Suchergebnisse

The contribution of Islam to world civilization is undeniable, however in the last one hundred years, Muslims have been faced with all the effects and ramifications of modernity, caused by the emergence of global capitalism. What does modernity ultimately mean for Muslims, and how will the historical precepts of Islam meet with changes in our globalized world? To date, most scholars on Islam have tried to understand Muslim societies from historical observation alone; however, this simplistic academic approach does not allow us to understand the entire transformation that has taken place in Mus

Whichever nomenclature is used to describe the study of black peoples and the African Diaspora – whether Africana, Black or African Studies – the approach that is taken is critically important to academia in terms of its potential to provide a direct response and challenge to the intrinsic Eurocentric and Orientalist bias of the US educational system. Unlike other area and ethnic studies disciplines, this field was established as a link between the community and academia. However, in recent history, approaches have become polarized and the field has lost momentum as a consequence of arbitrary boundaries and politicized knowledge. In this article, the Orientalist perspective and Afro-centric knowledge in Black Studies are examined in their historical and political context. This analysis culminates in a proposed approach to use the Sociology of Africa as a new model for Afro-centric knowledge and teaching in this field.

In my research, I will attempt to examine the way in which Neoliberal Capitalist Globalization and economic conditions in the marketplace have shaped and continue to shape the assessment by Islamic groups of modernity, secularism and their place within it as a mutually constitutive process. I will conduct this analysis utilizing two country case studies: that of Turkey and Pakistan, each within the context of the theoretical frameworks of Karl Marx, Max Weber and Emile Durkheim and their study of the impact of religious ideas upon economic structures. In the last 30 years, from the start of market Neoliberalism, the political economy has shaped religious ideas in Muslim-populated regions as a result of privatization, deregulation of the market and urbanization. I found this process similar to that of the industrialization and emergence of modern capitalism in the beginning of 19th century Europe, which produced rapid urbanization. This, in turn, created a different lifestyle, family structure and (most importantly) produced a unique and secularized individual that was and is a product of modernity. The process can also be described as a departure from tradition and God. Economic transformations of this period restructured the concept of social and politics. The politics of God have been replaced by the politics of economy. On the other side, neoliberal economic policies have instigated a desecularization process within Muslim-populated countries. In Turkey, privatization and deregulation of the market have actually helped Muslims and Political Islam to move upward in the social stratification ladder and the result is the emergence of an Islamic-oriented middle class. The Gulen movement in Turkey is one of the best examples of this process. In Pakistan, the Jamaat-e-Islami has been a key player in the political and social sphere and has been supported by the middle class since the country was established in 1947. However, the polarization of Pakistani politics has weakened Jamaat at and has consequently led to the formation of even more religious groups and movements. Both countries have in common similar social, political and economic characteristics and the desecularization process is taking place rapidly. In my research, I will compare the Fethullah Gulen Movement and the Jamaat at in the context of the strengthening Neoliberalist economic process, and will look at how and why economic policies have created and led to a de-secularization of the social and political spheres, unlike the case of 19th century Europe. According to this research, desecularization in Muslim populated societies is a temporal process, which represents the larger social and political patterns of transformation that have been fueled by the market economy. Although we do witness an increasing trend of Islamization in Pakistan and Turkey, these movements will in time become weakened and absorbed by new market conditions. In the Turkish case, the Gulen Movement has already been integrated into the market economy and should be understood as a market oriented movement rather than an Islamic-based Nurcu movement. This is because in the Gulen Movement, establishing an Islamic order is not the primary objective, but the movement instead seeks political power as well as economic prosperity. I therefore describe the Gulen Movement as an 'Islamic movement without Islam.' On the other hand, The Jamaat at in Pakistan represents a persisting form of classical Islam, which conflicts with and directly opposes the market conditions. However, powerful economic forces have transformed the Jamaat-e-Islami of Pakistan from a classical form of Islam to a more reactionary form of Islam. I argue that both the Gulen Movement in Turkey and the Jamaat at in Pakistan will be domesticated by powerful market forces; however, this change will occur over the longer term. In this global era, there will continue to be less space for traditional community, and instead, market-based-individualism will play a dominant role in social relations. I contend that Islam will not be able to escape from this domestication process. ; Ph. D.

Half Title -- Series Information -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- Foreword: Belt and Road: China's Opportunities and Challenges -- Figures and Tables -- Notes on Contributors -- Introduction -- 0.1 Background -- 0.2 The Structure of the Book -- References -- Part 1 China-mena Relations at Large -- Chapter 1 The Triple Pillar of Sino-mena Relations in the Age of Neoliberalism -- 1.1 Introduction -- 1.2 The Chinese 'Cat Theory': Beyond Sinophilia and Sinophobia -- 1.3 Sino-mena Today: A Triple-Pillar Relationship -- 1.4 Whither the mena Paths of Development? A Civil Society Approach -- 1.5 Conclusion -- References -- Chapter 2 China's Mental Maps of the Middle East and North Africa: Critical Discourse Analysis of the Contemporary prc Leadership's Geopolitical Image -- 2.1 Introduction: Approaching Mental Maps through Critical Discourse Analysis -- 2.2 Overlapping Geopolitical Cartographies in the prc Leadership's Mental Maps of the mena Region -- 2.2.1 Mental Map 1: The 'Arab countries/states' -- 2.2.2 Mental Map 2: The 'Middle East' and Its 'hotspots' -- 2.2.3 Mental Map 3: The 'Eurasian continent' -- 2.2.4 Mental Map 4: The 'developing countries' Category -- 2.3 Conclusions -- References -- Part 2 The Belt and Road Initiative: Challenges and Opportunities -- Chapter 3 Is Growing the Iran-China Relationship as Easy as Building a Belt and Road? -- 3.1 Introduction -- 3.2 Background -- 3.3 bri and the Coming of Age of the Iran-China Relationship -- 3.4 Conclusion -- References -- Chapter 4 Belt and Road Initiative: Central Asia, the Middle East, and South Asia -- 4.1 Introduction -- 4.2 Two Different Narratives: The Chinese Perspective -- 4.3 Two Different Narratives: The 'Other' Perspective -- 4.4 Myths and Realities -- 4.5 Potential Challenges -- 4.6 Conclusion -- References.

This book seeks to leverage academic interdisciplinarity to develop insight into how artificial intelligence (AI), the latest GPT to emerge, may influence or radically change socio-political norms, practices, and institutions. AI may best be understood as a predictive technology. "Prediction is the process of filling in missing information. Prediction takes information you have, often called 'data', and uses it to generate information you don't have" (Agrawal, Gans, and Goldfarb 2018, 13; also see Mayer-Schonberger and Ramge 2018). AI makes prediction cheap because the cost of information is now close to zero. Cheap prediction through AI technologies is radically altering how we govern ourselves, interact with each other, and sustain society. Contributors to this book represent the academic disciplines of sociology and political science working within a diverse set of intra-disciplinary fields that when combined, yield novel insights into the following questions guiding this book: How might AI transform people? How might AI transform socio-political practices? How might AI transform socio-political institutions? Tugrul Keskin is Professor in the College of Liberal Arts and Director of the Centre for Global Governance at Shanghai University. Ryan Kiggins is Instructor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond, OK, USA.

Introduction: US foreign policy in the Middle East / Geoffrey F. Gresh -- Part I. Historical cultural and economic interests -- From heathen Turks to cruel Turks: changing American perception and foreign policy towards the Middle East / Ozlem Madi-Sisman and Cengiz Sisman -- How big tobacco used Islam and modernity to conquer Saudi Arabia / Sean Foley -- Part II. Cold War challenges -- How geography and ideology shaped US foreign policy during the Cold War / Nickolas A. Spencer -- The ties that bind: postwar US foreign policy toward Turkey / Gökser Gökçay -- American atomic policy and Hashemite Iraq, 1954-1958 / Elizabeth Bishop -- Part III. Balancing regional alliances -- Understanding the US-Israeli alliance / Jeremy Pressman -- The United States' strategic relationship with Iran and Turkey: implications for Cold War and post-Cold War order / Suleyman Elik -- American-Qatari partnership in the post-Gulf area: a mutually beneficial relationship / Fatma Asli Kelkitli -- US-Gulf cooperation council relations in the age of the Obama Doctrine / Michael McCall -- Part IV. Rapid political change and the spread of regional instability -- When partisanship captured strategy: American foreign policy and the War in Iraq / Russell A. Burgos -- The United States and political Islam: dealing with the Egyptian Muslim brothers in the Arab revolutions / Mohamed-Ali Adraoui -- Promoting or resisting change? The United States and the Egyptian Uprising (2011-2012) / Ahmed Ali Salem -- Set-up for failure: the Syria-United States relationship / Ethan Corbin -- The United States and Iran: the view of the hardline conservatives in the Islamic Republic / Hamad Albloshi -- Losing hearts and minds: the United States, ideocide, and the propaganda war against ISIS / Kelly Gleason -- An imperial design or necessity of political economy?: understanding the underpinnings of a Trump administration / Tugrul Keskin.

Between 1949 and the late 1970s, interactions between China (prc) and Middle Eastern nations were limited. After China started to implement economic reforms in 1978, however, the country opened up to the global economy in general and the Middle East in particular. Since the 1980s, the new Chinese economic dynamic, as a result of its economic reforms, has significantly increased China's footprint in the region. China's distinct approach has been to secure access to natural resources and new markets while, at the same time, making sure not to get bogged down in the Middle East's political conflicts. However, as we argue in this paper, China's role has by now become so prominent that it will be increasingly difficult for China to maintain its low-profile role. By analyzing the development of China's role in the region generally as well as its specific relations to Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Israel, we conclude that China is likely to become a more active player in the region.