Secular Reform Research Articles

Mosque Construction as Nation-Building: The case of Turkey

ABSTRACT This article analyzes the question of mosque construction and its interrelationship vis-à-vis nation-building in contemporary Turkey. The dynamics of a secular state ruling over a conservative society have always been conflictual in republican Turkey, and this ever since the modern state began initiating a number of radical secular reforms in the 1920s and the 1930s. Among those reforms, disruptive in a previously conservative society, were the dissolution of the caliphate and dismemberment of religious institutions, coupled with widespread Westernizing policies including the adoption of Western sartorial habits, emphasis on science and technology, and changing the alphabet from the traditional Arabic to the current modern (romanized) Turkish script. On the other hand, the advent of democracy and changeover of government in 1950 brought with it the emergence of a renewed religious discourse and a desire for more mosque construction in order to accentuate the Islamic facet of Turkish culture. Therefore, the religious dimension of Turkish identity has increasingly been buttressed by mosque construction by right-wing governments, reaching its zenith with the current Justice and Development Party (JDP) government (beginning in 2002). Coupled with the emergence of an illiberal democracy bolstered by Turkish populism, this article proposes to analyze the linkage between mosque construction and the building of an Islamic conservative Turkish nation contrasting the secular Turkish identity of the ancien régime.

Sources of Anti-Secularism in Modern Turkey: A Social History Approach

ABSTRACT The secular reforms the young Republic of Turkey launched during the interwar period were one of the most comprehensive modernization schemes in the world history. These extraordinary reforms have been considered as the sole maker of today’s Turkey. The political histories, focusing on formal politics, mostly reduced the social opposition to secularism to a few well-known hapless protests and rebellions. This article, however, argues that modern Turkey was the culmination of a more complicated process in which popular opposition to these reforms also shaped politics. It reveals that the daily life of ordinary people, particularly in rural areas, was rife with the anti-secular voices and attitudes by exploring non-elite public spheres and popular discursive strategies though which anti-secular opinions and attitudes were produced and expressed. Rather than seeing them as a result of clash between secularism and religion, it emphasizes the socio-economic reasons that lead to people’s negative response, primarily the loss of authority or economic advantages of some groups due to reforms. Finally this article offers that the roots of the Islamist politics of the following decades could be sought in this popular dissent, which subtly contested the secularism’s hegemony in daily life during the early republic.

БЫТ ШИИТСКИХ ПАЛОМНИКОВ В НАДЖАФЕ И КЕРБЕЛЕ В XIX В.

The only pilgrimage as a “pillar of Islam” prescribed for every Muslim is the Hajj to Mecca and Medina, but adherents of this religion make “pious journeys” to other places. Sunni Muslims recognize holy cities that contain desirable sites to visit (for example, Jerusalem, considered the “third holy city,” and the Al-Aqsa Mosque located there), however, these pilgrimages are not obligatory, but recommendatory. Shiite pilgrimages to the land of Iraq - primarily to Najaf and Karbala, on the contrary, have a status very close to mandatory. The first and third Shiite Imams, Ali and Hussein, are buried in these cities, respectively, in Najaf from the 18th-19th centuries. The main center of Shiite scholarship has been formed, and therefore the views and thoughts of millions of Shiite believers are directed here. At the same time, the Shiite pilgrimage, like the Hajj, is not only a purely religious action, but also a social one. People who visit holy places receive the nicknames “Karbelai”, “Najafi” (as well as “Mashhadi” - after visiting another center of pilgrimage - the Iranian Mashhad) and enjoy special respect from their coreligionists. In this study, we will look at the life of pilgrims to the Shiite shrines of Iraq (the territory of which was called “Turkish Arabia”, or “atabat”) in the 19th century, because It was at that time that the traditional realities of the Muslim world in general and its Shiite part began to change rapidly. These changes are associated with a unique political situation (on the one hand, the presence of Shiite shrines on the territory of the Sunni Ottoman Empire, and on the other, the orientation of the local Shiite population towards Iran ruled by the Qajar dynasty, both states having a semi-colonial status), and with the rapid development of science and technology, and with a very peculiar ideological situation. Both Iran and the Ottoman Empire underwent secular reforms in the 19th century, and many significant Shia communities lived in territories belonging to the non-Muslim states of Russia and Great Britain.

Iranian Women and Gender in the Iran-Iraq War

Iranian Women and Gender in the Iran-Iraq War

From Afghan Pan-Islamism to Turkish Feminism

From Afghan Pan-Islamism to Turkish Feminism

A Practice Against Islam in the Soviet Kazakhstan: The League of Militant Atheists

AbstractIn our study, the history of anti-Islamic politics in Soviet Kazakhstan at 1928-1940 was given.Although secular reforms started to be implemented after the establishment of the Soviet Union,Muslims did not experience any problems in the first ten years. The soft policy of the Soviets, whowanted to gain the support of Muslims in the Turkistan region, was effective in this. Although theSoviet Constitution gives the individual freedom of belief, the Communist Party saw “religion” assomething that should be destroyed. In the middle of the 1920s, the League of Militant Atheists, ananti-religious organization, was established in the country and an anti-Islamic propaganda started.The organization, which was supported by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, started topublish several anti-religious magazines and newspapers. With the new policy pursued, de factointerventions against religion increased in the mid-1930s. Most of the places of worship were illegallyclosed, Muslim clergy were oppressed, even sent to camps, and an anti-religious museum wasopened. After the Second World War began, the religious policy of the Soviet government changed.In our study, the Central State Archive of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Presidential Archive ofthe Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as archive documents published in Russia were used as sources.Keywords: Soviet Union, The League of Militant Atheists, Islam in Turkistan, Muslims in SovietKazakhstan, Oppression Against Religion

A Discussion on the Myth of Mevlânâ in Modern Turkey

ABSTRACTMevlânâ Celâleddin Rumî, a thirteenth-century Sufi leader, is an important religious figure in the Islamic-Sufi tradition. He is regarded as the founder of the Mevlevi Order. On the other hand, Sufism has been officially banned in the Turkish Republic since 1925, which includes all Sufi lodges, and the Mevlevî order is no exception. Although the public visibility of Sufi practices had been illegal and Sufism had lost its legitimacy in modern Turkey, the Turkish State established and recognized commemorations in honour of Mevlânâ approximately two decades after launching the secular reforms banning Sufism. Today these ceremonies are held annually and attended regularly by the highest state authorities. The first commemoration was held in Konya in December 1942 on the occasion of the 670th anniversary of Mevlânâ’s death where Mevlânâ was presented as ‘the great thinker of Anatolia’. This paper examines the intellectual and discursive context that helped legitimize the commemoration of a religious figure. Drawing on Michel Foucault and Edward Said’s theoretical insights, it analyses the cultural-intellectual debates and framings of Mevlânâ by the traditionalists, humanists, and nationalists thinkers, expressed in the speeches given at the first commemoration in 1942. Analysis suggests that epistemological shifts behind different conceptions of Mevlânâ have given way to a hybrid narrative.

The explosive combination of religious decentralization and autocracy

AbstractThe relationship between religion and politics is explored from a theoretical standpoint. Religious clerics can be seduced by an autocrat and political stability is at stake. The autocrat's decisions consist of two measures both capable of antagonizing religious clerics: adopting secular reforms and unduly appropriating part of the national wealth, which generally are complements. Compared to centralized religions, decentralized religions, such as Islam, tend to discourage secular reforms and corruption but those effects are not guaranteed if the autocrat accepts political instability. The main hypotheses and the central results of the theory are illustrated with regime case studies that refer to contemporary times.

The Republic and the Church – Isidro Gomá: From Bishop of Tarazona to Primate of Spain

Abstract Spanish historiography has dealt almost exclusively with the figure of Isidro Gomá as the Primate of the Church in Spain, an office in which he supported and legitimized for the benefit of the Catholic world the rebellion of 18 July 1936 that triggered the Civil War. However, little is known of Gomá’s activity prior to attaining such an elevated post. This article examines, through the study of primary sources, his work as Bishop of the small diocese of Tarazona and Tudela, where he believed that his vehement opposition to secular reforms would make him an example to follow among the extremist anti-republican sectors of the Church and would turn him into the ideal candidate for the position of Primate of Spain at the Holy See.

Secular cultural policy in Islamic countries: desirability and feasibility

Secularism in Islamic countries is a hotly-debated topic which produces dramatic sociopolitical consequences on the one hand, and wide-ranging academic controversy on the other. The real social potential of secularism among Muslim populations is an issue that is not always estimated properly. The present paper first reviews some historical examples of secular cultural policy in Islamic countries. This review covers the secular reforms in four political, social, legal, and educational spheres. Subsequently, using data from the World Values Survey, it compares empirically the desirability of a public role for religion in 18 Islamic and Western countries. Furthermore, it examines the acceptability of Western secular culture in six countries in the Muslim world. Bearing in mind Casanova’s analytical approach to the theory of secularization, it comes to the conclusion that a democratic application of a secular cultural policy in Islamic countries is neither desirable nor feasible.

The Dragon King and the 1931 Wuhan Flood: Religious Rumors and Environmental Disasters in Republican China

This article explores popular religious conceptualizations of the environment and disasters in early twentieth-century China. In 1931, the city of Wuhan experienced a catastrophic flood. Soon a rumor began to circulate suggesting that the disaster had been caused by the recent demolition of a local Dragon King Temple. This article examines this rumor as a mode of popular discourse, using it to illustrate debates among members of the local population regarding the link between the environment, religion, and disasters. It describes the place of Dragon Kings in late imperial religious environmental management, before discussing how the status of these deities was devalued during the early twentieth century. It argues that, in spite of vigorous attempts at secular reform, for a large section of the population the experience of disasters continued to be dominated by popular religious conceptualizations of the environment. While modern critics disparaged what they saw as lamentable superstitions, for many people rainmaking Dragon Kings continued to exist.

The Dragon King and The 1931 Wuhan Flood: Religious Rumors and Environmental Disasters in Republican China

This article explores popular religious conceptualizations of the environment and disasters in early twentieth-century China. In 1931, the city of Wuhan experienced a catastrophic flood. Soon a rumor began to circulate suggesting that the disaster had been caused by the recent demolition of a local Dragon King Temple. This article examines this rumor as a mode of popular discourse, using it to illustrate debates among members of the local population regarding the link between the environment, religion, and disasters. It describes the place of Dragon Kings in late imperial religious environmental management, before discussing how the status of these deities was devalued during the early twentieth century. It argues that, in spite of vigorous attempts at secular reform, for a large section of the population the experience of disasters continued to be dominated by popular religious conceptualizations of the environment. While modern critics disparaged what they saw as lamentable superstitions, for many people rainmaking Dragon Kings continued to exist.

Islam is a foreign country: American Muslims and the global crisis of authority

Acknowledgments Introduction: Unmapping the Muslim World Part I: The Roots and Routes of Islam in America 1 Islam Is a Foreign Country: Mapping the Global Crisis of Authority 2 Islamic Utopias, American Dystopia: Muslim Moral Geographies after the Great Migration 3 Imaginary Homelands, American Dreams: Sunni Moral Geographies after 1965 Part II: Tradition Bound 4 Retrieving Tradition: Pedagogical Forms and Secular Reforms 5 Choosing Tradition: Women Student-Travelers between Resistance and Submission 6 Transmitting Tradition: The Constraints of Crisis 7 Muslim Reformers and the American Media: The Exceptional Umma and Its Emergent Moral Geography Epilogue: American Muslims and the Place of Dissent Notes IndexAbout the Author

Talinn Grigor. Building Iran: Modernism, Architecture, and National Heritage under the Pahlavi Monarchs

Grigor studies “the political underpinnings, pedagogical aims, racial schemas, and aesthetic ends of propaganda architecture” (p. 9) of the Society for National Heritage (1922-1979). The SNH decided which structures were worth preserving, built mausoleums to lionize and nationalize great men (such as Ferdowsī or Hāfeẓ), and ran museums and educational projects. Grigor argues that heritage was a key idea since “political struggles aimed at radical secular reforms, territorial integrity, and na...

Magna Carta 1253: the ambitions of the church and the divisions within the realm

Using new material, including a hitherto unknown writ of King Henry III from 1253, this article explores the divisions which opened up between English secular and ecclesiastical reformers in the twelve-fifties. It shows that in securing the confirmation of Magna Carta in 1253, the church gained far less than it had hoped, largely because the laity in parliament had limited sympathy with its wider claims. For the same reason, the king, magnates and people in parliament rejected the church's version of the sentence of excommunication which supported the 1253 confirmation of the charter. This division foreshadowed the events of 1258 when lay and ecclesiastical reformers went their own separate ways, with the result that the revolutionary reforms of 1258, which stripped the king of power, had neither ecclesiastical content nor support. They were thus very different and much weaker than Magna Carta, which had both.

Prominent Turkish Academic Who Advocated Secular Reforms Arrested

The former head of Turkey's Council of Higher Education, Kemal Gürüz, has been arrested as part of an inquiry by Turkey's conservative government into what's known as the "postmodern coup" of 1997.

Historicism, Formalism, and “Tintern Abbey”

This article responds to Marjorie Levinson's groundbreaking historicist study Wordsworth's Great Period Poems. Beginning with a reading Wordsworth's “Tintern Abbey,” I give a different account of how we might approach the politics of Wordsworth's poetry – namely, by acknowledging Wordsworth's exploration of the interconnection between poetic and institutional forms. I relate this account to several themes that I explore in my own writing on Romantic literature and the history of secular institution-building and penal reform; I close by considering how my arguments depart from recent, competing accounts of literary form.

Advancing Women’s Rights Through Islamic Law: The Example of Morocco

This article discusses the challenges and opportunities for advancing women’s rights through Islamic law using contemporary Morocco as a case study. Part I provides an overview of women’s rights in Morocco including the historic 2004 Mudawana (Code of Personal Status) reforms. Part II discusses the social roles, cultural representations, and socioeconomic realities of Moroccan women, emphasizing the important role that Moroccan women have played in legal and social reform efforts through their participation in civil society. Part III discusses several legal strategies for advancing women’s rights in Islamic states and assesses the strengths, weaknesses, and likely success of each approach. These strategies include implementing international law and secular reform, utilizing the Moroccan legislative process, reinterpreting the Qur’an and the hadith (the two primary sources of Islamic law), exercising ijtihad (resolving an Islamic legal issue through personal thought and reflection), and contesting the development of Shari’a. Part IV outlines the most promising strategy for advancing women’s rights in Islamic states. This final Part discusses failed reform strategies, outlines an effective reform strategy, and concludes that women’s rights are largely compatible with Shari’a provided the right social and political conditions exist.

Milton among the Puritans: the case for historical revisionism

Contents: Preface Introduction: Carlyle's ghost Part I The Revolutionary Era: Historical Overview and Analysis of Milton's Early Works: A brief history of the 'Puritan revolution' Milton among the Puritans Vocation, prophecy, and secular reform in the early poems and prose The humanist ethics, metaphysics, and aesthetics of Milton's Spenserian masque Mid-century debates on law, religion, rhetoric, education and science. Part II Restoration Culture and Milton's Major Works: The secular cosmology and anthropology of Milton's civilized Eden The neoclassical poetics of Paradise Regained The classical republican tragedy of defeat in Samson Agonistes Afterword: Milton and the early development of toleration in England Bibliography Index.

Monachus non doctoris, sed plangentis habet officium

While the controversy over monks’ preaching and teaching was raging, St Jerome’s maxim « the function of a monk is to weep not teach » was extremely influential. This aphorism, which spread through Tuscany from the end of the 11th century, had the advantage of being by a monk whose authority could not be questioned by the defenders of monastic order. From the circles of secular reformers it spread via the canonical collections to Italy and then to France; Ivo of Chartres popularized it. Jerome’s maxim was subsequently adopted by theologians, and used in the ecclesiological debates of the early-12th century. But by mid-century, due to the influence of scholastic textual analysis, the maxim had lost all authority to become an object of purely literary interest.