From mosque to mosque: past and present images of Islamic space in Greece

This essay is an attempt to chart recent developments in the field of Modern Greek Studies, focusing on shifting perceptions regarding Islam and Muslims. To do so, the essay positions the relevant literature in its historical context, touching upon both accomplishments and limitations. Its main proposition is that the Greek case is distinct yet connected to contemporary global contingencies and broader long-term regional dynamics. Athens remains the only European capital without a mosque. Moreover, despite recent academic endeavors, there exists today no coherent Greek field of Islamic Studies. That these absences have been brought recently under political and academic scrutiny constitutes, however, a noteworthy change. Most important, the traditional exclusion of Islam from the field of Modern Greek Studies does not suggest lack of relevance between the two but, quite to the contrary, reveals a set of loaded and complex socieconomic, geopolitical, and historical links that deserve to be studied in their own right.     

MYANMAR: RELIGIOUS MINORITIES AND CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTIONS

This article examines the experience of religious minorities in Myanmar between 2011 and 2017 in the context of the 2008 constitution and a new system of governance. It highlights the precarity of religious minorities and argues that neither the constitution nor the state were reliable sources of protection or redress during this period. The first section considers the multiple identities of religious minorities with regard to citizenship and national belonging. The second section elucidates how an enabling environment for Buddhist nationalism emerged and what types of actions state and non-state actors have taken with regard to religious minorities. The final section addresses the 2008 constitution and rule of law in Myanmar in order to understand the challenges for religious minorities in securing justice and protection.     

The Turkish Constitutional Court,laicism and the headscarf issue

From 1989 onwards, the Turkish Constitutional Court justified the headscarf ban in universities by citing laicism. Interestingly, in 2014, the Court found the headscarf ban in courts unconstitutional and revoked it by again citing laicism as the main reason. How can this seemingly paradoxical practice be explained? This article traces the trajectory of the headscarf issue in Turkey by analysing and contextualising the Constitutional Court decisions. In order to explain how and why the Constitutional Court issued two opposing views of the headscarf ban, this article focuses on the changing political climate and legal developments that took place in Turkey between 2008 and 2014.     

Books Received

ABSTRACT

In the summer of 1934 Eastern Thrace was shaken by a wave of antisemitic violence that ended as suddenly as it had begun. The reasons underlying this attack on the Jewish minority are still not well understood, mainly due to the lack of definitive Turkish sources. New evidence indicates that ?brahim Tali, the representative of the Turkish government in Thrace and the district of Çanakkale further south, played a crucial role. The incidents should be understood in light of Turkish–Italian tensions in the spring of 1934, and the strategic need for re-arming the demilitarized zones in Thrace and at the Straits.     

Peace and security concerns in the Niger Delta: a persisting struggle for autonomy and self-determination

This article argues that neither the amnesty granted the militants nor the election of Goodluck Jonathan as President of Nigeria will be sufficient to resolve the conflict in the Niger Delta as the crisis in the Niger Delta is an offshoot of some of the contradictions in the Nigerian federal structure, particularly the regional and power imbalance in the Constitution of 1960. Therefore, no matter how conceived, the Niger Delta crisis remains more fundamentally constitutional and political than socio-economic or environmental. Accordingly, what the paper attempts to address is the deliberate attempt by the Nigerian state to diminish the constitutional and political aspects of the crisis, while it creates the impression that the root of the problem of the Niger Delta is neglect and inequitable distribution of national resources by the federal government. The paper brings to the fore the constitutional and the political aspects which have underpinned the Niger Delta crisis since the 1950s and 1960s and concludes that any resolution of the crisis short of those imperatives will not endure.     

Religious marketing: reflections from the other side of politics

This paper critically examines the idea that politics and religion occupy adjoining berths in the extended marketing camp. Following a brief review of contemporary religious marketing, a comparison is undertaken of religion and politics to determine whether they conform to a common marketing framework for non‐business environments. The idea that marketing in faith environments is validated by the ‘religious economy’ theory is critically examined, significant objections to the adoption of marketing principles and methods by the religious community are explored and some limitations of the exchange concept in a faith context are identified. Some implications are considered for both political and mainstream marketing, in terms of recent attempts to broaden the scope of marketing. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications     

宗教革命创造法律体系——评伯尔曼《法律与革命》一书的宗教法律史观

伯尔曼的名著《法律与革命》从宗教信仰与法律的关系出发 ,深入剖析了基督教教皇革命对西方近代法律体系形成的重要作用 ,以宗教信仰为总的出发点和基石 ,运用历史学考察方法 ,对包括法律史、宗教史、社会史等诸多领域的文本材料进行分析总结 ,通过探求西方近代法律体系得以建立的精神本质来为现代西方法律传统所面临的危机寻求解决之道 ,这一独特的视角使此书在西方法律史学界占有重要地位 ,值得我们去研究分析和借鉴     

宗教工作与精神文明建设问题初探——学习江泽民“以德治国”思想的体会

宗教工作服务于精神文明建设问题是宗教工作贯彻“以德治国”方略的具体体现。做好这篇大文章,就必须努力做到:强化学习宣传,把握正确方向;保障宗教信仰自由,加强科学无神论教育;抓好自身素质提高,变“想当然”为“所以然”;摈弃“宗教搭台,经济唱戏”,坚持“以人为本”,奠定物质基础;发挥宗教某些积极因素,丰富繁荣社会主义文化;服务社会公益事业,为精神文明添砖加瓦;关心宗教教育,继承优良传统;重视理论研究,引导健康发展;不断“打邪制非”,维护安定团结;贯彻“三个代表”思想,巩固爱国统一战线。     

宗教运动与社会动员:木嘎拉祜族神话、历史记忆与族群身份认同

清中期以来,汉族移民不断进入云南中南部澜沧江两岸山区,在清政府推行的“改土归流”压力下,拉祜族以“佛教”为旗号的宗教运动,将整个社会的政治经济秩序和文化意义进行重构,逐渐形成了一个地方生活中的诠释框架,通过神话及仪式,使自己的族群身份认同及历史传统对现实的影响,在群体的历史记忆中表达出来。     

宗教视野里的传媒化生存

在信息时代,具有一定宗教背景的媒介受众通过特定的媒介信息来维持宗教信仰;媒介控制者根据自己的宗教信仰来制定信息的议程和框架以达到预定目的;新闻从业人员依赖自身的宗教信念选择报道内容。从一定程度上来说,媒介具有宗教性。从生存环境来看,媒介具有一个宗教皮肤,就能吸引相同宗教背景受众的注意力,且受众对这一媒体具有极高的忠诚度;宗教是本体,文化是表现形式,不同文明间的冲突深层上是不同宗教的冲突。