Suchergebnisse

IT IS OFTEN SAID THAT MODERN POLITICS IS FUNDAMENTALLY SECULAR; REASONS FOR THIS TRUISM ARE RARELY EXPLORED. THE AUTHOR ASSESSES THE QUESTION BY DISTINGUISHING AND CONTRASTING THREE MAJOR VIEWS OF SECULARITY AND EXAMINING PRINCIPAL CHOICES INVOLVED IN THESE DIFFERING USES OF THE TERM. FIRST, THE NOTION OF SECULAR RELIGION IS EXAMINED AND THEN CONTRASTED WITH RATIONAL SECULARISM.

The question of change in religion in Middle Eastern communities has been recently studied by several researchers. A review of these studies reveals three main approaches to the problem. The first approach, used principally by orientalists, treats the problem in terms of either history or theology. Among the most significant of these studies are those of H. A. R. Gibb (1938) and Bernard Lewis (1964), who hold that contact between the secular world of the West and the Muslim sacred way of life has brought elements of secularism into the Islamic religion.

The emergence of an official policy of secularism in Bangladesh must be viewed as a major ideological landmark in the recent history of the Indian subcontinent. Analyzed in terms of legitimizing symbols, the abrupt change from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the secular People's Republic of Bangladesh is a significant event. It is axiomatic that revolutionary changes in the symbols of statehood need not be, and generally are not, accompanied by corresponding attitudinal changes among the masses of the people. The symbols, after all, are formulated by a small political elite or even by one leader. But it is important to understand both what the leaders are trying to express by the symbols they choose and how these symbols are related to the political process and the general culture.

AbstractThe history of the Illyrian Provinces belongs not only to the history of the Napoleonic Era in Europe, but also to that of the development of Yugoslav history in the early part of the nineteenth century. The Provinces can be studied from several aspects: political, social, economic and cultural. This paper will emphasize only one of the offered aspects-namely the impact of the Illyrian Provinces on the concept of Yugoslavism. Three features are of singular importance: first, the effects of the ideas of the French Revolution on the Yugoslavs (development of modern nationalism, use of the vernacular, secularism, abolition of feudalism); second, the effects of the political unification of Dalmatia, Slovenia and part of Croatia under French rule, which brought Croats, Slovenes and Serbs under one political and administrative unit; third, the correlation between French rule in the Western Balkans with the national-revolutionary movements of that period, such as the Serbian uprising of 1804 and its effect upon other Yugoslavs.1

The Pakistan People's Party (PPP) has moved decisively to the right since its astounding electoral victory in 1970. Although its official slogan is "Islam is our religion; socialism is our economy; democracy is our pol," & despite its claims to "serve the people" in the "Chinese way," the PPP has consistently pursued counter-revolutionary policies wrapped in populist rehetoric. The party is rapidly losing the support of the Pakistani masses who rallied to it after the confusion & demoralization that accompanied the military defeat of West Pakistan by India over Bengladesh, & after broad enthusiasm of the masses about a pol'ly victorious party that would deliver them from their age-old exploitation & oppression. The gov's policy toward labor & the Left of co-optation, containment & destruction has won them the support of the Pakistani bourgeoisie & rightist elements that were formerly opponents. The land reform measures, that set the peasant tenant against the smaller-owner & therby undermine unity among the poor tillers, have attracted the feudal remnants to the PPP. As the PPP transforms itself into a traditional bourgeois-feudal party, it loses its leftist middle echelon leadership & cadre & its ability to mobilize grass-roots support. As the Pakistani economy increasingly attaches itself to internat'l imperialism, & as Pakistani policies more clearly show it is becoming a part of US Mediterranean & Gulf strategy, the state controlled media continues to promote the myth of non-aligned independence. The formerly leftist Nat'l Awami Party (NAP) is also shifting to the right, although in the past it advocated non-alignment, secularism, rights of the nat'lities, land reforms, & civil liberties. The lesson drawn from Pakistan is that bourgeois-led multi-class parties & parliamentary pol fail as a means of soc change in a neo-colonial context. A. Karmen.