Muslim World Issues

Disgusted with ISIS, some Kurds turned away from Islam following the fall of Mosul in 2014. Many became atheists, while others sought comfort in Zoroastrianism. Zoroastrianism, according to converts, was the “original” religion of the Kurds before they embraced Islam. In 2015, two Zoroastrian centers opened in Sulaimani, both of which are recognized by the Kurdish Regional Government in northern Iraq. Notably, neither has tried to recreate Zoroastrianism the way it is currently and has been historically practiced in Iran and South Asia. Instead, they have created their own versions of Zoroastrianism, which is nationalist, postmodern, and liberal. Kurdish Zoroastrians argue that the reason Kurds are “backward” is Islam. They seek to rectify the present situation through a Kurdish “authenticated” and “original” form of Zoroastrianism. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork at these two centers, the present article examines this new religious movement in Sulaimani, an important city in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq. It analyses the rise and distinctiveness of Kurdish Zoroastrianism looking at how Zoroastrian Kurds articulate their views on Islam, women’s rights, human rights, and Kurdish independence.

In the mid-90s, Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement and the Iranian Ayatollah Khamene’i both banned bloody forms of self-flagellation such as tatbir (cutting the forehead with a sword), calling them backward and un-Islamic. They argued that Shi‘a Muslims ought to imitate Husayn by actively fighting against oppressors rather than passively mourning Husayn’s martyrdom. This prohibition has not been unanimously applied in all Muslim
countries, including Syria, where such practices persisted until the Arab Spring (when virtually all Shi‘a Muslims left the shrine-town where these practices were performed). By closely reading the linguistic, conceptual, and juridical discourses that circulated in Syria in order to justify this position, the paper shows that the performers of tatbir conceived of these rituals in revolutionary, rather than reactionary, terms. By examining the performance and reception of flagellation processions in terms of differing modalities of affect, the paper opens up spaces for rethinking ‘revolution’ and ‘redemption’ in contemporary Twelver Shi‘ism.

Secular arabic traditions have emphasized the potential of dreams to foretell the future.  Sometimes the prediction is seen as obvious and on other occasions elaborate systems of symbolic translations were consulted such as the tenth century Oneirocriticon of Achmet.
    In Islam, many of the foundations of the Koran were revealed to Muhammad in dreams. Muhammad ordered the practice of adhanthe daily call to prayer from the minarets and a central ritual of Islam to this day after one of his followers dreamed of it. The split of Islam into the conflicting factions of Sunni and Shi'ite was based partly on a dream of Mohammed, which the Sunnis used to justify their rights as his successors.
    The autobiographies of Muslim rulers often contain extensive dream diaries and examples of decisions obstensibly based on dreams.  When the Shah of Iran was deciding whether to seek a loan from Russia, he dreamed that a famous theological figure dressed in primitive Muslim garb approached the Shah and threw at his feet a sack containing gold and silver.  The interpretation of this dream was that the Shah shouldn't make any new loans with unbelievers but should trust that fellow servants of the faith would restore his finances. Sadam Hussein reported dreaming that Allah told him to enter and take back Kuwait just before the first Gulf War. Before the second Gulf War, he reported a dream that a snake came upon his path but he chopped off it’s head with a sword which he interpreted to mean western invaders would be vanquished.
    Because of this emphasis on dreams as foretelling the future rather than arising from the past, Arabs who are having PTSD nightmares of an event occurring each night--such as Kuwiati survivors of the Iraqi invasion or Iraqi survivors of the American invasion--experience even more anxiety over whether this will indeed occur again than dreamers in other cultures.
    The positive side to this emphasis on dreams foretelling the future happens when oppressed people dream of positive outcomes.  These are a source of much inspiration in arab society, while in western traditions they would be dismissed as "wish fulfillment" without the beneficial impact.
    We  collected dreams associated with events of the Arab Spring and discuss how they inspired and guided those taking part, and what dreams right now may have to offer the reshaping of the Arab world.

Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) was created with an objective to safeguard the interests of the Muslim countries around the world as well as promote inter-state multilateral as well as bilateral relationships among the member states. However, OIC has not yet been successful in managing the Muslim world dynamics and issues. The study provides an analysis of the OIC objectives, the Muslim world issues, and the role of OIC in managing the Muslim world affairs. The qualitative analysis of the OIC role in the Muslim world suggests that OIC has been unable to pursue its objectives due to the incapacity of its organizational structure. Study outlines the current strategic environment of the Muslim world that highlights the importance for development of a mechanism that could bring the Muslim world out of the complex organism of threats it is confronting with. The study has also evaluated the currently introduced 34 states ‘Islamic Alliance’ and infers that the creation of new alliances is not plausible in the light of current strategic environment of the Muslim world. The study finds out that OIC is the only forum that can contribute to achieve the required outcomes if its organizational structure is reformed. It ends with recommendations for some profound amendments in the existing OIC’s organizational structure as well as mechanism for proper functioning that would contribute in activating the OIC forum in a manner that would be enabled to manage the Muslim world affairs and contribute to peace, stability and prosperity among the Muslim states.

No one would, probably, doubt that Muslim civilization is facing a serious crisis since the 18th century. It first resulted in political chaos and ultimately colonization of Muslim lands by Western powers. Later, Muslim civilization faced serious cultural and intellectual onslaught from the West which intensified and deepened the crisis. Though the period of Western colonization ostensibly came to an end in the middle of the 20th century, Muslim lands did not come out of the crisis. Despite some sincere efforts for Islamic revivalism, Muslim civilization has failed to respond to the modern crisis, particularly 9/11 incident has exposed the vulnerability of the Muslim world to Western political agenda, and its failure to respond effectively to Western civilizational challenges. The scholars are divided as to the cause of this crisis of the Muslim world and consequently, as to the measures to remedy the problem. Abdur Rehman Ibn Khaldun, a 13th century Muslim historian and intellectual, emerged at a time when the Muslim states in the Maghreb (North Africa) and Muslim Spain were passing through a phase of decline. His critical thoughts on the society (Al-Imran) and particularly his concept of social solidarity (Al-asabiyah), as propounded in his magnum opus, Maqaddimah (Prolegomena to History), can provide important insights into the present crisis of the Muslim Civilization. The present paper seeks to understand and explain this crisis with the help of the social analysis and critical ideas of Ibn Khaldun.

Mencari Film Madani: Sinema dan Dunia Islam merupakan kumpulan tulisan Ekky Imanjaya dengan tema khusus tentang seluk-beluk “film Islam”. Ekky Imanjaya sejak awal 2000-an berkarier sebagai wartawan dan kritikus film, lalu menekuni studi film hingga meraih gelar master di Universitat van Amsterdam (Belanda) dan doctoral di University of East Anglia (Norwich, Inggris). Kumpulan ini menjadi unik sekaligus penting dalam konteks tumbuhnya genre film religious di dalam perfilman kita dari masa ke masa. Ekky menawarkan perspektif yang berpijak dari pengalamannya aktif di dunia dakwah semasa mudanya.

Unduh e-book-nya: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1FRtP6s_YfFVx1ExyQoFW18K1NDq5qLus

There is a growing need to spread the idea of Islam as a peaceful religion and Muslim countries as partners for global peace. The Russian worldview which encompasses its multi-ethnic character and diversity best showcases the essential role that Russia has played and continues to play with and for the Islamic world globally. Geography and demography have given Russia a uniquely Eurasian character that lends itself to a particular understanding of the world and its various elements. Russia's geography makes it part of " …different continents and neighbour to several civilizational zones. " 1 In popular imagination today the world is divided between the East and West and Muslims against the rest of the world. In this increasingly divisive environment which is causing dangerous splits and ruptures around the globe, the partnership between Islam and Russia is both necessary and integral for peace and stability in the world. Russia's historical place in Asia and closeness with the Muslim world along with its own multicultural character allows for an approach beyond othering and appeals to the greater good. As part of the fabric of the Asian and Muslim world, Russia is heir to a social and cultural milieu which is accommodating and inclusive. This gives rise to partnerships not divisions and creates proximity not distance with Muslim communities around the world. With talks of World War III, either inevitable or already taking place, Russia's myriad relationships with Muslims around the world can help finding solutions and mitigating differences. Globalisation and multiculturalism are under threat today because of policies of exclusiveness, isolationism and protectionism especially with regard to Muslim populations around the world. These have to be addressed quickly and with alacrity in order to ensure world peace. This paper provides the background and historicity of Russia's interactions with the Islamic world both within and without and takes a long term view of history to showcase the consistent role that Russia has played and continues to play in mitigating conflicts with the Islamic world. It specifically considers political and economic relationships with a cross-section of Muslim societies around the world, majority or otherwise. It offers instances where Russia has played the role of mediator in conflicts in the post-Soviet space and particularly in the Middle East, and gives further examples where Russia's track record and nuanced approach through time can provide solutions and resolutions in the future.

Higher Education in the Muslim World remains in serious crisis. Original contributions to knowledge remains minimal, even in areas of advantage, such as Arabic and other indigenous languages, and Islamic studies. Only serious efforts centred around establishing of well-endowed Centres of Excellence could do something to change this.

Since 11 September 2001, the ‘Muslim world’ has become a novel religio-culturally defined civilisational frame of reference around which American foreign policy has been partly reoriented and reorganised. In parallel, the ‘Muslim world’, is increasingly becoming, at this historical juncture, a civilisational social fact in international politics by being progressively embedded in, and enacted onto the world by, American foreign policy discourses, institutions, practices, and processes of self-other recognition. This article theoretically understands and explains the causes and consequences of these changes through an engagement with the emerging post-essentialist civilisational analysis turn in International Relations (IR). In particular, the article furthers a constructivist civilisational politics approach that is theoretically, empirically, and methodologically oriented towards recovering and explaining how actors are interpreting, constructing, and reproducing – in this case through particular American foreign policy changes – an international society where intra- and intercivilisational relations ‘matter’.

Talal Asad said Islam is “a discursive tradition” — a set of religious symbols that take on meaning, value, and expression in various social and political situations where multiple processes, discussions, and negotiations are involved. Still, this does not quite represent how Islam — in all its complexity and conceptualizations — can be downright contradictory. As Shahab Ahmed intimated in What is Islam? the main challenge in interpreting Islam is coming to terms with the considerable diversity of beliefs, practices, and postures of global Islam while simultaneously appreciating that there are shared principles which act as a cri de coeur for Muslims across the world. The uncomfortable truth is that essentialized conceptualizations that say “Islam = violence” or “Islam = peace” are insensitive to the alterations and negotiations that characterizes lived Islam in interaction with myriad Muslim constituencies and non- Muslim actors.

This paper draws on the 'moral' dimensions of Turkey's 'new' foreign policy as it became manifest after the AK Party rose to power in 2002. This article first discusses 'ethics' and 'justice' in the context of international politics and states' foreign policy. Based on the findings regarding these key issues, I argue that, in the course of 2002-2014, Turkish behavioral posture within the prevailing international order was strongly colored by ethical concerns and the search for a more just and peaceful international order.

Polish foreign policy towards the Muslim world. An attempt to define the problem

Nowadays, Polish foreign policy is facing an entirely new challenge. The authorities need to redefine the policy of the state towards the structurally complex Muslim world. As a result of Poland`s increasingly active presence on Muslim territories, including military and stabilizing missions, an essential need has appeared to establish basic rules and priorities of the policy. It is particularly important to take into consideration differences between the Muslim world as a whole and the Arabic world, which has apparently dominated Poland`s perception of Islam as a religious and political trend. The main principles of this policy for the following years ought to be:
– respecting the faith and tradition on which the Muslim world is founded as well as understanding its search for a way to modernity;
– supporting modernization (apart from efforts towards democratization) of Muslim societies and hoping that, given the chance to decide for themselves, those very societies will reject the most extreme formations;
– respecting democratic decisions of those societies (when fundamentalist formations are in power) even if they do not meet the expectations of the West;
– paying particular attention to the situation within Poland, especially to the infusion of radical Islam through the Internet;
– supporting the EU and the NATO in their policy of stabilization and security of Northern Africa and the Near East.

Alternative medicine and is often controversial, and many consider
practitioners like bomohs, spirit mediums, herbal specialists, acupuncturists, or chiropractors as quacks. Reasons range from their incompatibility with modernity, to the success that powerful interests have manipulated public opinion that their pharmaceutical products are the most reliable treatment. This paper explores alternative diagnoses to social problems in Muslim Southeast Asia where the words “Islam”, “Islamic”, and “Islamist” appear in both diagnoses of causes and prescriptions for cures. I make the case for placing more emphasis on “Muslims”, and less on Islam. Furthermore, in today’s hyper-connected ummah, a broad – and widening – range of Muslims and “Islams” exist in Southeast Asia. My specific interest is in the analysis of social problems in Thailand’s Malay-dominated far-southern provinces, and this paper reiterates arguments that (tantalising) mono-causal myths must be discredited and replaced by approaches attentive to multicausality. As most things happen for more than one reason, religious
ailments are one of a number of factors that have contributed to social
problems. In South Thailand, others include political instability, Malay
language loss, and widespread social disintegration. Doctrinal medicine and religious institutions may, therefore, represent only one part of the
alternative medicine to cure the social ills plaguing Muslim Southeast Asia.

Since the 20th century, the Kurds have been struggling as minorities in several states in the Middle East. Fortunately, at the start of 21st century, the Kurds begun experiencing improvements in the way they are treated as part of society in states they reside in. Focusing on the Kurdish people in Iran, Syria, and Turkey, this paper argues that although there have been improvements in the treatment of Kurds the degree in which multiculturalism is observed varies from state to state.

The digital revolution that is taking place nowadays all over the world is undoubtedly changing the face of the planet at an outstanding pace in every aspect. The world is truly becoming a global village as the visionary thinker McLuhan once predicted back in the sixties of the last century. By surfing the Net today you can go almost anywhere you wish and you can communicate, at ease, with anyone you want. Basically, almost everything is at the click of a button.
The prospects of this unprecedented revolution are great, but so are the dangers and the pitfalls on family and society.
In fact, nobody questions the fact that globalization, which is one of the concrete results of the digital revolution, is beneficial to humanity, provided it is wisely managed. Unfortunately, that is not the case today. Globalization is here among us to stay with its positive and negative sides. And unfortunately its negative aspects, if left unchecked, can destroy the unity and the coherence of the family, and by so doing badly affect society.
The globalization today is insidiously affecting children and adolescents in their identity, behaviour and morality and it is also affecting adults. The Internet is certainly a great outcome of the digital age, but in many cases it is sapping society at is foundations because of the moral permissiveness it allows with no checks or balances.
Aware of the dangers of globalization on the Muslim family, the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural organization –ISESCO- embarked few years ago on an ambitious programme entitled: “Parental Education”, geared towards educating parents on how to educate their children at home to avoid having them become victims of the dark side of globalization.

The basic arguments of this article is based on the need to build  a non-sectarian narrative in the fight against Islamist terrorism engulfing the world. As Islamic State (IS) unleashes its sectarian tentacles, the human community should stand against the demon with a broader non-sectarian approach.

This study focuses on the growth of transnational forces and increased global interdependence in the Post-Cold War period, posing serious challenges to conservative regimes in the Middle East – manifested by popular uprisings for economic and political change, beginning 2010 in Tunisia. Since then the Arab states of Middle East are in turmoil. The situation has become complex due to the presence of Al-Qaeda network and ISIS ('Islamic' State of Iraq and Syria) radicals in the Middle East and Mediterranean region. Such non state extremists groups are a collective threat to future Europe also. On the other hand various countries of the Middle East and gulf region, have been engaged in waging the proxy wars against each other in order to achieve their specific objectives. Geographically, historically and politically Turkey has been a bridge between Middle East and Europe. The underlying assumption of this study establishes Turkey's matured foreign policy not only as a model for struggling states of the Muslim World but holds keys to emerging threats to Europe. The study explores possibilities of Turkey to be central player not only for the resolution of regional issues but also as an active player at the global level.

Bu çalışmada, öncelikle, İngiliz sömürge yönetiminin çekilmesi sürecinde Keşmir'in Hindistan'a bağlanmasına giden sürecin, hukuken 'sorunlu' olduğu ileri sürülmektedir. Bu çerçevede, nüfusun büyük çoğunluğunu Müslümanların oluşturduğu Keşmir halkının, farklı bağlamlarda farklı anlamlara gelen selfdeterminasyon hakkının, ayrılma hakkına cevaz veren üç bağlamı içinde de Hindistan'dan ayrılma hakkına sahip olduğu iddia edilmektedir. Birincisi, Keşmir, Hindistan tarafından 1947'de işgal altına alınmadan önce, çok uzun bir süre İngiliz sömürge yönetimi altında bulunmuştur. İkincisi, askerî işgal altındaki halklar self-determinasyon hakkı çerçevesinde ayrılma hakkına sahiptirler. Son olarak, Soğuk Savaş sonrasında zuhur eden 'son çare olarak ayrılma hakkı' çerçevesinde, bir 'halk' olma niteliğini haiz azınlıkların da mütemadiyen sınırları içinde yaşadığı devletin aşağılamasına maruz bırakılmaları, sistematik bir ayrımcılığın mağduru olmaları ve kendilerine yönelik olarak insanlığa karşı suçların işlenmesi hâlinde, ayrılma hakkına sahiptirler. Her üç bağlamın da Keşmir için uygulanabilir olması itibariyle, burada yaşayan halkın, uluslararası hukuk ile insan haklarının kesişim noktasında olan selfdeterminasyon hakkı çerçevesinde Hindistan'dan ayrılma hakkı vardır.

Universities and the scientific infrastructures in Muslim-majority countries need to undergo radical reforms if they want to avoid falling by the wayside in a world characterized by major scientific and technological innovations. This is the conclusion reached by Nidhal Guessoum and Athar Osama in their recent commentary Institutions: Revive universities of the Muslim world (1), published in the scientific journal Nature. The physics and astronomy professor Guessoum (American University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates) and Osama, who is the founder of the Muslim World Science Initiative, use the commentary to summarize the key findings of the report Science at Universities of the Muslim World (PDF) (2) (3), which was released in October 2015 by a task force of policymakers, academic vice-chancellors, deans, professors, and science communicators. This report is one of the most comprehensive analyses of the state of scientific education and research in the 57 countries with a Muslim-majority population, which are members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

This paper argues that the intellectual roots of the negative outlook of the Muslim world today are closely related to the fact that the school of Tradition won the fight against the school of Reason back in the Medieval Ages. The intellectual-philosophical conflict between these two major schools combined with certain geo-political reasons had important, destructive consequences in the Muslim world. One of the most important causes of the ongoing poor outlook and the hostile attitude of the Muslim world towards liberal values is the failure of the Innovationists-Rationalists in their battle against the Traditionists. In essence, this fight was between two mindsets, two different perspectives, or mentalities which could be named as Ahl al-Rey and Ahl al-Hadith.

As Israeli attacks on Palestine escalate, it is important to dig into the history of the whole issue. Based on theological grounds, the boundaries of Israel have always remained a big jigsaw puzzle with some of the pieces lost, some hidden and others not part of the puzzle at all. This article is an attempt to trace the theological grounds of the worst geopolitical conflict of the modern world.

Focusing on the Muslim populations in five Muslim-majority countries and four Western European countries, we examine the levels of support for suicide bombings and other forms of violence. We found that support for terrorism among Muslims is present but the percentage of radicals is quite low. In both samples, support for terrorism is stronger among those who see democracy as a solely Western political system. This pattern of association is similar across the Western European countries, whereas the association varies considerably across the Muslim countries. The perceived economic dominance of the West is related to more support for terrorism among Muslims in Europe. In the Muslim countries, blaming the West for negative international relations is associated with greater support for terrorism. We suggest that improvement of the relationships between the West and the Muslim world can reduce support for terrorism and prevent radicalization within Muslim societies.