Suchergebnisse

A discussion of sectarianism in politics begins with a look at the dual view of politics as economics (capitalism) & politics as religion. It is argued that typically people see both of these pictures of politics; however, sectarianism is identified as that condition when one sees only the religious view. Sectarianism is seen as a mode of operation & a state of mind centered on a negative attitude toward compromise that underpins certain characteristics: (1) a gap between a lack of numbers & size of ambitions, (2) the narcissism of small differences, (3) Manichaeism, & (4) obsession with ritual purity. A distinction is made between sectarianism & sectorialism, & the link between sectarianism & civil war is addressed, along with Israeli concerns regarding the prospect of "fraternal war" should a compromise with the Palestinians be reached. Attention is then given to two key questions: (A) Can a social democrat be sectarian? (B) Can sectarianism exist in a social democracy? It is concluded that while sectorialism is no longer an option for social democracy, sectarianism is totally incompatible with it. D. Edelman

In examining the social correlates of sectarianism in Lebanon, this paper first assesses the significance of two major factors. One is political and the other is cultural. It argues that the historical shift in power relations resulted in equality of power among the three major Christian, Sunni, and Shi'i political players in Lebanon. This change has thus removed the functional need for sectarianism in order to maintain the structure of power inequality. Drawing on data from a 2008 world values survey in Lebanon, the paper also shows that on the cultural level, the differences in Lebanese attitudes and value orientations toward historically significance issues do not quite fall on the confessional fault-lines, although Christians and Muslims differ significantly in their attitudes toward gender relations as well as religious fundamentalism. The paper then has identified the sets of factors that either reinforce or attenuate sectarian attitudes among the Lebanese public. Sectarianism is reinforced by religious fundamentalism and foreign intervention. Counter-sectarianism, on the other hand, is enhanced by inter-confessional trust and support for liberal values.

In the gloomy days after the 1973 Yom Kippur War, a delegation of intellectuals from the United States came to Jerusalem. There were no visitors in Israel at the time, and they were perhaps the first to arrive. It was after the war and just before the elections. I was on the slate of a leftist party called Moked. It was a tiny party. We knew almost all our voters by name. The quality of the supporters was never in doubt-it was the party of the left intelligentsia-but the numbers were very much in doubt.

Intro -- Half Title -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Preface -- 1. On the Problematic of Sectarianism -- 2. Mapping Terms: Towards Analytical Conceptualisation -- 3. Confessionalisation as a Prelude to Sectarianisation -- 4. Is a Ta'ifa a Community? -- 5. Firqa and Iftiraq in Islam -- 6. Social Conflict, Sects, and Foreign Intervention: The Tanzimat and the Events of 1860 -- 7. Ibn Khaldun's 'Asabiyya and Sects -- 8. Sectarianism, its Historicity, and Some Ethical Implications -- 9. Nothing Eternal About It -- 10. Is Modern Sectarianism a Product of Secularisation? -- 11. Community to Imagined Community, Social Sectarianism to Political Sectarianism -- 12. Sectarianism from Popular Participation in the Public Sphere to a Barrier to Participation -- 13. Majorities, Minorities, and Tolerance -- Conclusion -- Index -- Back Cover.

"This volume analyses the transformation of social sectarianism into political sectarianism across the Arab world. Using a framework of social theories and socio-historical analysis, the book distinguishes between 'ta'ifa', or 'sect', and modern 'ta'ifiyya', 'sectarianism', arguing that sectarianism itself produces 'imaginary sects'. It charts and explains the evolution of these phenomena and their development in Arab and Islamic history, as distinct from other concepts used to study religious groups within Western contexts.Bishara documents the role played by internal and external factors and rivalries among political elites in the formulation of sectarian identity, citing both historical and contemporary models. He contends that sectarianism does not derive from sect, but rather that sectarianism resurrects the sect in the collective consciousness and reproduces it as an imagined community under modern political and historical conditions. 'Sectarianism Without Sects' is a vital resource for engaging with the sectarian crisis in the Arab world. It provides a detailed historical background to the emergence of sect in the region, as well as a complex theoretical exploration of how social identities have assumed political significance in the struggle for power over the state"--From dust jacket

The Advisory Group on Tackling Sectarianism in Scotland (AGoTS) was established in August 2012 to provide Scottish Ministers with impartial advice on how to develop and assess work to tackle sectarianism in Scotland. Key to the Group's work was understanding the forms that sectarianism may (or may not) take in contemporary Scotland, and how best to address these. This article sets out an overview of the Group, as well as outlining the key contours of this Special Issue of Scottish Affairs.

During eight years of a U.S.-led occupation, Iraqi attitudes have shifted away from sectarianism and toward a national identity. Coupled with increased support for the separation of politics and religion, this shift may pave the road for a functioning national government.

Tharun Venkat explores the root causes of modern-day conflicts in India over political-religious questions and the role of the consititutional principle of secularism.

In this essay Mikdashi examines the legal practice of strategic conversion, or religious conversion undertaken in order to make use of different aspects of the Lebanese legal system. Mikdashi illustrates the process of strategic conversion by comparing it to that of correcting one's sex in the census registry, an act that also changes the network of laws that applies to a citizen. A further comparison is made by introducing the practice of removing one's madhhab completely from state census registries, a right won by activists for a secular personal status law in March 2009. Through ethnographic and archival research on these practices of strategic conversion, madhhab removal, and the legal "correction" of sex by transsexual citizens, Mikdashi questions what effect the legal and bureaucratic transformation of madhhab or sex has on the identification and/or recognition of a citizen's sect or gender. Mikdashi teases out the different technologies through which sex, gender, madhhab, and sect are both recognized and practiced in contemporary Lebanon. She calls for the categories of madhhab and sect to be critically reinterrogated, just as the categories of sex and gender were and continue to be.