AKP (Justice and Development Party) can be accepted as the last and most powerful representative of Islamism in Turkey. The party came to power alone, after the general elections in 2002 and in 2007. Within its fi rst period of power, AKP claimed divergence from its extreme Islamist views and it gained trust among the majority of intellectuals. Furthermore, some socialist and liberal intellectuals supported most claims of AKP, in its fi rst period of power. In the second period, AKP's discourse began to have references to şeria law, more frequently; and fi nally, it lost the support of liberals and socialists. We witnessed some important and mysterious assassinations in the years 2006 and 2007 before the 2007 elections; and pre-elections period of 2007 was characterised by legal issues, which put AKP in a 'suff ering' position, once more. This essay is an eff ort in re-evaluating the tension between Islamism and laicism and some political issues of AKP years of Turkey, including four chosen acts of violence against laicite defenders or non-Muslims.
Today nuclear weapons are a great global threat to human life and security. Meanwhile, Islamic Republic of Iran has strongly voiced its opposition to nuclear weapons based on the religious and rational measures and teachings. Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of IRI, has also declared prohibited the production and use of nuclear weapons by issuing a Sharia based fatwa. The objective of the present essay is not only the explanation of this fatwa rather the identification of jurisprudential-moral foundations of it. The method used in this essay is documented-analytic. Among the results of this research, one can refer to the fact that Ayatollah Khamenei's fatwa is a religious fatwa not a merely governmental law and since fatwa is based on the eternal religious sources, it is considered to be strategic, eternal and universal not merely tactical, expediential and temporary. Moreover, rational and Sharia (moral and jurisprudential) documents and reasons in which the present fatwa has its own origin in addition to the subject of "use" includes the prohibition of "production", possession" and "proliferation" too.
Islam, like all the great world religions and their scriptures, off er a universal message, a discourse that can speak to all times and places. Believers of this religion, in every age and situation, fi nd teachings, principles, and values that give them meaning and guidance. The Quran and the Sunnah, or prophetic example, provides a theology for peace, for living in a world of diverse nations and peoples. They also provide guidelines on how to fi ght the enemy as well as how to fi ght against corruption and oppression. This paper attempts to draw a careful line between Jihad, self-defense and aggression, resistance and rebellion, reform and terrorism. Little has been done to study the formation and evolution of the notion of divinely sanctioned war in Islam or to critically examine the spectrum of Islamic views on the subject. Classical Islamic tradition has developed its own canonical view on the formation and evolution of holy war and, with some small variation among the legal schools, a more or less standard view on the meaning and application of divinelysanctioned war in general. Scholarly studies of holy war in Islamic civilization have tended to accept uncritically, or at least not challenge, these standard views. The main theme of this writing is to critically examine the origin of the holy war phenomenon in Islam in order to describe and explain the early importance of holy war and its implications for contemporary Muslim societies.
This book explores the relationship between Orthodox religion and politics in Eastern Europe, Russia and Georgia. It demonstrates how as these societies undergo substantial transformation Orthodox religion can be both a limiting and an enabling factor, how the relationship between religion and politics is complex, and how the spheres of religion and politics complement, reinforce, influence, and sometimes contradict each other. Considering a range of thematic issues, with examples from a wide range of countries with significant Orthodox religious groups, and setting the present situation in its full historical context the book provides a rich picture of a subject which has been too often oversimplified.
The unusual response of former President Olusegun Obasanjo (of Nigeria) to the adoption of shariah law in northern Nigeria that it "will soon fizzle out" was as intriguing and philosophical as the formal adoption of shariah law itself. This is against the backdrop of his antecedence in handling burning national matters. The critical issues bordered on whether the adoption of sharia was political or religious since it was through the parliament rather than the mosque. The paper examined the President's responses against the prevalent political factors and showed that its implications have continued to reverberate in the Nigerian polity. The paper argued that a definite secular or multi-religious status (not a religious state) of the country should be articulated through the gristmill of thorough-bred intellectual and constitutional engagement.
The aim of the article is to explore the material culture of Neo-Pentecostals´ mega-churches in Buenos Aires City, Argentina. In order to do this, we will reconstruct three consumers' profile and the way that political senses are put into play. Profiles will be analyzed according to (a) the ritual context that eases consumption through specific institutions; (b) the chosen objects and (c) the political meanings that is inferred from the uses and understandings of them. This article is divided into three parts. In the first one, we are going to briefly develop the methodological framework and introduce the concepts of megachurch and material culture. In the second one, we will empirically study three religious consumption itineraries that describe different modalities of participation in the internal life of temples. Lastly, we are going to explore the political senses related to cultural commodities of large Evangelical organizations.
AbstractPolitical theorists argue that justice requires treating people's time as having equal worth. In this article, I contend that justice sometimes requires making exceptions to uniform time rules. The article focuses on New York State's regulations for nonpublic schools and how they affect Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) Jewish day schools, or yeshivas. Dissatisfied yeshiva graduates, the state education department, and several liberal political theorists assert that the state should pressure yeshivas to dedicate more time to secular studies. Reconstructing Horace Kallen's argument against the melting pot conception of citizenship and for cultural pluralism, I maintain that liberal states should be generous toward non-liberal ways of life on condition that they do not systematically abuse children or pose a danger to public safety. A liberal education landscape may sustain many kinds of schooling, including ones that outsiders think waste time.
The article is devoted to the theoretical analysis of the socio-political bases of development of confessionaly focused education practice in post-Soviet Russia. The specifics of the corresponding educational innovation in its comparison with secular theological and confessional education are revealed. The author proves the consistency of prior development of confessionaly (orthodox) focused approach to an educational reflection on religion with a positional correlation of three main strategic subjects of Russian education: states, Russian Orthodox Church and public.
Islam-phobia is undoubtedly the result of sustained systemic propaganda that links irrationally between terrorism and jihad, simply because acts of terror are connected to some individuals or groups who belong to Muslim communities. Accordingly, to examine the hypothesis of the distinction between Jihad and terrorism, this paper thoroughly scrutinizes these two concepts and highlights their main characteristics, aims, and uses. As the main aim of this paper is to correct the bad image about jihad in Islam, this paper will draw on primary evidences to demonstrate the differences between the concepts in terms of the Qur'nic meaning and aims of jihad. This paper concludes that the distinction between jihad and terrorism is like the distinction between the sunrise and the sunset, the first leads to light and life and the second leads to darkness and destruction.
AbstractThis paper focuses on the historical ties between Protestantism and the nation-state, as well as between Catholicism and supranationalism, to widen the political science debate on different conditions of EU issue voting. Research suggests that the political context in each nation-state shapes the extent to which individual Eurosceptic attitudes influence the decision to vote for Eurosceptic parties. In addition to this, I expect that a nations' religious background responds differently to this relationship. Using data from the 2014 European Parliament elections, I show that citizens from predominantly Protestant countries actually decide for Eurosceptic parties if they hold negative attitudes towards European integration. In contrast, citizens from predominantly Catholic countries may or may not vote for Eurosceptic parties, but their voting decision is not based on individual EU attitudes such as support for European integration, trust in EU institutions or European identity.
"The history of relations between the church and political authorities have shaped remarkable differences in the influence of religion on values of population in Poland, Hungary and Czecho-Slovakia. The differences in religious involvement, both on the level of personal beliefs and institutionalized behavior, among the countries in Central-Eastern European region are quite large. In Poland the Value Survey of 1990 revealed a level of religious beliefs and practice as high as in Ireland. An obvious explanation for this similarity is that in both Poland and Ireland 'Catholicism as the dominant religion has come to serve as the symbol and guardian of the nation in times threat or domination from external sources' (Martin 1978: A General Theory of Secularization). In Hungary and the Czech Republik levels of church attendance and personal religiosity are low, rivaling the rates in several West European countries, such as France, Netherlands and Scandinavia. The impact of industrialization and urbanization, combined with the hostility of the communist regimes toward religion, resulted in a high degree of secularization among Hungarians and Czechs. This paper explores several dimensions of religious values, beliefs, attitudes and practice of Poles, Czechs and Slovacs in 1990, based on results of the EVSSG survey. It analyzes the interrelationship between such aspects of religious values and behavior as - on one hand - church attendance, institutional attachment, adherence to traditionel beliefs, confidence in the church, support for a public role of the church, and on the other hand - 'intrinsic' forms of religiosity: identifying oneself as a religious person, the importance of God in one's life, and getting comfort and strength from religion. Hypotheses dealing with the connection between religion and morality, would predict that secularization processes and a diminshing influence of the church would give rise to relativistic moral attitudes, moral permissiveness and tolerance toward different groups. The results suggest that some modification of these hypotheses on the basis of the different historical experience in this region is needed. The relationship between religious and political attitudes and behavior is particulary important in the analyzed countries, taking into account the atheistic policy of the communist regimes and the recent collapse of these regimes. These changes and the impact of socio-demographic factors, such as age, education and place of residence, though also somewhat different, allow us to predict that similar trend toward secularization and individualization will occur as have been observed in Western Europe." (Autorenreferat)
The main goal of this paper is to examine how Evangelicals talk about the topic of immigration in the U.S.A. in an online forum. This investigation centers on an analysis of the twenty-nine magazine articles and online blogs from the magazine Christianity Today addressing immigration between January 2007 - September 2012 as well as the four hundred ninety five written online comments in response to these articles. The examination illustrates that while the responses to the articles demonstrated a range of opinion, the percentage of readers' comments sympathetic towards undocumented immigrants has increased since 2009. Respondents questioned the authority and statements of elites. Nevertheless, the majority of posters showed respect for the other commentators and acknowledged differences of opinion and interpretation within the online context.
Ex abrupto the little known and closed Yazidi community has become a symbol of the atrocities of the Islamic State against minorities and of the risk deriving from extremism. The strong impact of IS on the Yazidi and other communities in the Middle East – Christians and others - has also provoked a migration wave towards Europe. The A. has worked on field in Iraq and Iraqi-Kurdistan since 2012, and had researched on and with the Yazidi long before the IS, realizing studies and documentaries. She sustains that the roots of the crisis were apparent before the crisis and the physical-psychological effects on minorities are much deeper, as they mine the structure and the evolution of their communities. Yet, the inner resources of the Yazidi community and the new global scenario have created also opportunities. Migration of minorities is a crucial issue: although constant in the last decades, it is now seriously endangering the rich social composition of the region and the stability of the communities when they scatter in diasporas. Europe must help the Middle Eastern countries to protect their minorities as they are a fundamental element for the balance of power and for the social dynamics.
Objective. Although national surveys indicate that Americans have become more accepting of the prospect of a Jewish presidential candidate, this could reflect some voters' desire to be seen as having socially correct opinions. The present study uses a survey technique known as the "list experiment" to assess public reaction to the nomination of Jewish candidates for high office.Methods. Two telephone surveys of registered voters in Florida, each employing the list‐experiment methodology, were conducted in October 2000 and May/June 2002.Results. We find only limited evidence of negative affect directed at either the vice presidential candidacy of Joseph Lieberman in 2000 or a hypothetical (unnamed) Jewish presidential candidate who might choose to run in the future.Conclusions. Although there still are enough voters with anti‐Semitic views to affect the outcome of a close election, their numbers do not appear to be as great as some observers have feared.
Objective. Although national surveys indicate that Americans have become more accepting of the prospect of a Jewish presidential candidate, this could reflect some voters' desire to be seen as having socially correct opinions. The present study uses a survey technique known as the "list experiment" to assess public reaction to the nomination of Jewish candidates for high office. Methods. Two telephone surveys of registered voters in Florida, each employing the list-experiment methodology, were conducted in October 2000 and May/June 2002. Results. We find only limited evidence of negative affect directed at either the vice presidential candidacy of Joseph Lieberman in 2000 or a hypothetical (unnamed) Jewish presidential candidate who might choose to run in the future. Conclusions. Although there still are enough voters with anti-Semitic views to affect the outcome of a close election, their numbers do not appear to be as great as some observers have feared. (Original abstract)
