Fundamentalisms

Dossier 20: The Perils of Pluralism

There are few beliefs more entrenched in the modern liberal imagination than that of the virtues of pluralism and a multicultural society. The degree to which Sarajevo has assumed symbolic significance expresses the measure of attachment to the principles of a multicultural, multiethnic community. Just as in the thirties the struggle for Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War became symbolic of the defence of democracy against fascism, so the siege of Sarajevo has assumed a mythic status as a struggle between pluralism and barbarism.

Dossier 21: Mullahs, Migrants, Miracles: Travel and Transformation in Sylhet (Bangladesh)

Introduction

Dominating the courtyard of the homestead of Abdul Hossain is a large and ostentatious shrine. Decorated with Arabic designs and words, and surrounded by flags, the shrine (mazaar) is similar to hundreds of similarly venerated graves scattered over the landscape of rural Sylhet, in north-east Bangladesh. It proclaims for all to see that the late Abdul Hossain is a pir.

Dossier 21: Ethnic Identity, Religious Fundamentalism and Muslim Women In Sri Lanka

1. Introduction:

An attempt is made in this paper to trace the development of ethnic consciousness and religious fundamentalism among Sri Lankan Muslims and the bearings of this development on Sri Lankan Muslim women.*

At the outset, I should clarify the use of the terms ethnic consciousness and fundamentalism. Both these terms are very popular and controversial in the current socio-political discourse. There are a number of definitions and disagreements about them.

Dossier 21: Women and Politics in Post-Islamist Iran: the Gender Conscious Drive to Change

The implementation of the Shari’a and the institutionalization of gender inequality in the aftermath of the revolution led to the disillusionment of the gender-sensitive Islamist women and triggered their discontent. Through their involvement in politics they attempted to present a different reading of Islam and Islamic laws which would be more attentive to the condition of women.

Dossier 21: The War Against Feminism in the Name of the Almighty: Making Sense of Gender and Muslim Fundamentalism

Two Feminisms[1]

In recent years, some post-modern feminists have warned us about the perils of generalizations in feminist theory that transcend the boundaries of culture and region, while feminist critics of postmodernism have argued conversely that abandoning cross-cultural and comparative theoretical perspectives may lead to relativism and eventual political paralysis.[2]As I will argue in this article, t

Dossier 19: The Challenge of Fundamentalisms

Few developments in the post-Cold War era have captured public attention, stirred primal fears, stoked the fires of racism, and stymied critical thinking quite so thoroughly as the rise of fundamentalism. Although it is a force to be reckoned with in virtually every area of public endeavour, the rise of fundamentalism presents a very specific, and somewhat unique, challenge to the emerging field of reproductive health and rights.

Dossier 19: Contemporary Islamisms and Feminisms in Egypt

Islamisms, or diverse representations of political Islam, have become very difficult to ignore and even more difficult to categorize and explain satisfactorily. This is particularly the case when addressing a western audience, which is unfamiliar not only with the multifaceted aspects of Islam, but also with the crucial role Islamic faith plays, in the everyday lives of Muslim people.

Willy Claes, the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), gave Western misperceptions and misrepresentations of Islam and Islamisms a new twist.

Dossier 19: Muslim “Culture” and the European Tribe

Un Parisien est tout surpris quand on lui dit que les Hottentots font couper à leurs enfants mâles un testicule. Les Hottentots sont peut-être surpris que les Parisiens en gardent les deux. Voltaire

Dossier 19: The Discourse of the Ikhwan of Sudan and Secularism

The beginnings of the al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun (henceforth, Ikhwan) movement in Sudan may be traced back to the mid-1940s.

Dossier 19: The Story of the Forgotten

Mansiya, a pseudonym that means ‘the forgotten’, is a university student aged 22. She was born in the north of Israel and lives today in the center of the country. She writes about what it’s like to be an Arab lesbian.

Many claim that there’s no difference between a Jewish and an Arab lesbian, because for both it demands courage and lots of openness. In my opinion, there’s a difference between the two experiences because Israeli society is composed of a majority and a minority.