Search results

In the last decades Iran became one of the powerful states in the Middle East. Today Iran plays a significant role in political, economic, social, religious and ideological issues of the region. Iran's politics shape major developments in regional security and international relations in the Middle East, pursuing active policy towards Arab countries in the region. Iran plays an active role in military conflicts in several Arab countries (Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and Libya). However, Iran's involvement in the inner-political life of Arab countries; their societies, security affairs, and politics strengthens tensions and hostility between Arabs and Iran. The existing strains in Arabo-Iranian relations provoke the religious strife in the Middle East that takes different forms, among which are Sunny-Shiite conflicts. The worsening of Arabo-Iranian relations encourages new conflicts; it undermines power balance and destabilizes security in the Middle East. The long history of Arabo-Iranian relations still influences Iran's policy in the Middle East. Ethnic and sectarian differences and the historical Arab-Persian rivalry reflected the major orientation of Iran's foreign policy in general and determine some major parameters of Arabo-Iranian relations in the Middle East, in particular. Before the Arab conquest of Iran the interactions between Arabs and Iran had had many positive dimensions. The Islamization of Iran and its partial Arabization dramatically changed Iran's cultural, social, and political development. These processes challenged the behavioral patterns of many Iranians towards Arabs and vice versa. Since that time the ethnic identity of two peoples, their adherences to Sunnis and Shiites have acquired antagonistic overtones. In this view, research of Arabization and Islamization processes as one of the main drivers of Arabo-Iranian relations and Iranian policy in the Middle East proves to be a pressing subject of grave importance.

A plethora of studies that account for the differential use of language by men and women have explained why such differences exist from the standpoint of Deficit, Dominance and Difference models, emphasising male and female dichotomy or male domination over women. The present study aims at filling a gap in language and gender research by underpinning its analysis with a social constructionist paradigm which views language and its interaction with the community of practice (CofP) as the conduits in shaping identity and by locating the context of the study inside a religious CofP. Our analyses indicated that the members of a Charismatic religious community share common selfpresentation strategies when constructing their identities, rejecting the dualism that distinguishes male and female language. Both males and females in our study have the same tendencies in using Supplication, Intimidation, Admitting Mistakes, Apology and Excuse in the narration of their Old life and Exemplification and Burnishing in the characterisation of their New life. However, the same respondents also exhibited differential use of tactics that also bolster previous findings on gender order. The interlocking relations of language, identity (religious or social) and gender are mutually constructed and negotiated constantly in a community of practice which is influenced by cultural and religious practices.

Front Matter -- Copyright -- Preface -- Abbreviations of Works of Ludwig Wittgenstein -- Notes on Contributors -- Introduction: Interpretations of Wittgenstein, Religion and Interreligious Relations /Gorazd Andrejč -- "Being Near Enough to Listen": Wittgenstein and Interreligious Understanding /Mikel Burley -- Wittgenstein and Ascriptions of "Religion" /Thomas D. Carroll -- Wittgenstein's Later Philosophy as Foundation of Comparative Theology /Klaus von Stosch -- Wittgenstein's Religious Epistemology and Interfaith Dialogue /Nuno Venturinha -- Showing the Fly Out of the Bottle: Wittgenstein's Enactive Apophaticism and Interreligious Dialogue /Sebastjan Vörös and Varja Štrajn -- Radical Pluralism, Concept Formation, and Interreligious Communication /Randy Ramal -- Wittgensteinian Quasi-Fideism and Interreligious Communication /Guy Bennett-Hunter -- The God of the Intellect and the God of Lived Religion(s): Reflections on Maimonides, Wittgenstein and Burrell /Daniel H. Weiss -- Multiple Religious Belonging in a Wittgensteinian Perspective /Rhiannon Grant -- Names, Persons and Ritual Practices: Wittgenstein and the Way of Tea /Paul Cortois -- Back Matter -- Name Index -- Subject Index.

The modern Jewish quest for a homeland arose in the nineteenth century in Europe. From the beginning there was tension between a secular nationalism and a more religiously based one. Religious fundamentalism is a political factor today in Israel, as elsewhere in the Middle East. Governments in this region would best avoid their overthrow at the hands of religious fundamentalists by working together.

The modern Jewish quest for a homeland arose in the nineteenth century in Europe. From the beginning there was tension between a secular nationalism & a more religiously based one. Religious fundamentalism is a political factor today in Israel, as elsewhere in the Middle East. Governments in the region can best avoid their overthrow at the hands of religious fundamentalists by working together. HA