Reform Movement Research Articles

Conceptualising a case, casing a concept? Two faces of global citizenship

ABSTRACT This paper demonstrates the insights to be gained through a comparison of the use of a politically constitutive concept that delineates unlike but connected ‘cases’ of a concept-in-use. Global Citizenship is a concept with increasing currency. This paper compares two different but connected ways in which the concept is being put to work by two different groups to achieve political aims. One is an educational reform movement, the other is a corporate lobby group. Both claim a progressive political platform under the banner of Global Citizenship. Both are trying to entreat people to see themselves as Global Citizens and in so doing change the world through the ‘transformation’ of the self. The Global Citizen created by this education and elite-led mobilisation will ostensibly solve the world's problems through their knowledge of it and make the world ‘a better place’. What methodological issues arise when these two ‘cases’ are compared?

Inspiring Muslim Women of the Indian Subcontinent (1857-1947): A Study of Their Lives, Struggles, and Contributions

The Indian subcontinent's fight for independence (1857-1947) witnessed profound social, political, and cultural changes, during which Muslim women encountered a variety of challenges, including patriarchal norms, colonial oppression, and the constraints of the purdah system. These barriers often hindered their educational opportunities, limited their public engagement, and reinforced gender-based roles. Despite such limitations, Muslim women played crucial roles in shaping the political and social climate of the era. This study delves into the lives, struggles, and significant contributions of these women, highlighting how they navigated and resisted societal constraints. It discusses influential figures like Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, Fatima Jinnah, Abadi Banu Begum, Rashid Jahan, and Ismat Chughtai, whose efforts in education, social reform, literature, and nationalist movements challenged the oppressive frameworks of their time. Through their work, these figures not only propelled the cause of Indian independence forward but also championed the rights of Muslim women and broader social reforms. This research seeks to illuminate their determination, agency, and impact, showcasing how Muslim women were integral to both the fight for national liberation and the pursuit of gender equality. By examining their contributions and the socio-political context in which they acted, this study emphasizes their essential place in the history of India’s independence and the progress of women's rights in the subcontinent.

Reforms in Dars-e-Nizami Curricula: Western and Indigenous Influence During the 20th Century

In the 20th century, educationists and researchers witnessed significant reforms in the Dars-e-Nizami curricula across South Asia, influenced by Western ideas and indigenous reform movements within religious communities. This article examines the evolution of Dars-e-Nizami education, focusing on the contrasting responses of Hindu and Muslim reformers to Western education and its impact on religious and social ideologies. This study utilises a qualitative research methodology, specifically employing discourse analysis, drawing on a comprehensive review of historical documents, academic journals, books, and other scholarly works. Key movements, such as the Deobandi and Aligarh movements, were analysed to understand their roles in modern Islamic education amidst global transformations Moreover, this article also examines how these reform movements shaped the evolution of Dars-e-Nizami curricula, highlighting the tensions between traditionalism and modernity, Indigenous and Western influences, and their implications for religious identity and education in South Asia. Future researchers should explore the socio-economic impact of the shift in madrasa education towards religious instruction and investigate the structural challenges in implementing effective reforms, focusing on creating a cohesive framework that aligns with broader educational goals.

THE STUDY OF PSYCHOLOGY TRAUMA AND HYPOCRISY OF CHARITY IN CHARLES DICKENSS OLIVER TWIST

The English writer Charles Dickens was known for his work as a novelist, journalist, short story writer, and social critic. He was the creator of some of literatures most well-known fictional characters, and many consider him to be the greatest novelist of the Victorian era.Charles Dickenss era witnessed significant changes in children and social reality due to the Industrial Revolution and the prevalent socio-economic conditions. Due to widespread poverty, a significant number of children were required to work in factories, mines, and as chimney sweeps.The increase in orphans and homeless children was due to diseases, poor living conditions, and high mortality rates among adults. The harsh conditions of many children living on the street or in workhouses caused high child mortality rates, as well as inadequate medical care, poor nutrition, and unsanitary living conditions. Overcrowded urban areas experienced a spike in diseases such as cholera, typhus, and tuberculosis. Oliver Twist is notable for its unflinching depiction of the underbelly of Victorian society and its criticism of social institutions that fail to protect the vulnerable. Dickenss vivid characterizations and dramatic storytelling make the novel both a compelling narrative and a powerful social commentary. So the Aim of this research paper is focussing on Hypocrisy of charity, Psychological Trauma, Social Reform. Dickens criticises the institutions meant to aid the poor, like the workhouse system, which often caused more harm than good. The psychological impact of poverty, abuse, and neglect on individuals, especially children. Highlighting the need for societal change and the impact of social reform movements on improving conditions for the poor.

Manajemen Organisasi Persatuan Islam dalam Bidang Tarbiyah

The appearance of Islamic Unity on the stage of Islamic history in Indonesia at the beginning of the 20th century has given a new pattern and color to the movement for the renewal islamic thought. It was precisely born as an answer to the complex challenges of the condition of the Muslim Ummah which was drowning in impatience or stagnation on rational thinking, mired in a life of great mysticism, the growth and development of khurafat, heresy adan superstition as well polytheism which was rampant at that time. Moreever, Muslims were very shackled by Dutch colonial rule which was very persistent in extinguishing the light of Islam. This situation inspired the emergence of the Islamic reformist movement which in turn initiated growing intellectual contacts that influenced the indonesian islamic community to reform islamic thought. Then the existence of this Islamic unity organization makes a contribution that plays an active role in education management which is very well organized by keeping up with current development without eliminating the original elements of islamic boarding school education.

O QUE CONTA COMO CONHECIMENTO SOBRE ENSINO DE CIÊNCIAS POR INVESTIGAÇÃO? CONSTRUÇÃO DE OPORTUNIDADES DE APRENDIZAGEM DOCENTE EM UM CONTEXTO DE REFORMA CURRICULAR

With the aim of understanding how two groups of teachers constructed opportunities for teacher learning about Inquiry-Based Science Teaching (IBST), we analyzed events from a professional development program offered in a municipal education system in the context of a curricular reform movement, guided by an ethnographic perspective and adopting principles and practices of Interactional Ethnography. Through a macroscopic analysis of audiovisual records and fieldnotes, we selected a set of events in which two groups of teachers seek to identify the phases of the Inquiry Cycle in didactic units that composed the instructional material produced within the scope of the reform. We then produced event maps and transcribed teacher interactions into message units. We seek to understand, in these data, which intertextual and intercontextual relationships are proposed in each group of teachers and how they support the construction of teaching learning opportunities about IBST. From a microscopic discourse analysis, we show how each group constructed opportunities for teachers learning about IBST through the establishment of intertextual and intercontextual relations of different nature. While in Group 1 these opportunities were built through intertextual relationships with the curriculum document, in Group 2 they were based upon intertextual and intercontextual relationships with the group members classroom context. Based on these analyses, we discuss group differences regarding what counts as knowledge about Inquiry-Based Science Teaching in such events and present implications for science teacher education.

Al-Ādāb al-Marḍiyya: Celebrating Shaykh-Veneration in 18th-Century Moroccan Reforms

The 18th century witnessed significant religious revivals and reforms throughout the Islamic world, including Morocco. While both sūfī and non-sūfī reformist movements advocated a return to foundational Islamic principles, often through purist-orientated approaches that rejected popular Sūfī practices, the Darqāwī Sūfī order took a distinct path. Formed by al-Arabī al-Darqāwī (d. 1239/1823) as a sub-branch of the Shādhilī order, Darqāwiyya was characterized by a revival of ascetism and popular Sūfī practices, such as self-striving, seclusion, begging, and dhikr gatherings, and aligned them with shariʿa principles. Above all, the teachings of Darqāwiyya revolved around the reverence (taʿẓīm) and veneration (ḥurmah) of Sūfī shaykhs and emphasized their central role as intermediaries between the Prophet and disciples. However, these Sūfī practices and emphasis on shaykhs faced condemnation from the Moroccan ruler, Mawlāy Sulaymān (r. 1792 to 1822) who favoured the Wahhābī teachings, despite not fully embracing its doctrines. In quest of exercising control over the zāwiyas, he targeted their religious legitimacy and restricted their Sūfī activities, including those of the Darqāwiyya. In this context, Al-Ādāb al-Marḍiyya li-sāliki ṭarīq al-ṣūfiyya, a Sūfī manual written by the Shadhilī-Darqāwī shaykh Muḥammad bin Aḥmad al-Būzīdī (d. 1229/1814), serves as both an apology and a Sūfī manifesto. Written in the ādāb al-murīd (Sūfī etiquette) genre, this text acted not only as a guide for Darqāwiyya disciples but also as a proclamation of the central role of Sūfī shaykhs, as well as it sought to legitimize the criticized Sūfī practices of the order. This article studies the unique conventional position of the Darqāwiyya Order during the late 18th century Moroccan reforms and present al-Ādāb al-marḍiyya as a significant text defending the reverence and veneration of Sūfī shaykhs, as well as their practices during this period.

Müasir Azərbaycan İctimai-Fəlsəfi Fikir Tarixində Əli Bəy Hüseynzadənin Yeri və Rolu

Ali Bey Huseynzade, one of the prominent representatives of Azerbaijan's literary, cultural, social-political, and philosophical thought in the 20th century, was the first publisher of the political-Turkism movement in Azerbaijan. He was a distinguished political figure, talented scientist, thinker, and publicist, and holds a unique place in the history of the Azerbaijani people. Over time, there is an increasing need to deeply comprehend and study the magnificent artistic works created by Ali Bey Huseynzade. Throughout his life, Huseynzade dedicated his prolific writing to the research and promotion of pan-Turkish spiritual values, fighting with all the strength of his brilliant talent for the progress of the Turkic people. He played an important role in the formation of the theoretical-philosophical foundations of the Azerbaijani national idea, striving for reforms in public and cultural life and artistic consciousness through his rich creative output. With his famous "Threefold Formula"-"Turkification, Islamization, Modernization" - he contributed to the formation of the ideology of Azerbaijanism. He advocated for the necessity of abandoning sectarian divisions and uniting all Muslims under the umbrella of a single religion-Islam. In his article titled "What is Young Turkism?", he explained the essence of the Turkish reform movement and expressed his views in many articles published in newspapers and magazines, arguing that Ottoman Turkish should become the common language of all Turks. Having spent more than 30 years of his life in exile, Ali Bey’s complex and turbulent life path was marked by political and cultural struggles aimed at the unity and wholeness of the Turkic world. The article emphasizes the significance of national-democratic values, highly relevant today, and their reflection in Azerbaijani philosophy and social-political thought. It also highlights the necessity of the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic as the first historical embodiment of the national-democratic statehood ideology, which began in the early 20th century. Ali Bey Huseynzade’s multifaceted activities and his intellectual contributions, not only for Azerbaijani Turks but for the entire Turkic world, affirm the relevance of the subject as he remains a valuable thinker on a broader scale.

Resonance Of Reformist-Modernist Islamic Thought in Interpretation and Its Influence on The Development of Interpretation in Indonesia

At the end of the Ottoman rule, Muslims experienced extraordinary setbacks in various fields. This is suspected to be due to several factors, including the difficulty of Muslims in understanding Islam, the spread of an understanding of Islam which seems old-fashioned, and the practice of practicing Islamic teachings which is considered quite deviant. One of the causes of all these causes is that the verses of the Quran that are understood are not in accordance with the context of the times. This research aims to explain interpretations with reformist-modernist nuances in the context of ideology, influence, relevant interpreters, and criticism of traditional Islam. The research method used is qualitative with descriptive analysis based on literature study. The conclusion of this research shows that the development of reformist tafsir emerged as a response to the decline of Muslims in all aspects of life. Reformers such as Jamaluddin Al-Afghani, Muhammad Abduh and Rasyid Rida had a significant influence on the development of tafsir with reformist-modernist nuances. Prominent mufassir in the archipelago who helped develop interpretations with reformist nuances include A. Hassan, Oemar Bakri, Buya Hamka, and KH. Bisri Musthofa..The leaders of the reformist movement also criticized many traditionalists who they considered to prioritize blind taqlid and were exposed to bid'ah and khurafat.

The Influence of Historical Events on Victorian Literature

Victorian literature serves as a rich reflection of the 19th century’s transformative historical events, including the Industrial Revolution, the expansion of the British Empire, social reform movements, and challenges to traditional religious beliefs. This article explores how authors such as Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Gaskell, Rudyard Kipling, Charlotte Brontë, Thomas Hardy, Alfred Lord Tennyson, and Matthew Arnold addressed themes of industrialization, colonialism, class conflict, and spiritual doubt. Through their works, Victorian writers critiqued societal norms, highlighted inequalities, and grappled with the shifting moral and intellectual landscape of their time. Their literature remains a vital lens through which to understand the complexities of the era and its enduring relevance today.

Keterlibatan Rakyat Kecil dalam Gerakan Reformasi 1998 di Surabaya

The historical narrative about the 1998 economic crisis has so far only revolved around the student movement and its economic, social and political conditions. How ordinary people fight for reform has not been widely discussed. This article aims to look at the struggles of the small people in Surabaya in the 1998 reform movement. By using historical methods through archival sources, newspapers, books and journals, this article tries to create a historical narrative from the lower classes. The research results show that the role of ordinary people in the 1998 reforms in Surabaya was inseparable from the student movement which was intensively carried out at that time. Small people often join by directly participating in movements carried out by students. On May 5 1998, among the 1,000 students from Unitomo, Untag and Perbanas, there was a cracker seller who took part in a speech demanding reform. On the same day, taxi drivers also demonstrated due to the increase in fuel prices which had a deep impact on the taxi community. On May 9 1998, among thousands of joint students in Surabaya, there was a pedicab driver named Tugiman who led a speech. On May 10 1998, pedicab drivers who were members of Persabaya (Persatuan Becak Surabaya) took part in a mass action at the Airlangga University Library. He shouted for the government to reduce the prices of basic necessities which were soaring at that time. The small people's actions were not only speeches, many small people also provided food assistance to the students who were taking action. One of them was when students stayed overnight at the DPRD Building on 25-27 May 1998.

ISLAMIC MOVEMENT IN MALAYSIA: HISTORY AND TRADITION

The paper discusses the historical origins of Islamic movement in Malaysia since colonial era. This was developed from two underlying bases; the ideal of reform and Islamic vision that was meant to bring about national consciousness and renewed aspiration of pan-Islamism designed under the powerful force of the Ottoman Caliphate. It analysed the impact of this awareness in inspiring the movement for reform and reassertion of Islamic spirit and unity following the rising tide of Islam in broad socio-political context. The essential role of Syed Syaikh al-Hadi, Dr. Burhanuddin al-Helmy, Ustaz Abu Bakar al-Baqir, and Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas has marked unprecedented influence in the meaningful struggle for religious and intellectual development. The movement bring forth critical value and ideal of Islam that espoused for progressive and rational spirit and reconstruction of ijtihad and dynamic activism, based on inclusive moral and ethical norm and standard. This study is based on qualitative method that focus on library research and content analysis. The data were collected from documentary study of primary and secondary sources, and technically analysed using interpretative, descriptive, historical and comparative method. The finding shows that the movement has brought about fundamental reform by introducing the principle values and ideals of Islam and its underlying doctrine of tawhid and unity and in projecting the idea of Islamization. It has bring certain impact in influencing the governmental policy and direction towards incorporating Islamic values and tradition in socio-political context and framework by taking account of the principle of maqasid syariah (the higher objective of Islamic law) and its application at every communal sector

The Death of the Old Left and the Birth of the New: The Soviet Union, the CPUSA, and the International Communist Crisis of 1956

This paper discuss the impact of Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev’s Secret Speech denouncing Joseph Stalin at the 20th CPSU Congress in February 1956 on the communist parties in the West, in particular the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA). The paper argues that de-Stalinization came at a time when western communist parties were already beginning to experience incipient reformist movements due to their inability to gain political traction at home, and it seemed to offer an opportunity for radical structural reforms within the parties. However, Moscow intervened in intraparty struggles on the side of conservative, even Stalinist, forces due to a mixture of concern for geopolitical loyalty and the desired social makeup of western communist parties.

The readability of contracts: Big data analysis

AbstractThe plain language movement waged a silent revolution in the last generation, passing nearly 800 laws nationwide with little public debate. The movement asserted that it could scientifically show that there is a widespread readability crisis in legal documents, particularly contracts, that are unreadable to most adults. This article presents the largest empirical analysis of these claims to date, utilizing a dataset of 2 million contracts spanning multiple decades and industries and applying machine learning techniques. The study challenges fundamental tenets of the plain language movement. Contrary to prevailing beliefs, consumer agreements have median reading scores almost indistinguishable from those of daily news articles. A critical evaluation further exposes that readability tools endorsed by the movement are shoddy and manipulable and can produce grade‐level differences of up to 4.6 years for identical texts. Moreover, the movement's core belief that Americans cannot read past the level of an eighth grader is exposed as an unsubstantiated myth. These findings fundamentally challenge the premises and effectiveness of one of the central consumer protection policies. These results call for a radical rethinking of legal access strategies, suggesting a shift from superficial readability metrics to addressing substantive issues in market dynamics and focusing on truly vulnerable populations. More broadly, this case study serves as a cautionary tale about the propagation of myths in legal scholarship and the potential for well‐intentioned reform movements to divert attention and resources from more effective interventions.

School District Superintendents as Transformational Leaders

The educational reform movement in the United States (1983-2024) presented school district superintendents with a wide array of challenges and opportunities. Initially, state and federal policymakers’ called for draconian school and district level accountability and endorsed he notion of top-down management. However, the reality of implementing district-wide, systemic changes focused on improving student learning outcomes influenced a shift in superintendents’ role from manager to teacher-scholar. During the last decade, researchers examined the role of superintendents in Instructionally Effective School Districts (IESD) and reported that they used their managerial prerogatives to initiate and sustain district-wide instructional improvement (Bjork, 2024). Research findings suggest that their involvement hiring and supervising teachers, evaluating principals, clearly articulating instructional and curricular goals, monitoring instructional improvement and, engaging in long-term financial planning for instruction indirectly influence the quality of learning and teaching. Findings from this longitudinal case study extend our understanding of how superintendents’ enact their role as teacher-scholar help to explain their success. Key elements of Transformational Leadership including idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and, individual consideration provided considerable insight into how they enacted their role. In addition, findings suggest that over time followers at different levels of the school district’s organization (teachers, principals and central office staffs) adopted Transformational Leadership dispositions and practices suggesting that it may be viewed as being both multidimensional and multi-directional. These findings may expand our understanding of how superintendents’ transformational leadership may influence the development of professional cultures and enhance student learning.

Joseph Jacob Gumprecht, ein jüdischer Mediziner im Zeitalter der Aufklärung: blockierte Universitätskarriere, geöffnete Zivilgesellschaft

Abstract Joseph Jacob Gumprecht, MD, 1772–1838, is the first Jew known as a university lecturer (Privatdozent) at a German university. This biographical article analyses the network of family, friends and colleagues, in which his life course was embedded. It shows his achievements, failures and partial successes. When his career at the University of Göttingen was blocked, he moved to Hamburg, practised as a physician and man-midwife. He was not successful economically, and his family broke up. But he made noteworthy contributions to the emergent discipline of obstetrics, both as an author and editor of periodicals. Moreover, he was active in establishing associations in several fields: for the profession of medical men, and in the context of the Jewish reform movement. Gumprecht’s example shows that German Jews not just integrated themselves into the middle class, but that they actively contributed to shaping civil society and the culture of the middle class.

Urgensitas Pembatasan Masa Jabatan Legislatif Perspektif Redbruck Theory

The lack of regulation on the length of time someone can hold a legislative position is a significant issue in Indonesia. It can lead to abuse of power and hinder the fair execution of duties. Instead of protecting people from executive intimidation, the reform movement has created opportunities for unchecked legislative power. This article discusses the importance of limiting the length of legislative terms from philosophical, sociological, and legal perspectives, as proposed by Radbruck. Implementing specific regulations as part of the 1945 NRI Constitution can help address the legal gaps that currently allow excessive legislative power. This can be achieved by updating laws related to elections, political parties, and legislative bodies and refining candidacy requirements in electoral regulations. Any new regulations must align with the philosophical, sociological, and legal values of enforcing those regulations.

From Regional Islamic Reform to Global Anti-colonialism? Jamaladdin al-Afghani and Russia’s Muslims

Abstract In Russia’s revolutionary year of 1917, the Muslim journalist and educator Rida’addin b. Fakhraddin (1858–1936) published a biography of Jamaladdin al-Afghani (d. 1897), a person famous for his Pan-Islamic political agitation in many countries of the Middle East and beyond. Fakhraddin’s Tatar-language biography is the central source for studying Afghani’s reception among Russia’s Muslims. I argue that Fakhraddin constructed a sanitized image of Afghani that emphasized the latter’s compatibility with the homegrown movement of Islamic reform (islah) that Fakhraddin himself stood for, and which was shaped by the Kazan theologian Shihabaddin al-Marjani (d. 1889). The article analyzes the transnational links that Fakhraddin established, concluding that Fakhraddin depicted himself as Afghani’s foremost disciple in Russia, in competition with others, and independent of Afghani’s most famous disciple, Muhammad ʿAbduh. At the center of Fakhraddin’s account are his own memories of a meeting he had with Afghani in St. Petersburg in 1888.

Who’s Afraid of Jadidism?: Reckoning with the Legacy of a Cold War Paradigm

Abstract Since the 1990s, scholars in the fields of Central Asian, Volga-Ural, North and South Caucasian, and Crimean history have debated the role of Jadidism in the study of the history of Muslim societies under Russia imperial rule. The concept of Jadidism – variously described as a program for teaching literacy in Turkic languages, a set of educational reforms, and a movement advocating a broad range of cultural, social, and legal reforms designed to “modernize” Muslim communities – made its first appearances in Soviet historiography in the 1920s–1930s. In the 1960s, as the Cold War reached new heights, the Jadid paradigm made its way into English- and French-language historical studies, whence it became the primary lens through which Western audiences encountered and interpreted the histories of Muslims in late imperial Russia. The opening of archival and library collections following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the embrace of new theories and paradigms in Russian studies broke the hold of the Jadid paradigm over Western scholarship. At the same time, a series of heated disputes began over the legacy of the Jadid paradigm and how best to research the intellectual history of Russia’s Muslims in a post-Cold War context. In this essay, I will present a history of the rise and fall of the old Jadid paradigm in European and American scholarship. I will consider how the study of Central Asian intellectual history has evolved since the paradigm’s decline and what this evolution and the contributions to this journal issue suggest about how historians can continue to examine the nature, extent, and meaning of Muslim reform movements without reviving the old Jadid paradigm.

"A Study of Suh Jae-pil’s Reform Movement for Democratic Republicanism (1895-1898)"

"A Study of Suh Jae-pil’s Reform Movement for Democratic Republicanism (1895-1898)"