Religious Clashes Research Articles

PLIGHT OF PARTITION IN KHUSHWANT SINGH’S TRAIN TO PAKISTAN

In August 1947, the British left Indian Subcontinent after almost 200 years. British India was divided into two independent Nations - India and Pakistan. The distribution of human was based on the religion. Pakistan had the majority of Muslims while India having Hindu majority. This division of Indian subcontinent and the formation of two independent nations is known as ‘partition’ in history. The leaders who dreamt of the partition wanted to free the land from the oppression of British Raj. But they couldn’t guess that right after the end of a struggle story, another will start. A huge religious clash emerged throughout the land. Muslims were forced to march towards Pakistan while Hindus and Sikhs were forced to march towards India. Most of them literally had no idea why the English left India, why they are leaving their homes and whether they will ever return or not. Khushwant Singh's novel Train to Pakistan pictures how a peaceful land turns into a death-land after the partition. The paper seeks to shed lights on the plight of Partition detailed in Khushwant Singh's Train to Pakistan and attempts to analyze the horrible experience of puzzled common people.

Framing Theory Perspective of Identity and Narratives of Conflict in Nigerian Media

The first casualty in any conflict situation is often the nature of communication among the conflict actors. Perhaps, that is why conflict is commonly referred to as “breakdown in communication.” In this direction, this study examines framing theory perspectives of identity and narratives of conflict in Nigeria media. Conflict is naturally attractive and a source of news for the media. It is “the bread and butter” of journalism. Since independence in 1960, Nigeria has suffered some of the most obstinate conflicts, most of them constructed from differences in religious and ethnic identities. Religious and ethnic nationalism has led to conflicts about control of state power, unequal allocation of resources, economic decline, and religious clashes. In this context, the media have an important role to play in promoting honest, accurate, and timely information about the issues that will reduce tension, create the conditions for equitable development and reduce the level of ignorance and fear that contribute to misunderstanding and hostility in society. This presumption confers on the media the ability to either escalate or de-escalate conflict situations. This study, therefore, focuses on identity and media narratives of conflict, triangle and levels of conflict analysis, manifest and latent conflict management, including the role of the media in managing and resolving conflict.

Secularism, biology teachers, and evolution teaching: a comparative analysis of the Brazilian phenomenon

ABSTRACT The issue of the secular state is pertinent in Latin America, especially in countries like Brazil, where religion may influence the political and educational field. Data from a survey of biology teachers regarding the teaching of evolution in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay were analysed, recognising the secularity of the countries. The BIOHEAD-CITIZEN questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were used in this research. Two questions were highlighted: one regarding teachers’ opinion on the separation of politics and religion and the other on the separation of science and religion. In both, the results from Brazilian biology teachers stand out, with a greater alignment with the conception that religion can participate in the political and academic sphere. The interviews also confirmed that Brazilian teachers must deal with religious clashes, with students and in their personal conceptions, when teaching evolutionary theory. This situation is of concern in the current Brazilian political context (Bolsonaro government), in which the theme of religion is in evidence in politics, and may become increasingly so in the school environment, notably in relation to the teaching of biological evolution.

Traditional, Legal, and Theological Perspectives on the Ban on Drumming and Noisemaking during the Hɔmɔwɔ Festival

The ban on drumming and other forms of noisemaking in the period preceding traditional festivals is not uncommon in Ghana. Every year, the Ga traditional state imposes a one-month ban on noisemaking prior to the celebration of the Hɔmɔwɔ festival. Over the years, the one-month “silence” associated with the Hɔmɔwɔ festival has resulted in several religious conflicts between the Ga Traditional Council and some Christian churches. The religious clashes became prominent in the late 1990s and have since not stopped in spite of many attempts to maintain peace in this period. This research was conducted using literature-based research methodology to assess the ban on noisemaking from the traditional and legal perspectives and to propose a way forward for future celebrations from a theological viewpoint. The paper argued that even though the demand that Christians avoid drumming and noisemaking prior to the Hɔmɔwɔ festival may be considered an infringement upon the religious rights of Christians, it is appropriate to comply with the ban to maintain peace. Complying with the ban does not mean one is compromising their faith; rather it is a step to maintain peaceful co-existence with others on a matter that is not central to the Christian faith. Keywords: Ban, Churches, Conflict, Ga, Hɔmɔwɔ, Noisemaking

Religion and the modern education

The purpose of the research is to solve the paradox of religion integration in education, by the new balance between religion, philosophy and science, during the post communism transition. In the field of thinking, the process is the transition from ideology to integral thinking. It is realized through the re-evaluation of the topics of the integration of religion, transitology and integral though, education, inclusiveness, solidarity, new laicity and new secularity. In the philosophical sense, integration is the objective process of being developed. This is understood as a return to identity towards a universal being. In the context of the social being, the process realizes the opening and cooperative development of all mental, spiritual-religious, scientific, creative-artistic, economic, cultural, material and non-material political fields. It includes the individual, the community, and all institutions of social life. The path of integration development is the transitive movement in a spiral form. In Albania, with the fall of communism, freedom of religion was legalized according to the standards of European democracy. The rehabilitation of religious figures that had been condemned and persecuted by the totalitarian regime began. The post-communist transition brought profound changes in the field of faith and religion such as the new dimension in the relationship of society with religion, new and unfamiliar attitudes of believers to religion, new relations between the state and religious institutions, new relations between education and religion in public institutions, opening of religious schools and increasing the influence of religion through the media and religious literature. What is considered tolerance in Europe, in the Albanian case is respect. Albanians are the best model for religious tolerance (respect). There has never been a religious clash in Albania for any reason. Respect for the religious affiliation and religious belief of the other in the Albanian case is modeled as the guiding value of their identity and appears in everyday life as the acceptance of the other. For this reason, they are the best model of respect and acceptance of the other, regardless of religious affiliation. This is an ontological value, built over the centuries and continues to this day. Albanians have not converted, but have adapted to a religious belief for economic and survival reasons. Marriages with different religions and keeping two names (Christian and Muslim) are natural phenomena among Albanians. In Albania, there are in the family and tribe people with Christian and Muslim religions individuals with two names, Christian and Muslim: Kristo and Muhamed. Albanians have lived in peaceful symbiosis with the Slavs in the centuries of the latter’s influx into Albanian lands. They have also lived peacefully with other neighbors, Greeks or Romans. This is even though the neighbors have not always been peaceful with the Albanians.

Impact of Climate Change on Food Security in Northern Nigeria

Climate change is gradually transforming the globe into a difficult zone of survival for all faunas and floras owing to the existential threat that some changes are causing in the environment. The careless and unguarded activities and detrimental practices of man created a chain of reaction of nature in the surrounding environment leading to the collapse of the green zone and global warming which are all tantamount to undesired repercussions. One of the regions heavily affected by the impacts of climate change in Nigeria, specifically Northern Nigeria. The Northern part of Nigeria is known for many centuries as an agrarian region that is producing sufficient food which sustained the region and supplies Lake Chad and other West African states with food. However, this productive trend was radically reversed owing to many factors with climate change as the prime. This study will examine analytically how climate change influences or affects food production and food security in Northern Nigeria. The study proposes to use documented sources including books, journal articles, reports, media sources, maps and charts where applicable for data collection while thematic analytical interpretations will be used for data analysis. It is anticipated that the study explored the roots of the problem uniquely in the Northern Nigerian context, how it manifests and how it is directly or indirectly linked with socioeconomic and political problems such as violence, insurgency, forced migration, ethnic and religious clashes, famine, diseases and malnourishment. The study used the discoveries and findings from the investigation to proffer alternative remedies, models and practical policy suggestions for addressing the phenomenon permanently.

Unveiling the Other: Art, Images, and Cultures

This paper is dedicated to Aby Warburg’s 1920-essay on the relationship between the Italian Renaissance and the German Renaissance in the period of the Reformation. His essay focuses on the use of propagandistic imagery at the time of Luther, in order to elucidate a historical-political and religious problem that Warburg explored against the background of the contemporary cultural debate between Germany and Italy in the years from 1915 to 1920. This was a period traumatically experienced by Warburg, and it led him to reflect, from a different perspective, on his own research focused on the “Survival of Antiquity” (Das Nachleben der Antike), in the rapport between Italian art and the art of northern Europe. It had a notable impact on his studies on the migration from East to West of the astrological tradition, presented between magic and mathematics, that permeated the religious debate of Luther’s time in and beyond Germany, in the cultural and religious clash with the Church of Rome.

Границы философии в интерпретации ренессансного скептицизма (Пьер Шаррон)

The question of the subject and limits of philosophy received various solutions throughout its history, but invariably it was at the center of worldview conflicts of turning epochs. Skeptical constructions have always been of particular im­portance in this series. One of the most fruitful pages in the development of skepticism is associated with the late Renaissance. In this regard, the figure of Pierre Charron is extremely noteworthy. In his oeuvre, it would be wrong to see only a scholastic repetition of Montaigne’s ideas. Of course, the influence of the native of Perigord on Charron’s thinking is undoubtedly. But the signi­ficance of Charron’s legacy goes far beyond simply repeating other people’s theoretical attitudes. He approached the construction of his skeptical system through a deep thinking. The starting point on this path is a treatise on the ba­sics of religion. Charron opposes Duplessis-Mornay’s concept, which justified the need to fight Catholicism under the slogan of freeing the Church from tyranny. Reflections on the problem of a correct understanding of the essence of religious clashes that resulted in a series of civil wars are a prerequisite for his main work – the treatise On Wisdom. By distinguishing between types of wisdom, he separates religion from philosophy and morality. He accuses mod­ern theologians and metaphysicians of wandering on dead ends. According to Charron, skeptical philosophy was called upon to replace their erroneous con­structions, refusing to try to reveal the essence of things and concentrating on civilian life. This kind of philosophy is based on self-knowledge and its true core is morality. Not intending to break with religion, Charron to a large extent stimulated the reflections of subsequent freethinkers. The article focuses on three dimensions of Charron’s skepticism.

Ethnicity, religion and elections in Ghana

Politics in Ghana’s fourth republic is an interesting phenomenon. The intricacies in Ghanaian politics is one that requires constant analysis. In this paper, we examine some of these intricacies – the question and role of identity in politics in Ghana. We particularly analyse how ethnicity and religion influence elections in one of Africa’s promising democracies. The analysis is based primarily on the scrutiny of official reports and detailed review of published works. The paper concludes that the tendencies to engage in over ethnicization and excessive religious undercurrent in Ghana’s fourth republic, if not properly managed, can lead to ethnic and religious clashes, especially during electioneering periods. It is in view of this that we recommend that religious and traditional leaders make conscious efforts to promote peaceful and decorous campaigns. Moreover, there is the need for political leaders to avoid inciting ethnic groups against one another, even as societal groups embark on educating and sensitizing the general population.

Theories in Contemporary African Studies Research: The Theory of Religious Compromisation

Theorizing in the African Academy is admittedly not a common phenomenon. The Academy in Africa has over centuries been used to adopting Western-initiated theories, philosophies and concepts. Often it becomes a subject of debate when theories propounded by African Scholars have to be admitted into the sphere of Universal Scholarship. This is where the universality of Western philosophy is drummed emphatically in the attempt to drown the existence of African Philosophy. In my opinion, African scholarship can best dwell on theories that are contextually African even if not universal. In this Paper, I introduce a theory that will drive contemporary research in relevant fields of African Studies and by extension be tested and applied elsewhere. The theory of Compromisation, although evolved as a solution to intra and inter religious clashes on the Continent has also evolved into being applicable in diverse spheres of life on the African Continent. It stretches to cover varied fields of human interaction whether social, cultural or political. Any area of human interaction where conflicts are bound to erupt due to clashes in ideology, differences in culture and traditions, differences in opinions, orientation and so on. What the author does in this Paper is to present a brief working understanding of this theory purposely for Academic Review and for further discussions. The intention is to have researchers, theorists and critics test the workability of the theory. The author wishes to point out that this is work in progress and contributions, criticisms and all forms of discussions are welcome. This Paper is nothing but a summarized ‘teaser’, meant to test the academic waters in preparation for a more meticulous and comprehensive discussion of this theory.

Tarnovo Church Council in 1360 and the Bulgarian-Jewish Religious Conflict from 1350ies

The article focuses on problems relating to the Jewish community’s origin in medieval Tarnovo, the reasons that provoked the Bulgarian-Jewish conflict from the 1350ies and its aftermaths. The hypothesis that Tarnovo Jews originated from Byzantine and appeared in medieval Bulgarian capital at the end of the 12th century as manufacturers of silk is proposed. The religious clash from the 1350ies is ascribed to the influence exerted by some Talmudic anti-Christian texts on the local Jewish community, to the broken inner status-quo between Christians and Jews after the second marriage of the Bulgarian tsar Ivan Alexander and to the reactions of part of the Christian population against the breach of this status-quo.

Ken Saro-Wiwa’s Concept of Erectism: A Paradigm for Sustainable National Development and Unity in Nigeria

Nigeria has had a civil war and repeated frequent ethnic and communal wars in virtually all parts of the country ever since it became an independent republic in 1963. It has also witnessed many religious clashes and insurgency. These and other related factors have combined to make the country very unstable, both politically and economically, and disunited. Many scholars regard the multi-ethnic character of the State as its major undoing. On the other hand, political leaders at the national level see the country's amazing ethno-cultural diversity as a social condition for national growth. The politicians have, however, failed to provide the necessary ingredients that would promote national development and unity. This work seeks to examine the appropriateness of Ken Saro-Wiwa's concept of ‘erectism' as a paradigm for sustainable national development and unity in Nigeria. Adopting a constructivist approach in the pursuit of that objective, this work critically analyses the systemic anomalies of the Nigerian state vis-í -vis its multi-ethnic structure and concludes that Saro-Wiwa's theory of erectism is a workable formula for promoting national development. The concept entails ethnic autonomy, ethnic ownership and control of resources as well as ethnic control and management of environment.

The Postnormal Condition and the Politics of Migration in Biyi Bandele’s Half of a Yellow Sun

Civil wars, political chaos, ecological revolutions, separatist agitations, ethnic conflicts and religious clashes form part of the larger body of what, following Ziauddin Sardar, we will define as “postnormal times.” The representation of borders in migration is a salient feature of African films and films on Africa, such as Hotel Rwanda, Blood Diamond, Half of a Yellow Sun, Tears of the Sun and Somewhere in Africa: The Cries of Humanity. These cinematic productions are rooted in the culture of migration, displacement, liberation and survival. The present article considers postcolonial African cinema and argues that filming migration, especially forced migration, is intricately related to the postnormal condition characteristic of African societies. Postnormality in that part of the world is largely produced by armed conflicts whose aftermath stages spectacular waves of human migration. The Boko Haram conflict, the Herdsmen crisis and the Niger Delta crisis of resource control in Nigeria and the Al Shabab terrorist group in Somalia and Eastern Africa are some of the instances of violent self-location that have necessitated discussions of refugeeism, migration and postnormality in Nigerian and African film studies. This article focuses on Biyi Bandele’s film Half of a Yellow Sun which is read in contextual juxtaposition with other films about crisis and migration. Sardar’s theory of postnormality is used in the analytical discussion of the film, which demonstrates that African cinema succeeds in representing the complexities, contradictions and chaos of voluntary and involuntary migration and provides an adequate response to the anti-oppressive reforms on that continent.

Disaggregating Ethnicity and Conflict Patterns: Evidence From Religious and Tribal Violence in Nigeria

This paper argues that a conflict’s association with religious identity can distinctly shape the pattern of inter-group ethnic violence. Drawing on an original dataset of ethnic violence in northern Nigeria spanning 30 years, the paper finds that religious and tribal communal clashes are associated with distinct precipitants and patterns of violence due to religion’s malleability and dynamism, as well as its ‘transcendent’ allegiance. The paper concludes that scholars who fail to disaggregate analyses of ethnic conflict will be unable to fully explain when and where religious as opposed to other types of ethnic violence are likely to occur.

The research papers supported in Lyon on the theme of religious clashes

Dans la continuite des notices redigees par Philippe Delisle sur les missions chretiennes, Bernard Hours sur les sources notariales lyonnaises et Yves Krumenacker sur le protestantisme, cet article a pour ambition d’indiquer aux chercheurs la presence dans les fonds lyonnais de memoires de recherche soutenus a Lyon portant sur les guerres de Religion. La liste des memoires identifies est fournie en fin de document et les quelques lignes qui vont suivre vont tenter de donner les grandes orient...

Politics and Religion vs. Law and Order in Nigeria: Implications for National and Regional Security.

Since independence in 1960, Nigeria has grappled with the ominous challenge of building a sustainable bridge between its ever increasing populations divided not only along distinct multi-ethnic groups but also between two major diametrically opposed faiths [in content, structure, and tactics]- Christianity and Islam. The study was exploratory in nature, which adopted descriptive adequacy in articulating and examining the underlying alternatives factors that propel national politics and religious violence in Nigeria, thus producing a more comprehensive and total picture of the dynamics of the phenomena under investigation- the understanding of religious violence in Nigeria with minimum distortion. Furthermore, the study adopted a survey method based on the perception of Government officials and Religious leaders regarding religious violence, with a corresponding sample size of 100. The study found that the seeming overwhelming implications of persistent religious violence for Nigeria are three folds; they include; sustained threat to national peace, unity, and security, undermines national political/economic development, as well as socio-cultural and religious harmony and cooperation. In addition, the study found that the present state of religious violence in Nigeria exacerbates bitterness, hatred, and mistrust among the federating units of Nigeria resulting to violent reactions and heightened intra-ethnic and religious clashes, with a volcanic potential to explode into secession by aggrieved groups, internecine civil war, pogroms and/or jihads. Finally, the study recommended that the Nigerian civil society must step up organized and peaceful agitations for fundamental changes in the structure and character of the Nigeria state through a Sovereign National Conference or credible constitution review effort. Also, the Nigerian government and the international community must seize the opportunity of current fragile peace in Nigeria, to implement a number of credible measures aimed at preventing a recurrence of widespread religious conflicts threatening to spill over to a civil war.

Alternative Ways of Challenging and Resisting in Richard Rodriguez’s Darling: A Spiritual Autobiography

AbstractThere are several reasons why essayist Richard Rodriguez could be classified as a ‘minority’ writer; namely, his Mexican-American roots, his Catholic faith, and his self- declared homosexuality. However, readers who expect his writings to display the kind of attitudes and features that are common in works by other ‘minority’ authors are bound to be disappointed. The meditations that Rodriguez offers are far from clearly dividing the world between oppressors and oppressed or dominant and subaltern. As he sees it, ethnic, religious, class or sexual categories and divisions present further complications than those immediately apparent to the eye. Does this mean that Rodriguez fails to resist and challenge the dynamics he observes between different social groups? Or that his observations are complaisant rather than subversive? Not necessarily, since his essays are always a tribute to the possibilities of disagreement and defiance. My analysis of his latest collection of essays, Darling: A Spiritual Autobiography (2013), maps out and dissects the writing strategies that Rodriguez employs to generate dialogical forms of inquiry and resistance regarding such up-to-date topics as religious clashes (and commonalities), Gay rights (in relation to other Human Rights) or how public spaces are being re-imagined in this global, digital era.

Rethinking Religious Ethnonationalism and Fundamentalism in Nigeria - Prospects for Cultivating National Identity, Weltanschauung and Values in a Global Age

Cultural and religious identity crisis has become the bedrock of the Nigerian problem since her Independence in 1960. Over the years, religious clashes have occurred among Nigerians who began to see themselves as Muslims, Traditionalists, and Christians, and no longer in their ethnic or tribal identity. Today in Nigeria, there are abundant cases of religio-ethno clashes which have degenerated to eradication of national values and the Nigerian identity. Beyond eradication of national values and identity, there are socio-economic factors like bad leadership and poverty which has aggravated religious fundamentalism in Nigeria. The problem of this study therefore lies in a gradual erosion and death of core national values like patriotism, hard work, creativity and solidarity amongst Nigerians on account of escalated ethnic and religious clashes across the states of the federation. Insisting that value synthesis is an important aspect of the flexibility and dynamics of a renewed Nigerian identity, this paper highlights the concept of cultural synthesis in the discourses on Nigerian Identity and explores the various interpretations of religious fundamentalism in Nigeria. Consequently, it argues that religious fundamentalism now acts as a neo-colonial tool to suppress the authentic identities of Nigerians and impose new identities on them. The paper concludes that a revival of the questions of values and national identity amongst Nigerians will promote a shared psycho-social framework to boost communal worldview. It is this new worldview (weltanshauung) that will foster civic consciousness, sanctity of human lives, peaceful cohabitation and neutral platforms for value construction in them.

THE GOSPEL CONTRA NIETZSCHE: A SOUTH AFRICAN LITERARY CRITIQUE OF WILLE ZUR MACHT

A century of scholarship has shed countless photons of light on the reception of Friedrich Nietzsche’s ideas in numerous countries. Still largely unilluminated, however, are South African reactions to his scepticism and moral pessimism. The present article explores how Joseph Doke, a scholarly, transplanted Englishman who served as a Baptist pastor in Johannesburg and elsewhere and wrote the first biography of Gandhi, used fiction to criticise Nietzsche early in the twentieth century. His novel The queen of the secret city (1916) embodies an explicit rejection of this German philosopher’s pivotal notion of Wille zur Macht (will to power). It is further suggested that Doke was probably indebted to G.K. Chesterton’s confrontation with that idea in Orthodoxy (1908). In Doke’s critique of Nietzsche, he also described ethnic and religious clashes and implicitly argued for the moral superiority of Christianity and the ethical need for missionary endeavours.

MULTILINGUALISM AND IMAGES OF THE OTHER: FROM CONFLICT BETWEEN NATIONS TO DIALOGUE OF CIVILIZATIONS

In this era of war of words, multiple language acquisition and cultural awareness can be tools to end misunderstanding and conflicts between civilizations. Language barriers lead to poor communication, and establishing a multilingual society can eradicate misunderstanding stemming from lack of proficiency in one another’s languages and ways of thinking. This study investigates in detail the benefits of multilingualism for civilizational dialogue , and focuses on the importance of utilizing mass media to foster such communication. It addresses the relationship between multilingualism and constructive dialogue, proving that multilingualism is not a “problem” to be “solved.” Some historical and contemporary examples of the importance of language in civilizational dialogue have been introduced to prove the positive effects of multilingualism. These examples show how mastering more languages might have a positive impact on societies. Also, a total of 159 participants speaking more than one language were administered a questionnaire. The majority of participants agreed that multilingualism promotes civilizational dialogue more than monolingualism does. They agreed that political and religious clashes stem from cultural differences in the understanding of some words. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7220/2335-2027.8.2