Islamic Awakening Research Articles

Is China a House of Islam? Chinese Questions, Arabic Answers, and the Translation of Salafism from Cairo to Canton, 1930-1932

AbstractRashīd Riḍā’s six fatwas to China, disregarded by historians of China and by historians of Salafism, greatly expand our historical understanding of transnational intellectual exchanges between Muslim reformers in the interwar period. The questions that prompted the fatwas shed new light on the specific issues that divided Sino-Muslim nationalists in the republican era, when a Chinese awakening coincided with an Islamic awakening. They also reveal why a Sino-Muslim scholar, seeking external arbitration, decided to write to a Muslim authority in Cairo. The fatwas that ensued show, in turn, the care that Riḍā took to transmit his legal methods and religious values to a foreign country, where Muslims mainly followed the Ḥanafī school of law. On the basis of the fatwas, which were translated into Chinese, the article offers not an arbitrary, abstract, or ahistorical understanding of the origins of Salafism in China, but a concrete grasp of Salafism in translation.

КОНЦЕПЦИЯ "ИСЛАМСКОГО ПРОБУЖДЕНИЯ" КАК ВНЕШНЕПОЛИТИЧЕСКАЯ ДОКТРИНА ИСЛАМСКОЙ РЕСПУБЛИКИ ИРАН В XXI В.

The article examines the essence and functioning of the concept of «Islamic Awakening» (IA) (Persian – bidariye eslami) in Iran, which has been actualized by the Iranian political elite as a description of events related to the Arab Spring, as well as the foreign policy doctrine of the Islamic Republic Iran (IRI) in the 2010s. As this study shows, this term appeared in Iranian sociopolitical discourse in previous decades and has similarities with the concept of «Islamic revival», covering a vast number of diverse movements in the Islamic world in different historical periods. The authors of the article analyze the ideological roots of this concept, which dates back to the ideas of the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini that received the title «Export of the Islamic Revolution» (Persian – sodure engelabe eslami). Much attention is paid to identifying the essence of this concept and its difference from IA, which was also revealed by the present study. This article also analyzes the basic principles of the concept of «Islamic Awakening», manifested both in the statements of the highest representatives of the Iranian political elite and in the school textbooks on the modern history of Iran. The authors also seek to examine the dynamics of using the term «Islamic Awakening» in the Iranian social and political discourse, which demonstrates a strong increase in its mentioning in 2011 and a gradual decrease after 2013, which was related to a decline in the influence of Arab Spring in the Near and Middle East region and changes in the foreign policy views of the main political figures inside Iran.

Islamic Awakening and Its Impact on Israel's Security

Islamic Awakening and Its Impact on Israel's Security

Islamic Awakening and Its Role in Islamic Solidarity in Malaysia

The Islamic Awakening in Malaysia has brought about the consciousness of adopting and practicing the Islamic way of life. The process of implementing the principles of Islam is based on a gradual evolutionary process, rather than a drastic approach. Therefore, the selective implementation of Islamic law has been carried out relatively smoothly. For that reason, various institutions have been established ‒ such as, Islamic universities, Islamic banking and insurance companies, and other Islamic organizations and institutions. The case studies in this article related to Malaysia are: The Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia – ABIM (Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement), and some Islamic institutions, which play important roles in the Islamic Awakening and solidarity in Malaysia. The PAS and ABIM are the prominent Islamic parties and movements, respectively, which can be regarded as the driving force behind the Islamic Awakening in Malaysia. Based on a tridimensional perspective ‒ that is, socioeconomic well-being and the strength of the expansion of Islamic education, and political stability ‒ this study highlights the accomplishment of Islamic Awakening in Malaysia.

Islamic Awakening and Its Role in Islamic Solidarity in Malaysia

The Islamic Awakening in Malaysia has brought about the consciousness of adopting and practicing the Islamic way of life. The process of implementing the principles of Islam is based on a gradual evolutionary process, rather than a drastic approach. Therefore, the selective implementation of Islamic law has been carried out relatively smoothly. For that reason, various institutions have been established ‒ such as, Islamic universities, Islamic banking and insurance companies, and other Islamic organizations and institutions. The case studies in this article related to Malaysia are: The Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia – ABIM (Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement), and some Islamic institutions, which play important roles in the Islamic Awakening and solidarity in Malaysia. The PAS and ABIM are the prominent Islamic parties and movements, respectively, which can be regarded as the driving force behind the Islamic Awakening in Malaysia. Based on a tridimensional perspective ‒ that is, socioeconomic well-being and the strength of the expansion of Islamic education, and political stability ‒ this study highlights the accomplishment of Islamic Awakening in Malaysia.

Soft Force. Women in Egypt’s Islamic Awakening, written by Ellen Anne McLarney, 2015

Soft Force. Women in Egypt’s Islamic Awakening, written by Ellen Anne McLarney, 2015

Soft Force: Women in Egypt's Islamic Awakening

Soft Force: Women in Egypt's Islamic Awakening

A Perverted Balance: Modern Salafism between Reform and Jihād*

This article argues that there are structural affinities and continuities between the late nineteenth-century modernist reformers and today’s quietist, political, and jihādī Salafī factions. Salafism refers to the basic theological-ideological formation that postulates a return to pristine Islam to overcome tradition and bring regeneration. The Salafī balance between authenticity and modernization promoted by enlightened religious intellectuals in the late Ottoman period was shattered by the events of World War I and its aftermath. This resulted in its bifurcation between conservatives, who adopted literalist and xenophobic Wahhābī positions, and modernists, primarily the Muslim Brothers, who employed innovative means in their religio-political struggle to re-Islamize society and oust colonialism. The Salafī balance was reconstructed after independence on new, unenlightened lines in the Saudi Islamic Awakening (al-Ṣaḥwa al-Islāmiyya), which combined the erstwhile rigorous Wahhābī teachings with radicalized Islamism. Global jihādī-Salafism completed the perversion of the modernist Salafī balance by reducing the authentic way of the salaf to excommunication and violence and by using the most modern means in its war against both Westerners and indigenous Muslim governments.

To Review and Analyze Thoughts and Political Ideas of Muhammad Abduh and Ali Abd al-Raziq

Flows of recent Islamic awakening which changed a number of Islamic countries, this question is arisen that theoretical background of this movement should be looked at in whose thought and action. In response to this, according to the forefront of Egypt during the last two centuries, minds are directed toward Mohammad Abduh and Ali Abd al- Raziq. Muhammad Abduh and Ali Abdel are among the leaders and thinkers of the Islamic awakening in the Sunni world. Both, with common but differentiated pain about Muslim countries condition, backwardness and have been holding back their countries, had a think and they believed Islam was the final choice and tried to offer solutions in these areas that their solutions, according to performance and attitude, are notable. Therefore, the implementation of the political ideas of these two influential thinkers in the Muslim world is important. As far as studies show that, despite the great works of thought and ideas of these two scientists have been published, but no comparative studies have been discussed. Thus, due to the importance of the issue, so comparatively in this article, these two scholars of Islam world have been studied.

Religious Education in a Comparative Perspective: Kazakhstan’s Searching

Together with the achievement of political independence, and the ensuing of spiritual, more specifically,Islamic awakening, the Republic of Kazakhstan has experienced a revival of religious educati...

A Society of Young Women: Opportunities of Place, Power, and Reform in Saudi Arabia

A Society of Young Women: Opportunities of Place, Power, and Reform in Saudi Arabia

A Society of Young Women: Opportunities of Place, Power, and Reform in Saudi Arabia

A Society of Young Women: Opportunities of Place, Power, and Reform in Saudi Arabia

Soft force: women in Egypt's Islamic awakening

Soft force: women in Egypt's Islamic awakening

‘This is not Our Country’: Declining Diversity in the Islamic Republic of Iran

The expulsion of Christians from Mosul by the Islamic State (IS) in the summer of 2014 marked the first time in nearly 2000 years that the Iraqi city lacked a Christian population.1 Along with the conflict in Syria and the other upheavals that have accompanied the phenomenon variously known as the Arab Spring, al-thawra or the Islamic Awakening, the emigration of Christians from their homes has accelerated in recent years. The Roman Catholic Pope Francis mentioned this during his visit to the region in May 2014, noting that these historic communities, among the oldest in the world, are decreasing to the point where their long-term existence is uncertain. This is because Christians in more stable parts of the Middle East are also leaving. This paper discusses one such example: the continuing emigration of Armenian Christians from Iran. For Iranian Armenians, the main incentive for emigration is the feeling of exclusion and alienation from the wider society. This has largely come about by the Islamic Republic’s promotion of a Shi’a-based Iranian identity which does not count minorities as full citizens. This in turn has led to the development of a sense of foreignness in Iranian society among Armenian youth. The lack of belonging makes their ties to Iran much less solid, and therefore makes migration a much less painful process. Furthermore, their parents, who were raised in the more pluralistic Iran of the last Shah, find it easier to identify as Iranians than their children.

Islamic Awakening and Management Lessons of Imam Hussein's Uprising

Islamic culture is full of the best and advanced management methods. The power and effect of such management caused the emergence of a new, developed and powerful community which was poor, weak and involved in tribal wars during the age of great prophet of Islam, Mohammad, and his family. The purpose of the present study is to investigate Islamic awakening and management lessons of Imam Hussein's uprising by addressing the fact that Imam Hussein's uprising was perfect in terms of all dimensions of management skills such as human, perceptional and technical skills. It is also attempted to emphasize the reasonable, thoughtful and timely decisions as well as appropriate planning in all stages of the uprising even in deploying little number of arm against enemies (Yazid`s army). Moreover, the paper refers that Islamic awakening indicates that the age of despotism has been finished and people make their destiny based on their authority.

Impact of Islamic Awakening Developments on Relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia

Impact of Islamic Awakening Developments on Relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia

Representing the Arab Spring in the Iranian press: Islamic awakening or foreign-sponsored terror?

The Islamic Republic of Iran, the largest non-Arab country in the region, has sought to play an influential role in regional politics since its establishment in 1979, and the Arab Spring protests have provided the prime opportunity for doing so. The Iranian government has vocally supported the revolutions in Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya, but has also remained defiantly supportive of the Syrian president despite popular opposition to his government. The Iranian media have been pivotal in communicating the position of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Using qualitative thematic analysis and Social Representations Theory, this article examines emerging media representations of the Arab Spring in two major English-language Iranian newspapers, The Tehran Times and Press TV. The following two themes are discussed: (1) “Islamic Awakening”: Islamicizing the Arab Spring, and (2) “Bashar Al-Assad is not Muammar Al-Gaddafi”: Compartmentalizing the Syrian Ally. Islamic identity and ingroup–outgroup dynamics are mobilized in order to increase the political influence of Iran and to undermine that of its foes. It is argued that there is a systematic “instrumentalization” of the Arab Spring in the Iranian press – it is employed to validate and accentuate tenets of the Islamic Republic of Iran's revolutionary ideology and to support its political interests in the region.

The Role of the Media and Reference Groups on the Shaping of Political Attitudes of Students (Case Study: Islamic Awakening Uprisings in the Middle East)

The Role of the Media and Reference Groups on the Shaping of Political Attitudes of Students (Case Study: Islamic Awakening Uprisings in the Middle East)

Staging history for Thailand's far south: fantasy for a supposedly pliant Muslim community

If the current conflict in Thailand's far south could be interpreted as a revival and full retelling of the 1940s modernist Islamic awakening, why have local Muslim elites and various state agents in the historical present circumvented such a reawakening? Instead, what was broadcast was another history, namely a certain glorious Patani past that supposedly featured a harmonious relationship with Siam. My stipulation of the 1940s Islamic reawakening refers not only to what followed the awakening in Thailand's far south in the long twentieth century but, more broadly, to the meaning of that past in the politics of the twenty-first. This essay argues that the absence of any serious attempt to interpret the resurgence of violence and to account for incidents of unnecessary deaths remains an important barrier to an understanding between the government and ordinary Muslims in the far south.

Islamic Awakening or Pro-Democracy Movement

As influential players in the Middle East’s regional politics, both American and Iranian officials are trying to define and interpret the wave of Arab revolutions in a way that resonates with their own political narratives. In other words, they want to frame the situation in a way that matches their respective ideologies, which, in turn, would best suit their political interests. I use framing theory to illustrate the frameworks through which top American and Iranian leaders try to portray those regional changes, especially in Egypt. For this purpose, framing theory and its applications will be discussed first. Then, the views of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Barack Obama regarding the regional revolts will be analyzed. Based on Robert Entman’s four-element formulation of framing, each side’s framing is demonstrated through its projection of (1) problem definition, (2) causal interpretation, (3) moral evaluation, and (4) solution/treatment recommendation.The analysis shows how the two sides frame a single phenomenon in extremely different ways: one portrays it as a sign of Islamic awakening against the decades-old rule of western-backed dictators, whereas the other frames it as a pro-democracy movement heralding the emergence of new democratic states. The paper concludes by arguing that the dominance of each government’s frames will pave the way for it to claim the uprisings within its own narrative and thus influence the situation on the ground in their desired way.