Muslim Activists Research Articles

Revolutionizing Religious Advocacy: Unleashing The Potential Of Digital Da'wah And Its Boundaries For Muslim Women Activists

Every Muslim has an obligation to preach to spread the word of Islam. Da’wah activities are currently dominated by male activists, even though women also have the same obligation to preach, in fact there are matters that women know better, especially those related to feminine issues. Therefore, women are required to preach by paying attention to the limits set by the Sharia. As exemplified by the ummahatul mu’minin and other shahabiyat during the heyday of Islam where they took an active role in spreading the teachings of Islam by forming hadith halaqah and other learning media. This research aims to explore how the contribution of da’wah of Muslim women activists in the digital era 5.0 and the limits set by Islam. The method used in this research is a qualitative approach with data analysis method. The results of this study indicate based on the takhrij hadith of the Prophet ﷺ that Muslim women da’wah activists can spread Islam through social media, by maintaining restrictions such as: maintaining aurat and voice, not being tabarruj, not mixing with men, not promoting heretical thoughts, preaching according to their abilities and fields, preaching politely, and also setting an example by practicing what is preached. So it can be concluded that in the digital era 5.0 there are many ways for Muslim women to contribute to spreading Islam, Islam gives full support to Muslim activists who preach according to the corridors of Islam.

Political Ramifications and Humanitarian Crises among Sudanese Refugees in Metema, Northwest Ethiopia (1964–91)

This study explores the complexity of refugee management, humanitarian crises, and the political and diplomatic challenges of hosting Sudanese refugees camped at Metema from 1964 to 1991. Despite its potential wealth, Sudan has experienced recurring power struggles, military coups, and humanitarian crises that have displaced civilians from their homes. Thousands of Sudanese Ansar civilians displaced from several localities in North Sudan due to devastating conflicts and power struggles between the Ansar political elites and the government of Jaffar al-Nimeiri camped at the Ethiopian border district of Metema (1964–91). The Ansars, who claimed themselves fellows of Imam al-Mahdi, were devoted militant Muslims determined to militarily remove Nimeiri. However, the countermeasures provoked hostility and displaced civilians. The first Ansar refugees camped at Metema in 1964, but a large-scale and massive influx appeared in 1970 and 1976. In 1970 and 1976, Ansar military officers masterminded attempted coups against the Nimeiri regime. When the coups failed, the loyalist forces of Nimeiri destroyed Aba Island, the power base of the Ansars and took repressive measures against the civilians. Frustrated by repressive state measures, Ansars left for Metema and camped at three separate sites until 1991. Overcoming challenges, Ethiopia provided protection and facilitated humanitarian aid to the Sudanese refugees. In sum, Ethiopia attempted to facilitate peace talks between the refugees and the Sudanese government, aimed at repatriating the refugees. However, hosting refugees affected interstate relations and contributed to the entangled diplomacy between both countries. The researcher produces this article based on a critical analysis of untapped archives of the imperial and Derg periods and contemporary periodical sources kept at the Gondar Archive Center. In addition, the researcher conducted in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with selected elders in Gendawuha, Kokit, Kumer, and Metema Yohannes.

Religion and responsibility in international relations: Thatcher, Mahathir, and The Satanic Verses

Abstract The crisis over Salman Rushdie’s novel The Satanic Verses exposed the contrasting ways Western and Muslim actors understand the place of religion in international order and the responsibilities of states in religious controversies. No other Muslim national leader supported Ayatollah Khomeini’s call for Rushdie’s death in 1989, but many Muslims expressed anger and disbelief that Britain and Western powers could not restrict a book that caused so much international disturbance. This paper seeks to understand this discord through the overlapping but conflicted language games of Western and Muslim national leaders. It analyses a previously unreported exchange of letters between British prime minister Margaret Thatcher and Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, along with other recently released archival material from the diplomatic crisis. These letters reflected different unwritten rules informing the actors’ understandings and practices of international order, despite their shared acceptance of the sovereignty of national states. For Mahathir, the Western world was itself a religious identity, and its collective propagation of The Satanic Verses compounded a religious insult to the Muslim world. But Thatcher and other British actors did not see religious identities, especially their own, as basic elements of international relations, instead reasserting the secular primacy of national states.

Claiming space in civil society. Young Muslim moral personhoods in Bangladesh and Italy

ABSTRACT In this article we analyze the multi-layered engagements of young Muslim activists in Dhaka (Bangladesh) and in the ‘Bangladeshi community’ in Rome (Italy), illustrating how, despite the local factors shaping a problematic relationship between Islamic activism and civil society in the two contexts, the young people share an attitude that points to the manifestations of a public Islam on a global level. This attitude aims at transcending the sectarianism and isolationism of previous generations, giving rise to civic engagements that rely on a concept of moral personhood, and strive to achieve change in society through modalities that depart from the clichés of political Islam. By considering these varied modalities, we highlight the existence of unconventional links between politics and civil society, and between ‘new’ and ‘old’ forms of civil society, contributing to the deconstruction of a Eurocentric and religion-averse understanding of the concept. At the same time, by analyzing the role played by the ‘individual’ in our interlocutors’ engagements, we shed light on counterintuitive convergences between Muslim moral economy and that of neoliberal governmentality, and on the emergence of a ‘liquid civil society’.

Indonesian Heroes and Villains: National Identity, Politics, Law, and Security

This thematic issue of <em>Politics and Governance</em> offers a collection of unique articles that debate Indonesian “heroes” and “villains,” providing an understanding of the country’s past and present. The importance of Indonesia in the world is ever-increasing geopolitically and economically, offering rich material for academic studies. It is one of the few Muslim-majority democracies, with a long and complex history of people and institutions that have shaped its national identity, politics, government, law, and security, which we examine under the central theme of agents of change and integration. The articles cover local histories prior to independence in 1945 to the present day, the legacy of President Abdurrahman Wahid (1999–2001), a biography of a prominent Muslim activist turned terrorist, women’s agency in terrorism, as well efforts to reform terrorists. Discussions on the problematic aspects of the Indonesian state ideology Pancasila and the downgrading of Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commission are also examined. Realpolitik is covered in the article concerning Indonesia’s maritime security and in the article discussing activists who died fighting for democratic freedoms, such as Indonesian poet-activist Wiji Thukul, who eventually saw the reform movement (reformasi) topple the Soeharto “New Order” regime (1966–1998), and usher in the democracy that Indonesia enjoys today.

The Rushdie Affair and the Politics of Multicultural Britain

Abstract It is more than thirty years since Ayatollah Khomeini, the supreme leader of Iran, issued a fatwa (religious decree) calling for the execution of the British-Indian novelist Salman Rushdie, whose third novel, The Satanic Verses, was published in 1988. But the ‘Rushdie Affair’ has yet to be subject to a sustained analysis by historians. Journalists and political scientists continue to focus on the fatwa, despite the fact the protests against the novel in Britain – where The Satanic Verses is primarily set – predated Khomeini’s decree by two months. This article fills this lacuna by shifting attention onto the emergence of the campaign against The Satanic Verses in Britain and in Bradford especially, where a copy of Rushdie’s ‘blasphemous’ novel was infamously burnt by Muslim protestors. It shows how an earlier set of campaigns fought in Bradford by Muslim activists paved the way for the city to become a key site of protest against both Rushdie and his novel. The protests that greeted The Satanic Verses were shaped by the contradictory nature of Britain’s emergence as a multicultural society, I argue, and the political complexities thrown up by the hybridized milieu Rushdie had sought to use his fiction to evoke.

Navigating in Insecure Territory: Attitudes among Islamic Movement Female Activists toward the Israeli Authorities and Culture

This article deals with female activists of the Islamic movement in Israel and their attitudes toward the Israeli authorities and culture. It looks at the complex Muslim existence in Israel, leading to such questions as: What is their opinion about the Israeli space and how do they live as Muslims in a non-Islamic space? And what strategies do they use to bridge the gap between their religious and civic identities? The article presents three main positions of the women activists in relation to the Israeli space: the majority who want to integrate into Israeli society, the minority who reject Israeli society and want to seclude themselves in a community of an Islamic nature, and a group which takes the humanistic position where the emphasis is on the person and not their religious identity, i.e., they prefer not to emphasize their religious identity in the Israeli space, partly because they fear expressing criticism towards Israeli society, assuming that it will lead to persecution and conflicts. Female Muslim activists give a religious interpretation and act according to Fiqh al-waqi’a (a religious interpretation according to the understanding of reality) in a subjective, personal way, without any top-down guidance from the (male) leaders of the movement.

Gender Equality Perspective of Asghar Ali Engineer: Challenges and Opportunities for Theological Feminists

Gender equality in the Islamic context is in deep focus, especially through the lens of feminist theology. This article explores the views of Asghar Ali Engineer, a Muslim activist, who advocates the need to treat women as equals to men and redefine sharia law regarding gender issues. The main focus is on the challenges and opportunities facing feminist theology in Islam, with an emphasis on the concept of gender equality and its impact on Muslim women. This research adopts a qualitative approach, analyzing and exploring data from key works such as "Islamic Liberation Theology" by Latief Muhaemin and the works of Asghar Ali Engineer. Feminist theologians, including Engineer, face the challenges of reconstructing religious texts, deconstructing traditional understandings that devalue women, and resolving socio-cultural challenges related to religious law and social norms. With a socio-theological approach, they emphasize the importance of understanding the social context and reinterpreting key concepts to suit the needs of the times. In an effort to create a non-exploitative life order, theological feminists such as Engineer strive to provide equal opportunities for women and men, including in aspects of leadership, to bring positive changes in the interpretation of Islamic religious teachings in the 21st century.
 

Islam as method

This essay presents ?Islam as Method? as a multi-dimensional approach that serves as an academic framework, a process of engagement, and an activist strategy. It argues that Islam, in the ?Islam as Method? thesis, is an ontological category rooted in a commitment to divine unity and ethical principles such as justice (?adl), dignity (karama) and excellence (ihsan). These commitments enable Muslim activists to assert intellectual and cultural autonomy beyond Euro-American academic, political, and ideological constraints. Drawing on examples from Islamicate contexts, this multi-dimensional approach recognizes the diversity within Islamic traditions while identifying common ethical threads that guide collective action. By emphasizing shared principles and the dynamic reinterpretation of Islamic ethics, ?Islam as Method? challenges the dominance of secular and (neo)liberal perspectives and fosters the development of autonomous, cross-cultural dialogue. Informed by the works of contemporary scholars like the late Shabbir Akhtar, Taha Abdurrahmane and Khaled Aboul El Fadl, this method suggests that an intense epistemological shift is underway, allowing committed Muslims to reclaim their agency and produce coherent, ethical knowledge aligned with their values and historical experiences.

What It Means to be a Muslimah: The Religious Orientations of Female Muslim Activists in Malaysia by Syed Imad Alatas (review)

What It Means to be a Muslimah: The Religious Orientations of Female Muslim Activists in Malaysia by Syed Imad Alatas (review)

Sri Lanka: recent crises in a multi-religious society

ABSTRACT Sri Lanka has traditionally been known as a predominantly Buddhist country, where people belonging to Hindu, Muslim and Christian religions have co-existed, largely peacefully, for centuries. From time to time, opportunistic politicians and a small minority of militant religious leaders have tried to foment unrest among religious groups. The civil war that lasted for 30 years resulted in the murder of Buddhist and Muslim devotees and damage to sacred places of worship. The Easter Sunday attacks in 2021 by Muslim militants set back modest efforts underway to promote religious harmony. This article examines the causes and implications of such challenges.

On Wine-Drinking in Sufi-Philosophical Islam: A Response to Shahab Ahmed

Abstract Shahab Ahmed’s What is Islam? The Importance of Being Islamic is perhaps the most ambitious book in Islamic Studies of the last fifty years. One of the ways specialists might engage critically with Ahmed’s work is with his various presentations of the ideas of different Muslim actors featured in his re-conceptualization of Islam, upon which Ahmed often constructs his own positive theses. Does he represent their ideas accurately enough to justify the work that they do for him? For example, Ahmed’s treatment of “Muslim wine-drinking” relies on his setting up an opposition between the norms of the Law and an alternative set of norms determined by “Sufi-philosophical Islam.” In this paper, I suggest that Ahmed misrepresents this relationship. A careful study of the ideas invoked by Ahmed to support his thesis shows that a Sufi-philosophical exploration of wine-drinking was in fact compatible with the Law, even as it transcended It.

“Digital Resources Are Not Reliable”: Peer-Group-Based Intellectualism among Muslim Youth Activists in Bima, Eastern Indonesia

This article explores the sources of Islamic knowledge among young Muslim activists in Bima, Eastern Indonesia, who are often stereotyped as a hotbed of radicalism, and their religious types to reveal their intellectual dynamics. This article argues that, in modern times, as Islamic tendencies and orientations have diversified, young Muslims in the Bima region engage with many different aspects of the production and use of religious knowledge under the umbrella of Indonesian Islam. Moreover, they actively build peer-group-based intellectualism, fostering patron–client connections in the form of discussion and literacy development through student organizations, and this is influential in shaping their religious identities and religious types. This qualitative research involved 47 young Muslim activists, who are also senior high school and university students, 20 of whom were interviewed in-depth, while 27 others participated in focus group discussions. This research reveals that their sources of learning vary. However, the most critical media in shaping and confirming their religious understanding are the training and discussions held by their respective peer groups and organizations. Their literacy and references are also further developed through these forums. Learning resources accessed via social media are considered essential but unreliable in this digital era. Therefore, in their intellectual development, young persons need teachers and families to act as learning resource providers that co-exist with the literacy obtained through organizations. Such sources and ways of learning form a type of religiosity that is “practical” (embodied in daily practice) for most. Meanwhile, the “ideological” type of religion (fundamental to the Islamization movement) is only found in right-wing activists of Islamic organizations and does not thrive among the young people of Bima, Eastern Indonesia.

Religious War and Brutal Killing of Christians in Nigeria; Its Effects and Consequences in Related to John 18:5-11

Brutal killings of Christians in the northern and middle parts of Nigeria at the hands of Muslim militants and terrorists have been a daily occurrence in recent years. Nigeria daily news are always full of records of shielding of innocent bloods both adult and young, burning of Churches, the worst of them all is killings of Christian members during Church services. The major concerns now are days are kidnapping people after which the ransom will be paid and victim will eventually be killed. Increasingly, the attackers have included another group, militant nomadic Fulani herdsmen who raid villages and kill Christian men, women, children, and babies with, local weapon AK-47s, machetes and many others. This work considers the attitude of both the past and present administrations towards the brutal killings of Christian in the Northern part of the country it was equally linked with the story of Jesus Crucifixion and those that were supposed to speak and defended him master minded the killing of the Saviour of the entire universe. However, the work came out with the effect of the brutal killings, causes and concludes by suggesting the way out

The Efficacy of Eco-Music in Interreligious Ecotheological Movement in Indonesia

This paper deals with interreligious eco-theological studies on unique, creative, and courageous phenomena initiated by young people to protect the integrity of creation and environmental sustainability as a form of appeal regarding ethics and environmental values in the face of law violations. They are members of a musical group named the Kendeng Squad and use songs to express their concern for environmental injustice. The group is also called an interreligious ecotheological movement because its members come from various religious backgrounds, namely, Sedulur Sikep representing the indigenous religion and Muslim activists, and Catholic activists; and because those songs call for protest against the exploitation of natural resources. Using qualitative analysis, this study found that the movement was able to motivate farmers and indigenous peoples to care about their environment. It has even spread to other places outside Pati Regency, Central Java, Indonesia, and involved music artists of the country. In this sense, eco-music has significantly contributed to the interreligious ecotheological movement. This study initially described the role of eco-music in responding to the ecological crisis hitting the Earth and then related it to interreligious ecotheology. After the general analysis, it then examined the background of the Kendeng Squad and its struggle to express its concerns through eco-musics to protect the North Kendeng Mountains Region. Overall, this paper offered a new insight into how eco-music has been efficacious in encouraging the interreligious ecotheology movement to maintain the integrity of creation and environmental sustainability.

THE HISTORY OF ISLAM IN THE POLITICS OF MEMORY IN INDONESIA (mid-2010s to early 2020s)

The purpose of the article is to analyze the features of the politics of memory in contexts of the history of Islam in modern Indonesia. It is assumed that the difficulties in localization of the history of Islam in modern historical memory are aggravated by repressions against Muslim activists and the violence of radical Muslims against their political and ideological opponents. The novelty of the study lies in the analysis of the attempts of the Indonesian society to form a compromise canon of historical memory, integrating the history of the Ummah and political Islam into officially sanctioned versions of history. The article analyzes 1) the features of the imagination of Islamic images in the politics of memory, 2) the prospects and contradictions of the integration of Ummah figures into the historical imagination, 3) attempts to revise the history of Islam in the context of the development of the memorial culture of the Indonesian society. The results of the study suggest that modern Indonesian society use the mechanisms of historical politics actively in its attempts to form a new image of the history of Islam, integrated into predominantly secular narratives that determine the development of Indonesian identity.

Mediation of Muslim Gender Norms

In this article, I examine how religious Muslim actors representing a religious institution and reli-gious Muslim actors who are independent of such institutions mediate Muslim gender norms in online platforms in Denmark, and what modes of argumentation the actors use in their articulation of gender roles and family structures. I find that most of the actors subscribe to traditional gender norms and family structures with the main argument being the natural stature of traditional gender roles. I discuss the fluidity of the religious and secular mediation of the actors, and how the argu-mentation used by the actors challenges secular perceptions of notions such as gender equality and emancipation.

Malaysian Muslimah Activists’ Modes of Thought: Rereading Islamic and Alternative Sources of Knowledge

This article focuses on the modes of thought of female Muslim (Muslimah) activists in Malaysia towards Islamic and alternative sources of knowledge and how these modes of thought inform their understanding of gender justice for the Muslimah. The Islamic sources of knowledge can be divided into the Quran and the Hadith (recorded sayings of the Prophet Muhammad). Western feminism, on the other hand, can be deemed an alternative source of knowledge as it approaches gender issues from a non-religious point of view and typically does not refer to religious texts when discussing gender justice. When the activists refer to the Quran and Hadith as their main sources of women’s issues, they acknowledge the importance of contextualising them to modern society. Next, they show an appreciation of alternative sources of knowledge such as Western feminism when talking about women’s issues in Islam. While being critical, they are generally not antagonistic towards Western feminism. Nevertheless, there are activists who cannot reconcile between Islamic and Western feminist discourses on women’s issues. Data for this article was gathered from in-depth interviews with seven Muslimah activists from six NGOs. Utilising Manheim’s sociology of knowledge framework, this article elaborates on how the modes of thought of the activists generally resemble one that is neo-modernist.

On the Politics of Viruses and Visibility

On the Politics of Viruses and Visibility

Violent conflict and National identity among the Pakistani Pukhtuns (Pashtuns) in Swat Pakistan: A theoretical and empirical exploration

ABSTRACT Using an extended constructivist position and the case study of Pukhtuns in Swat, Pakistan, this study outlines the interplay between violent conflict (between Muslim Militants and Pakistani state military) and National identity and its markers. The conflict is peculiar; (1) because of the use of Islam by Muslim militants which is an identity marker for Pakistani national identity and Pukhtun ethnic identity, (2) the case of Swat, an ex-princely state integrated only in 1969 in Pakistan with a history of religious violent mobilizations. Further, as Pakistani state has been facing problems with the process of national integration of its multiple ethnicities, the case of national identity becomes significant to be explored The study argues that the impacts of conflict and violence on national identity are complex and multi-dimensional. National identity is neither lost nor reaffirmed, yet as a result of the violent conflict. The article explores the impacts of violent conflict for religion (Islam), State institutions (military), discourses (of pride, sacrifice, and complains) and national symbols (holidays) as markers of National Identity in Pakistan through a fieldwork in Swat from November 2016 to May 2017 and later in November 2021.