Religious Status Research Articles

Worship in Islam and Contemplation in God's Creation (An Analytical Study)

The contemplation of God’s creation is one of the greatest forms of worship in Islam every human being, when he observes the different scenes of this universe of colors and smells, enjoys seeing some of them so much that he longs to repeat this pleasure۔ It is not amazing, therefore, that countless Quranic verses give confidence this action and do so using a range of methods to appeal to every temperament and religious state. The mean is to switch people away from their dulled senses, awful habits, and monotonous familiarity, and encourage them to observe the signs of their Lord in the world with insight and vulnerable hearts. True Islamic contemplation can only spring from a mind that believes in God and a mind that submits to Him and His glorious Attributes. This is the unwavering faith of oneness (tawhÏd), which is to bear witness that the Almighty is the One and only God Who created, governs, and maintain the universe. Any other form of contemplation of the attractiveness and brilliance of the heavens and the earth would be measured atheism or polytheism (shirk) because the contemplator would not be distinguished, let alone admiring and express thanks to the Creator. In all religions, after beliefs, the highest importance is given to worship. Worship and contemplation are inseparable.

NOMA as the Cure for Conflict Between Science and Religion: Reply to Ludwik Kowalski’s Commentary on the NOMA Principle

In my response to Kowalski’s commentary I indicate that: 1) there is an imprecision in Kowalski’s presentation of the NOMA principle; 2) the NOMA principle is not a valid way of presenting theistic religions; 3) the argumentation adopted by Kowalski is inconsistent, due to inconsistency in the NOMA principle itself. The Kowalski’s cure for the “Confrontations Between Theists and Atheists” mentioned in the title of the Kowalski’s commentary is the postulate of a “miracle-free” theism, which means the elimination of theism. Another important weakness of Kowalski’s proposal and of the application of the NOMA principle in general is the self-contradictoriness of this position: when we decide on the truth value of this or that factual religious statement by reference to science, then we deny the essence of the NOMA principle itself.

Subjective Well-Being and Religious Ego Identity Development in Conservative Christian University Students

Spiritual maturity greatly impacts psychosocial development (Bravo, Pearson, & Stevens, 2016; Dreyer & Dreyer, 2012; Power & McKinney, 2014). Much of the identity formation process occurs during adolescence and early adulthood (Good & Willoughby, 2014; Hardy et al., 2011). The current study sampled students from a private Christian university to examine the relationship between religious ego identity status and subjective well-being. Positive relationships were found between religious ego identity and subjective well-being. Discussion includes the unique developmental needs of emerging adults to help Christian universities better facilitate their students’ growth and education.

The Jesuitesses in the Bookshop: Catholic Lay Sisters’ Participation in the Dutch Book Trade, 1650–1750

The institutional Catholic Church in seventeenth-century Amsterdam relied on the work of inspired women who lived under an informal religious rule and called themselves ‘spiritual daughters’. Once the States of Holland banned all public exercise of Catholicism, spiritual daughters leveraged the ambiguity of their religious status to pursue unique roles in their communities as catechists, booksellers and enthusiastic consumers of print. However, their lack of a formal order caused consternation among their Catholic confessors. It also disturbed Reformed authorities in their communities, who branded them ‘Jesuitesses’. Whilst many scholars have documented this tension between inspired daughter and institutional critique, it has yet to be contextualized fully within the literary culture of the Dutch Republic. This article suggests that due to the de-institutionalized status of the spiritual daughters and the discursive print culture that surrounded them, public criticism replaced direct censure by Catholic and Reformed authorities as the primary impediment to their inspired work.

How Loud Is Too Loud? Competing Rights to Religious Freedom and Property and the Muslim Call to Prayer (Adhan or Azan) in South Africa

This article approaches the position of the call to prayer (adhan or azan) in South Africa from the perspective of both legislation and case law. Although only an unamplified adhan has religious status in Islam, Muslim religious authorities (ulama) have since the twentieth century also approved of, and permitted, an amplified adhan. The adhan has been rendered in both forms from South African mosques (masjids) for some 223 years. However, the unamplified adhan has recently come under the legal and judicial spotlight when the volume of its rendering by human voice was restricted. In August 2020, after prior attempts at municipal level and mediation had been unsuccessful, a high court in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, ruled that the sound of the unamplified adhan emanating from a mosque located on the premises of an Islamic institution (madrassa) in the city of Durban should not be audible within the house situated on nearby property belonging to a Hindu neighbor. Wide media coverage reported that the ruling was publicly decried and met with criticism. The Madrassa lodged an appeal in September 2020 and the matter is ongoing. The High Court’s decision is binding in KwaZulu-Natal, a province where Hindus, as a religious minority, are concentrated. The article highlights that although the decision is not binding on similar courts in other provinces, its outcome may yet have far-reaching consequences for the adhan as a religious and cultural heritage symbol, and for religious symbols generally, because similar complaints have been lodged, albeit against amplified adhans, against several mosques located in major cities (Cape Town and Tshwane) of two other provinces where Muslims, as a religious minority, are largely concentrated. The article examines the adhan in the context of competing constitutional rights to religious freedom and property (neighbor law) in South Africa. The article proffers some recommendations for the way forward in South Africa based in some instances on the position of the adhan in several countries. It concludes that, ultimately, unamplified, unduly amplified and duly amplified adhans may all yet be found to constitute a noise nuisance in South Africa, if challenged and found to be unreasonable.

THE AMENDMENT TO THE LAW REFORM (MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE) ACT 1976: RECONCILING THE IRRECONCILABLE

This article examines the ramifications of the recent amendment to the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 (Act 164) in protecting the wellbeing of the family relationship involving interfaith marriage and other legal issues governing non-Muslim families. The amendment witnessed substantial reforms to section 51 of Act 164 pertaining to the divorce on the ground of conversion, increasing the age limit for child maintenance and adopting more flexible principles in dividing matrimonial assets. However, the focus will be on the impact of the amendment to section 51 of Act 164 due to its significant in changing the landscape of legal arguments pertaining to jurisdiction of the court in dealing with the subject matter in dispute, ranging from the divorce and other intense arguments pertaining to maintenance of wife, child custody and religious status of children. The study adopts qualitative study in elucidating relevant documents that comprised of statutory laws, articles in legal journals and decided cases where arguments leading to the need for the reform of those affected issues were well addressed. Certain aspects of Islamic jurisprudence will be referred to and analysed in searching for authoritative and practical legal arguments within the existing legal framework. Harmonisation of law is adopted whenever applicable when dealing with the resolution of conflict of laws. It is hoped that this study will provide constructive argument and invaluable source of reference for the Malaysian civil court in disposing of interfaith family disputes when the law is fully enforced.

Pressure to be Thin from a Religious Source Increases Perceived Pressure to be Thin in Women

Pressure to be thin through thin-idealization norms is something that women contend with daily in today’s world. Increased research has explored the effects this pressure can have on attitudes about the self. Religious beliefs and behaviors have been linked to decreased perceived pressure and positive body attitudes and behaviors. However, religious beliefs and behaviors have also been linked to negative outcomes in this area. This study explores the impact of pressure to be thin from a religious source. One hundred fifty-three women were either presented with pressure statements from a religious source, a family/friend source, or read no pressure statements. Women who read religious pressure statements reported more pressure to be thin than those in the control or family/friend pressure conditions.

Religion and urban political eco/pathology: exploring communalized coronavirus in South Asia

ABSTRACT wWe use the urban political ecology perspective to explore how communities of homo religiosus (re)configure politics of COVID-19 in India and Pakistan. This urban health crisis unfolds in five parallel registers of conflictualities: (i) where religious communities carve out a domain for self-governance of the pandemic with their own ‘knowledge and truths’, (ii) where embodied religious practices challenge or undermine state biopower and transform governmentalities, (iii) where the spatial dimension of conflict evolves into the crisis of technologies of governance, (iv) where religious identities are stigmatized and the minority groups are excluded and (v) where communalism organizes around international relations. It is argued that religious groups in South Asia influenced the urban political (eco)pathology with their disruptive potential which transformed biosecurity regimes and enhanced health risks on the one hand and on the other, they embraced and internalized discords of disease within their antagonistic communal and sectarian memories and histories and weaponized the pandemic to produce more cracks in the social fabric. This essay underscores the significance of unusual actors in the urban political ecology framework and calls for a renewed understanding of human–nature interface by incorporating religion and religious beliefs and how they view and shape the metabolic flows in the urban spaces for social sustainability of the city as a ‘natural object’.

Schooling (hetero)normative practices in the Islamic Republic of Iran

ABSTRACT Drawing on a critical discourse analysis of policy documents and textbooks, this paper contributes to the growing field of research on the role of schools and schooling with regards to the construction of gender and sexuality by focusing on school practices and educational spaces. We argue that the nation-state in the Islamic Republic of Iran is a religious biopolitical state and its official discourse in the realm of gender and sexuality relies on heteronormative as well as gender normative belief systems. School spaces are therefore constituted as strongly heteronormative, and non-heterosexuality is not recognised as a legitimate subject position. Through its everyday practices, the education system upholds the state’s ideology, by which the ideal/normal student is read as being heterosexual and cisgender, adhering to Islamic/state values, and constituted on the axis of strict gender binaries. Education about sexuality-gender diversity is therefore excluded and/or silenced. This paper aims to explore school discourses and practices in terms of gender and sexuality and how schools construct and regulate sexual and gender identities, with the aim of producing the ideal Islamic/Iranian subject.

Religious Pluralism and Inter-Religious Encounters in the 21st Century Nigeria

Religion is one of the heritages that Nigeria shares with other African countries. In fact, Nigeria is blessed with three major religious traditions—African indigenous religion, Islam and Christianity—which actually afford her the opportunity to be a pluralistic religious country. These religions relate with the Nigerian society and they fulfil different roles which are deeply rooted in them. However, because of the inbuilt challenges of a pluralistic religious state, some manipulators use religion as their ready-made instrument of conflict and confusion, in the cities that are well-known for their peaceful co-existence over the years. Consequently, the scenario is having negative effects on the socio-political, educational and religious lives of Nigerians nationwide. This paper aims at discussing religious interactions among Nigerians during the pre-colonial era and comparing it with what is in operation in the current dispensation. It will also examine the various ways that manipulators have used religion and explore how interreligious dialogue and other means of peaceful co-existence can be used to enhance meaningful development in the country. The research employs a qualitative method of data collection and uses a phenomenological approach to analyse the data collected. Findings revealed that different religious adherents interacted freely in antiquity until the incursion of foreign religions with their attendant intolerance. Consequently, improper handling of interreligious encounters, lack of adequate interreligious understanding and abuse of religion have caused religious conflicts and insecurity of lives and properties in the country. These in turn have led to the setback experienced in the development of socio-economic and political sectors in Nigeria. It is the opinion of this study that if the relevance of religion is fully understood and it is allowed to perform its roles for the benefit of humanity, Nigerians in general would witness peaceful, harmonious existence and meaningful development in all dimensions.

The promised land of Fadak: locating religious nationalism in shiite politics

ABSTRACT Yāsir al-Ḥabīb is a Britain-based cleric of Kuwaiti origin who aims to establish a religious state in the Persian Gulf region. This article assesses his project as a particular form of Shiite politics, in light of Peter van der Veer’s transnational theory of religious nationalism. It first examines religious conceptions of land in Twelver Shiism to situate Fadak, an oasis on the Arabian Peninsula. Fadak has been “promised land,“ pledged by the Prophet Muḥammad to his daughter Fāṭima. Ḥabīb reverts back to this sectarian trope in his legitimization of a Shiite state but reframes it in the language of religious nationalism. Three nodes in van der Veer’s rendering of religious nationalism guide the analysis: the modern union of the nation’s territorial embodiment with sacred geography, transnational migration enabling larger national identifications, and its “indigenous” crafting. They are traced in Ḥabīb’s British operations, which mobilize local “citizenship” in unbounded sectarian confrontation for the religious “nation,” while cohering paradoxically in the “freedom” discourse of his Shīrāzī Shiism. The epilogue finds heuristic value in Fadakism’s comparison with Zionism, centered on the question of assimilation – in the shape more of outward pressure in the second and elective affinity in the first.

Konektivitas Pemikiran Politik Islam dengan NKRI Berdasarkan Pancasila (Membaca Pemikiran Munawir Sjadzali)

One of Muslim figure, Munawir Sjadzali in many of his writings talked about Islam and state administration. This paper explains Sjadzali’s views on Islam and political/state administration historically and their relevance to the NKRI which is based on Pancasila, not based on a particular religion, not a secular state nor but a religious state. Academically, Sjadzali based on the condition of the internal Muslim factions: there was a traditionalistic-integralistic group, there was also a secularistic?partialist group. An exploration history of Sjadzali’s shows that tensions and differences of opinion about Islam and politics among Muslim communities have taken place since the time of the death of the Prophet Muhammad and continues to nowdays. Sjadzali in this paper ignores two extremes and follows one golden mit which is called a symbiotic view, towards Neo-modernism Islam. According to Sjadzali, Islam has a set of principles and ethical values for community and state life as can be found in the Quran, but still has flexibility in its implementation with due regard to the situation of the times and culture. The political system/state administration Islamic when compared to Pancasila, actually there are similarities in principles and enthusiasm.

Instead of Introduction: How Old Is Sacredness?

It is customary that references to history are used to legitimise one’s ideological and religious statements. This method is particularly visible in contemporary pagan and spiritual movements, in which history has a crucial position not only in justifications of religious claims but also in searching inspiration for contemporary beliefs and for providing a structural framework for (re)constructing past religions. The commonest explanation for using history in arguments and rhetoric in religion is to add credibility to one’s claims. Examples can be found in traditional institutional religious organisations, in contemporary spiritual movements, but also in the rhetoric of individual charismatic leaders. Such rhetorical manner is not common to contemporary religions only but can also be followed in historical folk religion (see, e.g., Johanson 2018). For instance, in a record of a heavily worn eighteenth-century copper coin, used for healing magic in the early twentieth century, the old age of the coin is specifically valued.

From virginity certificates to hymenoplasty surgery in France

"In the Republic, it is not allowed to deliver virginity certificates, prior to marriage; in the French Republic, the laws of religion cannot prevail over the laws of the Republic" said President Emmanuel Macron in February 2020. Nevertheless, what about the religious status of these certificates? Why focusing only on virginity certificates without mentioning the concomitant practice of hymen rehabilitation? There is a whole range of revirginization surgical practices, such as nymphoplasty or vaginoplasty, among which hymenoplasty figures only incidentally?

Особенности употребления термина «имам» по отношению к основателю Исламской Республики Иран аятолле Хомейни

In modern Iran in relation to the first Supreme Leader of the country Ayatollah Khomeini the term «imam» is constantly applied. In Iranian Shiite tradition, the concept of imam is used not only for the leaders of the prayer of believers, but also for the twelve imams – the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, who are considered impeccable. According to Shiite beliefs the last imam, Mahdi, went into hiding and will return. In the popular consciousness of Iranians, the image of a strong leader Khomeini was to some extent associated with the image of Imam Mahdi. However, the Iranian clergy denied the possibility of comparing Khomeini with immaculate imams and used the term «imam» in its original meaning – as a leader of the Muslim community, emphasizing his prominent role in leading the Shiites and the Islamic revolution. After coming to power, Khomeini was proclaimed as the governor of Imam Mahdi, which further strengthens his religious and political status and gives him an opportunity to exercise almost unlimited authority.

Electoral Behavior in The Electability of Presidential and Vice Presidential Candidates in The 2019 Elections

This study aims to explain how factors, such as social and religious status, candidate figures, party identity, social and conventional media interactions, issue and program orientation, support of influential figures, and funds affect voter behavior in the 2019 Presidential and Vice Presidential Elections, to be precise in Ibun District. The study of voting behavior was developed because party identification or party loyalty did not have a strong influence, while what happened was that there were social divisions that had strong ties to voter behavior. An interesting phenomenon occurred in Ibun Subdistrict since there was a significant change in the number of voters in the 2014 presidential election where Prabowo received more votes than Jokowi, while in 2019, Jokowi received more votes than Prabowo. The research method in this research was explanatory quantitative research methods by collecting data from the results of questionnaires and documentation. The structural equation model (SEM) analysis method was also carried out to determine the effect of the dependent variable on the independent variable. Based on the findings obtained from this research, the researcher found that four variables greatly influenced the electability of candidates, namely media, the intensity of volunteer visits, religion, and role models. Psychological, sociological, and rational factors map voter behavior so that this can be applied in Ibun Subdistrict. The psychological aspects are represented by the media and role models; the sociological aspect represented by religion, while the rational aspect is represented by the figure of the candidate. Therefore, to increase the electability of candidates, they should imoprove positive image in the media, the intensity of volunteer visits, social piety from religious factors, and relationships with local community leaders.

Africa and the Decolonisation of State-Religion Policies

Abstract This volume in the Brill Research Perspectives in Comparative Discrimination Law addresses religion, the State and discrimination. The long history of state-religion interaction has yielded four main interface models: the religious state; the state with an established religion; the antireligious state; and the secular state. African states have drawn from these four models when struggling to manage state-religion relations. This volume argues that the African countries studied here, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda, apply the concept of state-secularism without having their triple heritage, which encompasses African religion, Islam and Christianity, in contemplation. This volume proposes that the best way to realise the full flowering of the triple heritage is to erect the three pillars of Charles Taylor’s definition of state-secularism, which in this case should entail i) the freedom to have and to manifest religious beliefs, ii) equal treatment of religion, and iii) and efforts toward an all-inclusive state identity.

The Significance of Wittgenstein\u2019s Remarks on Religious Belief

This article aims to show that Wittgenstein’s remarks on religious belief and religious statements can be understood in modest philosophical terms, consistent with the thought that they are neither intended as serving to justify or undermine religious beliefs, nor as the expression of any theorizing about the nature of religious belief or the meaning of religious language. Instead, their philosophical significance is held to consist in their functioning to remind us of what we already know about the latter: such things as in what circumstances one utters religious statements, what the consequences of accepting or rejecting religious beliefs are, and so on. His position is that all attempts to say something more than this are either a mark of philosophical arrogance or a manifestation of one’s own personal commitment to adopting a stance of religious belief or non-belief. As such, they do not furnish us with genuine philosophical insights. I argue that such an interpretation possess two principal merits. Firstly, it demonstrates that there is no tension between Wittgenstein’s remarks on the nature of philosophy and his remarks on religious belief and religious statements. Secondly, it shows that it is possible to philosophize about religion in a manner that does not assume that this has to consist either in presenting an apology for or critique of religion or in formulating philosophical theories regarding the nature of religious belief and the meaning of religious language.

Accusatory discourse of the Salem witch trial: the experience of imagological analysis

The object of this research is the imagery underlying the accusation of witchcraft within the framework of the Salem witch trial (colonial Massachusetts, 1692). The author reviews the imagery that is directly related to the witchcraft discourse, as well as the general principles of accusations of witchcraft. Emphasis is placed on the impact of such imagery upon the collective consciousness of the Puritan community in North America in the XVII century. Special attention is turned to the mythological symbols reflected in the discourse of justice. The article is prepared within the framework of the authorial project on studying the influence of the imagery of fear on social behavior in history. The fact of randomness of accusations was established. The leading imagery, which was the cause for the accusation of witchcraft, is revealed. The ultimate role of fear of supernatural influence in this trial is recognized. The author notes the prime importance of fear as an actor of collective action and the importance of studying this phenomenon in the context of historical science. The conclusion is drawn on impossibility of interpretation of the Salem trial as an instance of aggression towards the persons who have a special (socioeconomic, religious, or marginal) status within the community. The novelty of this research consists in the use of formal legal sources in the analysis of cultural space in the imagological context.

Consequences of “Infiltration” in Religious State (A Glance at the Formation of the Islamic State in Medina)

“Infiltration” terminologically means penetration and technically refers to creeping and silent penetration in the social and political elements of a state and a secret attempt to overthrow, control or change it. The phenomenon of infiltration is always considered as one of the threats against a religious state. The Islamic State, from the beginning of its formation in Medina until now, has been constantly confronted with such a political and cultural threat. In the verses of the Holy Qur’an, whether in the form of hypocrisy or otherwise, this danger and political-cultural threat has been mentioned. There are many motives behind infiltration, including: changing the foundations of power, impacting the government, power-seeking and espionage acting. Layers of infiltration also are diversity and multiplicity; A look at the early Islam era shows that different layers of belief, culture, politics and economics existed among the levels of infiltration of the enemies and opponents of the Islamic State. Depending on the layers of infiltration, its methods have been different: “Friendship plans”, “hypocrisy”, “espionage” and “horrific propaganda” are among the methods of infiltration. Infiltration, like any other threat, has unintended consequences. The present paper aims to examine and analyze the consequences of the enemies’ infiltration in the civil era of the Islamic State.