Sectarian Identity Research Articles

Memory, fear, and manipulated sectarianism: Exploring Christian views and intercommunal dynamics in Al‐Hasakah amidst the Syrian uprising

AbstractThe Syrian uprising and subsequent civil war have been extensively studied with a predominant emphasis on sectarianism between the Sunni and Alawite sects. This narrow focus overlooks the profound influence of other religious and ethnic elements within Syrian society. This article aims to broaden the analytical lens by examining the position and attitudes of Christians in the Al‐Hasakah governorate regarding the Syrian uprising and opposition forces. The article addresses two key inquiries: first, the factors influencing Christians' position in Al‐Hasakah regarding the Syrian uprising, and second, the ramifications of these positions on intercommunal relationships in the region. The paper argues that the collective memory of fear experienced by Christians, manipulated by the Syrian regime, has contributed to the emergence of “sectarianism from below” and “sectarianism from above.” The former reflects the construction of sectarian identities by Christians in response to discrimination and marginalization, while the latter pertains to influential institutions perpetuating sectarian identities and divisions. The findings highlight the complex interplay of factors shaping communal attitudes and relations during times of upheaval and conflict.

Women’s engagement with the Syrian opposition: Pathways, perspectives, and participation

In its early months, the Syrian uprising included a diverse array of participants, including many from communities that the regime had previously assumed to be loyal, whether because of their sectarian identity, where they lived, or family ties to the military. The experiences of women from these communities can shed light on important aspects of the Syrian uprising, and test some of our key assumptions about women’s participation in contentious politics and the gendered aspects of political violence. Based on interviews, this article engages with the work on gender and conflict in examining family connections and political grievances that drew many women to the opposition, the specifically gendered risks that they faced, and the advantages that some women felt their gender and sectarian identities gave them as organizers and activists.

생존을 위한 아사드 정권의 ‘쓸모 있는 시리아’ 전략

One of the Assad regime’s strategies to survive is control over strategically important ‘useful Syria (suriya al-mufidah)’. For this purpose, the Assad regime forced displacement of local residents, especially Sunnis. Meanwhile, anti-government forces claim that the Assad regime and its allies are turning Sunnis into a minority group in Syria through deliberate demographic change. This study analyzes the goal of the Assad regime’s refugee strategies in ‘Useful Syria’ and examines the suspicions about the Shiaization of Syria. The debate on demographic changes in ‘Useful Syria’ suggests that the perspective distinguishes between ‘us’ and ‘the enemy’ based on sectarian identity continues to be an important factor in the Syrian civil war.

“Gilanis on the Move”: Mapping an Inter-Asian Society of Shiʿi Muslim Naturalists

Abstract A mobile professional and familial network of Shiʿi Muslim naturalists emerged from Kārkiyā’ī Gilan and served royal courts across much of the Persianate world during the 16th and into the 17th centuries. While its members have been known in different historiographic contexts, they have not been studied together as a unique inter-Asian society that endured according to intrinsic logics cultivated at its point of origin and numerous trans-regional homes. Mapping this network, I argue that they promoted their own kind by whetting the appetites of Persianate courts hungry for specialists to strengthen sovereignty through the universalizing power of ḥikmat, comprised of interrelated theoretical and practical sciences that the Gilanis mastered. Their endurance not only calls into question scales of analysis that amalgamate migrant networks as “Iranians,” “Persianate elites,” or “foreigners,” which overlook such ties, but it demonstrates how shared origins superseded sectarian identity in the maintenance of such networks across time and space.

The Ming state and neo-confucian thinking behind Kaifeng Jewry’s biculturalism

ABSTRACT Based on a fresh reading of the 1489 and 1512 kehillah stelae, this article contextualizes Kaifeng Jewry’s acculturation in the political agendas and intellectual climate of fifteenth- and sixteenth-century China. It argues that the Ming court, Neo-Confucian discourses of beliefs and Ming administration of religions and ethnic minorities drove Kaifeng Jewry towards biculturalism – adopting Confucian cultural norms while maintaining their sectarian identity. With the religious tolerance led by Neo-Confucian orthodoxy, the Ming state administered Judaists, Muslims and other religious practitioners not as religious groups but as ethnic groups who needed to settle down in a highly secular and centralized sociopolitical order dominated by the Confucian elite. Without the state’s intervention in their beliefs, Kaifeng Jewry’s religious integrity and survival had heavily relied on Jewish elite reproduction; when the Jewish elite declined, the kehillah began to disintegrate.

Representation of the Identity of the Indonesian Ulama Council in Fatwa Regarding Religious Blasphemy in the Case of Basuki Tjahaja Cahaya Purnama (Ahok)

MUI's fatwa in the case of blasphemy and insulting clerics by Ahok is a complex event. It not only signifies the rise of political Islam in the arena of contestation but also symbolizes the presence of identity representation. MUI through its fatwa seems to confirm the presence of sectarian identity based on religion. This refers to Johnson's concept that the media text leads to something behind it. By analyzing the fatwa, it becomes clear that through its text, MUI not only shows itself as an affirmation of Islamic identity as the dominant but also as a binary differentiator in the cultural representation of Indonesian society in various other dimensions. By using a text analysis approach and also a literature study, the author concluded that MUI has opened political identity in the electoral arena. The issuance of MUI fatwa text in Ahok's case has opened a new level of cultural representation dynamics, through religious identity that goes hand in hand with electoral contestation.

Explaining Sectarian Dynamics in the Syrian Governorate of Deir Ezzor Through the Lens of Instrumentalism and Historical Sociology

Abstract This paper traces the rise of sectarianism in the Syrian governorate of Deir Ezzor from the 1970s up to the current civil war. To this end, this research will focus on answering two main questions: “what factors made sectarianism prevalent in Deir Ezzor after 2003?” and “how did attempts by the Syrian regime, Iran, and Islamists to use sectarianism to mobilize people, lead to the catastrophe in Deir Ezzor during the Syrian civil war?” The primordial framework that considers sectarianism to be a consequence of age-old religious differences between Sunni and Shiʿite Muslims is rejected in this paper. This paper shows that a better understanding of sectarianism can be found through a synthesis of instrumentalism and historical sociology. The historical sociology framework provides an understanding of how adverse socioeconomic conditions and security threats in Deir Ezzor led to the rise of sectarianism, whilst instrumentalism explains how the regime, Iran, and the Islamists used sectarian identities to retain control over the population of Deir Ezzor.

When Faith Becomes a Political Weapon: Early 19th century Armenian Sectarian Violence in Istanbul

While Armenian communities of early modern Istanbul were preoccupied with confessionalization and confessional strives, in the early nineteenth century these already established sects moved to a power struggle against one another for more hierarchical and influential position within the Ottoman State. Confessional disputes continued but they became means to instigate conflict between communities. On an individual level, for wealthy Istanbul Armenians, religious belonging or position within a certain group became a weapon to either ensure a position and political power or take that position and/or political power from someone else. The first part of this article is an analysis of confessionalization and sectarianism paradigms. The second part of this research attempts to demonstrate the shift from confessionalization to sectarianism within Istanbul’s Armenian communities, as well as the rise of new sectarian identities that went in parallel with the national identity building and influenced it.

History education and the construction of identities in divided societies: the case of Lebanon

ABSTRACT A major concern in religiously divided societies, is identity formation, as the different communities in such societies aim to pass their religion and culture on to the next generation. Research looking at the socialization function of education shows that history education plays a significant role in identity formation. For instance, [Korostelina, K. V. (2013). History Education in the Formation of Social Identity: Toward a Culture of Peace. Palgrave Macmillan] identifies three conceptions of national identity, an ethnic, a multicultural, and a civic one, and argues that these can be shaped through history education. Linking this back to divided societies, existing research shows that communities generally promote an ethnic or a civic identity through history education, but not a multicultural one. Lebanon is an example of a religiously divided society where the school system, which is mainly composed of private schools, is divided along sectarian lines. We draw on Korostelina’s model to develop our own analytic framework, which we subsequently use to analyze history textbooks used in different Lebanese religious schools. We find that these textbooks generally promote sectarian identities corresponding to the three main religious communities, despite recent attempts to promote a civic identity in some Christian and Sunni private schools.

Sectarianism as racism: the collective punishment of Alevi communities in Turkey

Drawing on the case of state-sanctioned violence and discrimination against Alevis, a historically stigmatised and persecuted ethnosectarian community in Turkey, this article shows that sectarian identities can also be raced. The case of Alevis in Turkey not only indicates how sectarianism can function as a form of racism but also offers an example of the connection between the production of race and the politics of death. Approaching racism as a punitive mechanism and form of collective punishment that punishes racialised communities at different levels and that constantly reminds them of the possibility of what Gilmore terms ‘premature death’, the article offers a new and nuanced understanding of the multiple modalities of racism in Turkey. Rather than viewing racism in Turkey as merely an imitative form of European racism, this article shows that racism in Turkey is also informed by the country’s own imperial past. Turkey provides fertile ground for examining both western and non-western forms of racism and the intersections between the two.

Divine Wisdom and Knowledge on Steroids: גבורה in Biblical Tradition and at Qumran

Abstract Scholars have long-noted the association of the Hebrew/Aramaic noun גבורה (power, strength, might, etc.) with divine wisdom and knowledge, but comments have been brief and intermittent. This study will elaborate upon previous investigations of the sapiential sense of גבורה and discuss texts that have hitherto been overlooked or received scant attention. After examining “biblical” and early Jewish texts of non-sectarian or proto-sectarian provenances, compositions penned by the Yaḥad movement will be addressed to shed light on the contribution גבורה made to sectarian identity. It will be demonstrated that גבורה aided the sect in asserting the conviction that, as the true Israel, the revelation of divine wisdom and knowledge was evidence that God was uniquely and powerfully at work among them.

The Impact of War Exposure on Morality: Evidence From the Battle of Mosul

The Battle of Mosul (2016–2017) was one of the most grueling urban warfare campaigns in recent memory. The fighting quickly concentrated in West Mosul, where civilians prevented by the Islamic State from leaving their homes experienced airstrikes and indiscriminate shelling by government forces. Utilizing the as-if-randomness of severe damage or destruction of people’s homes, this paper examines the impact of war exposure on the endorsement of moral foundations among a large and diverse sample of Mosul residents ( N = 1027). Home damage increased binding morality but had a larger impact on individualizing morality, heightening concerns about fairness and protection from harm. A survey experiment in which the sectarian identity of the target was randomly assigned further revealed a strong association between individualizing morality and parochial altruism. Challenging conventional wisdom, both individualizing and binding morality reinforce group cohesion in ways that are functionally adaptive and responsive to the damage wrought by war.

Revisiting sectarianism in Iraq: Changing attitudes of Sunnis and Shias towards voting, social trust and government

After 2003, Iraq experienced political, social and violent sectarianism. Scholars who studied sectarianism in Iraq tried to explain it through events, narratives and official statements. However, it has not been possible to understand the impact of the sectarian identity of Sunnis and Shias on their political and social behaviour. This study aims to measure that impact by asking: how has sectarianism changed in Iraq over time from the perspective of public opinion – increase or decrease, and why? For a deeper understanding, some demographic factors, such as age, education and gender, are considered to measure how the sectarian identity has affected the behaviour of Iraqis in voting, interpersonal trust, and trusting the government and the army. By using the surveys conducted by the Arab Barometer from 2011 to 2022, it was possible to compare the responses of the public by sect and have interesting findings. In general, Sunnis and Shias have exchanged their roles after 2013. Until 2013, Shias had tended to vote and trust local and national governments more than Sunnis. However, since 2019, the surveys show that Sunnis have had greater rates of voting and trust those governments than the Shias. Also, since 2019, the interpersonal trust between Sunnis and Shias has improved more than before, which can support the social cohesion between people who belong to different sects.

Mathas, toward understanding the public religious, educational, and political ascetic institution in South Asian religions

AbstractThemathais an important yet understudied public religious, political, and educational institution with wide‐ranging influence in the formation of the structures and theology of Hinduism and Jainism. Recently, scholars of South Asian religion have turned their attention to understand these institutions and their role in the creation of sectarian identity and theology, as educational and economic centers, and symbols of sovereign power. This essay is not attempting thorough historical account of ascetic institutions in India. Instead, its focus is to highlight the existing and recent scholarship on themathato encourage more research on the topic. Therefore, this essay provides an overview of recent trends in the scholarship ofmathasin India, focusing on exemplary works that have helped us to understand the history of these institutions more deeply, providing an overview of themathathrough an overview of recent work.

Building the Caliphate: Construction, Destruction, and Sectarian Identity in Early Fatimid Architecture, Jennifer Pruitt (2020)

Review of: Building the Caliphate: Construction, Destruction, and Sectarian Identity in Early Fatimid Architecture, Jennifer Pruitt (2020) New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 216 pp., 19 b&w and 77 colour illus., ISBN: 9780300246827, $65 (cloth)

Correction to: Horizontal inequalities, sectarian identities, and violent conflict: the case of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

Correction to: Horizontal inequalities, sectarian identities, and violent conflict: the case of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

Lebanon’s Political Opposition in Search of Identity: He Who Is Without Sect among You Cast the First Stone

This paper grapples with the impact of the postwar consociational system in Lebanon on the articulation and organization of political opposition, focusing on the period between 2011 and Lebanon’s October 2019 protests. It argues that the articulation and organization of political opposition is limited by a deeply rooted sectarian episteme of politics as a result of decades of consociational politics and subsequently sectarian state–society relations. The paper shows how nonsectarian oppositional actors concede to the pervasiveness of sectarian identity by resorting to a very narrow or very broad articulation of demands, avoiding, in the process, confrontation with sectarian prejudice. The paper also shows how, conscious of the pervasiveness of sectarian identities, sectarian actors have continued to hold popular support and discredit narrow and broad demands by resorting to sectarian identities. Whilst there are many factors that help explain the weaknesses inflicting political opposition, this paper focuses on the question of identity, not as a mere analytical tool constructed by elites, but as a seemingly authentic articulation, which is initially generated through routine practices that, indeed, elites and the state play a defining part in structuring.

Discursive challenges: Power, state legitimacy and counter‐narratives in the Arab world

AbstractThe three articles in this special section address several processes of legitimisation in the contemporary Arab World. They provide compelling insights into why Islamist movements moderate, how alternative political orders arise in response to issues of state legitimacy and the ways in which regional and international actors legitimise their involvement in Middle Eastern conflicts. Unifying the three articles is a motivation to understand processes of legitimacy, sectarian identity and discourse, in the power vacuum following the Iraq War of 2003 and the Arab Spring of 2011. These seismic regional events have created a wave of identity entrepreneurs, who have pragmatically attached themselves to concepts of Islam, sect and democracy, in order to solidify their hold on legitimacy and power.

Horizontal inequalities, sectarian identities, and violent conflict: the case of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

Horizontal inequalities, sectarian identities, and violent conflict: the case of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

‘Arabisation’ death of a concept?: Gulf states, the Malay-Indonesian world, and the quest for post-sectarian engagement

ABSTRACT This paper examines the inter-regional links between the Arabian Gulf region and the Malay-Indonesian world. It argues that a common sectarian identity has underscored the basis for inter-regional engagement in the era of modern states. Furthermore, within this context, powerful, ideologically conservative, and well-resourced Gulf states, notably Saudi Arabia, have exercised influence and been lead actors in providing humanitarian assistance and funding for religious education. While this continues to be the case, changes in the strategic environment in both regions have resulted in diversification of engagement. These changes include expanding trade relations and increased cooperation on issues associated with responses to violent extremism. There has also been a diversity of engagement between the states. Where Saudi Arabia used to dominate/lead inter-regional engagement, over the past decade, other Gulf states, notably Qatar and UAE, have become leaders in investment and non-sectarian development assistance.