Naqshbandi Sufis and their conception of place,time and fear on the Turkish-Syrian border and borderland

The employment of diverse forms of security and control on territorial borders have led to the production of numerous events of border crossings, smuggling, banditry and death along with stories of separation, loss, mourning, pain, and yearning in the everyday life of border people. The Naqshbandi Khaznavi order has an expansive interpersonal social network across the political borders of Turkish and Syrian nation-states. This work analyzes the ways in which Sufis dealt with diverse aspects of the Turkish-Syrian border by unbinding shackles and orders of political system that were fabricated constantly from the 1920s to the early 1980s. The life stories and narratives of the Sufis document the existence of a religious-cultural landscape, diversifying the perception of place, time and fear which have transcended political borders for decades, contradicting official cartographic imagination and the modern-secular understanding of place and time. Besides, in addition to analyses of religious orders as social, economic and political entities, this work aims to elucidate emotional aspects of relations and faith that coexist between Sufis and their Sheikh in the context of spatial distance, political border and fear of death.     

Homicide in Adana, Turkey: a 5-year review

Violence is a significant public health problem. Thus, so as to prevent this problem, homicide, the severest form of violence depriving a human being of his right to live, deserves a detailed examination. This study is a retrospective research examining the 2951 cases of medicolegal autopsies in Adana during a period of 5 years (1997-2001). Among these cases, 620, which were determined to be homicidal, were taken into the scope of this study. The cases were examined with respect to sex, age groups, the method used during the act of homicide, the number and the localization of the wounds on the body. A total of 620 (21%) of the medicolegal autopsies conducted within this period were homicides. Of these cases, 515 (83.06%) were male and 105 (16.94%) female, and the rate of the males to females was 4.9; 72.74% of the victims were between the ages of 21 and 50. It was seen that 54.83% of the homicides involved firearms, while 35.16% of the victims were stabbed to death with a cutting object. It was also determined that the victims suffered a single wound in 47.35% of firearm-related murders and 29.35% of stabbings resulted in death. Alcohol was found in the blood of 7.58% of the homicide victims, while none had any illicit drugs.     

Why ISIS's Message Resonates: Leveraging Islam,Sociopolitical Catalysts,and Adaptive Messaging

How does the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) leverage Islamic Law to support their strategic objectives? Islam, as most religions, is a defining catalyst of group identity. ISIS has capitalized on this, using it as a vehicle to legitimize its interpretation of Islamic Law. This study builds on Social Movement Theory to develop and test a conceptual framework of ISIS messaging strategies. This framework highlights the progression of the organization's message from mainstream Islamic Law to radical unified reinterpretation. ISIS leaders' speeches are used to test the model. Ultimately, study findings inform countermessaging strategies and identify mobilization mechanisms.