Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Multidisciplinary Studies: Mathal
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Head of the Jews in Spain in Comparison to Head of the Jews in Egypt
No full textTwo big Jewish settlements were sitting on the shores of the Mediterranean in the 11th century: one in Fatimid Egypt, mainly in the city of Fustat, close to Cairo, the second in Muslim-Suni Spain, mainly in the cities of Cordova – the capital of the Umyyads caliphs, and Granada – the capital of the Granada Emirate.
How related were those two settlements to each other by means of communication, mutual influences, similar behavior and the main aspect: relying on a Muslim rule which might be similar in its basis but completely different in its outlook. This article aims to look at a certain institution of Jewish leadership in those two settlements, an institution that relies on a Muslim rule while supported by the Jewish community. It aims to inspect the validity of this institution's existence and the sources of its power and authority, and to view the system of connections and mutual influences between the two settlements, in spite of the different conditions within which they operated. The institution referred to is the nagid or "Head of Jews" - ra'is al-yahud, and methodological questions related to the research
A Short History of a “Perfect Woman:” The translations of the “Wife of Pharoah” Before, Through, and Beyond the Qur’ānic Milieu
Full text linkThe woman who pulled the baby Moses out of the river Nile appears in many the most ancient and classical sources of the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions. She has been translated repeatedly to become whatever a given epoch needs her to become. She has been the figure of a surrogate mother who intercedes on behalf of endangered children. She has been a symbol of purification by water and conversion to new ways of life. She has been a martyr at the hands of an evil tyrant, and most recently, she has been kindling for feminist readings of Islam. This paper is a history of this woman’s re-invention and renaming over time, as she moved from the deep past, through the Jewish and Islamic scriptures and various hagiographies, and finally into our own day
Repurposed Narratives: The Battle of Ṣiffīn and the Historical Memory of the Umayyad Dynasty
Full text linkThe Battle of Ṣiffīn (36/657) is the flash point in the emergence of sects within Islam. The presentation of the Ṣiffīn story in Arabic historical writing therefore changed over time as the sectarian split among Sunnīs and Shīʿites became increasingly defined. This paper will trace the development of the presentation of the Ṣiffīn story in Arabic histories across developing Sunnī and Shīʿite identity crystallization and the region of origin of their authors, as well as literary and stylistic developments in the field of Arabic historical writing.
The specific historians examined have been chosen in part because they demonstrate a particular chronological progression of the Ṣiffīn story from a fundamentally pro-ʿAlid episode of the first fitna to something approaching an pro-Umayyad apologetic, but also in part because they represent a broad spectrum of historiographical styles. This article will demonstrate that in these successive generations of historians, small (or large) changes in the presentation of the story, the main characters, and the style of narration reflect the regionally diverse and evolving sectarian memories, of Ṣiffīn in particular and the first fitna in general
Islam and Qur'anic figures in Africa: Prophets, Sages and Disciples
No full textThis is but a humble attempt to frame a discussion on Islam, prophetic voices and geographical spaces in Africa as territorial canvasses for sketching out Islam's sacred history. This way of thinking or conceptualizing about Africa is not as fashionable among Muslim Qur'anic scholars as it is among black Biblical theologians. Yet, this is not to suggest that the approach of this study is grounded in the Afro-centered methodology. Such an approach has its own place and serves certain ideological and cultural functions especially within a given African American diasporic scholarship. Rather, the aim of this research is two-fold: first, to critique Afro-centric thought and, second, to probe and re-center or re-state Africa's position within Islam's civilizational and spiritual narrative
Review of Sandu Frunză, Dumnezeu şi Holocaustul la Elie Wiesel: O etică a responsabilităţii (God and the Holocaust according to Elie Wiesel: An ethic of responsibility).
No full textIn God and the Holocaust according to Elie Wiesel: An ethic of responsibility Sandu Frunza, professor of philosophy at Babeş-Bolyai University, explores the philosophy of Elie Wiesel, a Jewish scholar and holocaust survivor. Despite his prison camp experiences, Wiesel retains his faith in God. His experiences lead him to advocate an ethic of memory and alterity. Frunza relates Wiesel’s experiences, his approach to the problem of evil, and his ethic in conversation with contemporary philosophers and Jewish scholarship
Hacer patria de David Blaustein: Reconstrucción colectiva e historia judeo-argentina reciente
No full textDavid Blaustein nos lleva en un recorrido íntimo por su familia migrante, el cual refleja la historia más abarcadora de una nación durante el siglo XX y XXI. Polonia, Argentina, España, Argentina. Blaustein y su familia hacen patria dándole a su identidad una maleabilidad en la que el judaísmo se filtra para ser parte del collage argentino. Sin embargo, es esta marca judaica—visible en los abuelos, invisible pero latente en los nietos—la que empuja a los miembros de esta familia a seguir rondando el mundo en su exilio intergeneracional.
Blaustein produce un documental en el que la inmigración y el exilio desestabilizan a su familia a través de los años a la vez que la unen en un espacio argentino-judío donde las fronteras se encuentran dentro del propio clan. Lo característico de este trabajo es lo colectivo del mismo: Es la inconfundible historia del inmigrante y, al mismo tiempo, es exclusivamente la historia de los Blaustein
Religion, Ideology and Discourse: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Majlis-e-Hussain
No full textThis paper intends to examine religious ideology and discourse conventions of majlis-e-Hussain; i.e. the speech to commemorate the martyrdom of Hussain, the grandson of Prophet Mohammad; from a critical discourse analysis (henceforth CDA) perspective. The analysis involves identification of multiple linguistic devices such as pronominalization, recontextualization, resemantisization, implicatures, interactional strategies and cohesive links; which serve to perpetuate the religious ideologies in Shi‘ah Muslims of Pakistan. In this way, this paper makes an attempt to highlight the way majlis discourse delegitimizes and deconstructs sectarian prejudice still prevalent in Pakistani society; and hence argues for a broader interpretation of majlis-e-Hussain than merely associating it with Moharram mourning rituals