingen University, Germany invites applications for two doctoral research fellowships (3 years each) to be held at the recently established "Centre for the Economic and Business History of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East (CEBHEM)". Appointments will start from 01.10.2000. Remuneration will be approx. DM 2.000 p.month net (plus generous travel and equipment allowances).
Eligibility: ideal candidates would be outstanding graduates (minimum requirement: M.A. to be awarded in Summer 2000) from the fields of Middle Eastern and/or Mediterranean Studies, History, Anthropology, Sociology, Geography or Economics, provided they have an interest in archival research. Languages required: Arabic, Ottoman-Turkish, French, Italian (for one position also Greek or Armenian).
Research will focus, technically, on archival studies in the region and, conceptually, on processes of incorporation of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East in the world exchange during the 18th-early 20th centuries, more specifically on "Incorporation, minorities and diasporas" and "Entrepreneurs and the Ottoman state". Transdisciplinary approaches in dealing with these topics are strongly encouraged. It is recommended that supervision be conducted jointly by Orientalisches Seminar and the candidate's home institution. Students may apply for permission to write their thesis in a language other than German.
For further details concerning the application procedure have a look at our http://www.uni-tuebingen.de/CEBHEM or write an e-mail directly to CEBHEM's coordinator (ruediger.klein@uni-tuebingen.de). The complete documentation must be received by 15.06.2000. In summer 2000 up to three candidates for each of the positions will be invited for an interview. The definitive decision will be communicated by 30.07.2000 at the latest.
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Responsible for this Web page is Knut S. Vikør. Archived 13.3.2000