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The International Journal of Middle East Studies publishes original research on politics, society and culture in the Middle East from the seventh century to the present day. The journal also covers Spain, south-east Europe, and parts of Africa, South Asia, and the former Soviet Union for subjects of relevance to Middle Eastern civilization. Particular attention is paid to the history, politics, economics, anthropology, sociology, literature, and cultural studies of the area and to comparative religion, theology, law, and philosophy. Each issue contains approximately 50 pages of detailed book reviews. Subscribers to the print version also receive the MESA Bulletin free. Guidelines for Contributors at Cambridge Journals Online
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Cambridge University Press (www.cambridge.org) is the publishing division of the University of Cambridge, one of the world’s leading research institutions and winner of 81 Nobel Prizes. Cambridge University Press is committed by its charter to disseminate knowledge as widely as possible across the globe. It publishes over 2,500 books a year for distribution in more than 200 countries. Cambridge Journals publishes over 250 peer-reviewed academic journals across a wide range of subject areas, in print and online. Many of these journals are the leading academic publications in their fields and together they form one of the most valuable and comprehensive bodies of research available today. For more information, visit //journals.cambridge.org.
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Sorry I didn't get this up before the break. To make it up to you, I'll answer a couple of big picture questions below and offer you a comparison question. Analyze the similarities and differences between the affects and practice of Islam in India and one of the following: You probably had that figured out already, huh? BP1: What distinguished the first centuries of Islamic history from the early history of Christianity and Buddhism? What similarities and differences characterized their religious outlooks? Islam differed distinctly from Christianity and Buddhism because its founder was not only a religious figure but also a political and military leader. (Huge) ... and each religion was shaped in part by the cultural traditions in which it emerged. Duh! BP2: How might you account for the immense religious and political/military success of Islam in its early centuries? Me? How would I account for it? Well, as an historian, not a religious leader... It's like this dudes; for the first time a shared faith (um, Islam) allowed the newly organized state to mobilize the military potential of the entire Arab population. Powerful. No dying on the cross or
wandering around begging here. I'm looking forward to reading your
posts! Bingham 30/12/2012 08:02:23 I'm just testing to make sure comments are open again. Go ahead, just pretend I'm not here... Victoria Wren 30/12/2012 12:21:19 Thanks for the BPQs! Hope you had a wonderful Christmas :) Victoria Wren 30/12/2012 13:03:01 In what ways did the early history of Islam reflect its Arabian origins? •Islam drew on an older Arab (original Arabic, conveys nothing less than the very presence of the divine) identification of Allah with Yahweh (possibility that Allah/Yahweh was the only God), and Arab self-identification as children of Abraham (return to the old and pure religion of Abraham) •The Quran denounced the prevailing social practices of an increasingly prosperous Mecca and sought a return to the older values of Arab tribal life (return to the old and pure religion of Abraham), like the sharing of goods amongst tribes. •The message of the Quran also rejected the Arab tribal and clan structure, which was prone to war, feuding, and violence. Instead, the Quran sought to replace this structure with the umma (need to create a new society of social justice, equality, and care for others), the community of all believers. Christina Hong 2/1/2013 07:36:36 Not sure if this would also fit, but I also had: •The Arabian Peninsula, the birthplace of Islam, was located next to the Sassanid Empire. As a result, it began to house Zoroastrians whose monotheistic ideas began to influence Muslims, some of who began to reject the existence of lesser gods. Christina Hong 2/1/2013 07:37:48 I think it adds on to what you put in the first bullet. Bingham 2/1/2013 08:13:48 Yeah, it fits... good add on! Victoria Wren 30/12/2012 13:03:44 How does the core message of Islam compare with that of Judaism and Christianity? •Islam, like Judaism and Christianity, is monotheistic (believing that there is only one god). Allah as the only God, the all-powerful Creator, good, just, and merciful •As “the Messenger of God,” Muhammad presented himself in the line of earlier prophets—Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and many others. •It was not so much a call to a new faith as an invitation to return to the old and pure religion of Abraham from which Arabs, Jews, and Christians alike deviated. •Like the Jewish prophets of the Old Testament, the Quran demanded social justice and laid out a prescription for its implementation. •Like Christianity, Islam develops a reward and punishment system for the "wicked" of this world, heaven and hell Bingham 31/12/2012 05:13:37 Scary solid! Christina Hong 2/1/2013 14:34:30
And here's what I have for differences. •Islam scorned the Christian notion of the Trinity Christina Hong 2/1/2013 14:45:19 oh oops, I typed 'an honored' twice. how embarrassing. D: Emily Sherman 5/1/2013 04:53:30 One other thing I found was that Islam had the 5 Pillars of Faith, which is very similar to the Jewish and Christian 10 Commandments. Steffannie Alter 30/12/2012 18:23:12 In what ways was the rise of Islam revolutionary, both in theory and in practice? The Islamic community replaced the previous Arabian tribal structure with one in which membership was a matter of belief rather than birth. Muhammad outlawed usery, established tax-free markets, and implemented mandatory payments to support the poor. Muhammad therefore not only acted as a religious figure but a political one as well. Islam had no separate political and religious organizations or distinction between religious and civil law. In addition, unlike Christianity, there was no clergy in Islamic society to act as a mediator. Bingham 31/12/2012 05:29:56 Yes, and no distinction between religious law and civil law. To editorialize a little, I think we should note here that this is the power of Islam, and the power of any state structure that unifies nationalistic ideas with religious ideas. It's a powerful brew, one we
see several times in history. However, with apologies to my Muslim friends, it's a dangerous brew. It relies on the goodness of people like the Prophet (may Allah bless him) and al-Ghazali and ... Christina Hong 3/1/2013 15:04:14
I also had: Christina Hong 4/1/2013 12:52:45 What accounts for the widespread conversion to Islam? •major elements of Islam such as monotheism,
ritual prayer, cleansing ceremonies, fasting, divine revelation, the ideas of heaven and hell, and final judgment were familiar to Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians •resistance among the Berbers of North Africa Jeremiah Pratt 5/1/2013 05:21:54 A note that I think is important to all you forum-readers: It is important to keep the ideas of Islam and Arab separate in your mind. As Strayer clearly states, areas like Iran, Turkey, and Pakistan "Islamized" without "Arabizing". Don't get the two confused. Bingham 5/1/2013 06:02:56 Great point Jeremiah. Remember our guest lecturer from the Mid-East Policy Institute last year? It also reminds me of de Blij's assertion that Japan was able to industrialize with out anglicizing or westernizing. Christina Hong 5/1/2013 01:26:58 Oh wow, I just realized that this question is really similar to BPQ2. Bingham 5/1/2013 01:59:37 Yeah, I didn't realize that either until I read your post! Christina Hong 5/1/2013 03:21:08 Why was Anatolia so much more thoroughly Islamized than in India? •difference in demographic balance- Anatolia's population of 8 million vs. India's 48 million I wasn't too sure about this one but decided to give it a shot because it got skipped. Why were Arabs able to construct such a huge empire so quickly? Christina Hong 5/1/2013 05:10:54 I also added that the Byzantine and Persian empires were weakened by decades of war and internal revolt, increasing their vulnerability to outside attacks. and I'm not quite sure if this would also fit, but I think the connection you made better justifies the widespread conversion to Islam, rather than the making of the actual empire. A good connection though! =D Bingham 5/1/2013 06:14:24 I think Christina's point about the jizya (what a word!) is on point, but I too like the way you are making connections! Christina Hong 5/1/2013 06:36:02 Oh, so their motives would also be considered contributors to the Arab Empire's fast construction? Jessica Stevens 7/1/2013 14:51:35 @Christina: the widespread conversion to Islam is part of the building of the empire, no? Because of the Islamic way, from what I understood, of not putting distinctions between religious and political life, the widespread conversion to Islam would also be related directly to the building of the political and RELIGIOUS empire, so Kat's connection would still be valid. I feel it also important to point out that they operated on both land and sea, making it possible to spread along to North Africa, Spain and Southern France. Christina Hong 7/1/2013 15:09:01 Yea, I definitely agree that the widespread conversion to Islam was what fueled the creation of the Arab Empire. I just feel that the point regarding the jizya didn't directly factor into it. To me, it was more like: jizya --> conversion --> empire rather than jizya --> empire if that made any sense Jeremiah Pratt 5/1/2013 05:27:28 What is the difference between Sunni and Shia Islam? Sunni •Held that the caliphs were rightful political and military leaders, selected by the community. Shia •Felt that leadership in the Islamic world should derive from the line of Ali, a blood relative of Muhammad. Bingham 5/1/2013 06:21:49 Gotta keep an eye on those messianic types! Troublemakers I tell you! Jeremiah Pratt 5/1/2013 05:34:38 In what ways were Sufi Muslims critical of mainstream Islam? Bingham 5/1/2013 06:26:22 Yep, and this is a bit nuanced, but by the time the Sufi's got really popular, there were a lot of bad examples of governance in Islam's history - corruption, a little too much of the good life among some leaders - not really religious I suppose. You should expand on "charted their own path to God". It's a touch vague. How did the rise of Islam change the lives of women? Good- Bad- Bingham 5/1/2013 08:23:55 Um, don't look now, but there's an angry mob outside your house! They're chanting something about the role of women in society? Just kidding! But your answer needs a little cleaning up, and because I'm no chauvinist, I don't mind doing a little cleaning. I like your idea about good and bad, that's a good way to organize, but I think anther way to do it is to look at what the Quran says (theory) and what really happened (practice). So, the Quran with regard to women: It banned female infanticide, (this should have been in your "good" list) gave women the right to own property and granted them rights of inheritance (as you pointed out), defined marriage as a contract between consenting parties(got that), granted the right to sue for divorce under certain circumstances, and regulated polygyny (you can make your own call on that, I suspect some women would be cool with having more than one dude around, especially in a society that allows polygamy!). It also allowed men to have sexual relations with consenting female slaves (but I'm going to guess that "consenting" has a pretty loose definition for a female slave). Now, as the Arab Empire grew in size, the position of women became more limited. Women started to pray at home instead of in the mosque (I think that could go in either good or bad depending on a woman's POV), and veiling and seclusion of women became standard practice among the upper and ruling classes, with special areas within the home becoming the only place where women could appear unveiled (and I think we have to be careful here, to a western woman, veiling, etc. would be a negative, but I've met more than one Muslim woman who considers the apparel of western women to be degrading and disrespectful, objectifying women; and personally, I kind of agree, then again, maybe veiling goes too far?). So this seclusion was less feasible for lower-class women. These new practices came much more from established traditions of Middle Eastern cultures than from the Quran, but they soon gained a religious rationale in the writings of Muslim thinkers. So there you go. The horrible stuff you mentioned like clitorectomy and honor killings are nowhere in the Quran or the Hadiths ( traditions about the sayings or actions of Muhammad (may Allah bless him), which became an important source of Islamic law) - I'm pretty sure, but those things have become associated with Islam unfortunately. Negative views of women (you alluded to this, but I think you need to be more explicit), presenting them as weak, deficient, and a sexually charged threat to men and social stability, showed up in the Hadiths. Good points about the Sufi side, and literacy. Literacy is important for the obvious reasons, but it also means that they could socialize in some kind of school setting. Thy same is true of the Haj and other pilgrimages, it allowed women an opportunity to interact with other people (mostly other women granted) outside their family. You mentioned teaching, but that was only in Shi'a where women teachers are referred to as "mullah", just as men are. Maybe a small thing, but significant - remember, little things are big, right? Great point about the Garden of Eden story! Christina Hong 5/1/2013 08:27:00 Under 'good', I'd also add that a number of women played visible public roles in early Islamic times. Christina Hong 5/1/2013 08:29:38 whoa, nevermind. Bingham 5/1/2013 12:50:47 Absolutely, beginning with the very influential Khadija. So (this is my first time posting
on the blog!!! Yay!!!), What similarities and differences can you identify in the spread of Islam to India, Anatolia, west Africa, and Spain? Thank ya, thank ya very much. Hold the applause, but do get back to me on stuff I got wrong or just overall comments and thank you mr. Bingham because this is the hardest I've studied for your class in a long time and I'm uber-proud of myself. You were right, the blog is a useful tool and I thank you for making me realize that I feel proud of myself when I study hard. Steffannie Alter 6/1/2013 00:45:45 Mish, I think that sorting it by region is a good way to categorize the information, but since the question asks for a comparison, what I did after organizing by region was try to find common topics to individually compare or contrast. I likely missed some since this spans four regions and I was looking for themes that appeared in all/most of them, but here's what I got when trying to organize it this way: -Islam spread to India, Anatolia, and Spain partially by force while it came to West Africa through Islamic traders. Wow. Your answer was much shorter than mine. Compare. Compare, compare, compare. And deep read. I need to remember to do these things. Thank you for your advice, Steffannie. I'll remember to do that next time. Bingham 6/1/2013 07:11:59 This is such good advice! I hope everyone reads it.
Bingham 6/1/2013 04:44:53 Weird, I replied to this on my phone, but it didn't post. Good for you Mish, you are taking the right attitude in to this. I heard a guy over the break, referring to America generally say, "we don't need Prozac, we need a plan!" My life experience is that you can work your way out of any stress, and that's what you are doing. Bingham 6/1/2013 04:45:35 Er, above? Christina Hong 6/1/2013 14:36:30 What makes it possible to speak of the Islamic world as a distinct and coherent civilization? •unlike Christian priests who stood between the believer and God, the ulama served as judges and interpreters of Allah Sorry if I'm completely wrong in asking this, but do all of those points answer the actual question? Again, sorry if I'm poking around in a good solid answer. Christina Hong 7/1/2013 14:12:41 Yea, I actually wasn't too sure about some of these, but I added them just in case. Which ones are you referring to? Christina Hong 6/1/2013 23:14:08 In what ways was the world of Islam a "cosmopolitan civilization"? My answer for this one was kind of long, so someone please let me know if some of these aren't relevant! Involvement in trade Agricultural products and practices Technology Ideas Science and scholarship Elizabeth Martinsen 7/1/2013 04:37:56 The test at the end of the week is going to be an essay, correct? Christina Hong 7/1/2013 09:23:08 It looks like our Strayer 11 summative has been moved to Monday! :O Bingham 7/1/2013 05:19:27 Maaaaaaybe Christina Hong 7/1/2013 09:13:01 (yes) Thanks Bingham! I like how you organized it more. I thought the infanticide might be in the "bad" column for the women because now they had to actually take care of unwanted children. I guess I was unsure because I don't know why they would kill children in the first place... but mainly I
wanted to ask, Bingham 7/1/2013 12:18:43 Ah, great question, because that is the central issue. The great leaders, like Ahkbar, who we'll meet in the next unit believed exactly that. Of course the answer is not simple, some do and some don't. But history shows us that when civilizations have a "golden age" it comes in a period of religious tolerance. Think of the American founding fathers, they understood, from their enlightenment education that tolerance is the key to political, social and economic success. When societies become dogmatic and intolerant, collapse follows. The early history of Islam is often one of toleration, but that has changed in many places. Just watch the news. But Islam is not alone, certainty the western Christian history is full of intolerance: think of the conquistadors and the inquisition! Bingham 7/1/2013 12:49:08 As for infanticide, we are talking here about female infanticide. More common than most people realize. Remember our China one child policy discussions last year? This tragedy of the human story is a real motivation for me as an educator. It burns in my heart that women have been so marginalized and abused as our species has crawled out of the darkness. Our history is a history of misogyny, and that has to change if we are to become truly "civilized". After spring break i wast to introduce you to Benazir Bhotto, a woman who challenged the dark side of Islam and died for democracy in Pakistan just a few years ago. And Ahn Song Su Chi who is doing the same in Burma. Tbe world desperately needs more women like them! Definitely! I'm glad that you are educating us about topics like that. Your comment will be posted after it is approved. Leave a Reply. | AuthorBingham: This forum is for us to engage with each other publicly about where we are struggling with the coursework and to offer each other solutions for what works for us. Categories All
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