Sunglasses Research Articles

Life in abundance: Diet, Black health and spirituality in the Nation of Islam, 1930–1975

This article aims to analyse the relationship between the Nation of Islam and dietary rules, as well as to show how its doctrinal component is linked to a quest for an African American redemption. Although this Black nationalist organization claims to remain within the fold of the Islamic religion, historical research conducted in the 1990s and 2000s has stressed that its message is characterized by peculiar beliefs and religious practices. The author’s analysis relies on writings that were produced by the Nation of Islam – mainly, the two volumes of How to Eat to Live, authored by Elijah Muhammad. These dietetic teachings appear to bond the movement to various new religious movements, mainly of Christian inspiration. It appears probable that this set of beliefs was influenced by the German naturopath Arnold Ehret (1866–1922), thus leading to a significant difference with Sunni Islam.

Analysis of the Possibility of Application of Deconstructive Strategy in Theological Studies

The article attempts to analyze the possibility of applying deconstructive strategy in theological research. For this purpose, the author firstly defines the specificity of the deconstructive strategy of thinking, which consists in the researcher’s aspiration to catch the trace left by the author in the original unwritten proto-text by means of revealing oppositions and their loosening, up to their complete splitting, contributing to the disclosure of new meanings in the text. Then, on the basis of the analysis of modern Russian studies concerning the critical comprehension of Jacques Derrida’s theory of deconstruction, a systematization of very contradictory remarks and objections is carried out, as a result of which three critically minded groups are revealed: researchers of Postmodernism and Poststructuralism, accusing deconstruction of debunking stable notions; the scholars of neo-Marxist direction, emphasizing its excessive Theology; theologians of various branches of Christian thought, revealing an atheological and even atheistic character in the deconstructive thinking strategy. The author of the paper further analyses the work of an Arabian scholar ‘Ali Zawwari Ahmad on the criticism of Arab modernists who use western deconstructive methodology in dealing with religious texts, thus revealing that in the contemporary Muslim world there are two opposing views on the use of deconstructive strategies in theological studies, which are according to the traditional Muslim community, faithfully defend the inviolability of religious traditions, including in the field of Theological Methodology.

The ‘Real’ Transgender Citizen: Diagnostic Practices of Gender Dysphoria and Citizenship Eligibility in Pakistan

ABSTRACT Emergent meanings of gender dysphoria in medical consultations between transgender people and psychiatrists in Pakistan attempt to answer the question- who is genuinely transgender? The use of biomedical models to investigate the ‘realness’ of trans experience has orchestrated complexities of care as psychiatric evidence of gender dysphoria becomes the gateway to citizenship. Psychiatrists become accessories of state bureaucracy as assessors of legitimate citizenship claims in relation to the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2018. I follow the developing meanings of gender dysphoria as it becomes socially imbricated with Sunni Muslim medical ethics regarding the ‘natural’ body. Even as gender variant citizens discover their selves as political participants, their bodies need to correspond with biopsychological truths of citizenship in an infrastructure of suspicion. How does the sociality of the medical encounter make space for proving or denying gender dysphoria as a genuine psychic state? This paper looks at the varied ways in which doctor-patient interactions become a place of evidence production to satisfy state legislative demands of citizen psychology. Using an interdisciplinary approach that draws on legal literature and medical anthropology, I explore diagnostic practices and expectations of gender dysphoria to explicate the meaning of transgender health within psychiatric care.

The Othering of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

Abstract The Ahmadiyya movement is one of the most controversial movements within the South Asian Islam from the late 19th and the 20th century. The movement from the beginning was instrumental in reinvigorating the debate on the Islamic orthodoxy and interpretation and re-interpretation of the Islamic texts among Muslims. These controversies and debates over the period of time have entered into the public consciousness particularly among Muslims of South Asia, which has enabled it to become an accepted feature of the contemporary South Asian Politics. As the movement became more public, the distinct identity of Ahmadi took shape and a notion of Ahmadiyyat as distinct expression of Islam became increasingly politicised. Similarly, the emergence of this Ahmadi identity was influenced by modern South Asian politics as much as South Asian Islam was influenced by the modernists. This influence has widened the dichotomy between Ahmadi Islam and the orthodox Islam. The current study focuses on how South Asian Islam’s narratives grew and developed to build and declare Ahmadis as a non-Muslim minority. It also demonstrates how these narratives were exploited over time by both Muslim groups and famous Muslims to malign and portray the Ahmadiyya community as ‘other’ in the eyes of Muslim and state structures. The study focuses primarily on the narratives of the 20th-century Muslim intellectuals such as Sir Muhammad Iqbal, Abul A’la Maududi, and other groups such as Majlis-i-Ahrar, as well as their role in building and constructing narratives that declared Ahmadis as ‘other’ while also changing their identity and status as Muslims.

IMPLEMENTASI MODEL PEMBELAJARAN PAI BERBASIS NILAI ISLAMI DALAM UPAYA MENINGKATKAN PEMAHAMAN KONSEPTUAL MAHASISWA DI UNIVERSITAS ISLAM MADURA

The implementation of the PAI learning model based on Islamic values to increase students conceptual understanding at UIM needs to be researched and explored scientifically, considering that PAI is the foundation of Islamic education to produce graduates who are by the Islamic management of the UIM Institution and have the ahlussunnah waljamaah bent. However, in reality, phenomena are presented that are often not by Islamic rules and teachings, this is the reason why this research is necessary to carry out this research. While the research approach used is qualitative phenomenological, the data sources in this research are UIM residents taken randomly by researchers such as students, lecturers, and employees. The validity of the data is to convince the researcher that the data obtained is valid, the researcher uses the concept of triangulation. The research results show that the Islamic Values-Based PAI Learning Model is carried out holistically in the learning process, which does not only focus on conceptual understanding and material but also on students themselves and the application of Islamic values in real life. Meanwhile, the impact of students' conceptual understanding has a positive impact on religious concepts and the ability to relate these concepts to the context of everyday life. Meanwhile, intensive interaction between lecturers and students as well as space for discussion and reflection in the learning process makes a significant contribution to the effectiveness of the Islamic Values-based PAI education and learning model. The implementation of the PAI learning model based on Islamic values can be used as a reference for lecturers and curriculum managers to improve the quality of Islamic religious education at the Islamic higher education level. Keywords: Learning Model; Islamic Values; Conceptual Understanding.

The anthropology of Islamic modernism – Jadidism

Introduction. This article is an attempt to study the anthropological views of Jadidism, one of the trends of Islamic modernist reformism aimed at bringing Muslim fundamental religious values closer to secular European culture. In an attempt to bring traditional Muslim anthropological categories closer to the European humanistic understanding of man, Jadid thought forms an updated Westernized version of Muslim anthropology.Materials and Methods. The material for the article was the researches of R. S. Khakimov, H. Bekiri, A. H. Basyrov, D. M. Iskhakov, M. Iqbal, M. Аbduh, G. Marranci, devoted to the analysis of anthropological concepts of Jadidism, formulating the basic principles of human perception by Islamic modernism. The article uses methods of systematic and comparative analysis, generalization and historical and philosophical analysis.Results. The conducted research shows that Jadidism develops the concepts of human freedom and personality, overcoming the determinism traditional for Islam, rethinks the anthropic principle in religious Muslim categories. The emphasis is placed on the personal beginning of a person, the center of his activity, due to the rational component and the presence of free will. Using these tools, a person communicates with the divine principle through the knowledge of the universe, synergistically applying the religious precepts of Islam in combination with the current scientific picture of the world. At the same time, the process of self-knowledge of a person as essentially refracting the divine nature in his nature is also important.Discussion and Conclusions. The author of the study managed to conduct a comparative, systematic and historical-philosophical analysis of the anthropological positions of Islamic modernist reformism – Jadidism – in the works of both domestic and foreign thinkers. As a result, the author managed to carry out a comprehensive analysis of the basic anthropological principles of Jadidism, as well as to trace the influence of various factors on the formation of the anthropology of Islamic modernism.

The Armenian Community and Changing Iranian Perceptions of Minority

Until a decade ago, it was unusual for officials in the Islamic Republic to use the word aqaliat (minority) to refer to ethno-linguistic minorities or Muslim sect minorities. Efforts to cast Sunni Muslims as a minority, or Azeri speakers, were treated with hostility, as the state, following a specific proclamation on ethnicity and sectarianism by Ayatollah Khomeini, viewed these concepts as divisive to the ummah and ultimately a threat to national security. Aqaliat was instead reserved for non-Muslims, specifically those recognized as minorities in the constitution: Assyrian, Chaldean and Armenian Christians, and Zoroastrian and Jewish Iranians. It is therefore worthwhile to examine how one such minority community, Iranian Armenians, has reacted to these changes.

Diriliş: Resurrection theme in the populist regime of ‘New Turkey’

Populism has become the pillar of contemporary right-wing politics, and it has a large discursive toolkit, varying in different geopolitical contexts but always drawing its references from existing narratives, myths, affects, and cosmologies of a given public. The success of populist regimes lies particularly in their ability to harness existing imaginaries and turn them into political currency. Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) is no exception to this trend through its constant cultivation of antagonistic themes and manufacture of new hostilities. To get a better grasp of the ways in which this is accomplished, this report focuses on one of the most appealing, popular, and political themes in Turkish-Islamist politics: Diriliş (Resurrection). One can come across this theme in national politics, foreign policy, popular media, or the Islamist intellectual realm. Starting out as a Turkish Sunni Islamist philosophy in the Islamist intellectual realm, the diriliş theme proliferated over the years, subsequently with the rise of political Islam, and became a building block of Turkish-Islamist populist discourse in Turkey. With a close focus on various Islamist journals in İslamcı Dergiler Projesi (Islamic Journals Project) database and media, popular culture, and politics, this report charts the trajectory of the diriliş theme from the 1960s until today. I show its popularization process, its politicization throughout decades, and its gendered foundation. Diriliş theme appears and disappears at significant political moments in Turkey, and it successfully appeals to Turkish-Islamist groups while converting feelings of oppression to power and domination. Its loaded history makes diriliş a very powerful instrument for AKP’s populism.

The Necessity of a Standard Prenuptial Agreement for American Muslims

For many Sunni Muslims in the U.S., one of the most important documents in their life might be a marriage contract that unintentionally contains an impermissible amount of gharar (uncertainty). There are seldom disputes when contracts go smoothly, even if gharar is present, but when there are disagreements, it is a cause of major strife. If two Muslims get married, they usually perform a nikāḥ (Islamic marriage contract/ceremony) and then sign a civil marriage contract in their state of residence. Although it would seem that the nikāḥ would imply certain terms for dissolution perhaps based on a classical school of Islamic law or contemporary ijtihād (juristic reasoning) adjusted for modern times and circumstances, the actual authority belongs to a non-Muslim judge and legal system. Does this legal system have a moral right over Muslim marriage contracts in this country, or is the use of such a court an un-Islamic infringement on the other party’s rights and therefore a violation of God’s law? This author recommends couples should explicitly discuss this issue prior to marriage and proposes a standardized prenuptial agreement to minimize unnecessary disputes.

How Bashar al-Asad Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the “War on Terror”

Abstracts This article draws on regime newspaper archives and the Arabic-language speeches of and interviews with Syrian president Bashar al-Asad over the last two decades to track how Syrian governmental rhetoric on the question of “terrorism” has changed over time. Engaging with the literature on how ideas, technologies, and contentious repertoires diffuse and spread and how regimes learn from each other, I show how the Asad regime has moved from a discourse that saw “terrorism” as a Western and/or Israeli concept used to delegitimize primarily Palestinian and Lebanese resistance sponsored by Damascus to a discourse that embraces the rhetoric of the “war on terror” in order to legitimize the regime's counterinsurgency policies during the current conflict. I argue that this rhetorical shift is dependent on the ethno-sectarian identity of the population in question through a comparison of regime rhetoric on three separate uprisings in recent Syrian history: the current uprising (2011–present); the Kurdish uprising of 2004; and the Druze uprising in 2000. Since the current uprising is seen as a predominantly Sunni Arab affair, the Syrian regime has used “war on terror” rhetoric in ways that it did not during the Kurdish and Druze uprisings. I then situate this rhetorical move in time as a post-9/11 development by comparing current regime rhetoric with that of the Hafez al-Asad regime's rhetoric during the uprising centered in Hama in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Gus Dur’s Enduring Legacy: Accruing Religious Merit in the Afterlife

<p>Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur), Indonesia’s fourth president (1999–2001) and leader of the traditionalist Islamic organisation Nahdlatul Ulama (1984–1999), continues to influence Indonesia in positive and meaningful ways despite his death in 2009. He proved that Islam and a pluralistic political culture were compatible and that Indonesian Islam had a global role. His legacy continues through the Wahid Foundation, Nahdlatul Ulama, and the National Awakening Party. The Wahid Foundation operates under the directorship of his daughter, Yenny Wahid, and is dedicated to improving Islam and Indonesian society through documenting religious intolerance and injustice and by issuing recommendations. Following Nahdlatul Ulama’s National Congress in December 2021, its leadership has been dominated by Gus Dur’s allies, including his wife and four daughters, and his former presidential spokesperson Yahya Cholil Staquf, all of whom have a deep commitment to his values. Gus Dur’s former political party, the National Awakening Party, remains another institution which supports pluralism and secular inclusiveness. However, the relationship between Gus Dur’s allies and this party remains fractured, just as it was before he died. Despite an impeached presidency, a fallout with the National Awakening Party, and the considerable time that has passed since his death, he has produced an enduring legacy. Public deference to the late Gus Dur is reminiscent of the nine saints who Islamised Java half a millennia ago. This is because traditionalist Muslims believe that one’s deeds which produce on-going benefits to society will, in the afterlife, continue to accrue religious merit, and millions visit Gus Dur’s grave every year to demonstrate this.</p>

Self-Regulation Skills in The Learning Climate of Traditional Muslim Schools in Indonesia

Objective: To develop learning in traditional Muslim schools, this research describes the conditions of learning that develop among traditional Muslim schools; this research aims to reveal, analyze, and find the main ideas of learning theory based on the self-regulation ability of traditional Muslim school students. Method: This research uses a qualitative approach, while this type of research is phenomenological. Determination of informants in this study using purposive sampling were selected as informants in this study were 15 students; in this case, students were interviewed using SRLIS. Data were collected through interviews, direct observation, diaries, video recordings, photography, and artifact analysis. Results: The results of this study show that students' self-regulation abilities in traditional Muslim schools are more group-based. They use the community to develop themselves; group self-regulation skills are dominant among traditional Muslim school students. Novelty: This research shows the self-regulation of traditional Muslim School Students as actors for themselves. The way they learn is through group self-regulation. So, what is new from this research is Group-Based Self-Regulation.

Kafka’s Antizionism through a Comparative Analysis of ‘Jackals and Arabs’ with Judeo-Christian Texts, the Alexander Romance, and the Qur’an

Kafka explores many elements in ‘Jackals and Arabs’ that are found in the Judeo-Christian tradition of Gog and Magog, the Alexander Romance, and the Qur’anic story of Dhu’l-Qarnayn. A comparative analysis of these works reveals Kafka’s criticism of the Zionist movement. Kafka rejects Zionist exceptionalism and separatism through the narrator’s rejection of the jackals’ cause. Kafka’s jackals are compared to Gog and Magog, who are portrayed as corruptors of the land in the aforementioned texts. The categorisation of corruptors of the land is significant because this reverses Zionist claims of a profound connection to the land, which Kafka, likewise, reverses when the jackals claim that the desert is their home from which the Arabs should be removed. Zionist avowals of Arab backwardness are countered by Kafka as he makes the Arabs superior, which is also how the indigenous population are depicted in the Judeo-Christian and Muslim traditions since they are contrasted with the barbarity of Gog and Magog. Finally, the Zionist trope of the European Jewish hero who flees persecution is inverted by Kafka who confers on the narrator a quasi-prophetic/royal status similar to that of Dhu’l-Qarnayn and Alexander the Great.

Sex Reassignment Surgery, Marriage, and Reproductive Rights of Intersex and Transgender People in Sunni Islam.

The traditional gender binary constitutes an integral aspect of Islamic social ethics, which has a pivotal role in shaping religious obligations, legal proceedings, and interpersonal judgments within Muslim communities. Within the familial sphere, this gender binary underscores fundamental responsibilities encompassing parenthood, filial duties, and inheritance rights. Recent years have witnessed a growing challenge to the traditional concept of the gender binary within Islamic societies. This shift is driven by increasing social libertarianism that emphasizes gender fluidity and individual choice. Hence, this article aims to critically scrutinize evolving discussions and controversies about the rights of intersex and transgender individuals, particularly issues relating to sex reassignment or gender-affirming surgery, marriage, and reproduction, from the perspective of the Sunni tradition of Islam. To support the various interpretations and insights presented here, a comprehensive and rigorous analysis is carried out on various religious texts and scholarly sources to elucidate the theological and jurisprudential positions on gender issues. It is thus concluded that Shariah offers greater flexibility in the treatment of intersex individuals compared to those with gender dysphoria because the intersex condition is viewed as a physical impairment that is not the choice of the afflicted individual. By contrast, in the case of individuals with gender dysphoria, they are willfully attempting to change their recognized biological sex, that God had naturally given to them at birth. Therefore, it is recommended that such transgender individuals deserve respectful psychological and social rehabilitation with help and guidance from religious authorities, their families, and communities.

Development of Islamic Psychology Interdisciplinary Approaches in the Era of Contemporary Science

The Muslim tradition of scientific thinking was one of the signs of Islam's golden age. However, this tradition was eventually overtaken by the Western tradition of scientific thinking. The Western tradition of thinking was based on positivistic philosophy and influenced the development of science. As a result, psychology was reduced to studying human behavior because it had to be rational and empirical. Secular psychology developed rapidly by dismissing non-epistemic values, and it was criticized. The criticism led to the Islamic movement and psychology as an anti-thesis that began to formulate Islamic psychology. This paper aims to formulate the development of Islamic psychology with an interdisciplinary approach as a recommendation for future studies. The research method uses qualitative methods with library research—data collection techniques through literature study with content analysis techniques. Psychology as a science must integrate with Islamic disciplines, namely ulumuddin and al fikr al Islamiyah. This integration with an interdisciplinary approach results in Islamic psychology included in dirasat Islamiyah. Dirasat Islamiyah integrates fundamental text authority and classical thought, also studied by scientific methods. In conclusion, the integration of psychology and Islam is not only limited to the empirical and rational but needs to look at things beyond that.

Review of “A Vida Secreta das Cidades (The Secret Life of Cities)” by Mateus Soares de Azevedo

“The Secret Life of Cities”, authored by Brazilian writer Mateus Soares de Azevedo, fathoms the unknown spiritual dimensions present in the culture, art and history of emblematic cities around the world. The analytical and contemplative work is carried out by the author in loco in symbolic cities belonging to six religious traditions – Sunni Islam, Shiite Islam, Buddhism, Catholicism, Protestantism, and Eastern Christianity. The author's modus operandi is not that of the voyeur, the adventurer, or the collector of novelties, but rather that of the pilgrim in search of knowledge.

The Role of Nu-Cyber and Muhammadiyah-Cyber Role in Increasing Cyber-Extremism in the East Java

Penetration of the increasingly widespread use of the internet in society has inspired extremists to use cyberspace as a new arena for jihad. It is in this context that NU and Muhammadiyah as the largest Islamic organizations in Indonesia are trying to fill the void as well as take a role in digital literacy culture by forming a cyber team as a base for resistance to narratives produced by radicalism accounts. This research is classified as a type of qualitative research with a digital content analysis approach. Researchers will collect narratives produced by NU and Muhammadiyah accounts on social media in countering cyber-radicalism in Indonesia. The East Java NU cyber team provides media that plays a role in influencing the perspective of media users to enter on the big theme set by the East Java Cyber Muhammadiyah and NU cyber teams which always spread the values of Ahlussunnah Wal Jamaah so that the two organizations can provide an understanding of ahlussunnah wal jamaan with an elegant presentation and far from extreme thinking.

Nusantara Islamic Education at Islamic Boarding Schools

Islam Nusantara as an Islamic concept unique to the archipelago has become an interesting topic of discussion among academics and observers of Islamic education because, at the beginning of its emergence, there were pros and cons. After all, it was felt that Islam Nusantara was a new religion, even though Islam Nusantara was not the result of cultural creation but was the teaching of Islam by Ahlussunnah Wal Jamaah as a whole. essential even though linguistically there are various debates. The purpose of writing this article is to present Islam Nusantara in the style of Islamic boarding schools, where Islamic boarding schools in this context are also educational institutions that give birth to the concept of Islam Nusantara so that from the results of academic discussions at Islamic boarding schools, Islam Nusantara can be well accepted by society in general. as an inevitability in the life of a nation with Islamic culture and religion. This research uses qualitative research with a literature study approach. Meanwhile, the results of this research obtained several recommendations regarding Nusantara Islam in Islamic boarding schools, namely, 1) It is considered important for Islamic boarding schools to preserve Indonesian Islamic education, 2) The model of Nusantara Islamic education in Islamic boarding schools, and 3) The role of government is needed in the formulation and implementation of Nusantara Islamic education in formal education.

A Comparative Approach to the Legitimacy of Uterine Surrogacy in Jurisprudence in Iran and Some Muslim Countries in the Middle East, A Systematic Review

Background: A surrogate uterus is one of the methods of artificial reproduction in the treatment of infertility that has profound consequences in religion, law, ethics and society and is done with the intervention of a third party. This research provides a general overview of jurisprudential legitimacy in the field of surrogacy in some Middle Eastern countries (Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Palestine) in comparison to Iran in order to fill the research gap as much as possible. Objective: A comparative approach to the legitimacy of uterine surrogacy in jurisprudence in Iran and some Muslim countries in the Middle East. Method: This review article was conducted from November 2022 to April 2023 in order to examine the comparative rights of surrogacy in Iran and some Middle Eastern countries from studies published between 1970-2021 in the reliable database and other jurisprudential texts. Results: The majority of Sunni Muslim countries have announced the prohibition of surrogacy and the invalidity of contracts concluded in this regard. In Iran, with religious permission, it has had more social acceptance, and jurists and jurists prescribe surrogacy contracts. However, the legislator's silence in this regard will have an effect on the emergence of different procedures in different regions of Iran. Conclusion: Basically, increasing the adoption and implementation of surrogate pregnancy in different societies of the Middle East requires more jurisprudential and legal efforts. So that the couples involved in this type of fertility and the children born are kept safe from possible harm.

Development of the theological traditions of Muslims in the Volga region and the Urals in the 18th – early 20th centuries

Тhe relevance of the study is connected with the study of the development of the theological traditions of Muslims in the Volga and Urals regions in the 18th – early 20th centuries, which was characterized by softening of religious and national policies. This made it possible to shift the focus of theological research on solving intra-community issues, overcoming the backwardness of the Muslim population from the heterodox environment and reviving national and cultural traditions. The main tools were ijtihad (the right to independently turn to the primary sources of Islam) and its dichotomy known as taqlid as well as the fight against a condemned religious innovation known as heresy (bid‘a). Ijtihad and taqlid must be considered as two fairly flexible tools for solving modern issues, since each of them appeals to Islamic primary sources (to the Quran and Sunnah), while taqlid supposes the understanding of religious authority.