187 research outputs found
Religion as a pillar for establishing a civilization: Al-M?ward?‘s perspective
No full textThis study examines religion in terms of establishing and maintaining a civilization based on Ab? al-?asan al-M?ward?‘s (d. 1058) contribution, “Kit?b adab al-duny? wa-al-d?n.” In this paper, the central argument is that religion is a pillar for establishing and maintaining civilization. There are no possibilities for a civilization to be constituted and maintained without a central role for religion. I will elaborate on the meaning of religion from al-M?ward?‘s perspective and its role in constructing a civilization. This paper considers several religious notions and concepts proposed by al-M?ward? for this purpose. For instance, ‘al-Targh?b wa al-Tarh?b’ (persuasion and intimidation) and al-ulfah (social affinity) indicate how religion can affect individual behaviors and actions and helps create and maintain civilization. As a methodology, this paper analyses al-M?ward?‘s contribution and compares it with significant contributions to civilization Studies. It concludes that a profound understanding of religion’s role in any civilization gives a proper direction for understanding civilization and how religion can enhance and improve people’s behavior and manners, which reflects positively on religion’s role in establishing and preserving a civilization. © 2021, University of Management and Technology. All rights reserved
Transgender as a Humanitarian Category
No full textAbstract In this article, the author foregrounds transgender as a useful category of analysis to shed light on the issue of gender variance and its articulations within the encounter between Syrian queer and gender-variant refugees and the humanitarian-asylum complex. Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted with Syrian queer and gender-variant refugees in Istanbul in 2014 and 2015, this article contends that transgender as a term first circulates among the queer and gender-variant circles as a thinkable possibility primarily through its function as a humanitarian category, especially as propagated by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). By highlighting this specific encounter, the author attempts to demonstrate, however, that rather than focusing on what the term does to the persons it interpellates, one must map out and document the ways the term is taken up and negotiated by the Syrian queer and gender-variant populations themselves, a method that could help ameliorate the negativity attached to transgender as a Western term and show that other systems of identification and histories of gender variance in the Syrian or Syrian diasporic contexts do not simply disappear or are subsumed by transgender, but are further complicated by it and continue to exist alongside it
El-Mâverdî'nin eserleri aracılığıyla bir medeniyet teorisi inşası
No full textThe bulk of this dissertation on the 11th-century Muslim scholar Ab? al-?asan al-M?ward? (974 - 1058) focuses mainly on his book “Adab al-Duny? wa-al-D?n.” Most studies on al-M?ward? have concentrated on either his political or legal contributions while less attention has been given to al-M?ward?’s other works. This dissertation aims primarily to cover this gap through an attempt to construct a theory of civilization. In such an attempt, the thesis will utilize his works to reach a new model that answers significant questions, namely those of how we comprehend civilization in contemporary times. The study proposes a profound and comprehensive outline of al-M?ward?’s thoughts on how civilization is formed. It consists of two parts, each containing three chapters. The first part, entitled “Essential Foundations of al-M?ward?’s Theory of Civilization,” includes three major concepts: reason, ?ilm (system of knowledge), and religion. These three notions are analyzed in relation to civilization's construction. My main argument is that civilization cannot be established without a central role for these concepts. The second part, entitled “Implementation Aspects of al-M?ward?’s Theory of Civilization,” consists of three chapters. The first considers the structures of the social world and the individual’s role in society. Al-M?ward? insists that people’s well-being and welfare depends on individual discipline and collective structures. The second chapter focuses essentially on personal discipline. My argument is that civilization cannot be established without personal discipline. The last chapter is on informal institutional theory; my central argument is that al-M?ward? aims to develop informal institutions to maintain social stability…11. yüzyıl Müslüman alimi olan Ebû el-Hasan El-Mâverdî (974-1058) hakkındaki bu tezin büyük kısmı onun, “adab al-duny? wa¬al¬d?n” adlı kitabına odaklanmıştır. Al-M?ward? hakkında yapılan çalışmaların çoğunluğu onun siyasi veya hukuki çalışmalarına odaklanmışken, diğer eserlerine daha az ilgi gösterilmiştir. Öncelikle bu araştırma bir medeniyet teorisi inşa etme girişimi ile böyle bir boşluğu kapatmayı amaçlamaktadır. Böylelikle tez, modern zamanlarda medeniyeti nasıl anladığımıza dair onun bazı önemli eserlerini kullanacaktır. Çalışma, Medeniyet Çerçevesi oluşturmak için, el-Mâverdî’nin düşüncelerinin derin ve kapsamlı bir taslağını sunmaktadır. İki kısım ve her biri üç bölüm içeren çalışmanın ilk bölümü “el-Mâverdî’nin Medeniyet Teorisinin Esas Temelleri” başlıklı ve üç ana kavram içermektedir: akıl, ilim ve din. Bu üç kavram medeniyetin inşası ile ilişkili olarak analiz edilmiştir. Ana argümanım söz konusu üç kavram olmaksızın medeniyet inşasının mümkün olamayacağıdır. “El-Mâverdî’nin Medeniyet Teorisinin Uygulama Yönleri” başlıklı ikinci bölüm üç kısımdan oluşmaktadır. Birinci kısım sosyal dünyanın yapısını ve bireyin toplumdaki rolünü ele almaktadır. El-Mâverdî, insanların iyiliği ve refahının bireysel disiplin ve kolektif yapılar gerektirdiği konusunda ısrar etmektedir. İkinci kısım esas olarak kişisel disipline odaklanmaktadır. Buradaki iddiam, kişisel disiplin olmaksızın bir medeniyetin varlığından söz edilemez.”. Son kısım, resmi olmayan kurumlar üzerinedir; ElMâverdî’nin toplumdaki istikrarı sürdürmek için resmi olmayan kurumları geliştirmeyi hedeflemesi, ana argümanımdır
Entrustment ethics and secularism: Taha Abdurrahman’s perspective
No full textWith an ethical-centered philosophy, Taha Abdurrahman remains one of the most significant and sophisticated Arab philosophers of today. This review article seeks to elaborate on two of his recent books, which builds on and compliments his vision of philosophical independence,, particularly his ‘Entrustment Ethics’ (Al-ʾtimāniya). Throughout two volumes, he aims to construct an ethical philosophy on the foundation of faith, as an alternative to Western ethics. In Volume I Abdurrahman establishes his ethical philosophy that is grounded in what he conceives as three Quranic Covenants: Testimony, establishing man’s responsibility before God, Entrustment, establishing man’s duties and responsibilities on earth, and Transmission, introducing an ideal form of conduct through the role model of God’s Prophets and Messengers. The second volume projects Abdurrahman’s theory on Western established ethical theories and Western ethical and political thought in a broader sense, wherein he both illustrates and critiques theories proposed by thinkers, including, inter alia, Christine Korsgaard, Robert Merrihew Adams, Annette Baier, and John Rawls
Ten Myths About Israel
No full textIsrael was constructed upon myths, historical disinformation, and fabrications. On the one hand, there are those myths about the Self through which Israel depicts and presents itself to the world, such as claiming to be the only ‘democracy’ in the Middle East; on the other, there are the myths about Palestine and Palestinians, i.e. those whose very history and existence Israel denies. The well-known Zionist statement about Palestine being “a land without a people” is an example of how the Israeli myth is perpetuated. Pappe’s book Ten myths about Israel is a work that tackles a number of these myths and fallacies that the Zionist movement and its product, the State of Israel, have invented. The book contains ten chapters divided into three parts
Political Tyranny and Ethics: Insights From the Contributions of Al-Kawakibi and Taha Abdurahman
No full textEssays in Late Ottoman to Post-Ottoman Intellectual History, Vol. I / Editor:Hasan Aksakal -- Beyoğlu Kitabevi -- ISBN 978-625-98111-4-7 -- 2023.Many Western scholars, especially Orientalists, have equated
the notion of tyranny with the East,1
perpetuating a solid asso ciation between tyranny, despotism, and authoritarianism with
certain regions of the world.2
The term ‘Oriental despotism’ is
frequently repeated, often with the assumption that there is a
natural relationship between the Orient, Islam, and the oppressive governance.3
Similarly, democracy and its associated values
are mainly attributed to the West and its countries,4
with de mocracy and tyranny being highlighted as the most pronounced
distinctions between the Western and the non-Western realms.5
The discussion of tyranny and democracy is relevant to societal
ethics, as tyranny is seen as a symbol of evil and immorality,
while democracy is generally perceived as the embodiment of
righteousness and virtue
The Nature of Tyranny and the Devastating Results of Oppression.
No full textThe Nature of Tyranny was written and published at the dawn of the twentieth century by Abdul Rahman Al-Kawakibi, one of the pioneering thinkers of the Arab world. More than a century later, another Arab awakening exploded, led by a new generation of youth who chanted Al-Kawakibi's words in revolutionary cries from Aleppo, his hometown, to Cairo's Tahrir Square. Today this seminal text appears in English for the first time, with a foreword from Leon T. Goldsmith offering an overview of Al-Kawakibi's intellectual contributions. The first chapter of the text provides a definition of tyranny, presenting it as akin to a sickness or malaise that seeps into all classes of society, leaving behind decay. The following seven chapters apply this conception of tyranny to what Al-Kawakibi sees as society's crucial elements: religion, knowledge, honor, economy, ethics and progress. Having laid a theoretical framework for understanding the centrality of tyranny, its characteristics and its devastating effects, Al-Kawakibi concludes by setting forth a brief program for remedying the "disease" of tyranny. The final chapter outlines another book in which he had planned to elaborate upon his ideas, but, ultimately, his fate arrived too soon
No Peace for Palestine: The Long War Against Gaza, Occupation and Resistance
No full text[No Abstract Available
The Role of Reason in Establishing Civilization: Insights from Classical Muslim Perspectives
No full textThe role of reason in initiating and maintaining civilisation, as elucidated by Abū al-Ḥasan al-Māwardī (d. 1058), is pivotal, serving as the faculty for distinguishing good from bad and guiding behaviour. Al-Māwardī divides reason into two stages: natural and acquired. This understanding of reason is shared by other scholars, such as al-Muḥāsibī (d. 857) and Ibn abi al-Dunyā (d. 894). Hawá or desire is seen as antithesis to reason, serving as a manifestation of ethical corruption and instigating perpetual conflict. To build any society, reason takes a central role at individual and societal levels. This article argues that there are no possibilities for a civilisation to be constituted and maintained without a central role for reason. This article analyses al- Māwardi’s conception of reason in relation to civilisation. Al-Māwardī contends that reason not only serves as the cornerstone for societal development, but also facilitates understanding of religion, an essential aspect in his ideology. This article concludes that deep understanding of reason’s role in civilisation provides an appropriate direction for understanding civilisation and how reason can enhance and improve people’s decent conduct and manners
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