Linguistic Diversity and Ideologies among the Catholic Minority in Mandate Palestine. Fear of Confusion or a Powerful Tool?

Abstract

Palestinian Catholics have always played a major role in the Palestinian political, cultural and educational systems, with an influence disproportionate to their numbers. Instrumentalized by France during and even after her Protectorate of the Christians (1924), more visible for the Europeans during the growth of European institutions in the Holy Land and the beginning of an international Christian network, Catholic Palestinians (mainly Latin and Melkite) favoured multilingualism, but at the same time felt trapped between different trends that influenced linguistic ideologies and practices. They faced the centralizing Catholic interests of Rome (who first favoured French and Italian, but soon after the Mandate mostly Arabic); the national interests of Catholic European powers present in the Holy Land favouring their own languages (French, German through the German Catholics and the Austrians, and English through the British Catholics); and the Arabization promoted by the Melkite community.

The present article aims to analyse the linguistic choices of the Catholic community, via its educational system, by observing the process through which a complex local reality has been simplified by colonial powers, to tackle identity and conflict through language.     

Reflections on the prehistory of the Abdālī Afghans

ABSTRACT

The Abdālī Afghans-Pashtuns played a leading role in the creation of the Durrānī polity (est. 1747) – the precursor of present-day Afghanistan. Given their lasting contributions to the process of state formation in Central Asia, it is somewhat surprising that the early history of the Abdālī remains obscure. Nevertheless, authors of recent generations have not been deterred from speculating on the origins of the Abdālī. This article explores the prevailing theories concerning Abdālī prehistory, including the tribe’s purported connection to both the Hephthalites and the Sufi saint Abū A?mad Abdāl, as well as some of the motivations undergirding these theories. It also considers the place of the Abdālī within the Afghan-Pashtun tribal system and ventures to reconcile their Afghan identity with their alleged non-Afghan origins. The present study thus aims to offer a more nuanced understanding of the history of the Abdālī – the most politically prominent group in Afghanistan’s history.     

Revisiting the anti-mushāʿ reforms in the levant: origins,scale and outcomes

ABSTRACT

The historiography of the abolition of repartitioned mushā?—the practice of parcels substitution among cultivators in peasant communities—is mistakenly traced back to the Ottoman Land Code of 1858. Neither that Code, nor Ottoman land registration, attempted the abolition of this type of mushā?. It was instead the abolition ordinances of the British and French Mandatory governments during the 1920s which began a conflict over land titles. The common estimates of that time suggest about 50 per cent of the lands in the Levant were held under repartitioned mushā?, but this was an exaggeration for most localities. French officials in Syria and Lebanon were not unanimous in opposing mushā? and in practice resorted to a laissez-faire policy. The British, however, annulled the legal titles to large areas of repartitioned mushā? lands in Palestine and Transjordan, wrongly believing this would increase investment in and productivity of cultivated lands. Their view was backed by Zionist experts, possibly due to the realization that the abolition of mushā? would facilitate Jewish land purchases.     

‘Permitted and Forbidden’ – Conventions of Relations between the Sexes and Their Contravention as Reflected in the Novels of Ghāˀib Ṭuˁma Farmān

This paper examines the difference in the way romantic connections between men and women are presented in the novels of the émigré Iraqi author Ghā?ib ?u?ma Farmān (1927–90) in comparison to the preceding generation of writers, as an expression of how ideology affected the artistic course taken by Communist authors, in view of the fact that relations between the sexes were a taboo subject in Arab literature. The paper shows the ways in which Farmān copes with the taboo in the conservative patriarchal society in which he grew up and the rhetorical and thematic devices he uses to shatter accepted conventions. The works serve as a prism to examine the triple bond between political and social ideology, language and coping with issues of the relations between the sexes, by exploring selected issues relating to sexuality as expressed in these works: sexual relations outside marriage, forced marriage or prevention of marriage, and the treatment of the daughter-in-law by the husband's family.     

Abbasid Panegyric: Badīʿ Poetry and the Invention of the Arab Golden Age

This study argues that the third AH/ninth CE century panegyrists (praise poets) of the Abbasid caliphal court at Baghdad (and briefly at Samarra) were responsible for constructing the image of a Golden Age of Arab-Islamic dominion that was subsequently adopted by the poets and thinkers of the Nah?a or ‘Arab Awakening’ of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Challenged to create a poetry that would serve as the linguistic correlative of the astounding and unprecedented might and dominion of the rulers of the Arab-Islamic state, the Abbasid Modernist Poets (al-shu?arā? al-mu?dathūn) invented a powerfully and radically innovative poetic style, termed badī?. The panegyric odes of poets such as Abū Tammām and al-Bu?turī were canonized so as to promote a vision of an Arab-Islamic Golden Age and, further, to serve as models for the expression of Arab-Islamic hegemony and the conferral and contestation of legitimate authority. In the Nah?a of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Neo-Classical poets such as A?mad Shawqī recouped the Abbasid master poets to both retroject and project a vision of an Arab-Islamic ‘Enlightenment’. Finally, this study examines the fraught relationship of the post-Naksa (1967) Arab poet, as exemplified in the modern Yemeni poet ?Abd Allāh al-Baradūnī, with the poets and poetry of the Golden Age.     

Social Alienation and Estrangement in Four Stories by Palestinian Writer cAlā Ḥlayḥal

This article examines the novella al-Sīrk (2001) and three short stories (?Zawjī Sā'iq Bā?', 2008, ‘Ta^cāyush’, 2008 and ‘al-Sajjāda’, 2003) by contemporary Palestinian writer ^cAlā ?lay?al (Ala Hlehel). These texts manifest a preoccupation with the breakdown of human relationships and related themes of failed communication and miscommunication between people. These themes articulate the alienation, isolation and estrangement of individuals from one another, from community and society. The purpose of the present study is an analysis of the portrayal of social decay, alienation and estrangement in these texts, revealing structural expressions of degeneration, as well as a deterioration of interpersonal relations articulated by stymied communication, miscommunication and neglect, often expressed textually through irony and hypocrisy. These particular works were chosen because of their preoccupation with the themes at hand, and also because these are masterfully written stories in their own right deserving critical analysis. While ?lay?al's stories resound with the theme of alienation which has marked Palestinian literature from its formative stages onwards, they reject a staunchly committed stance and do not issue moral imperatives or political slogans. The nuances of these texts are examined in light of other works of Palestinian literature, and especially considering the intertextual references therein.     

Sufi Apologia in the Guise of Biography: The Case of Abū Nu‛aym al-Iṣfahānī’s Ḥilyat al-awliyā’ wa-ṭabaqāt al-aṣfiyā’

?ilyat al-awliyā’ wa-?abaqāt al-a?fiyā’ by Abu Nu?aym al-Isfahani (d. 430/1038) is a remarkable and timeless manual of instructions conveyed to us through eminent figures of Islam, who have been known for their piety, asceticism and great learning. With its 689 entries, this biographical encyclopaedia covers a time span of almost 400 years; from the time of the Prophet until the fifth/eleventh century. The author’s intention is to present elements of Sufi thought and practice in complete compatibility with Muslim orthodoxy in an attempt to vindicate Sufism in the eyes of its opponents. This article is mainly a study of the apologetic nature of Sufi biographical tradition with focus on the ?ilya as representative material. Owing to its large scope, only an extract covering nine biographies has been selected for the purpose of this study.     

唐代百济移民祢氏家族墓志相关问题研究

西安市长安区郭杜镇已出土可以确定为唐代百济移民祢氏家族的四合墓志。其中作为百济第三代移民祢仁秀墓志文,证实其祖父祢寔进在唐罗联军进攻百济过程中起到了决定性作用,祢仁秀的叔祖祢军墓志文中出现＂日本＂两字,将现有墓志史料所见＂日本＂两字提前了二十余年,祢仁秀的父亲祢素士墓志文清楚记载了祖父祢寔进墓志中不曾记载的内容。至于文献中出现的祢植到底是祢寔进还是祢军？祢寔进为什么最终行薨莱州黄县？四合墓志中涉及祢氏家族祖先问题如何理解？依据现存史料记载,本文均给予了可以自圆其说的解释。百济移民祢氏家族墓志的公布,对于唐代百济移民史、古代东北亚国家关系史研究,均可起到重要的推动作用。     

‘Oh,the Happy Queen’: On Feminization and Humour in Ḥuzāmah Ḥabāyib's Novel,Qabl an tanām al-malikah

This article examines the writing of ?uzāmah ?abāyib, a new generation Palestinian writer, who is considered one of the foremost Palestinian women writers. It focuses on her novel Qabl an tanām al-malikah, which serves as an example of the bold and dissident writing of the new generation of Palestinian women writers. The article examines the way in which ?abāyib creates a feminization of humour and a kind of a ‘feminine humour’. ?abāyib employs humour in order to shed light on the darkness of life and show how despite everything and in spite of an arduous and troubled life, women know how to enjoy the small and everyday things in life.     

Life in the Chinese hinterlands under the rural economic reforms

Abstract

Some of the poorest peasant households in one of China's inland provinces are being hurt by current government policies toward agriculture. This is the distinct impression obtained during two months of travel and research in Yunnan Province during mid-1988. As consultants to an international development project, we had an opportunity to explore the hill districts of northern Yunnan in a four-wheel drive, free to conduct interviews with grass-roots officials and peasant families. A total of thirteen villages were investigated, selected largely by ourselves.     

The Language of the Nation: The Rise of Arabic among Jews and Christians (1900–1950)

Abstract

This essay explores the ways in which in the period following the First World War, non-Muslim communities participated in the establishment of Modern Standard Arabic as the foremost symbol of the new states that replaced the Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire. A comparison of the sociolinguistic trajectories of Syriac Christians in North Iraq, Jews in Baghdad and Catholic Christians in Palestine suggests that Arabic’s function of undergirding the ‘Arab states’ thrived on earlier interpretations of Arabic as the language of interregional and interdenominational contacts and as the language of cultural, societal and political modernization rather than on exclusivist nationalist, ethnic or linguistic identifications. Put differently, the increased use of Arabic by those who also had other languages at their disposal resulted from the combination of pragmatism with commitment to societal modernization and inclusive nationalism. The linguistic trajectories of these three groups are analysed against the background of a rereading of George Antonius’ The Arab Awakening (1938) as a contemporary source for the rise of Arab nationalism among non-Muslim minorities.     

The Norwich elections of 1794, 1796 and 1802: Conflict and consensus

SUMMARY

Daniel O'Connell (Cahersiveen 1775–Genoa 1847), Irish politician and patriot, fought for Catholic emancipation, and to repeal the penal laws discriminating Irish Catholics and the 1800 Act of Union between Great Britain and Ireland (effective from 1 January 1801). Believing firmly in non-violence, he defended the representation of Irish Catholics in parliament as the most appropriate instrument to support their rights. His thoughts and actions were widespread and known in Italy and Europe while some Catholics were arguing about a possible reconciliation between religion and freedom and on the resulting openness to the principles of democracy and to the problem of representation. The Theatine Gioacchino Ventura (1792–1861) from Palermo, one of the leaders of the Sicilian revolution of 1848, was a great admirer of O'Connell, so much so that after his death he delivered a funeral eulogy at Sant'Andrea della Valle Church in Rome. Ventura, recognized among the precursors of the current liberal and democratic Italian Catholic movement, shared the causes embraced by O'Connell and he considered him to be the first mediator between Church and modern society. He believed that O'Connell was a champion of liberalism who had succeeded in combining nationalistic reason with freedom, the right to vote and the eligibility of Catholics. Following Ventura, Luigi Sturzo (1871–1959), another member of the Italian Catholic movement and founder of the first Catholic party (PPI), was inspired by the political experience of O'Connell, considering him to be the forerunner of constitutional Catholics on the continent. Sturzo worked for the inclusion of Catholics in the state political structures, contributing to the realization of full democracy.     

Ironic political reforms: elected senators,party-list MPs,and family rule in Thailand

ABSTRACT

An elected Senate and the party-list system are two institutional innovations of the 1997 Thai Constitution designed to support political reforms. This paper sheds light on one unintended effect of these reforms: they have allowed scores of political families to maintain or even tighten their grip on Parliament. Combining aggregate data and case studies, this paper shows that a sizable number of elected senators and party-list parliamentary members are related, by birth or marriage, to other parliament members elected in the post-1932 period. The well-intended reforms have concentrated parliamentary power in the hands of these families, many of which represent the excesses of Thailand’s full-blown electoral democracy. The survival and resilience of these families diminish reform opportunities by further entrenching corruption, clientelism, violence, and electoral fraud, as well as by deepening dynastic rule that militates against political pluralism and inclusiveness.     

The faith-based segregation of interments: insights from a Senegalese commune

ABSTRACT

In Senegal’s Thies Region, Joal has separate cemeteries for Muslims and Christians, while the neighbouring community of Fadiouth has one cemetery for the dead of all faiths. This paper uses these cases to shed light on why some communities have separate cemeteries for people of different faiths while others bury people of all faiths in the same cemetery. I argue that the manner in which Christianity and Islam spread in the two communities explains the differences in the spatial organisation of burials. This study of divergent approaches to burying people of different faiths sheds light on histories of migration and the important issues of inter-communal and interfaith relations. The paper is based on ethnographic research and also draws on a participatory cartography exercise.     

The Role of Egyptian Influences on the Religious Dynamics and the Idea of Progress of Malaya's Kaum Muda (Young Faction) before the Second World War

Egyptian influences related to progress spread in Malaya before the Second World War through the journals published and the religious schools established by the Kaum Muda (The Young Faction). The Kaum Muda traced its origin from the reformist thinking of Mu?ammad Rashīd Ri?ā who published the journal al-Manār from 1898 in Egypt. To disseminate their reformist thought, the Kaum Muda published al-Imām from 23 July 1906, a journal that was directly influenced by al-Manār. Apart from publishing journals, the Kaum Muda, particularly its staunchest exponent, Sayyid Shaykh al-Hadi, also published books and novels with reformist themes, particularly on women’s emancipation. As well as using printed media to convey their messages, the Kaum Muda used modern religious education known as madrasa education, which was associated with reformist thinking, to spread their ideas and bring progress to Malay society.     

A New Language of Equality: Jews and the State in Nineteenth-Century Morocco

Abstract

In the late nineteenth century, the Moroccan government’s concern for its image abroad ushered in a new approach to understanding Jews’ rights. Although the sultans never abandoned the dhimma contract in favour of religious egalitarianism, government officials increasingly adopted a new language of equality to describe how Jewish subjects should be treated. This language of equality borrowed vocabulary from Western notions of tolerance, but did not fundamentally conflict with Islamic ideals of justice. Mawlāy ?asan (reigned 1873–1894) refused to declare that Jews and Muslims were equal, but he increasingly insisted that Jews and Muslims must be treated equally before the law. Jews trod a similarly fine line, between pushing the envelope of their legal rights as dhimmīs and affirming their status as the personal protégés of the sultan. Through an examination of correspondence among Moroccan government officials, Jews and foreign diplomats, this article locates the shifting relationship between the state and its Jewish subjects in the language which the Makhzan used to define justice.     

Break Out of Russia: Miķelis Valters and the National Issue in Early Latvian Socialism

This article deals with the political thought of Mi?elis Valters (1874–1968), whose early writings are considered to contain the first clearly articulated argument for independent and democratic Latvia. Until now, Valters's writings haven′t been analyzed in their own historical and intellectual context, being subjected to Marxist and nationalist ‘proleptic mythologies’ instead. However, such an analysis provides us with important insights about the intellectual origins of Latvian political nationalism. Valters's early argument for independent Latvia derives much from the legacy of Russian narodnichestvo and from German liberal legal theory, rather than from Austro-Marxism, as suggested by previous commentators.     

J.B. Jeyaretnam: Three decades as Lee Kuan Yew's bête noir

Abstract

J.B. Jeyaretnam was Singapore's most celebrated opposition leader when his career came to an abrupt end in 2001, but he is better known for the injustices he has suffered at the hands of the People's Action Party regime than for anything he has achieved or said. Bankrupted, imprisoned, deprived of his livelihood and expelled from Parliament twice, he has acquired the aura of martyrdom, yet little is known about his life, his ideas or his motivations. Drawing on interview and archival research, this article studies him with a view to better understanding both the man himself and — probably of greater significance — what his experience can tell us about the dynamics of the Singapore policy.

Why did he enter opposition politics and keep coming back for more in the face of persecution? Why did the government set out to destroy him with such vehemence? What does this tell us about the limits of political tolerance in Singapore, both today and in the past? What lessons can other opposition figures learn from his experience? And why has Jeyaretnam been treated so harshly while the government nurtures some other opposition MPs as responsible and courteous players?     

A Purist Jihadi-Salafi: The Ideology of Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi

This article deals with the prominent contemporary Jihadi-Salafi ideologue Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi. In what follows, three major tenets of his ideology (al-walā? wa-l-barā?, kufr and jihad) are discussed. These concepts show that al-Maqdisi more or less transcends the boundaries of Quintan Wiktorowicz's division of Salafis into purists, politicos and jihadis. I contend that al-Maqdisi is relatively close to purist Salafism and can thus be seen as a ‘purist Jihadi-Salafi’. This implies that his ideas may resonate more easily with purists than the rhetoric of the likes of Osama bin Laden. At the same time, jihadis may take him more seriously because of his religious authority based on his close adherence to the purist creed. Although this article does not focus on explaining al-Maqdisi's popularity, it seems obvious that his specific combination of purist and jihadi Salafism may account for at least some of his standing among Salafis.     

Out of sight,out of mind: managing religious diversity in Qatar

Abstract

The small Gulf state of Qatar is today home to as many Christians, and as many Hindus, as it is Qatari citizens, making it one of the most religiously diverse states in the Middle East. A somewhat unintended consequence of the developmental trajectory Qatar has embarked on, like other emergent social realities religious diversity poses a threat to the identity of both the state and the small citizen population, and must be managed. This article explores how the state is responding to the challenge of religious diversity by looking at ‘Church city’, a recently built complex that houses several Christian churches on the outskirts of Doha. I argue that efforts to manage religious diversity are informed by notions of protection and segregation, as can be identified both in Islamic historical precedents, and in the state’s broader response to its developmental dilemma.