A Grass Roots View of Religious Change Amongst Women in an Indigenous Community in Chiapas, Mexico

Abstract — This paper discusses the changing position of women in an indigenous community in Chiapas, Mexico. It argues that women are gaining new agency and an increased pride in their ethnicity as they become members of the various sects that are taking root in the community. Affiliation to a sect provides them with an institution that they can call their own thus satisfying their felt need to be part of the longer-term economic and political changes that are occurring while still being shielded from them.     

西方国家对巴基斯坦伊斯兰宗教学校的指责、原因及巴基斯坦的应对

“9·11”事件以来,反恐战争背景下的美国及其西方盟友对于巴基斯坦伊斯兰宗教学校的指责声日益上升：宗教学校沦为恐怖组织、培养恐怖分子、资助恐怖组织以及传播极端主义思想。本文分析西方国家对巴基斯坦伊斯兰宗教学校的歪曲与污蔑,探讨其原因和动机并展望巴基斯坦伊斯兰宗教学校的前景。     

Amussat’s Sign in Hanging—A Prospective Autopsy Study

Abstract: Amussat’s sign is typically a transverse laceration of the intimal layer of carotid arteries described in cases of hanging. Subtotal laceration of the carotid artery is not strictly specific for hanging and can be also caused by blunt neck trauma, extreme overstretching, or whiplash‐injuries. In a prospective autopsy study of 178 cases of hanging, Amussat’s sign was found in 29 cases (a relative frequency of 16.1%). A statistically significant association between the occurrence of tears in the intimal layer of carotid arteries and the victims’ age was discovered in the cases studied (the frequency increased with age; p < 0.05). The occurrence of Amussat’s sign was independent of gender, weight, completeness of the victim’s body suspension, and position of the ligature knot on the neck. The study demonstrates the fact that the most probable cause of Amussat’s sign is a combination of direct compression of the artery by the rope and indirect stretching because of the gravitational drag produced by the weight of the body.     

福州人在纽约的宗教信仰活动初探

福州人在纽约的道教信仰情况如：将家乡道教俗神移植美国、膜拜祖国大陆其他地方移民所供奉的道教俗神、参拜台湾移民供奉的神灵、朝拜祖国大陆的神明、怀着＂有所求＂的目的进寺庙求福。福州人在纽约的佛教信仰情况如：参加纽约著名寺院的宗教活动、参加历史悠久的佛寺的活动、参加本地的著名佛寺活动、参加台湾佛教在纽约分支机构的活动、外州打工返回纽约的福州人见寺就进。福州人在纽约的基督教信仰情况如：牧师用福州话布道使福州人感到极为亲切、建造福州教友自己的教堂大大增强了教会的凝聚力、教会功能多元化使福州人得到诸多方便、特定的生活环境使纽约的福州人走进教堂。     

Bleedings into the Anterior Aspect of the Intervertebral Disks in the Lumbar Region of the Spine as a Diagnostic Sign of Hanging

Abstract: Simon’s hemorrhages are ventral intervertebral hemorrhages located beneath the anterior longitudinal ligament that have been described in cases of hanging and tend to appear in the lumbar region of the spine. There are also reports of Simon’s hemorrhages in cases of blunt trauma, asphyxia, drowning, and putrefaction. In a prospective analysis of 2226 autopsies, we found Simon’s hemorrhages in 65 out of 178 cases of hanging and also in 17 cases in a group of 350 controls with various causes of death. The relative frequency of occurrence of Simon’s bleedings in cases of hanging was 37%. Simon’s hemorrhages can be considered an objective vital finding, which is not absolutely specific for hanging. The absence of hemorrhages in intervertebral disks does not exclude death by hanging. This study suggests that Simon’s bleedings in cases of hanging are more frequent in rather young individuals, in cases with free body suspension, and in individuals with minimal degenerative changes in the lumbosacral part of the spinal column.     

东盟“伊斯兰化”与东盟10国对以关系的互动研究

冷战结束为东南亚地区一体化发展和东盟扩大创造了条件。随着伊斯兰复兴运动近年在马来西亚和文莱的深化,这两国出于宗教情感而持反以亲阿的态度,并将其变为东盟意志,无视东盟大多数成员为非伊斯兰国家且与以色列合作良好的事实。这既体现了冷战后国际关系格局发展现实在东南亚的投影,又体现了当代国际关系的“宗教转向”和东盟国家在伊斯兰问题上的分歧公开化。以色列实际上已成为东盟伊斯兰与非伊斯兰成员国之间的宗教“柏林墙”。欧盟模式应是东盟可资借鉴的方向,东盟制度建设乃至维系存在的基础在于：一是加强东盟制度民主建设,二是东盟机构的“去宗教化”。马来西亚和文莱可以通过伊斯兰会议组织等国际宗教组织发出其宗教诉求,但东盟绝非在宗教上的合适平台。     

Politics or prejudice? Explaining individual-level hostilities in India’s Hindu–Muslim conflict

ABSTRACT

Multiple explanations have been proposed for what drives India’s Hindu–Muslim conflict. Harnessing novel approaches to data acquisition and analysis, this paper uses insights from an electronic survey with 1,414 respondents to test three prominent theories of why individuals promote conflict with out-groups. The results show that security concerns for the future are strong predictors for a hostile stance and approval of violence. Experiences of violence in the past do not seem to systematically perpetuate hostility. Personal experiences with out-groups strongly correlate with hostile sentiments. These results hold across model specifications, post-stratified estimation based on census data, and a benchmark relying on Finite Mixture Models.     

Ideological Neutrality in the Workplace

This note assesses the decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union in Achbita v G4S Secure Solutions NV and Bougnaoui v Micropole SA, the first cases dealing with religious discrimination under the Equal Treatment Directive 2000/43. Both cases concerned Muslim women wishing to express their religious beliefs by wearing an Islamic headscarf while working in a private undertaking. The Court held that the employees’ dismissal could not be justified by reference to clients’ prejudices against the headscarf. However, dismissal could be justified if pursued on the basis of a corporate policy of ideological neutrality which prohibited all visible religious, political and philosophical symbols. This note criticises the latter part of the Court's decision for, inter alia, placing too much weight on an employer's freedom to run its business in spite of the grave effects this has on employees’ fundamental right to manifest their beliefs at work.