Islamic fundamentalism and the intellectuals: the case of Naguib Mahfouz

Naguib Mahfouz, the Egyptian Nobel Laureate in literature, was stabbed by Muslim militants in October 1994. After the publication of his novel ‘Awlad Haratina’ radical Islamists accused him of apostasy and blasphemy. In this novel Mahfouz set out to write an allegory of human history in which the principal characters paralleled the main biblical figures, but the book angered the Islamists. Most literary figures support Mahfouz in arguing that the novel is a piece of literature or art, and not a theological treatise. It deals with problems of social justice, the abuse of power by rulers, and the exploitation of the weak by the strong. It shows that reforms by various prophets have failed to ameliorate the human condition and suggests that science seems to offer a greater promise. But the metaphysical (religious) framework within which issues of social justice, science and socialism are discussed remains the most problematic and controversial aspect of this literary work, and draws attention, therefore, to the understanding of the role of religion in human affairs.     

Trade ‘outside the law’: Uzbek and Afghan transnational merchants between Yiwu and South-Central Asia

ABSTRACT

This article analyses the trajectories of two transnational networks present in the Chinese city of Yiwu: Afghan merchants who trade goods in and out Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Pakistan; and Uzbek traders (citizens of either Tajikistan or Uzbekistan) who commercialize their merchandise in and out Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Russia. Our aim is to capture an ethnographically grounded understanding of informal markets and economies by analysing the notion of trade ‘outside the law’, including the contested yet widely used category of the ‘smuggler’. By paying attention to the fluidity of trading practices ‘outside the law’, we also address the uses and limitations of metaphors widely used in scholarly analysis of informal markets: notably those of ‘lower’ and ‘higher’ forms of globalization, and the transposition of formal-legal and informal-illegal exchanges onto the notions of economic ‘centres’ and ‘peripheries’.     

Crossing Eurasia: trans-regional Afghan trading networks in China and beyond

An expanding body of literature in the field of Central Asian studies has brought attention to the problems of considering the region's complex dynamics through the lens of its nation-states. Comparatively less attention has been paid to the role played by trans-regional circulations in connecting parts of Central Asia to the wider world. This paper situates ethnographic work on trans-regional networks of Afghan traders in China, Central Asia, Russia, Ukraine and the UK in relation to the literature on trans-regional connections and circulation societies. Ethnographically it demonstrates the multi-polar nature of these trans-regional networks, and the importance of trading nodes, especially the Chinese city of Yiwu, to their formation and ongoing vitality.     

伊斯兰原教旨主义与马来西亚穆斯林妇女

伊斯兰原教旨主义推动了马来西亚社会和政治的伊斯兰化,并影响到马来穆斯林妇女的权利和地位.本文从分析伊斯兰原教旨主义妇女观入手,探讨马来西亚政府、政党、宗教部门和非政府组织如何从法律、法特瓦、政策、宣传来规范妇女的行为,并分析联邦政府与州政府、执政党与反对党、乌来玛与非政府组织围绕妇女权利展开的争论和斗争.     

Islamic Shariah and Blasphemy Laws in Pakistan

The arbitrary, discriminatory and oppressive application of blasphemy laws in Pakistan has been the cause of much discord and violence in recent years, affecting the non-Muslim population particularly harshly. This article traces the history of such laws and argues that the courts have done little to mitigate the adverse effects of their use by successive governments. The article calls for urgent and concerted international pressure to ensure that the Pakistani authorities respect their obligations under relevant legal instruments.     

Islamic Militias and Capitalist Development in Post-Authoritarian Indonesia

This article examines the emergence of Islamic militias that are often involved in political gangsterism in post-authoritarian Indonesia. It is argued that these groups are an outcome of the complex structural changes accompanying state formation in the context of capitalist development, instead of the product of a weak state or because of decentralisation of power and authority in the democratic context. Their existence is intricately related to the way the state organises institutions of coercion according to specific exigencies. In addition, these militias are an element of the rise of Islamic identity politics following the fall of Soeharto. The approach advanced here contrasts with two dominant approaches: an institutionalist approach that emphasises a lack of state capacity and the anthropology of the state approach that draws on Migdal’s state-in-society approach, which underlines the fragmentation of authority as the condition for the emergence of militias. It is shown that such groups could exist in a “weak” state and in a “strong” state, and in decentralised and centralised settings.     

浸透着伊斯兰文化传统的文莱媒介

文莱是个穆斯林君主制和伊斯兰传统的国家。1984年独立后.政府一直依靠集权统治和至高无上的宗教体系来维持原有的意识形态和价值观。媒介,作为意识形态的一个主要部分,自然也被浸透在伊斯兰君主制的思想中,而且在法律的监护下担负着将伊斯兰思想渗透到社会各个阶层的任务。     

试论东南亚的穆斯林文化与伊斯兰民族主义

当代东南亚穆斯林具有双重的性格,此种民族性格以各种方式在本地区各国作用于伊斯兰民族主义。占人口多数的印尼穆斯林,其世俗性与宗教性共生的文化,形成了聚合型与离散型并存的民族主义。身处多元种族社会中的马来西亚穆斯林,其独尊本族与兼容他族的双重性格,塑造了文化与政治民族主义的不同面孔。作为少数民族的菲律宾穆斯林,其互为逆向的极端与妥协的反抗运动趋势,凸显了偏执与折衷的不同文化取向。将穆斯林内部水平方向的斗争和穆斯林与世俗国家之间垂直方向的斗争,置于民族文化与民族主义的关系之框架下进行阐释,可以加深对东南亚穆斯林本质特征的认识。