pre-Islamic Culture Research Articles

Sanggar, pelimbonen, kaphaygo sa ragat: Traversing the Pre-Islamic beliefs and traditions of the Meranaws in the Philippines

The pre-Islamic culture in the Philippines is evident in the present social behavior of the Filipinos, especially the Meranaws. These people geographically occupy the two Lanao provinces and other nearby towns. This paper explored the tradition of sanggar, pelimbonen and kaphaygo sa ragat as ancient practices before the influence of Islam to the Meranaws. The practices involve the invocation of spirits, use of nature such as sea, plants, and spells. The study is a qualitative and the method used is descriptive analysis to explain and discuss the beliefs and traditions. The data were collected through interviews on the three concepts mentioned. The traditions and beliefs were rich embedded culture and widely practiced years before the Islamization of the Meranaws. They called spirits in nature as they believed in the power of these beings in treating people and the success of their spells. However, it is noted with the case of sea bathing, the Meranaws live near the lake, which calls for further investigation if this tradition is true for all Meranaws. No single document has ever proven this. Thus, some traditions and beliefs have been banned due to the influence of strong Islamic teachings.

Pre-Islamic and Islamic Influences of Taman Ghairah Banda Aceh

According to the manuscript of Bustanussalatin by Nuruddin Ar Raniry, in 1637 Sultan Iskandar Thani built a private royal garden called Taman Ghairah (Ghairah Garden). The seventeenth-century garden of Aceh still holds some questions because most of its objects are no longer found in Banda Aceh. Three buildings such as: Gunongan, Kandang and Pintô Khôp which are close to the former Sultan’s palace, are believed to be the remains of the garden. This present study is architectural research that incorporates direct observation and semiotic study on the garden simulation. The simulation is based on the Bustanussalatin manuscript. It is found that the existence of several symbols carry out meanings which relate to the influences of Islamic and pre-Islamic cultures in the past. Meru, tree of life, lotus, and banjaran sari may have derived from pre-Islamic culture, while the river, mosque and floral symbols indicate the presence of Islamic influence. This article underlines that Taman Ghairah has Islamic and Pre-Islamic cultural influences, reflecting the convergence of diverse backgrounds in Acehnese culture.

Media Misrepresentation Predisposing Iranian Social Divide

The Islamic Revolution of 1979 brought Iran to be transformed into a new revolutionary theocratic republic. This is in line with the raison d’être of the Iranian constitution, realizing the life of the nation and state based on the noble and universal values of Islam. Meanwhile, the existence of power competition and conflicting conceptions of authority have been reflected in its political constellation. Islam in the realm of this state is not only understood as a religious institution but also a concept of political spirituality. The hijab policy, for example, has become part of Iranian culture ever since and became a political symbol after the government of Shah Pahlavi in 1936 banned the use of the hijab through the Kashf e Hejab decree. An Iranian anthropologist, Sadeq Hedayat, well-known during 1910-1920, argued the “Islamic” culture in Iranian society was in an alienated position because it was considered illogical and anti-modern, while pre-Islamic culture is considered as the original culture of Iranian society in accordance with modern western culture. Such perceptions are ingrained in society, both inside and outside Iran. Especially when the media plays a vital role in shaping public opinion and even in decision making and political consensus. Thus far, biased or political news has been at the heart of the controversy among Iran and the opposing countries. This must be analyzed to find out the deeper issue of the influence of Iran’s misrepresentation in the media on the division of Iranian society through analysis of cleavage theory. From pre-to-post-revolution, divisions in Iranian society were exposed, such as class divisions, political preferences distinctions, etc. Answering this question is accomplished through literature studies, including exploration of the background context, theory, and ethnographic writings of Iran during the Islamic revolution and the post-revolutionary period to demonstrate the problem analysis. In addition, visual observations through various authentic and reliable video recordings and news reports from Iran over the past 5 years are made to examine what is misunderstood by the world about Iran and its people. Meanwhile, to see the empirical side, interviews and discussions were conducted online with Iranian citizens so that the information obtained could present a more comprehensive picture of the present social life of Iranians. Therefore, the results of the analysis should be able to explain how media distortion affects Iran’s political decisions. Because politics plays an important role in the expression of public policy. If the policies

Historical and Cultural Processes and Periodization of Arabic Literature

The article is devoted to the theoretical problem of the periodization of the Arab national literature. The issue of dividing Arabic literature into periods has long been in the focus of both Arab and Western, as well as Russian literary researchers. Undoubtedly, such issues, which have recently acquired relevance in connection with the growing interest in modern Arabic literature, require analysis from such points of view as the multiplicity and variability of existing periodizations, the reasons for the discrepancy between the periodizations of European and Arab national literatures and various approaches to the compilation of periodization by Arab and European specialists. The purpose of this work was designated as an attempt to demonstrate, using analysis and comparison, as well as the method of historicity, the redundancy or, conversely, the insufficiency of some periodizations and the terms used in them, to find different names for the same periods with the same artistic principles and time frames, as well as to establish the factors that had the strongest influence on the development of Arabic literature. In the course of the study, conclusions are drawn about the inexpediency of correlating the periodization of Arabic literature with general European, as well as about the key role of a number of factors in the history of Arabic literature. First, linguistic (minimal changes in the literary language since the codification of the Quran in the 7th century), that ensured the continuity and tradition of Arabic literature, which for centuries preserved and cultivated figurative systems and stylistic devices of preIslamic times. Secondly, the factor of national domination - a purely Arab or general Muslim character of the society. Under the conditions of the latter, there was a mutual enrichment of the literatures of the peoples included in the caliphate, which entailed fundamental changes in the genre system and themes of Arabic literature. The author thus holds the idea that the originality of Arab literature is due to the characters of Arab preIslamic culture in general and verbal culture in particular and the historical processes of the Middle Ages in the Middle East, first of all - the rapid formation of the Caliphate as an imperial state and the including of most Arab countries a part in the Ottoman Empire, where Arabic was not the state language, from the XIV century and before the territorial redistribution of the results of the World War I.

Excavations on the Coral Mosques of the Maldives

Abstract This report presents the results of an archaeological mission done in the Maldives archipelago located to the south-west of India, in the Indian Ocean. In November 2017, we carried out archaeological excavations and surveys as well as collected oral traditions on two sites, the Fandiyaaru Mosque and Koagannu Cemetery in Hulhumeeddhoo town on Addu Atoll and the Friday Mosque of Fenfushi on Alifu Dhaalu Atoll. Two outcomes were expected from our mission: first, to provide new scientific data on the coral mosques of the Maldives in order to improve the chances of success of nomination of the mosques on the World Heritage List of UNESCO; then to support the conservation project of the Maldivian government and international organisations such as UNESCO and the World Monuments Fund (WMF). One major question during our excavation was the continuity of the settlements from pre-Islamic cultures and influences from Buddhist architecture on local Islamic architecture.

Whose Past and Whose Future: Free Love and Love Marriage among “Kafirs” of the Hindukush in an Early Nineteenth-Century Persian Ethnography

This paper deals with some practices and conceptions relating to love and marriage in a now-extinct pre-Islamic culture of the Hindukush, as described in an extremely precious, yet very little-known, Persian ethnographical source (ca. 1840). Written by a munshī from Peshawar under instructions from the French general Claude-Auguste Court, who was then in the service of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, this is probably the single most important pre-Robertson source about the “Kafir” cultures of Nuristan. While a complete translation and thorough study of the unpublished document, by Stefano Pellò and Alberto Cacopardo, is now forthcoming, in these brief notes we show how free love and love marriage, often perceived as “modern” concepts in many parts of Asia, were envisioned by Tak and Shamlar, two elders from pre-Islamic Kamdesh.

Intersections of Material and Literary History in Religion and Ritual of Ancient Arabia through Islam

The reconciliation of Ibn al-Kalbī’s ninth-century CE text of on pre-Islamic Arabia with modern scholarship offers certain insights to religious practices in the Arabian Peninsula from prehistory through the seventh cenury CE This study integrates his early Book of Idols into existing archaeological and anthropological studies about diverse aspects of pre-Islamic religion and ritual: diverse forms of litholatry; pilgrimage rituals; and the social economy of sacrifice and rain rogation rituals. Al-Kalbī’s text is recognized rightly for its essential character as a product from a distinct cultural milieu, early Islamic Kūfa, distant by time, geography, and culture from the pre-Islamic culture of Arabian antiquity of the peninsula and particularly the ancient kingdoms of Yemen in the southwest. Nevertheless, this article analyzes this contested source for several of its alignments with recent archaeological and anthropological findings.

MUH. SYARIEF SUKANDI’S HARIRING WANGSITING GUSTI NU MAHA SUCI: POETIC TRANSLATION OF THE QUR’ĀN AND THE REFORMIST MUSLIM AMBIVALENCE

This study focuses on the tradition of Sundanese literary among the reformist Muslims. My object of study is a Sundanese book of poetic translation of the Qur’ān in the form of metrical verse or dangding entitle Hariring Wangsiting Gusti Nu Maha Suci (A Hymn of God Revelation the Most Holy) using translation approach and critical discourse analysis. The book is written by Muh. Syarief Sukandi (1931-1997). He was known as a member of Indonesian army, ‘ulamā’ and activist of reformist Islamic organization, Islamic Union (Persatuan Islam or Persis). Sukandi’s Hariring was published by Bina Insan Asy-Syarief Foundation in 2010. It contains 23 translations of the Qur’anic short surahs amount to 63 stanzas. He uses many types of metrum (pupuh). The study confirms that Sukandi’s Hariring tends to be a translation of exegesis (al-tarjamah al-tafsīriyyah) that was limited by the metrum rules. However, Sukandi’s Hariring is not only shows the influence of Sundanese nature, but also his effort to strengthen Islamic ideology which closer to pre-Islamic culture. It can be seen in the use of some Sundanese words of pre-Islamic period. It is an ambivalence that may be contrary to the purification ideology of Persis, because considered to contaminate the purity of Islamic teachings. It is a work of another side of reformist Muslim which do not keep the distance from local culture.

AKTIVITAS PEMANFAATAN GUA DAN CERUK DI NAGARI SITUMBUK, TANAH DATAR - SUMATERA BARAT

Nagari Situmbuk, Salimpaung Subdistrict, Tanah Datar District, West Sumatra Province has naturally interesting caves and rock shelters, and their existence is also related to past and present human activities. The caves and rock shelters in the Situmbuk area are partly related to human activities that use them as temporary dwellings.Its existence is also related to human activities that utilize the surrounding environment as rice fields, plantations and tropical forests. The problem raised is how is the form of human activity related to the use of caves and rock shelters in Nagari Situmbuk in the past? Why is there a difference in the use of caves and rock shelters there? The method used in this research is qualitative using inductive reasoning flow by observing the unit and its context. The caves and rock shelters which have indications of being used by people with different cultures are Ngalau Guong, Ngalau Tompok Syohiah I, and Ngalau Muaro. The use of Ngalau Guong is related to hunting life and simple farming so that it still utilizes caves / rock shelters there as temporary dwellings. Ngalau Tompok Syohiah I is related to the development of Pre-Islamic culture (megalithic tradition which is marked by the presence of menhirs and pseudo graves), Islam, until now which is implied through symbols on the walls of the cave. The tradition that takes place in the cave is also related to agricultural activities that have been carried out intensely. Then Ngalau Muaro, this relates to plantation activities that took place around the 18th century to the 19th.

ДИСКУССИЯ ОБ «АЙКОЛЬ МАНАС» В КОНТЕКСТЕ ИСТОРИЧЕСКИХ ВЗАИМОСВЯЗЕЙ ШАМАНИЗМА И СКАЗИТЕЛЬСТВА У КИРГИЗОВ

The article dwells upon connection between the two most important Kyrgyz traditions: shamanism ( bakshylyk ) and storytelling ( zhomokchuluk ). It considers the general cultural and social field that forms some features that are characteristic of both shamans and storytellers, as well as the traces of pre-Islamic culture that can be found in the world of the Kyrgyz epic. Special attention is paid to the post-folklor version of the epic “Manas” – the dastan “Aykol Manas” and the public discussion around that literary work. The discussion reflects, on the one hand, specific aspects of the understanding of the Kyrgyz epic tradition, and on the other hand, a number of characteristic features that accompany modern transformations of Kyrgyz shamanism.

Made in China?


 
 
 This paper presents evidence to suggest that the highly aberrant Old Khotanese version of the popular Sūtra of the Master of Medicine Beryl-Shine (Bhaiṣajyaguru- vaiḍūryaprabhasūtra) may have been translated from a Chinese text, the twelfth fascicle of the so-called Consecration Sūtra, T1331 . As a possible explanation for the hybrid nature of the Khotanese text, which shares in features of the Consecration Sūtra and of the mainstream version, I suggest the possibility that the Sanskrit version may have originated in Khotan as a revision of the Khotanese text. Lastly I explore the greater consequences that these scenarios would have in our understanding of the pre-Islamic cultures of the Tarim Basin, underscoring the role of China as a significant cultural influence.
 
 

Preservice Social Studies Teachers’ Opinions Regarding History Education

In Turkey, preservice social studies teachers take history education courses such as Revolution History and Kemalism I-II, Ancient History and Civilization, Pre-Islamic Turkish History and Culture, History of Turkish Education, History of Medieval Age, Ottoman History and Civilization I-II, New and Contemporary History, Contemporary World History, and History of Turkish Republic I-II during their undergraduate education. The purpose of this study was to reveal preservice social studies teachers’ opinions regarding how these courses were taught. Within this scope, their perceptions of how these courses were taught and their opinions regarding how history courses should be taught were tried to be determined. The participants of this study involved 125 third and fourth-year undergraduates studying social studies education of a faculty of education at a state university. One of the qualitative research designs, phenomenology was used in this study. The data were collected using a semi-structured interview form. During the interviews, the participants were asked to respond three questions: “What is instruction?”, “How are history courses taught in your department?”, and “how should the history courses be taught?” The data were analyzed using descriptive analysis technique. Direct quotations were used and the emerging themes were presented under some categories in Findings section.

FUNGSI MASJID SENDANG DUWUR SEBAGAI WUJUD AKULTURASI BUDAYA

Sendang Duwur Mosque built by Sunan Sendang Duwur not only plays as a place for worship, but also as cultural space to preserve religious tradition and acculturation between Islamic culture and pre-Islamic tradition. This study uses a qualitative descriptive approach to describe and to analyze the functions of Sendang Duwur mosque as manifestation of cultural acculturation. This mosque has conducted various religious activities that reflect cultural acculturation between pre-Islamic and Islamic culture. This mosque conducted a bancaan (eating together) and art performance terbang jidor, rebana with reading shalawat and barzanji with Javanese tune. These activities are to commemorate Islamic great days. There are various traditional foods served at the bancaan ceremony as a form of selametan or wilujengan (thanksgiving) which emphasize harmony among people within societies. This plays as a main lement of each ceremony in the system of Javanese religion. In addition, people visiting mosque are for pilgrimage at Sendang Duwur tomb that aims to gain blessing and to follow the characters of Sunan. They hold selametan as well at the mosque for tasyakuran or praying to expect of safety from God.

L'etica dell'onore nella cultura beduina e nell'Islam

After a short linguistic discussion of the main Arabic roots pertaining the concept of honor, the article shows how, while in the pre-Islamic Bedouin culture honor was linked to lineage, courage and pride, Islamic revelation connected it with ethics and religious virtue. Honor, intended as piety and wise behavior, is part of the original nature of man, on which God put His imprinting. The article analyses five Arab-Muslim thinkers, three ‘medieval’ (al-Ghazali, Ibn Bajja and Ibn Khaldun) and two modern (Lahbabi and Abou el-Fadl), emphasizing the concepts of balance, justice and person as constitutive of ‘Islamic’ honor.

Sufism Scholars Network in the Middle East, India, and Indonesia

The history of Islam in Indonesia cannot be separated from the affected of local culture, religion, belief earlier, and culture of the spreader of Islam which are also influenced by religion and beliefs held previously, as well as the entry period into certain areas of different life times, willingness to form the teachings of the scholars/king. All of this shows the complexity of the uniqueness of Islam in Indonesian as the majority religion among diverse religions in Indonesia. Sufism are directly involved in the spread of Islam in Indonesia with a unique teaching that facilitate the engaging of non-Muslim communities into Islam, compromise or blends Islam with religious and beliefs practices rather than local beliefs change from an international network to the local level. The terms and the elements of the pre-Islamic culture are used to explain Islam itself. Islamic history of Sundanese, there is a link in teachings of Wihdat al-Wujud of Ibn al-‘Arabi who Sufism Scholar that connected between the international Islamic networks scholars and Sundanese in Indonesia. It is more popular, especially in the congregation of Thariqat Syattariyah originated from India, and it is widespread in Indonesia such as Aceh, Minangkabau and also Pamijahan-Tasikmalaya that brought by Abdul Muhyi since 17th century ago.

The Iiterary motif of head-taking in Old Javanese court poems (kakavin): cěṅěl and varagaṅ terms revisited

ABSTRACTThe contribution analyses the literary motif of acquiring trophy heads in the context of warfare practices depicted in kakavin, court poems composed in a literary register of Old Javanese. In the first part, two terms of unclear meaning, cәṅәl and varagaṅ, are discussed in detail. It is argued that Old Javanese cәṅәl denotes ‘trophy head’, a severed head rendered as a token of martial prowess. Evidence of the Navanatya, an Old Javanese account of court etiquette composed in the 14th century, is used to support my claim that fictive kakavin do reflect the practice of head-taking as part of Javanese pre-Islamic warfare culture. It is demonstrated that the status of head-taking in kakavin is ambiguous. Though typically ascribed to the characters of adharma, the king, a protector of dharma, is represented in a couple of texts as a receiver of trophy heads. In the second and third parts of this article the category of combatants called varagaṅ, associated in Old Javanese texts with predatory warfare and with adharma, is analysed. Fighting as individuals in a loosely dispersed swarm, the main objective of the strategy of varagaṅ was to harass enemy settlements, take captives, and spread terror. It is argued that the category of varagaṅ represented young men who had to prove themselves in battle and whose major objective was to display martial prowess in front of other warriors in one-to-one skirmishing.

Normative Analysis Approach: Status and Rights of a Daughter under Islamic Inheritance Law in Indonesia

Status and rights of a daughter under Islamic inheritance law form disagreement among scholars. Therefore, it becomes important to study more about it. The method used is the content analysis of references relevant to the problems. Differences of opinion among scholars attributed to differences in understanding the meaning of lafadh and expanding the scope of walad that are contained in the verses of inheritance and influenced by pre-Islamic Arab culture (jahiliyah). According to the Sunni Imam, a daughter does not block (hijab) her brothers or sisters. Meanwhile, the Shia Imam believes that walad include boys and girls, so a daughter can also block her brothers and sisters. The presence of Islamic Law Compilation has shifted the earlier system of Islamic inheritance, which was patrilineal system, to the system of bilateral that withdraws the lineage from both sides, from relatives of men and women. Bilateral inheritance system is more in line with the kinship system in Indonesia and the development of today's society.

Islamic Philosophy and Politics (The Experience of Interpretation)

The article highlights the historical background of the diversity of Islam related to the influence of pre-Islamic culture in different countries, as well as the impact of socio-economic cooperation of Islamic countries with the West. It analytically reveals the phenomenon of Islamization of ancient Greek philosophy as a phenomenon of its adaptation to the realities of the Islamic world showing opportunities of philosophy as a science in the Islamic world, and the role of the Qur'an in the development of philosophy and politics in the Muslim countries. The article touches upon the questions of the role of Islam in the Muslim countries` politics, trans-prospects and building democracy in the Arab world analyzing “The Arab Spring” political legacy and future perspectives of its influence. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n6s1p537

The aesthetical analysis of mural decorative elements in the Great Mosque of Damascus

The Great mosque of Damascus is an iconic masterpiece of Islamic architecture of the Umayyad period. Greek, Byzantine and Persian cultures influenced and promoted the development of early Islamic art and architecture displayed in all aspects of this mosque.This paper will highlight the strong influence of pre-Islamic cultures and societies which distinguish the Great mosque of Damascus from other early Islamic buildings.This paper widens the scope of knowledge of the Great Mosque of Damascus by showing both similarity and the strength of influence of the pre-Islamic era, not limited to the inherited architecture, but mainly in the significant artistic features, showing the creativity of the early Muslim designer in planning and decorating early Islamic buildings.Moreover, the Great mosque of Damascus is considered one of the oldest and most admired mosques in early Islamic architecture. It is also one of the significant buildings that has great mosaic mural panels on the facades and interior walls, sculptures on column capitals and marvelous patterns carved in wood, stucco and marble work, that are distinctive features of this unique mosque. The choice of materials, the technique, colors scheme, and stories that were chosen to be brought vividly to life on its murals, are all witness to its greatness.In this regard, the research delves into the details of the building’s similarities and differences that trace it to its historical roots, which seldom are found or have been repeated in any of the holy Muslim places.

Historical Consciousness Among the Converted Peoples in V. S. Naipaul's Islamic Writings

V. S. Naipaul's travel books and other commentaries about the non-Arab converts of Islam are characterized by his trademark sensitivity to colonialism. In these controversial works, Naipaul equates Islamic expansion in Indonesia, Pakistan, Iran and Malaysia to Arab imperialism. While Naipaul does not condone the militaristic origins of Islamic expansionism in history, his principal critique is cultural, concerning how non-Arab converts voluntarily turn away from their pre-Islamic histories, sacred sites, cultures, and traditions in favour of their Arabian counterparts. Beneath the surface of their apparent religiosity, however, Naipaul sees a traumatic historical experience, principally due to the tension between the universalist message of Islam and its Arabian origins. Arguably, the converted peoples cope with their injured national pride by a religious zeal to overwhelm the Arabs, who are their conquerors and the givers of their religion.