Journal Announcement: Sociology of Islam, Volume 3 (2015) Issue 1-2 (Brill)

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Sociology of Islam: Volume 3 (2015) Issue 1-2
EDITORS: Tugrul Keskin and Gary Wood
Sectarian Affiliation and Gender Traditionalism: A Study of Sunni and Shi’a Muslims in Four Predominantly Muslim Countries
Authors: Gabriel A. Acevedo and Sarah Shah
ABSTRACT:
This paper will add to the expanding scholarship in the sociology of Islam and explore the influence of Sunni-Shi’a affiliation on views of gender traditionalism. Using a subset of the World Values Survey, we contrast views towards women’s roles in society held by Sunni and Shi’a respondents in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and Pakistan (n = 10,799). Our findings suggest that views of gender traditionalism are not solely a function of sectarian affiliation but that educational attainment, income, demographic factors and national culture are stronger and more consistent predictors of gender traditionalism than sectarian affiliation alone. We draw from theories of religious incongruence and discuss the theoretical implications of our findings. These findings suggest the need for additional research that links sociological theories of religion to the empirical study of Islam, as well as a greater emphasis on the role that social context plays in shaping Muslim public opinion.
Affiliations: 1: Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Texas at San Antonio, gabriel.acevedo@utsa.edu ; 2: Doctoral Student, University of Toronto, ssarah.shah@mail.utoronto.ca
Al-Qaida in Iraq Beyond Rhetoric: Visualizing an ‘Islamic State of Iraq’
Author: Christoph Guenther
ABSTRACT:
In any contest for power, the multiple actors involved employ various strategies to convey their messages to national and international audiences. The contest for control over the state between the Iraqi government forces and Jihadist groups after 2003 has seen the latter deploy both rhetoric and particular forms of visualization to persuade their audience of the need to establish an ‘Islamic State’ in Iraq and beyond. This article evaluates the extent to which al-Qāʿida in Iraq ( aqi) and its successor the ‘Islamic State of Iraq’ ( isi) have tried to appeal to supporters by employing specific rhetorical and visual signs. It analyzes the group’s utopian prospects – a vision that is reinforced through rhetoric and images that play on emotions and inspire the adherents of the ‘Islamic State’.
Affiliations: 1: University of Leipzig Leipzig, GermanyRitterstr. 12, 04109 Leipzig (Germany) christoph.guenther@uni-leipzig.de
The 1961 Constitutional Referendum in Turkey
Authors: Yunus Emre and Burak Cop
ABSTRACT:
The 1961 referendum on the new constitution was the first referendum held in the history of the Turkish republic. However, no deeper analysis of this phenomenon has been conducted in the English-language academic literature. This paper undertakes that objective. The new constitution was drafted and adopted under anti-democratic conditions. The post-coup era was a missed opportunity for instituting a stronger democracy. The referendum was the last nationwide vote in which traditional actors played significant roles in determining voting behavior. The notables and major landowners of the under-developed provinces led the masses to vote in favor of the new constitution. Starting in 1965, politics in Turkey became ideology-centered and class-oriented, thus causing the influence of traditional actors to diminish. Although the campaign for votes to support the referendum dominated the political scene in 1961, the electorate showed its distance from the coup anyway.
Affiliations: 1: Assistant Professor, Department of International Relations, Istanbul Kültür University, y.emre@iku.edu.tr; 2: Assistant Professor, Department of International Relations, Istanbul Kültür University, burakcop@yahoo.co.uk
Globalization, Political Islam, and Moderation: The Case of Muslim Democratic Parties
Author: A. Kadir Yildirim
ABSTRACT:
In this article, I examine the rising significance of a moderate kind of Islamist party emerging in the Middle East in recent years—Muslim democratic parties—and, the factors underlying their electoral success. In this, the manuscript takes a closer look at an important constituency of Islamist parties, the small and medium business owners ( smes). Briefly, I argue that smes’ support underlies the success of moderate Muslim democratic parties as opposed to more conservative Islamist parties, and what determines smes’ support for a moderate party is the change in their political preferences. The change in smepreferences, I show, is due to the form that economic liberalization takes, whether economic liberalization is more inclusive (what I call competitive liberalization) or exclusive/selective (what I call crony liberalization). Empirically, I rely on original field interviews I conducted with party officials and business owners in Egypt, Morocco, and Turkey. I also integrate primary sources such as party publications into the analysis.
Affiliations: 1: Baker Institute for Public Policy, Rice University, ay18@rice.edu

 

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Two conferences in Africa in July 2016

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From 4th to 8th July 2016, the Centre for Christian-Muslim Relations in Eastleigh, St. Paul’s University, Kenya, will host a conference on Faiths and (In)security in Africa.

The AASR Conference will take place at the University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, from 26th to 29th July 2016. The theme is ‘Religion, Sexuality, and Identity in Africaand the African Diaspora’.

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Journal Announcement: Politics and Religion Journal (Vol. 9, No. 2) is now available online

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Dear members of ISA’s RC 22,
it is my great pleasure to inform you that the new issue of the Politics and Religion Journal (PRJ) is now available!  Topic of this issue is “Politics and Religion in Europe”, with Dr. Roberto Cipriani as a guest editor.
You can find more information about this issue on the IPSA’s website, while the direct link to the articles is available on the Journal’s web page.
On behalf of the PRJ,
Marko Vekovic

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CfP: Graduate Student Conference in Arabic and Islamic studies

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Crossing the borders. Interdisciplinary research in Arabic and Islamic studies

Yerevan State University, Yerevan, Armenia, May 2016

The Chair of Arabic Studies at Yerevan State University in cooperation
with Middle Orient project is pleased to invite graduate students (MA
and PhD) and recent post-docs of all fields associated with Arabic and
Islamic Studies (broadly defined) to present their recent research
during the graduate conference entitled Crossing the borders.
Interdisciplinary research in Arabic and Islamic studies, which will
take place in the first week of May 2016 (the exact date of the
conference will be specified later).

Research papers are accepted on all aspects of Arabic and Islamic
studies, including, but not limited to:
–Islamic Studies (History, religion, politics)
–Arabic Literature
–Arabic Linguistics
–The History of Arabic countries
–The Arab world in the framework of international relations
–Intercultural dialogue
–The topical issues of Arab Middle East

Each participant will be expected to speak for no longer than 20
minutes. At the end of each session the discussion will be opened by
the session moderator.

Submission process

For submitting a paper proposal, please send an abstract of proposed
paper (no more than 300 words) and a current CV to
graduateconferenceysu@gmail.com by 15th of February, 2016. Abstracts
should provide a brief description of the work, clearly outlining the
theoretical perspectives and methodology to be applied in the paper.

Notifications of acceptance will be sent until 29th of February, 2016.

All proposals will be subjected to peer-reviews. The selected papers
will be published in the proceeding volume of “Arabic Studies”- the
annually published official journal of the Chair of Arabic Studies,
YSU.

For any enquiries regarding the conference, please contact
info@middleorient.com.

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Job Opening: Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Gender Studies with reference to the Middle East and Islam – University of Exeter

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Combining world class research with very high levels of student satisfaction we are a member of the Russell Group and now have over 19,000 students. In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) Exeter was ranked 16th nationally with 98% of its research rated as being of international quality.

The Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies has the strongest REF2014 results of any Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies department in the UK, establishing Exeter as the leader in the field in terms of research quality, impact and environment. Our international profile as a pioneering and multidisciplinary institute continues to grow.

In this role you will contribute to extending the research profile of the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies in the College of Social Sciences and International Studies at Exeter, particularly in areas related or complementary to the study of Gender with reference to the modern Middle East and/or Islam.

You will hold a PhD or equivalent in Middle East Studies, Politics, Sociology, Anthropology, Gender Studies or related fields, and have an independent, internationally-recognised research programme in an active field of Social Science and Gender Studies research related or complementary to existing Exeter strengths. You must be able to demonstrate the following qualities and characteristics: a strong record in attracting research funding, or demonstrable potential to attract such funding, teamwork skills to work in collaboration with existing group members, an active and supportive approach to inter-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary research that will help to foster interactions and links both within the University and externally, the attitude and ability to engage in continuous professional development, the aptitude to develop familiarity with a variety of strategies to promote and assess learning and enthusiasm for delivering undergraduate programmes. Experience of fieldwork in the relevant regions and linguistic proficiency in Arabic and/or other relevant languages are highly desirable.

The starting salary for appointments made at Lecturer level will be from £33,574 on Grade F and for appointments at Senior Lecturer level, from £41,255 on Grade G, depending on qualifications and experience.

Informal enquiries can be made to Prof Christine Allison (tel: 01392-724026, email: C.Allison@exeter.ac.uk. You may also wish to consult our web site at (http://socialsciences.exeter.ac.uk/iais/) for further details of the College.

For more information and to apply online please go to our website www.exeter.ac.uk/jobs

The closing date for completed applications is Wednesday 6th January 2016.

The University of Exeter is an equal opportunity employer which is ‘Positive about Disabled People’. Whilst all applicants will be judged on merit alone, we particularly welcome applications from groups currently underrepresented in the workforce. 

Apply Link

https://jobs.exeter.ac.uk/hrpr_webrecruitment/wrd/run/ETREC107GF.open? VACANCY_ID=670875DaQc&WVID=3817591jNg&LANG=USA

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Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship in Islamic Studies (Ref 034833, closing date 15 December), University of Edinburgh

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POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP IN ISLAMIC STUDIES

The Alwaleed Centre at the University of Edinburgh (www.alwaleed.ed.ac.uk) seeks to appoint a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, on a fixed-term non-renewable three-year basis, to assist the development of its interdisciplinary research and teaching activities, to commence on 1st February 2016 or as soon as possible thereafter. The successful candidate will have expertise in any aspect of Islamic Studies (broadly understood, so that it could include such sub-disciplines as Art, Ethics, Law, Philosophy, Science or Theology). Applications would be particularly welcome from candidates with expertise on Christian-Muslim Relations.

Closing date: 5 pm on Tuesday 15 December 2015

Further details:https://www.vacancies.ed.ac.uk/pls/corehrrecruit/erq_jobspec_version_4.jobspec?p_id=034833

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Journal Announcement – Approaching Religion Vol. 5/2: Systems thinking spirituality and wisdom: Perspectives on Ken Wilber

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We are happy to announce the publication of

Approaching Religion Vol. 5/2 (November, 2015)
Theme: Systems thinking sprituality and wisdom: Perspectives on Ken Wilber

Available at: www.abo.fi/approachingreligion

The current issue consists of articles based on presentations given at the seminar on Ken Wilber’s philosophy arranged by Professor Matti Kamppinen at the University of Turku, Finland in October, 2014.

AR is an open access journal published by the Donner Institute in Åbo, Finland. Its purpose is to publish current research on religion and culture and to offer a platform for scholarly co-operation and debate within the field. The articles have been selected on the basis of peer-review.

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Conference: African Lived Christianity – Faith, Ritual and Power

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African Lived Christianity – Faith, Ritual and Power

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
Lund University, CTR
16 – 18 March 2016

The thematic focus of this conference is on the lived experiences of
African Christianity, on how religion and religious experience are part
of the understanding and explanation of social reality in Africa. By
taking this thematic focus, we wish to overcome the dividing lines in
the study of African Christianity between theology and the social
sciences. We seek to engage with an emerging literature that combines
the analysis of religious experience and faith with an analysis of how
African Christianity feeds into constellations of power hierarchies and
social relationships of dependency, reciprocity and mutuality. One of
the aims is to build interpretative bridges between African enchanted
worldviews and Western academic interpretations and to add to an
emerging dialogue between anthropology and theology.

Within the social science literature the growth of newer African
independent churches (charismatic, Pentecostal, evangelical) has often
been understood as a reaction to changed socio-economic circumstances
such as increased liberalization, modernization, and individualization.
At the same time, scholarly work on African theology or theology in
relation to Christianity in Africa tend to focus merely on ethical and
philosophical issues and hence only in a limited way engaging with
experiences of lived Christianity in Africa.

By focusing on faith, ritual and power, the conference draws attention
to religious experiences and perceptions of faith, to the practices of
religion as well as to the social hierarchies into which religion
enters. African theological interpretations of lived religion are
fertile ground for analyzing and discussing the encounter between
anthropology and theology as well as between African enchanted
worldviews and Western academic interpretations. In other words, we need
this dialogue between anthropology and theology to analyze everyday
experiences and interpretations of Christianity in Africa and to include
the intellectual work and grassroots theology that takes place within
communities.

Confirmed plenary speakers

Elias Bongmba (Rice University)
Naomi Haynes (Edinburgh University)
Isabel Mukonyora (West Kentucky University)
Niels Kastfelt (Copenhagen University)
Galia Sabar (Tel Aviv University)
Päivi Hasu (Helsinki University)
Tomas Sundnes Drønen (Stavanger School of Mission and Theology)
Karen Lauterbach (Copenhagen University)
Mika Vähäkangas (Lund University)

The conference is free of charge but the participants are supposed to
cover for their travel, accommodation and meals.

The conference is funded by:

Lunds missionssällskap
Riksbankens Jubileumsfond
Vitterhetsakademien

For registration please use this link (register on the left side of
conference webpage:
http://www.teol.lu.se/en/forskning/konferenser-och-symposier/alc2016/

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LES MUTATIONS DES SCIENCES SOCIALES DES RELIGIONS ET DES LAÏCITÉS 26-27 novembre 2015, À Paris Site Pouchet CNRS et Sorbonne

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Organisé par le Groupe Sociétés, Religions, Laïcités (UMR 8582 / EPHE-CNRS)

Le Groupe Sociétés, Religions, Laïcités a été créé en 1995, au sein de l’École pratique des hautes études et du Centre national de la recherche scientifique, en s’inscrivant dans la continuité du Groupe de Sociologie des Religions. Ses chercheurs travaillent sur les transformations du religieux et les questions relatives à la laïcité dans le monde contemporain. Son champ de compétences englobe de nombreuses aires culturelles. Le but de cet anniversaire est, en un moment bousculé par l’histoire, de présenter un panorama approfondi de la situation religieuse contemporaine, en accordant, à travers le thème de la laïcité, une place centrale à la question de la régulation de la diversité religieuse en France et ailleurs. En rappelant les acquis scientifiques de notre laboratoire, l’événement entend constituer un moment de référence dans la connaissance des phénomènes religieux et de la laïcité. Il marquera aussi la place que l’« école française » peut avoir dans le renouvellement, sur la scène internationale, des objets et des problématiques des sciences sociales des religions et de la laïcité.

http://gsrl.hypotheses.org/478

CFP: “Post-Secular Stories: the Divine in Contemporary World Literature” conference – LCC International University (www.lcc.lt), Klaipeda, Lithuania; 5-6 February 2016

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Call for Papers
Post-Secular Stories: the Divine in Contemporary World Literature
A research conference exploring ways in which the Divine / the Holy / God / god / gods /
the Above-Human is thematised is current writing. This includes literature across genres,
geographies and thematics.
Venue, dates, fee:
LCC International University (www.lcc.lt)
Klaipeda, Lithuania
5-6 February 2016
Conference fee: €100 (includes conference dinner)

Context and invitation:
In the unfolding post-secular intellectual climate of our time, the aspect of the religious /
faith / spirituality / theology is recognised for what they are again in song lyrics,
journalism, novels, poetry and other genres of writing. No longer reflexively either
privileged or marginalised as in earlier eras, orientations towards the religious are
increasingly “normalised”, as something that in the public sphere in principle holds no
greater and no lesser prominence than other facets of life. In a more balanced way, faith
can in our time increasingly be spoken, be spoken of and be spoken against.
In this conference, the ways in which this trend plays out in various forms of literature
across the world is investigated. Not intended to provide a definitive overview, but as an
initial attempt to grasp some dimensions of these developments, only 20 papers will be
accepted for presentation at this conference.
To this end, the conference organisers invite, until 15 December 2015, proposals for
research papers on this wide-ranging topic. Specialist academic presentations in English
of 30 minutes (followed by 10 minutes discussion time) that focus deeply on the selected
topic will be welcomed. As wide a range as possible of disciplinary backgrounds,
language and genre specialisations, and international representation will be
accommodated. In typical post-secular mode, participants of all religious orientations
and none are welcomed.
In addition to participants who make formal conference presentations, interested parties
who would like to attend the conference without formal speaking slots would be welcome,
at the same conference fee. Attendees from Klaipeda and surrounding areas who would
like to attend one or more sessions, without attending the conference dinner, are
welcome to do so at a reduced fee (please e-mail JDMininger@lcc.lt in this regard).

Paper proposals should include a presentation title and 150–250 words describing the
intent of the presentation, including the genre/s, language/s and geographical region/s
covered. The name of the author/s, qualifications and institutional affiliation/s (if any)
should be included. Please e-mail proposals to JDMininger@lcc.lt no later than 15
December 2015.

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