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Afghanistan's Central Asian neighbours have generally reacted pragmatically to the Taliban's seizure of power there. For the autocratically ruled, secular states on the periphery of the former Soviet empire, economic cooperation and the stabilisation of humanitarian and political conditions in Afghanistan are at the forefront of their interests in maintaining relations with their southern neighbour. According to offi­cial discourse, Central Asia's entrenched secularism is not challenged by the Taliban's Islamism. On social media in Central Asia, however, the Islamic emirate of the Taliban is portrayed as a political counter-model; one which is more positively received in coun­tries with greater discursive freedom and under governments whose policies more openly confront the Taliban. This reveals a trend towards Islamist-inspired iden­tity formation that will be difficult to stop through censorship and repression. (author's abstract)

Islamic identity and the Turks in West Germany / Peter Antes -- Islam in Germany and the German Muslims / Klaus Kreiser

The aim of this article is to analyse the views of a public critic of Islam, namely the Swedish Somali-born former Muslim Mona Walter (b. 1973). She has been selected because she has been very active in online media, social media and more 'traditional' forms of media such as print, radio and broadcasting. In my analysis I will discuss whether her thoughts can be viewed as Islamophobic, and if so to what extent. To decide on this matter, I have compared her statements about Islam with how the Runnymede Trust and the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (brå) define Islamophobia. The empirical data consist of an online interview with Mona Walter for the Swedish podcast rlm. This particular interview has been chosen for analysis because this program has been associated with anti-Muslim views and is renowned for its strong criticism of Sweden's migration policies and its multicultural society. The interview with Walter is analysed with the help of a content analysis.

About Critical Muslim: A quarterly publication of ideas and issues showcasing groundbreaking thinking on Islam and what it means to be a Muslim in a rapidly changing, interconnected world. Each edition centers on a discrete theme, and contributions include reportage, academic analysis, cultural commentary, photography, poetry, and book reviews

'Ausgangspunkt der vorliegenden Studie ist das seit dem 11. September 2001 wieder offenkundig gewordene Problem der Versuchung, politische Probleme mit muslimischen Ländern über Bemühungen, den Islam zu verstehen, zu bewältigen. Doch ein besseres Verständnis von Religion, Kultur und Geschichte der islamischen Völker allein reicht zur Behandlung der politischen Differenzen nicht aus. Kulturdialog kann kein Ersatz für den notwendigen politischen Dialog sein. Notwendig ist, auf die Interessen der Muslime in ihrer existenziellen Situation zu schauen. Diese ist - wie bei uns - prinzipiell von gesellschaftlichen Modernisierungsprozessen und Säkularisierung als einem Teilaspekt von ihnen bestimmt. Doch handelt es sich um Säkulisierungserfahrung unter Fremdbestimmung. Darin liegt der entscheidende Grund dafür, dass die theologisch-ideologische Bearbeitung im Sinne von Bewältigung der Modernisierungsprozesse eine andere ist als in Europa. Die Arbeit gibt einen kursorischen Überblick über die unterschiedlichen Reaktionsformen in der islamischen Welt auf fremdbestimmte Modernisierung seit dem 19. Jahrhundert, von Strategien der Anpassung islamischer Dogmatik an Konzepte der kulturellen Moderne, über islamistische Bewegungen und ihrer Ideologie des 'islamischen Systems' bis hin zum Extremismus des Dschihad-Islam, der auch vor Terror nicht zurückschreckt. Dem schließt sich eine Erörterung der Frage an, was der Kulturdialog angesichts der Vielfalt von Islamverständnis und praktizierter Religion leisten kann. Dabei ist auch auf das Problem der Kulturalisierung von Politik und die Gefahr hinzuweisen, dass neue Kulturgrenzen errichtet werden können. Die abschließenden Empfehlungen sind als konzeptionelle Handreichung zum Thema Islam gedacht. Ihr Kernsatz lautet: Der Islam handelt nicht.' (Autorenreferat)

This paper examines the notion of state and leadership according to the contemporary Islamic thought. To be more precise, the paper asks whether it is possible for a non-Muslim to be the president of the majority Muslim country. To answer this, the paper will dwell into the problem of citizenship both in classical and modern Islamic thought by taking into account the political and social situation that shapes this thought. The paper maintains that many Muslims?both in the past and at the present?fail to offer a proper discourse on statehood and leadership in Islamic perspective. The mainstream discourse on this issue?the paper argues?is that which keeps in a good balance the notion of religiosity and citizenship. The rightwing Muslims will provide a textual understanding of the problem, while the left-wing will otherwise offer a secular interpretation of it. This paper will try to keep the two in a balance, and present a fair understanding of what the Qur'an and the Sunnah say about the problem at hand.

Islam is the religion of the majority of Arab citizens in Israel and since the late 1970s has become an important factor in their political and socio-cultural identity. This leads to an increasing number of Muslims in Israel who define their identity first and foremost in relation to their religious affiliation. By examining this evolving religious identity during the past four decades and its impact on the religious and socio-cultural aspects of Muslim life in Israel, Muhammad Al-Atawneh and Nohad Ali explore the local nature of Islam. They find that Muslims in Israel seem to rely heavily on the prominent Islamic authorities in the region, perhaps more so than minority Muslims elsewhere. This stems, inter alia, from the fact that Muslims in Israel are the only minority that lives in a land they consider to be holy and see themselves as a natural

Cover -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- CONTENTS -- LIST OF FIGURES -- PREFACE TO THE SECOND PAPERBACK EDITION -- PREFACE -- ONE: What Is Muslim Politics? -- Imagining Politics -- The Language of Politics -- Doctrine and Political Action -- Setting Boundaries -- TWO: The Invention of Tradition in Muslim Politics -- The "Modernization" of Muslim Societies -- The Blurring of Tradition and Modernity -- The Objectification of Muslim Consciousness -- THREE: Sacred Authority in Contemporary Muslim Societies -- The Linkage of Religion and Politics -- Authority and the Interpretation of Symbols -- Networks of Authority -- FOUR: The "Firmest Tie" and the Ties That Bind: The Politics of Family and Ethnicity -- The Politics of Family -- Women in the Muslim Political Imagination -- Ethnicity -- FIVE: Protest and Bargaining in Muslim Politics -- Membership and Organization -- The Technologies and Culture of Protest -- The Fragmentation of Authority -- SIX: Muslim Politics: A Changing Political Geography -- Transnational Linkages -- The Civic Geography of Muslim Politics -- Of Paradigms and Policies -- NOTES -- GLOSSARY -- ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY -- REFERENCES -- INDEX