Suchergebnisse

For centuries Islam in Asia was renowned for its adaptability to local practices and tolerance of other religions. Over the past three decades, however, fundamentalists have tried to homogenize Islam, introducing new tensions. More than any other factor, what has fuelled conflicts and divided Muslims and others in otherwise tolerant and harmonious plural societies of Asia, is the slow but steady process of the transformation of Islam in the region, from a syncretic and inclusive Islam to a puritanical and exclusivist one under the influence of ideas, norms, practices, and finances flowing from the Arab world. The 'Islam of the desert' has made inroads across the Indian Ocean. This process of homogenization and regimentation—a process I would like to call the 'Arabization' of Islam—puts greater emphasis on rituals and codes of conduct than on substance, through the Wahhabi and Salafi creeds, a rigidly puritanical branch of Islam exported from, and subsidized by, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The internationalization of Islam drew Asian Muslims to the desert and brought the desert to them. Such 'globalization of political Islam' could threaten stability throughout Asia and the world. Unfortunately, too many proponents of any form of fundamentalism rely on it as a tool, not for inspiring spirituality, but for acquiring economic or political power.

This article describes the progressive depopulation of the Arab neighborhoods of West Jerusalem following the outbreak of the fighting in late 1947. By the time the State of Israel was proclaimed on 15 May 1948, West Jerusalem already had fallen to Zionist forces. Quoting from eyewitness accounts, the author recounts the widespread looting that followed the Arab evacuation and the settlement of Jewish immigrants and Israeli government officials in the Arab houses. By the end of 1949, all of West Jerusalem's Arab neighborhoods had been settled by Israelis.

Representatives of one of the world's largest Muslim organizations, the Indonesian Nandlatul 'Ulama (NU), propagate an "Islam of the archipelago" (Islam Nusantara) that harmonizes Islamic practices and local culture. They paint a picture of a pluralist and inclusive Indonesian Islam that accommodates diverse local cultures, contrasting it with a potentially homogenizing "Arabization" - a term used in reference to the perceived ideological radicalization of Islamic lifestyle. Strikingly, in Madura, a region that is considered a stronghold of the NU, there is an affinity to "Arabness" that is not primarily dedicated to questions of the right interpretation of Islam but rather to local hierarchies, social life, political influence, and economic activities. Madurese engagement with cultural markers that are labelled as "Arab" is relatively ambivalent in nature. On the one hand, the Madurese treat "Arabness" as a symbol of Islamic piety that illustrates a special connection to the Holy Land, access to religious learnedness, and the power of blessings. On the other hand, the Madurese can be critical of Arabic culture and customs, especially Wahabist ideology. In the context of pilgrimage to the holy Muslim sites of Mecca and Medina, Madurese Muslims newly imagine and localize "Arabness". By transferring Arabic cultural markers into economic, cultural, social, and symbolic capital, Madurese Muslims make "Arabness" meaningful beyond debates about Islam Nusantara and Arabization. (Asien/GIGA)

This study aims at making possible the effective use of machine translation (MT) in interpreting the Malay compounds into Arabic ones following the structure and Arabic style. The necessity of this study arises on account of the weakness of translation quality using online MT and the lack of suitable methods to structure the compounds from the Malay language into Arabic. There are three objectives of this study which are to collect the results of Malay compound translations using online MT into Arabic, analyze the results of the compound translations, and suggest compound translation methods based on dynamic theory and Arabization method. The study uses three online MT as instruments to translate: Google Translate, Microsoft Bing Translator, and Yandex Translator. This qualitative study employs a descriptive approach and analysis method in collecting information and analyzing data. The study focuses on 15 Malay compounds which are later categorized into school names, hospital names, and clinics. The findings of translation have been drawn using the next three MTs and analyzed at three main level: namely grammar level, phonetics and phonology level, and dynamic translation level. From this analysis, 4 out of 15 compound nouns translations data into Arabic are categorized as poor translations for not approaching the structure and Arabic style. In the final stages, the results of the translation collected are formulated and suggested alternative translations based on dynamic theory and methods of Arabization and compound restructuring formula in Arabic. Through this process, the translation results of the compounds can be categorized as translations that can meet the structure and style of the Arabic language. The compound translation model can be proposed as a new translation method for Arabic language users, especially the Arabic translators and students both at school and higher education.