Author Archives: SISR/ISSR General Secretary

Europe with or without Muslims – narratives of Europe

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Call for Papers
for a special issue for the Journal of Muslims in Europe
“Europe with or without Muslims – narratives of Europe”

Guest editors:
Göran Larsson, University of Gothenburg
Riem Spielhaus, University of Copenhagen

We are seeking papers for a special issue of the new double blind-peer reviewed Journal on Muslims in Europe by BRILL to come out in Spring 2013. This special issue seeks to take up tensions in conflicting stories about and different perspectives on Europe’s history and identity that present Europe without Muslims or contrastingly portray Muslims as part of Europe’s past and present.

Under the headline “Europe with or without Muslims – narratives of Europe” we aim to bring together a number of perspectives from multiple disciplinary fields such as history, religious studies, cultural anthropology, political science and sociology in an analysis of diverging accounts and notions of Europe over time and places throughout the continent, open as well to external perspectives. The initial question thereby is, what role Islam and Muslims have played and still play in the imagining of what Europe means. (See more details on different possible themes for contributions below.)

This way we aim to direct our view at the nexus between constructions of Europe and developments within contemporary European Islam providing space both for a critical review of academic approaches and the development of new impulses for future research.

Besides empirical papers we strongly encourage theoretical papers that challenge current research on Islam and Muslims in Europe and reflect on the own position of the researchers and his or her contributions to the construction of Europe and the role and function of Islam and Muslims.

We invite papers that address one of the topics of two sessions described below. Deadline for sending your abstracts: July the 1st, 2012<https://secure.mail.ibt.ku.dk/owa/UrlBlockedError.aspx>. Accepted participants will be notified by July 20, 2012<https://secure.mail.ibt.ku.dk/owa/UrlBlockedError.aspx>. If your paper is accepted, you must submit the final paper (max 10,000 words inclusive of footnotes) by 20 October 2012<https://secure.mail.ibt.ku.dk/owa/UrlBlockedError.aspx>.

Applications to submit a short paper should include: 1. Proposer’s name and affiliation, 2. a title for the paper, 3. a ca. 500 word abstract.

All abstracts and paper should be written in English.
Time frame:
Deadline for abstracts (ca. 500 words) 1.July 2012
Deadline for sending final papers 20.October 2012
Publication 15.March 2013

Paper proposals should be send electronically in Microsoft Word formats to Göran Larsson, University of Gothenburg: goran.larsson@religion.gu.se and Riem Spielhaus, University of Copenhagen: rsp@teol.ku.dk.

For this special issue we invite papers on the narratives imagining Europe with and without Muslims analyzing contents, actors and setting of those narratives that relate to one or several of the following questions:

1. Localizing debates connecting Europe and Islam:
• In what way are debates about Europe and its identity mentioning the European past with reference to Muslim’s presence in Europe on the local, regional, national or European Union level? How do these different levels (local, regional, national, transnational) intersect?

2. Imagining Europe without Muslims:
• What are the main patterns of the dominant constructions of Europe’s heritage like notions of a Judaeo-Christian heritage? Where and by whom are these narratives told? To what extent are they embedded in European integration or projects of community or nation-building?

3. Narratives of Europe inclusive of Muslims:
• In what cases is the Muslim history of Europe used as counter narrative to question the construction of Europe as a Christian continent? What groups of people insist on an imagination of Europe with Muslims? How are these narratives used to strengthen a feeling of belonging and responsibility of current Muslims?

4. Contextualizing Islam debates in European history of thought:
• Is it possible to make any comparison between current debates about Islam and Muslims and previous debates about ties between religions and national identities e.g. different Christian denominations in early modern Europe?

5. Imagining Europe from outside:
• How is the relationship between Europe and its Muslim inhabitants viewed beyond the Mediterranean? Do accounts of European history and presentations of the contemporary Europe from within and without bear considerable differences?

Engaging the Spirit World – Popular Beliefs and Practices in Modern Southeast Asia

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Berghahn Books are pleased to announce the recent publication in of Engaging the Spirit World – Popular Beliefs and Practices in Modern Southeast Asia, edited by Kirsten W. Endres and Andrea Lauser. Additional information is provided in this online flyer which offers the book at a 50% discount:
https://www.berghahnbooks.com/extras/docs/flyer/EndresEngaging_9780857453587.html

For further details on this title or any other from Berghahn Books, please visit www.berghahnbooks.com or contact Ben Parker (ben.parker@berghahnbooks.com)

Social scientists examine Islam and the lives of Muslims: 18 May 2012

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Registration is now open for an exciting ‘expert seminar’ sponsored by the Islamic Studies Network on 18 May 2012 at London Metropolitan University. Please register on our website here: Social Scientists examine Islam and the lives of Muslims
<http://www.islamicstudiesnetwork.ac.uk/islamicstudiesnetwork/events/display
id=/events/alldetails/2012/academyevents/Social_Sciences_Islamic_18_May_2012>

The event will consist of four 30 minute presentations, followed by 30 minutes discusssion time for each of the following speakers:
* Nilu Ahmed (Swansea University): Mosques, media and mehfils: changing religious meanings and practice among first generation Bangladeshi women in London
* Professor Shaheen Ali (University of Warwick): Balancing Multiculturalism, Legal Pluralism and Muslim Women’s Rights: A Critical Look at Shari’a Councils in Britain
* Dr Nasar Meer (Northumbria University): Misrecognising Muslim Consciousness in Europe
* Dr Sara Silvestri (City University London): Unpacking and repacking Islam and the political Respondents: Professors Mona Siddiqui (University of Edinburgh) and Jeff Haynes (London Metropolitan University) Chair/convenor: Max Farrar (Emeritus Professor, Leeds Met University)

A full programme is available online. Please forward widely. Lisa Dr Lisa Bernasek Academic Coordinator, Islamic Studies Network www.islamicstudiesnetwork.ac.uk<http://www.islamicstudiesnetwork.ac.uk> LLAS: Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies University of Southampton | Avenue Campus | Southampton | SO17 1BJ +44 (0) 23 8059 9637 | www.llas.ac.uk 
To receive our monthly e-bulletin, register at http://www.llas.ac.uk/mailinglist

Localizing Islam in Europe:Turkish Islamic Communities in Germany and the Netherlands

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Yukleyen, Ahmet (2012) Localizing Islam in Europe:Turkish Islamic Communities in Germany and the Netherlands (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press)

1. Please find the link below to access the recording of the book launch at the Woodrow Wilson Center at a panel with Jocelyne Cesari and Peter Mandaville. http://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/localizing-islam-europe-turkish-islamic-communities-germany-and-the-netherlands

2. Here is a short online article based on the book: http://www.e-ir.info/2012/04/10/localizing-islam-in-europe-religious-activism-among-turkish-islamic-communities/

3. Book Description:
In the twentieth century, Muslim minorities emerged in Europe seeking work, a refuge from conflict, and higher life standards. As a result, thereare now more than 12 million Muslims in Western Europe. As these immigrants became permanent residents, the Islamic communities they developed had to respond to their European context, reinterpreting Islam in accordance with local conditions. In Localizing Islam in Europe, Yükleyen brings this adaptation to light, demonstrating how Islam and Europe have shaped one another and challenging the idea that Islamic beliefs are inherently antithetical to European secular, democratic, and pluralist values.

Yûkleyen compares five different forms of religious communities among Muslim immigrants in the Netherlands and Germany that represent a spectrum from moderate to revolutionary Islamic opinions. Drawing on extensive fieldwork, he finds that, despite differences in goals and beliefs, these communities play an intermediary role, negotiating between the social and religious needs of Muslims and the socioeconomic, legal, and political context of Europe. Yûkleyen’s rich ethnography shows that there is no single form of assimilated and privatized “European Islam” but rather Islamic communities and their interpretations and practices that localize Islam in Europe.

“Ahmet Yükleyen provides a clear and convincing account of the different orientations of the major Turkish religious institutions in Germany and the Netherlands. All those interested in Islam in Europe today should read this book.”-John R. Bowen, author of Can Islam Be French? Pluralism and Pragmatism in a Secularist State “A compelling and important contribution to our understanding of Islam in Europe.”-Esra Özyürek, University of California, San Diego “Ahmet Yukleyen’s Localizing Islam in Europe cuts through the shrill debates to provide a rich and authoritative portrait of the lived reality of Muslims adapting to life in Europe. His insights will be invaluable for student, scholars, and policymakers alike.” –Peter Mandaville, George Mason University, author of Global Political Islam

UNCIIR-AP lecture

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The UNESCO Chair in Interreligious and Intercultural Relations – Asia Pacific
2012 Lecture series
presents

“Globalisation and Americanisation: Religious and Sporting Minorities; Mormons and Australian Basketball”

By Professor Fred Woods
Brigham Young University

May 10, 4-6 pm,
Monash University Caulfield campus
The Link Theatre bldg S 2.30
Melways p 68 (F,1)

Dr. Fred E. Woods completed a B.S. degree in Psychology (1981) and a M.S. degree in International Relations (1985) from Brigham Young University.  In 1991 he earned a Ph.D. in Middle East Studies from the University of Utah with an emphasis in Hebrew Bible.  He is a professor at Brigham Young University in the department of Church History & Doctrine. Dr. Woods has lectured at many universities in America and internationally and is the author of several books and many articles. Professor Woods is a bridge builder among peoples of varied cultures and faiths.  His most recent books are Gathering to Laie (co-authored, 2011) and Mormon Yankees: Giants On and Off the Court  (Spring 2012)

The UNESCO Chair in Interreligious and Intercultural Relations – Asia Pacific (UNCIIR-AP) supports and conducts policy relevant research in interreligious relations, promotes interreligious and intercultural understanding  through seminars, publications and participation in policy debates, and direct involvement in efforts to reduce intergroup tensions. The UNCIIR-AP works with the United Nations – Alliance of Civilizations, and governments at all levels in the region. With Associates and Fellows in Malaysia, Indonesia, New Zealand and Australia the UNCIIR-AP works through UNESCO’s UNITWIN program to foster links among Universities in the region. The UNCIIR-AP is part of the School of Political and Social Inquiry.

Pilgrimage and Sacred Places in Central and Eastern Europe: Place, Politics and Religious Tourism

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Pilgrimage and Sacred Places in Central and Eastern Europe: Place, Politics and Religious Tourism
University of Zadar, Croatia
27-30 September 2012

John Eade (University College London and University of Roehampton), Mario Katic (University of Zadar, Department of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology), Božena Krce Miocic (University of Zadar, Department of Tourism and Communication Sciences) and Tomislav Klarin (University of Zadar, Department of Tourism and Communication Sciences)

Call for Papers

With the global expansion of travel and tourism more and more people are engaged in what can be broadly described as religious tourism. According to the UNWTO, for example, in 2008 300 million tourists claimed that their trips were motivated in one way or another by religion. Pilgrimage plays a key role in such religious tourism and it is now attracting the attention of a wide variety of experts, e.g. religious leaders, those involved in the travel and tourism industry and academic researchers.

Theoretical debates are moving beyond earlier communitas and contestation models and a more global reach is emerging as researchers explore beyond W. Europe and the Americas, examine the increasing religious diversity caused by global migration and investigate the intimate, historic links between pilgrimage, sacred places, politics and tourism. In this conference we want to contribute to this widening focus by bringing together academics from different disciplines and travel and tourism professionals to explore pilgrimage across Eastern Europe broadly conceived as extending beyond W. Europe. In this way we seek to look at different religious traditions, e.g. Orthodox, Catholic and Muslim, and territorial ties (local, national, transnational, global).

We invite papers which will explore:

• Construction and deconstruction of sacred places
• Embodied spaces and body as a mediator
• Pilgrimage as a form of religious tourism
• Relationship between travel and tourism industry
• Pilgrimage and territorial boundaries
• Politics and Pilgrimage in the past and today
• Pilgrimage in memories and narratives
• Tourist ab/use of pilgrimage and sacred places
• Tourist perspectives on the pilgrimage journey
• Secular pilgrimage and tourism
• The realm of pilgrimage / tourism experience

Keynote speakers:

Josef Langer, University of Klagenfurt
Glenn Bowman, University of Kent
John Eade, University College London/University of Roehampton

Program committee:

Josef Langer (University of Klagenfurt), Glenn Bowman (University of Kent), John Eade (University College London/University of Roehampton), Jurica Pavicic (Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb), Nikša Alfirevic (Faculty of Economics, University of Split), Marijana Belaj (Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb), Božena Krce Miocic (Department of Tourism and Communication Sciences, University of Zadar), Mario Katic (Department of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology, University of Zadar).

Submission details:

Abstracts (up to 350-words in Word doc.), with contact details and affiliation, should be sent to the conference E-mail address (pilgrimageandsacred@gmail.com), or to Božena Krce Miocic (krceb@unizd.hr) or Mario Katic (makatic@unizd.hr) by 1th May 2012.
You will be informed about acceptance or non-acceptance of your proposal by 15th May 2012.

Conference participation fees
Participation fee is € 50
The participation fee includes all symposium proceedings, daytime refreshments, excursions to the Croatian royal city and a pilgrimage place of Nin, and tourist guidance through Zadar.

Accommodation and website

Accommodation is not included in the conference fee. Further information about travel, accommodation and conference program will be available on the conference website: www.pilgrimageandsacred.info

Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in World Christianities and their Diaspora in a European Context

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University of Cambridge Faculty of Divinity

Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in World Christianities and their Diaspora in a European Context

Applications are invited for a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in World Christianities and their Diaspora in a European Context. The proposed focus of research should address pressing matters of social integration, citizenship, post-colonialism and the changing nature of World Christianities. It will identify how religion helps migrants establish new lives in Europe and how religious and other institutions are changed through their encounter with migrant communities.

We would welcome applications from sociologists, social anthropologists or social and cultural historians. This post would particularly suit applicants whose doctoral work has focused on the Global South, and who are interested in investigating the movement of such populations into Western Europe. An application should be accompanied by a short statement of proposed research.

Here’s the entry on the Faculty web site:
http://www.divinity.cam.ac.uk/news-and-events/vacancies

Postdoctoral Fellowship in Islamic Feminist Studies – Wheaton College

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MELLON POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP IN ISLAMIC FEMINIST STUDIES
WHEATON COLLEGE
NORTON, MA

The Womens Studies Program at Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts, will offer a one-year postdoctoral fellowship in Islamic Feminist Studies in 2012-2013.

The Womens Studies Program at Wheaton College is pleased to announce a one- year postdoctoral fellowship supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

The fellow will pursue research and teach three courses in the Womens Studies Program during the appointment, including Transnational Feminisms, Introduction to Womens Studies or Feminist Theory, and a course in his or her area of specialty. Womens Studies is particularly interested in scholars of Islamic Feminism working on critical sexualities, but welcomes applications from all scholars in this field.

The salary is $45,000 with full benefits and a research allocation of $1,500 during the 2012 2013 academic year.

Wheaton is a private coeducational liberal arts college of 1550 students located within easy commuting distance of Boston and Providence. Womens Studies has a rich history at Wheaton College which is a stimulating environment in which to pursue feminist research. The broad interdisciplinary nature of Womens Studies will allow the selected fellow to become fully integrated into the life of the college. The fellow also will participate in seminars and other activities organized by Womens Studies. The fellow will be mentored by a senior scholar in the Womens Studies Program, and our faculty have significant mentoring experience with new teachers in postdoctoral and junior faculty appointments. We seek candidates who are committed to strengthening their teaching in a liberal arts setting.

Candidates should submit a CV, cover letter, evidence of teaching effectiveness, sample syllabi including a brief description of the specialized course the candidate would like to offer, and 3 letters of recommendation to Kim Miller, Coordinator of Womens Studies at miller_kim@wheatoncollege.edu. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis. Applicants must have finished all requirements for the PhD by August 27, 2012.

Sociology of Islam Journal (Brill)

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CALL FOR PAPERS:
SOCIOLOGY OF ISLAM JOURNAL (BRILL)
FALL 2012 Volume 1
ISSN: 2213-140x E-ISSN: 2213-1418

The Sociology of Islam Journal (www.brill.nl/soi) invites article submissions for the first issue, which will be published in the Fall of 2012. We are delighted to announce the founding of the peer-reviewed, academic journal, the Sociology of Islam (SOI) to be published by Brill once a year beginning in the Fall of 2012.

Since Max Weber’s groundbreaking research on the sociology of religion, sociologists have grappled with aspects of religion both at the theoretical and empirical levels. While an increasing number of social scientists, particularly in recent decades, have employed innovative sociological frameworks for the study of Islam, this promising sub-discipline has so far lacked its own academic journal. The Sociology of Islam is intended to bridge this gap by functioning as an academic forum for the publication of innovative contributions to the study of Islam and Muslim societies. For the first issue of Sociology of Islam, we welcome article contributions that address theoretical dimensions of the sociology of Islam and Muslim societies. Submissions for this issue are expected to explore the importance of the sociology of Islam and the influential contributions, current trends and future prospects, and the competing sociological frameworks that apply to the study of Islam. Please email your draft article of 7000-10,000 words by no later than Monday September 3rd.

If you need further information, please do not hesitate contact us:

Contact: Tugrul Keskin or Gary Wood
Editor
Email: sociologyofislam@yahoo.com

Our book review editors are: Mustafa Gurbuz (mustafa.gurbuz@uconn.edu) and Joshua D. Hendrick (jdhendrick@loyola.edu)

Best to all,
Gary Wood, Najm al-Din Yousefi and Tugrul Keskin

SOCIOLOGY OF ISLAM JOURNAL (BRILL)
FALL 2012 Volume 1
ISSN: 2213-140x E-ISSN: 2213-1418

Associate Editors
· Armando Salvatore (University of Naples)
· Asef Bayat (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
· Bryan S. Turner (CUNY)
· Mohammed A. Bamyeh (The University of Pittsburgh)
· Najm al-Din Yousefi (California State University)
· Tahir Abbas (Fatih University)

Editor-in-Chief
· Gary Wood (Virginia Tech)
· Tugrul Keskin (Portland State University)

Editorial Board
· Babak Rahimi, (UC San Diego)
· Birol Baskan (Georgetown University – Doha, Qatar)
· Carool Kersten (King’s College London)
· Cihan Tugal (UC Berkeley)
· Gary Wood (Virginia Tech)
· Ibrahim Kalin (Georgetown University)
· Jeremy Walton (New York University)
· Mohammad Nafissi (SOAS)
· Mohammedmoin Sadeq (Qatar University)
· Nader Hashemi (University of Denver)
· Nuri Tinaz (Marmara University)
· Shah Mahmoud Hanifi (James Madison University)
· Tahir Abbas (Fatih University)
· Talip Kucukcan (Marmara University and SETA)
· Ted Fuller (Virginia Tech)

Book Review Editors
· Joshua Hendrick (Loyola University of Maryland)
· Mustafa Gurbuz (University of Connecticut)

International Advisory Board:
· Ali Akbar Mahdi (Ohio Wesleyan University)
· Ayesha Jalal (Tufts University)
· Berna Turam (Northeastern University)
· Birol Yesilada (Portland State University)
· Charles Kurzman (UNC Chapel Hill)
· Daromir Rudnyckyj (University of Victoria)
· Ejaz Akram (Lahore University of Management Sciences)
· Hamid Dabashi (Columbia University)
· Husnul Amin (International Islamic University, Islamabad)
· Kemal Silay (Indiana University)
· Jocelyne Cesari (Harvard University)
· Judith Blau (The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill)
· Mariusz Turowski (The University of Wroclaw)
· Martin van Bruinessen (Utrecht University)
· Mehran Kamrava (Georgetown University – Doha, Qatar)
· Muqtedar Khan, (Universiyt of Delaware)
· Mumtaz Ahmad (International Islamic University, Islamabad)
· Rachel Woodlock (Monash University) · Steven Wright (Qatar University)
· Tim Luke (Virginia Tech)

Tugrul Keskin Assistant Professor of International and Middle Eastern Studies Affiliated Faculty of Black Studies Sociology and Center for Turkish Studies Middle East Studies
Coordinator (INTL) Portland State University

Editor of Sociology of Islam Journal (Brill)

Cell: 202-378-8606 (USA) Cell: 5541-6697 (Qatar) Cell: 533-607-8465 (Turkey) Skype: keskintugrul