Suchergebnisse

This article examines how state-linked religious actors negotiate religious demands in a secular authoritarian state. There is a prevalent assumption that such religious actors lack the agency to affect state decisions. I do not seek to challenge that proposition, rather to qualify it by identifying the scope and extent of their authority. Taking the state as an autonomous actor, I examine fatwas or official religious edicts in Singapore through the lens of 'policy feedback', which analyses how the bureaucratisation of religious institution created new legal and bureaucratic channels that shape state policies. This paper aims to primarily answer the following question: What role do fatwas play in shaping statist interpretation of religion? I answer this by looking at the historical development of religious bureaucracy in Singapore - which includes the fatwa institution - and analysing the role of fatwas in relation to state policies. I argue that the bureaucratisation of religion not only regulates religious demands, but creates a juncture for religious institutions to inform and contest statist version of Islam though policy feedback, a concept that has thus far been only partially applied to economic issues. Policy feedback explains how religious demands are negotiated at the bureaucratic level and is particularly instructive in clarifying the discourse between the state and the fatwa institutions, which underlines that the policies and programmes of the autonomous state can be influenced by the very demands of religious bureaucrats. This paper also introduces Statist Islam as an original concept with which to conceptualise the amalgamation of statist and religious interests, and considers how the informal authority of fatwas continues to function beyond the legal and bureaucratic restrictions set by the state. (JCSA/GIGA)

Islam and other major narrative can be a positive force, negative, aggressive, and destructive. In term of politics, Islam could be one of the strengths of democratization or vice versa. This article explains how the pattern of Islamic political thought in the pre-independence and post-independence. This study showed that at the independence era, the problem of Islam consisted three categories, namely worship, social, and politics. In the old order, Soekarno supported the idea of separation of religion and state. In the new order era, all of variants of Islam and politics supported Pancasila as the sole basis. In the reform period, all components of religions founds its momentum to express their aspirations openly, freely, and concretly.

This comprehensive collection examines a broad spectrum of Islamic governance during colonial and postcolonial eras. The book pays special attention to the ongoing battles over the codification of Islamic education, religious authority, law and practice while outlining the similarities and differences in British, French and Portuguese colonial rule in Islamic regions. Using a shared conceptual framework the contributors to this volume analyze the nature of regulation in different historical periods and geographical areas. From Africa and the Middle East to Asia and Europe, 'Colonial and Post-Colonial Governance of Islam' opens up new vistas for research in Islamic studies

Following the toppling of Saddam Hussein, a Sunni-Arab leader, the United States has facilitated the rise to power of the Shiites in Iraq. This significant development raises questions regarding Washington's relations with the two dominant Islamic sects, Sunni and Shiite. The author examines American-Shiite relations in three settings: Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon. It argues that sectarianism does not drive U.S. policy in the Islamic world and that despite signs of rapprochement between the United States and the Shiites, the two sides still have long way to go before they can reach an understanding. Adapted from the source document.