Muslim Elites Research Articles

The Unionist presence in the Asiatic provinces of the Ottoman Empire, 1908–1912

This article investigates the way the Young Turk Committee of Union and Progress, which was essentially an organisation with roots in the European provinces of the Ottoman Empire and in the Western Anatolian province of Aydın, established itself in the provincial centres of Eastern Anatolia and the Arab provinces after the revolution of July 1908. It then seeks out the patterns that can be discerned in the composition of the local branches, and in the relationships of these branches with the committee’s centre (first in Salonica, then in Constantinople) on the one hand, and with the local Muslim elites and non-Muslim communities on the other.

Trajectories of public education in Muslim families of the Republic of Bashkortostan

The problem of conservation and transmission of their culture is important for the religious communities, namely for Muslims. The educational path of children born to Muslim families in the multicultural society may either coincide or differ from the path of their peers. This article examines the existing trajectories of public education in the Muslim community of Ufa. Analysis is conducted on such forms of education as: public schools for religious children; stay-at-home family education; and private schools. In the first instance, the restraining factors for believers are the absence of halal food and the difficulty of manifestation of identity through clothing. In the second instance, believers there are no two aforementioned problem, but lack of socialization. In the third instance, the financial situation of the religious families matters. Meanwhile, the Ufa Muslim community is discussing the creation of educational projects that would meet the needs of religious parents, produce and reproduce the Muslim elite, since the state education system is not yet capable of solving these issues.

Sufism in the Eyes of Muslim Elites in South Sumatra, Indonesia: A Comparison Between Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama

This study aims at examining the variety of understanding and implementation of sufistic values among elite members of Islamic mainstream organizations, namely Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama, in South Sumatra. It uses a field research method and a descriptive-qualitative analysis. This research finds that elite members of two mainstream Islamic organizations in South Sumatra similarly consider the importance of sufistic values, such as faqr, sabr, tawakkal, ikhlas, and ihsan, for perfecting the self. However, they have differed in how these values are implemented. If the former comfortably practices the substantive forms of sufistic teachings, the latter tends to observe sufistic teachings via the route of tarekat (sufi orders). Such difference has led to the variety of Islamic practices and dakwah programs organized by both organizations.

The visits of the rulers of Russia’s Central Asian protectorates to St. Petersburg at the turn of the 20th century: communicative practice

This article considers the visits of the rulers of Russias Central Asian protectorates to St. Petersburg as a means for the imperial authorities to communicate with the Muslim elite. It argues out that gifts, decorations and lavish receptions were all means to exert psychological pressure on the Emir of Bukhara and the Khan of Khiva. Together with other practices, these were meant integrate the Muslim elite into Russian society. As relations with the protectorates evolved, the Russian government developed a plan to annex them. However, the ministry of foreign affairs effectively blocked the move. At the same time, St Petersburg accorded extensive powers to the protectorates rulers that even exceeded those of Turkestans governor-general, encouraging them to consider themselves to be independent rulers. At the same time, differences in outlook, faith, and ways to communicate led the protectorates to separate themselves from the Russian Empire and drove them into the arms its enemies during World War I.

Women and Community Services in Islamic History

The concept of women rights, freedoms, and their role in public sphere are few important areas which have been in news in the past few decades. There is no doubt that women were deprived of their rights such as right to vote, freedom to mobility etc. in Muslim communities in the past few centuries. However, not much later, the fight for women rights and freedoms are being observed among the various Muslim communities. Another aspect among the Islamic communities is related to social service. The foundation of Islam religion was based on the principles of social justice, equality and service to mankind. However, both these concepts including women role and social services in Islam have been influenced by various factors since the founding of Islam religion. Therefore, it would be an interesting area of research to investigate evolution and changes relates to these two areas through the Islamic ages in order to analyse if factors of influence and whether or not these changes are relevant in the current times. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to review the role of women and community services through Islamic ages, and analyse its implications in the current scenario. A narrative review approach is adopted in this study in order to reflect the developments from the history. Findings from the review indicated that the women in Islamic ages enjoyed equal rights and status in society in contrast to the women in the modern world. However, social services continued to be a part of the Islamic principles since its emergence in the 6th century. It can be concluded that there is a need to create awareness among the Muslim elites (who base discrimination in the context of religion, culture, and traditions) regarding the equality rights for women and their increased participation in social, economic, and cultural fields in the society.

PROTOKOL O SASLUŠANJU HAFIZA MUHAMEDA EF. PANDŽE U ODSJEKU ZA SUZBIJANJE PROTUDRŽAVNE DJELATNOSTI REDARSTVENE OBLASTI ZA GRAD ZAGREB U JANUARU 1944. GODINE

This paper provides a translation into Bosnian of a statement signed in the Zagreb police on January 21, 1944 by Hafiz Muhamed ef. Pandža, a member of the Ulema-medžlis in Sarajevo and the initiator of a short-lived Muslim liberation movement which was envisioned as the main military support for Bosnian Muslims in the final days of World War II. The broader military-political context necessary to understand the meaning and content of a given statement is depicted. Although controversial in many ways, the statement is especially illustrative when it comes to the views of the traditional Bosnian Muslim elite of autonomist orientation on military subjects and actors of World War II. Keywords: World War II, Bosnia and Herzegovina, NDH, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hafiz Muhamed ef Pandža, Chetniks, Partisans, 13th SS Division, crimes, politics, nationalism

Polite responses to stigmatization: ethics of exemplarity among French Muslim elites

ABSTRACT Anti-Muslim hostility in Europe operates in a variety of forms and settings. While a rich body of work has highlighted the multifaceted stigmatization of Islam in European societies, little is known on how Muslims respond to it. Based on an ethnographic case study of a group of French Muslim activists, this article describes how they explain, rebut and cope with anti-Muslim hostility. Drawing on sociological research on antiracist practices, the article expands understandings of non-confrontational strategies designed to dispel prejudices gradually and educate racist people tactfully. More precisely, the French Muslim activists I interviewed urge their coreligionists to display good manners and exemplary behaviour in response to stigmatization, mobilizing a middle-class set of values encompassing politeness, discretion, socio-economic uplift and self-discipline. In doing so, these activists offer oppositional space to anti-Muslim hostility but also reinforce some of the hegemonic values of colour-blind French republicanism.

Convergence of Islam and Democracy

This studyattempts to analysethe relationship between Islam and democracy objectively with logical rational arguments. It aims to clarify the differences between Islam and democracy in terms of values and concepts, in addition to explaining the reasons for the rejection of some Muslims against democracy and the arguments underlying their rejection. Then, itattempts to draw a theoretical relationship between Islam and democracy by asking critical questions, logical assumptions, and arguments that rely on the empirical practice of implementing democracy in Indonesia. Islam and democracy were born from two different ontological areas. Islam as a religion is believed to be sacred and absolute truth because ontologically its teachings come from God. While the democratic political system was born from the historical trajectory of human cultural development, it means that democracy is profane secular, and the truth is contextual perspective of the status quo of Muslim elite power politics. The concept of democracy in terms of genealogy, values, and orientation is not entirely the same as Islamic teachings, but it is not denied that Islamic teachings are in many respects substantially in line with the concept of democracy. Thus, Indonesia is a country with the largest Muslim population in the world, so it is fitting for Indonesian Muslims to become enforcers of democracy based on human religious values. That is a model of democracy that not only provides a place for the growth of people's beliefs or religiosity, but also provides space for the realization of human rights. Therefore, democracy as a concept, in its implementation, of course, must be adapted to the context and culture of the local community, especially Islamic communities such as in Indonesia and in the Middle East.

THE PAKISTAN MOVEMENT AND FEDERALISM

The careful reading of the history of Pakistan movement tells us the movement rose in response to the fear of the imposition of majoritarian- unitary democracy model in British India following the West Minister model. After 1857 war of independence, Sir Sayed Ahmed Khan had advised Muslims not to take part in politics and focus their energies on acquiring modern education and hence securing their due share in bureaucratic positions under the British rule. But when Congress was formed in 1885 and gradually democratic reforms were introduced, the fear of majoritarian-unitary model started creeping in among the Muslim elite. The leaders of Muslim League felt if the Westminster style majoritarian- unitary democracy model is introduced in British India that will ultimately bring over the centralized Congress rule in British India which they equated as the Hindu raj. The debate around the federal question remained on top of the agenda in British India since the announcement of the Nehru report in 1928. The failure of the Congress in addressing Muslim concerns regarding majoritarian- unitary democracy model ultimately led to the partition of India in 1947. In this paper the debate around the federal question and the demands for consociational democracy in Pakistan movement would be studied in detail and it will be analysed how far the failure of addressing the federal question was responsible for the partition of India. Keywords: Majoritarian Democracy, Indo-Pak History, Consociationalism, All India Muslim League, Muslim Separatism

Rights of Transgender Persons: An Analytical Study of Sharia

Transgender persons are found in almost every society; these people were present in Medina state and had been found in Arab cities and societies even before Islam. In Arab societies, they were treated as slaves, and it was their only status at that time in those societies. Comparative research has been done in this article on how different societies, civilizations and cultures of the world consider transgender persons as the curse of God. During the period of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), Transgender was given the title “Guardians of Harem”, and they used to guard the harems (the place where women and children reside) of the Muslim elites. These persons enjoy the rights of male or female and are bound to obey the directions and commands, which are for a male Muslim and female Muslim. This is a medical disability, just like any other disability and nothing else. In many other societies, civilizations and religions of the world, transgender persons have been deprived of their true status and have been humiliated.

Arabic-language Epigraphy of Mosques in Lezgin Villages of Akhty District of Dagestan (Inscriptions of 11th–18th Centuries)

The author of this article presents some results of the author’s study of the Arabic-language epigraphy of old Lezgin mosques in the Akhty District of the Republic of Dagestan. The mountainous Akhty District inhabited by Lezgins is located in the far south of Dagestan and Russian Federation, near the Main Caucasian ridge. The inscriptions of mosques are an important part of the district’s rich epigraphic heritage. The method of continuous study of epigraphic monuments made it possible to identify many Arabic-language inscriptions in different settlements, and also in abandoned rural settlements in hard-to-reach mountainous areas. The author considers not all epigraphic monuments of mosques, but only some of them. Many of them are introduced into scientific circulation for the first time. In addition, a new updated interpretation of some inscriptions already known to science is proposed. The translation of the inscriptions is accompanied by scientific commentary. Chronologically, the inscriptions cover the period from the 11th–12th centuries to the end of the 18th century. The epigraphy of this chronological period is found on the walls of only some villages in the Akhty District. A portion of the inscriptions considered are dated. To determine the time of undated inscriptions, the method of dating by paleographic features of writing is applied. In terms of genre, the epigraphic monuments of mosques consist of building and benevolent inscriptions, excerpts from Quranic Verse. The discovery of Kufic inscriptions from the 11th–12th centuries on the walls of mosques indicate that the most ancient mosques in the villages of the Akhty District have a millennial history. The geography of Kufic inscriptions found indicates the early spread of Islam even in the most remote and hard-to reach places in southern Dagestan. The location of the inscriptions, which for a long time were considered not preserved, has been established. Among them is the oldest dated building inscription in Arabic on the territory of Russia — from 563 AH (1167/68). After the establishment of rural communities in the Samur district of Dagestan in the beginning of the 17th century, the construction or repair of mosques was carried out, mostly either by the communities or by the representatives of the local Muslim elite.

Ahmad al-Yamani and the Timurid policy in the Eastern Caucasus

At the end of the first third of the 15th century, a prominent representative of the Muslim elite, a sayyid and theologian from Yemen, Ahmad al-Yamani (died in 1450), arrived in Dagestan and stopped in Kumukh, one of the major political centers of Mountainous Dagestan. He devoted the last two decades of his life to the spread and strengthening of Islam among the highlanders. Since that time, Kumukh turned into a large Muslim center and the “internal” Islamization of the mountain tribes began. The result of all this activity in Kumukh was that almost all of Dagestan was islamized by the end of 16th century. Researchers have presented different versions of Ahmad al-Yamani’s arrival in Dagestan. The version that he arrived in Dagestan on behalf of the Abbasid Caliph in Cairo to Islamize the non-Muslim peoples of Dagestan was considered the most widespread in the academic environment. A unique manuscript of the 15th century, which was recently discovered, belonging to the pen of al-Yamani, called “At-Tuhfa al-Ulugbekiyya / Ulugbek’s gift”, contains new valuable material about the life of al-Yamani. He wrote it as a gift for Ulugbek (the ruler of Maverannahr and Shahrukh’s son), while he was in the Timurid emirate. The manuscript’s material was translated by the author and introduced into scientific use for the first time. The studied material, as well as other Arabic-language sources of the 15th — 19th centuries, allow us to assert that al-Yamani’s arrival was inspired by Shahrukh, and the mission was not only Islamization, but also strengthening and extending Timurids’ positions in the Western Caspian region, which was one of the political and military interests of the Timurids’ opponents — the Kara-Koyunlu Turkoman confederation.

Muslim Volte-Face

The post-1857 revolt era represents one of the highly eventful phases in the history of the Muslims in British India. Perhaps the most striking event was the U-turn that occurred in the minds of the Muslim elite by the turn of the century whereby they became convinced that the old advice preached by the late community leader, Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan, regarding aloofness from politics was no longer helpful to the cause of their co-religionists. This change of heart was, in fact, spurred by new challenges that the Muslims of India were facing in the light of the new context in the Indian subcontinent. Therefore, the aim of this work is to look into these challenges which brought the followers of Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan face to face with the option of entering politics, as an inevitable move in order to survive.

ISLAMIC REFORMIST MOVEMENT OF HAJI SULONG ABDUL KADIR IN ISLAMIC EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN THAILAND’S SOUTHERN BORDER

The development of Islamic education in southern Thailand has been in the spotlight of researchers in the last decade in efforts to establish a national education, although this study is still less attractive. The existence of Pondok schools as Islamic educational institutions is considered to have mobilized separatist movements and the authority of traditional Malay Muslim elites to fight for territory. The existence of the Malay rulers with their authority in the fields of religion and culture made traditional Islamic education deeply rooted in the southern Thailand region. Muslims in the southern province are allegedly a monolithic entity whose existence constructs the institutionalization of Thailand as a state, thus opening up space for separatist seeds that emerge from Islamic educational institutions. The existence of Islamic reformers such as Haji Sulong Abdul Kadir is strong evidence that his movement is treading the religious and cultural field in the process of reviving the institutionalization of Islamic education in Southern Thailand. The establishment of Madrasah al-Ma'arif al-Wataniah Fatani as a forum for Haji Sulong Abdul Kadir to fight for reforms in Islamic education institutions, despite strong opposition from the state and the authority of the traditional Malay Muslim elite but ultimately the principles of reform were realized even though the reformers had died and the madrasa was closed.

The New Muslim Ethical Elite: “Silent Revolution” or the Commodification of Islam?

Very little research has examined the emergence of Western Muslims into the elite professions that are central to the operation of the capitalist free market and that serve as a central location of economic and political power. Less research still has examined how this is shaping citizenship among Muslims and the future of Islam in the West. These professions include finance, trade and auditing and supporting free market infrastructure including commercial law, consulting and the entrepreneurial arms of government public service. Many Muslim men and women in these professions maintain a commitment to their faith and are often at the forefront of identifying opportunities for the application of Islamic principles to the free market through the development of social engineering mechanisms such as Islamic finance and home loans, Islamic wills, marriage contracts, businesses and context-specific solutions for Muslim clients. These may have a potentially profound impact on belonging and practice for current and future generations of Western Muslims. The political and economic clout (and broader potential public appeal) of these new Muslim elites often significantly outweighs that of Imams and Sheikhs and thus challenges traditional textually based Islam. This article, grounded in empirical research, seeks to build upon very limited research looking at Muslim elites, exploring these developments with specific reference to professionals working in Islamic finance and law across the Western contexts of Australia and the United States, two countries with capitalist free markets and significant Muslim minorities.

Genealogy, authority and Muslim political representation in British India

AbstractThis article reflects on the significance of genealogy for Sayyids and other Muslim elites in British North India by exploring some literary productions and political endeavours of the Aligarh movement. At the end of the nineteenth century, poems recalling the extra-Indian origins of Muslim elites became increasingly popular, as Altaf Husain Hali's Musaddas best exemplified. Translating an anxiety of seeing their power and influence reduced in the colonial world, such nostalgic discourse, intertwining representations of lineage and authority, promptly entered the political realm. The genealogy rhetoric deployed in Urdu poetry played a significant role in sustaining the claims of the leaders of the Aligarh movement as they strove to bolster a cohesive sharīf community identity and secure political leadership during the anti-Congress propaganda of 1888 as well as to obtain advantages from British officials according to their so-called political importance. In this context, this article emphasises that in Aligarh's nostalgic poetry, the greatest political weight was put on belonging to the ashrāf category rather than to the Sayyids, who only occasionally feature in the sources.

BRIEF INFORMATION ABOUT CONTACTS BETWEEN MUSLIMS OF DAGESTAN AND THE VOLGA-URAL REGION IN THE XVIII-XX CENTURIES.

Religious contacts of Muslims of Dagestan and the Volga-Ural region have not been in the focus of any particular research till date. Scarce information from various Tatar theologians, who studied in Dagestan at the end of the 17th – 18th centuries, have already been mentioned by Tatar researchers. However, numerous Arabographic sources in Arabic and Tatar show close contacts of the Muslim elite of these two regions, starting from the Middle Ages. The present article aims to review available sources about the educational and scientific contacts of Dagestanis, Tatars, and Bashkirs. The sources available and analyzed in the article revealed the bilateral nature of these contacts. While at the end of the 17th – 18th centuries a number of Tatar theologians received a proper education in Dagestan and opened madrasahs in the Volga-Ural region according to the Dagestan type, then starting from the second half of the 19th century one can observe a quiet strong influence of ideas that were widespread in the Volga-Ural region on the Dagestan intellectual elite. Moreover, starting from the 20th century, Tatar journals, textbooks and scientific literature began to penetrate widely into Dagestan, as evidenced by their considerable number of manuscripts and old printed books in private collections. Mutual contacts of Muslims of Dagestan and the Volga-Ural region were due to various reasons – traveling in order to receive education, exile, commercial affairs, personal correspondence, etc. The mixing and interpenetration of the educational, scientific traditions of the Muslims of these two regions led to their wider cultural development and closer integration into various institutions of the Russian Empire.

Terror of the French Revolution in the Land of Egypt, 1798–1801

Historians have written quite a lot about the fact that, starting in 1798 with his Egyptian campaign, Napoleon Bonaparte took everything necessary with him to acquaint the Egyptians with the advanced achievements of the European civilization. However, historiography quite rarely mentions that Napoleon brought another “gift” to the Middle East in the form of revolutionary terror. Out of all the achievements of revolutionary France, it was terror that was most actively used there. Having realised that neither praises of Prophet Muhammad nor anti-Mamluk discourse provided the French with sympathies of the Muslims of Egypt, Bonaparte used la terreur , which did not stop for a day during the entire period of occupation. The policy of intimidation of the population by the occupants was systematic, although it was combined with various ostentatious gestures of the commander-in-chief designed to win the sympathy of the Muslim elite. There was a kind of division of responsibilities: Bonaparte tried to charm the influential sheikhs of the al-Azhar mosque, invited them to dinners, conversed with them about Islam, and gave them gifts; at the same time, the police made up by local Christians and Maghreb mercenaries day after day terrorised the inhabitants of Cairo and its environs, arbitrarily killing innocent people to intimidate everyone else. With the departure of Bonaparte from Egypt, when Kleber took charge of the Oriental army, terror did not stop, but only changed its character from permanent to situational. Following Kleber’s death, his successor, General Menou once again gave terror a permanent nature. It was the policy of terror that allowed a tiny minority of thirty thousand people to hold power over several million people in a country almost twice the size of France for three years.

Ottoman ruling elite in the sanjak of semendire during the eighteenth century

The Transitional period in the Ottoman Empire (17th-18th century) brought about changes in the organization of government that were felt deeply at the imperial periphery. The process of decentralization in the Ottoman Balkans was most prominent during the 18th century. Traditional roles of political and social agents in towns became ever more unstable and the shifts of ruling elites were ever more pronounced. The ruling, Muslim elite had gradually joined together by forming political alliances in order to gain influence and money. Political struggles became constant. Belonging to the elite through acquiring the status of asker - either by enlisting into janissaries or by getting a timar and the status of spahi - did not guarantee a political influence or wealth. The new elite got their positions thanks to the political connections with either local or central government. The financial power was a factor that mostly determined a person?s status in the 18th century, and it did not depend on the legitimacy of economic undertakings. The capital was accumulated through trade, tax farming and tax collecting. The close relations with the representatives of government secured path towards an elite status. The rise of the new local governing elite and the ways of its social and political promotion were not identical processes even in the neighboring provinces. The role of m?tesellim, voyvoda or kapudan, depended on the character of the Ottoman administration in the province (sanjak), which is why case studies contribute to the overall knowledge about the organization of Ottoman local authorities.

Shihabaddin Mardjani and the Muslim Archive in Russia

Shihabaddin Mardjani (1818-1889) was one of the first Muslim scholars in the Russian empire to approach conceptually the challenge of Russian imperial scholarship (Kemper, 1998, pp. 462-465). Despite his readiness to speak to audiences beyond the circles of Muslim elites (for example, by participating in the scholarly proceedings at Kazan University), Mardjani largely remained in the confines of Islamic tradition with its specific approaches to the production of knowledge. As the library of Mardjani either have been lost in fire or dispersed in many private collections, his works in the manuscript and published form remain the main source of analysis for historians of today. Still, there are documents from the personal archive of Mardjani that allow us to judge about the nature of his approach to remnants of the past, i.e. his view on the Muslim concept of legacy.